By Bob Smizik,
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Xavier Nady bats against the Padres Thursday at PNC Park.
The Pirates weakened their offense and just about crippled their bullpen in a trade last night with the New York Yankees that showed just how desperate general manager Neal Huntington was to improve the team's pitching depth. It was a trade that virtually ended any hope the team had of a winning record this season and showed management is more concerned with 2009 and beyond.
The Pirates weakened their offense and just about crippled their bullpen in a trade last night with the New York Yankees that showed just how desperate general manager Neal Huntington was to improve the team's pitching depth. It was a trade that virtually ended any hope the team had of a winning record this season and showed management is more concerned with 2009 and beyond.
Outfielder Xavier Nady, who led the team with a .330 batting average and was third in home runs and RBIs, and left-handed reliever Damaso Marte, who had inherited the closer's role in the absence of injured Matt Capps, were dealt to the Yankees for three pitchers and a highly regarded outfield prospect.
Nady started in right field last night in a game the Pirates lost to the San Diego Padres, 6-5, but was pulled after one inning.
The pitchers the Yankees sent did not include Ian Kennedy, who was thought to be available and was more highly regarded than the ones the Pirates received.
The deal is certain to have a stunning effect in the Pirates' clubhouse where the players were hoping Huntington would keep the team's surprisingly potent offense together.
Nady was available because he is eligible for free agency after the 2009 season and the Pirates either didn't want to sign him to a long-term deal or felt, as a client of agent Scott Boras, he would not be amenable to one. Marte's contract expires after this season. The Pirates had a $6 million option for 2009, which they were not going to exercise.
In return, the Pirates received one pitcher off the Yankees' Class AAA roster, and three players, two pitchers and an outfielder, from their Class AA Trenton minor league club.
The pitchers were right-hander Ross Ohlendorf, who will be 26 next month, and was 0-1 with a 6.53 earned run average in 25 games, all in relief, with the Yankees before being sent to the minors; left-hander Phil Coke, 26, who was 9-4 with a 2.60 ERA for Class AA Trenton; and right-hander George Kontos, 23, who was 3-9 as a starter for Trenton, but with a respectable 3.77 ERA for a team that was 25 games over .500.
Ohlendorf and Kontos are the type of power pitchers Huntington has been attempting to add to the Pirates. Ohlendorf is reported to throw a fastball that reached 97 mph. Kontos is said to throw in the mid-90s.
The likely key to the deal for the Pirates is outfielder Jose Tabata, a native of Venezuela who was playing at the Class AA level, although he won't be 20 until next month. Tabata was ranked as the Yankees' third-best prospect, according to Baseball America, a leading authority on minor league baseball. He was batting .248 with three homers and 36 RBIs.
Torre Tyson, a one-time batting coach in the Yankees' system but now the manager of the Class A Charleston Riverdogs, had this to say about Tabata to the New York Times:
"He thinks he belongs in the big leagues and he's ready for it. There's confidence and there's cockiness, and he's got plenty of both. He reminds me of Robinson Cano [the Yankees second baseman] when he was in the minor leagues. He just carries himself like a major leaguer.
"A lot of people don't like to play against him because he carries himself like he already is Manny Ramirez. But he thinks he's the best guy out there, and he goes out and proves it most of the time."
The outfielder Huntington probably had his eye on was Austin Jackson, 21, the Yankees No. 2 prospect, who hits with more power than Tabata and is better defensively. Austin was batting .298 with nine homers and 57 RBIs, which was eighth best in the Eastern League.
The Pirates have obvious replacement for Nady in the outfield in veterans Jason Michaels and Doug Mientkiewicz, although neither is the offensive force that Nady is. It's possible the team might bring up top prospect Andrew McCutchen, who was batting .280 with nine homers at Class AAA Indianapolis.
There is no clear-cut replacement for Marte, who had five saves and was regarded as one of the best left-handed relievers in the National League. The closer's role likely will fall to left-hander John Grabow and right-hander Tyler Yates until Capps returns. Neither has much experience as a closer.
The deal correctly will be viewed as a big win for the Yankees. They received two players who will be of immediate help as they try to overtake Tampa Bay and Boston in the American League East.
The Pirates received no such dividends, but it was clear they were not thinking about 2008. Ohlendorf likely will be added to the bullpen, but, based on what he has done for the Yankees this year, that doesn't look like much of an upgrade. He has a high ceiling, though. He was one of the prospects the Yankees insisted on when they traded Randy Johnson to Arizona in January 2007.
Considering the age of Tabata, it might be years before the Pirates learn how much this deal will help them. For the moment, though, with this trade they are a considerably weaker team and the Yankees are a considerably stronger team.
Bob Smizik can be reached at bsmizik@post-gazette.com.
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First published on July 26, 2008 at 12:00 am
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