12/11 From 1975: Rhodes-Lawton, Foli-Harper, Dock/Kenny/Willie-Doc, Doe & Nova Deals, Jordan-Charlie-Don-Bo Sign, Sid Goes & Then Wins Hutch; HBD Joe

• 1975 - The Yankees acquired RHP Dock Ellis, LHP Ken Brett and 2B Willie Randolph from the Pirates for RHP Doc Medich. Randolph suited up for 17 more seasons, was named to six All-Star teams and played in four World Series, but was blocked in Pittsburgh by Rennie Stennett, who, as fate would have it, broke his leg in 1977 and left Pittsburgh after 1979. Dock pitched for five teams over the next four years, ending his career with a final stop in Pittsburgh in 1979 after two solid years (29-20/3.41) in 1976-77. Brett remained workmanlike over the next six seasons, tossing for a half-dozen clubs. Doc went 8-11/3.51 in his only Pirates campaign, then was traded to Oakland (and not gladly; he was attending Pitt medical school at the time) as part of the Phil Garner deal, spending four of his next six campaigns with the Texas Rangers. 
• 1980 - RHP Joe Blanton was born in Bowling Green, Kentucky. The Pirates bought the veteran reliever from Kansas City at the 2015 deadline and he went 5-0/1.57 in his time with the Bucs, turning a strong 21-game stretch run into a $4M free agent contract with the Dodgers. His last campaign was in 2017 with the Washington Nats, and he now runs a vineyard in California. 
• 1981 - SS Tim Foli was traded to the California Angels for Brian Harper. Foli was on the downside of his career while Harper spent three years in Pittsburgh as a utilityman, hitting .243. Crazy Horse (he was a fiery 100%'er) Foli returned in 1985 in a trade with the Yankees, but hit just .189 and was released in June. He became a coach for several teams (Rangers, Brewers, Reds, Royals, Mets, and Nats) after his playing days, managed in the minors, and now is a Christian speaker. The Bucs pulled off two swaps on the day, also sending 1B Doe Boyland to the Giants for veteran hurler Tom Griffin. Boyland was a seldom-used prospect who went 2-for-19 in short Pittsburgh visits over three years and never appeared in another MLB game. Griffin, who was starting his 14th season in the show in his age 34 season, was coming off an 8-8/3.76 campaign but went 1-3/8.87 for the Pirates and was released in mid-May, ending his major league days. 

Tim Foli - 1982 Fleer

• 1990 - Sid Bream, who overcame three knee operations to help the Pirates capture the NL East championship, was named the winner of the 26th annual Hutch Award. The award goes to a player who overcomes adversity to go on to further accomplishments, named for Fred Hutchinson. Bream hit .270 with 67 RBI after sitting out most of the 1989 campaign. It was his last bow as a Buc, as Bream had signed with the Atlanta Braves as an off-season FA the week before. 
• 2002 - Pittsburgh brought back RHP Brian Boehringer, 33, inking the reliever to a two-year contract with an option and $3.8M guaranteed. Boehringer was coming off a 4-4-1/3.39 campaign and appeared in 70 games, but he didn’t have to worry about that option coming into play. Brian went 6-5/5.42 in 2003-04 and was bought out at season’s end, finishing his MLB career. 
• 2004 - The Bucs swapped out LHP Arthur Rhodes to Cleveland for OF Matt Lawton less than a month after they had acquired him from the A’s. Cleveland also sent the Pirates an undisclosed amount of cash to help offset Lawton’s $7.2M salary. Lawton hit .284 with 10 HR and 44 RBIs before being flipped for the Chicago Cubs’ Jody Gerut at the 2005 trading deadline. 
• 2006 - Pittsburgh signed hometown utility guy Don Kelly, born in Butler and a Mt. Lebanon HS/Point Park College alum (he still lives in Mars with wife Carrie, Neil Walker’s sister), to a minor league contract. But it wasn't a home-sweet-home reunion; he got into just 25 games with the Bucs during his rookie 2007 campaign and hit .148 during his only local stint. Kelly seasoned in the minors for a year and then went on to play eight MLB campaigns with Detroit & Miami in a bench role, coached and scouted for the Astros and moved on up from Derek Shelton's bench coach to Bucco field boss. 

Don Kelly - 2007 Fleer Ultra Rookie

• 2013 - RHP Charlie Morton signed a contract extension for three years plus an option. He received $4M for 2014 (his last arb year), $8M in 2015 & 2016 plus a club option for 2017 of $9.5M and a $1M buyout, with $500K in possible bonuses. Morton went 15-21/4.21 the next two seasons, was traded to Philly, got hurt and inked a deal with the Astros. He won a WS game there and signed with Tampa Bay, where he became an All-Star in 2019. Charlie went 9-9 in 2020 and then signed with Atlanta in 2021, the organization he began his MLB journey with. After debating retirement, the Bravos picked up his $20M ‘24 option; he’s again considering the rockin’ chair vs the rubber. 
• 2018 - The Pirates shipped RHP Ivan Nova to the Chicago White Sox for prospect RHP Yordi Rosario, 19, and $500K international slot money. Nova was streaky since arriving from the NY Yankees at the 2016 deadline, stingy with walks but generous with homers allowed, and put together a 25-25/3.99 line with the Bucs in his 2-1/2 seasons. Rosario, from the Dominican Republic, was a lotto ticket projected as an eventual back-end starter as the Bucs restocked their lower level farm pitching. After stints in the Windy City & Motown, Nova pitched in Korea and the Dominican League from 2021-23 to close out his career. Rosario was let go by the Bucs in 2020 and pitched in the Los Angeles Angels system the following season before being released after the 2021 campaign. 
• 2018 - In another winter meeting deal, the club announced that it had signed free agent RHP Jordan Lyles (it became official on the 17th after his physical), 28, a guy with not much of a track record despite eight years in the league (31-52-2/5.28) with four other clubs, to a one-year/$2.05M deal. The converted starter did have a solid 2018 from the pen (1-0/3.32 in 28 outings), so that performance, no discernible split between L/R hitters, and an increased use of curves and sinkers won him a contract. The Pirates opted to start him, and after a hot beginning to 2019, he faded and was sent to the Milwaukee Brewers. In 2020, he jumped ship to the Texas Rangers for two campaigns, went to the Baltimore Orioles, worked for two seasons at Kansas City and became a FA in 2025.