Bucs Send Jordan Luplow, Mad Max to Tribe for IF Gonzalez & Pair of Pups

The Pirates sent OF Jordan Luplow and infielder Max Moroff to the Cleveland Indians for infielder Erik González and right-handed pitchers Tahnaj Thomas and Dante Mendoza. Luplow, 25, a third-round pick in 2014 and Minor League PoY in 2017, had been given a chance to break camp with the Bucs in 2019 with Gregory Polanco on ice while Moroff, also 25 & a 16th round high school pick in 2012, had been bypassed by the Kevins on the Pirates depth chart. Both had brief trails with the big club. J-Low hit .194 in 64 games while Maxie batted .193 in 84 games. They'll have a chance to crack Cleveland's roster. Luplow will have a big opp as the Tribe OF is thin right now and Mad Max will audition as Gonzalez's replacement.

J-Low to the Tribe - 2018 Topps

Gonzalez, 27, slashed .265/one homer/16 RBI last season for Cleveland as a utility infielder and has a .263 BA over three campaigns (162 games). He's mostly played second (71 games), but has seen action at short (35 games) and third (30 games), even playing the OF and first on occasion Gonzalez has an MLB OPS+ of 79; he whiffs a lot (29%) and walks rarely (3%), with a good hard-hit rate (395) and huge ground ball trend (57%) - hullo, swing angle tweak. Neil Huntington described his glove as "solid" and as a player who will challenge for PT in the middle infield. He's a good glove guy by rep, though Fangraphs lists him as a poster boy for average with the mitt (he's between +1/-1 in DRS for six positions, with an admittedly small sample size with all the shuffling; he hasn't pitched, caught or played center), so we'll see if the Pirates plan to use him in tandem with Kevin Newman. Erik won't hit arb until 2020, although he is out of options, so the Bucs consider him a big league addition.

Thomas, 19, was the Indians' #30 prospect and the Bahamian has tossed for two years in the Arizona Rookie League, going 0-3/5.47 with 56 K in 52-2/3 IP; he also walked 35 batters, so he fits into the usual Bucco wild child prospect mold. Mendoza, 19, is Zach Britton's cousin and was a 12th-round pick in the 2017 draft out of high school. In two rookie league seasons. he's 0-2/4.69 with 39 K in 40-1/3 IP with 22 walks, so same cut of cloth. Both are lotto tickets.

Along with Maxie (image: Pittsburgh Pirates)

The surprise was moving Luplow; the Pirates OF depth took a hit with Polanco's injury and Austin Meadow's trade. This puts Adam Frazier/Pablo Reyes on top of the fill-in list and there isn't any immediate help from Indy, so the FO should be in the market for a fourth OF'er. It also jams up the backup infield spot; that will be sorted out at camp. All in all, it's a housekeeping move more than anything else, opening up PT at Indy and one more 40-man spot on the roster with the deadline to protect guys set for next week.