Neil Walker Trade: Reaction or Overreaction?

In case you have been living under a rock or in space, the Pittsburgh Pirates traded second baseman Neil Walker to the New York Mets for left-handed pitcher Jon Niese. The fan reaction has been understandably mixed to say the least. Neil Walker isn’t just a talented player, he is also from Pittsburgh, which makes his trade a very unique one to analyze.

A large chunk of Pittsburghers aren’t just upset because the Pirates traded away their long time second baseman, they’re angry because a local boy will be playing for a baseball team other than the Pirates. Are the angry fans reacting or overreacting?

Before we dive into the great fan debate, lets first look at the player the Pirates received in exchange for Walker, Jon Niese. Niese has been a fairly solid pitcher in his career and as a lefty, you would assume he is a good fit for PNC Park.

Niese isn’t dominant by any means, but for one year of Walker, you get potentially three years of league-average pitching and pitching is the name of the game right now. However, once you realize that a comparable pitcher in Jeff Samardzija got $90 million for being league-average, you see Niese’s value. Samardzija is going to make $19 million per year and he has put up remarkably similar stats to Niese.

Niese might not blow anyone away, but in purely a baseball sense, it is a very solid and fair trade for both sides. The Pirates add a starter and the Mets get a replacement for Daniel Murphy. It’s win/win. Yet, for a lot of fans, they are left with a huge taste of disappointment in their mouths because Neil Walker was the Pittsburgh Kid. He grew up cheering for the Pirates and became a productive member of the team as they returned to glory.

So, how should you feel? Believe it or not, you can be upset that the Pirates traded away Neil Walker, but happy with the return. The feelings aren’t mutually exclusive. When I saw that the trade was official, I had mixed emotions. Pittsburghers have a unique relationship with local stars. We love seeing people from the city do well and seeing one do well for the hometown team is a dream come true. The fact is Neil Walker is a 30-year-old second baseman with a bad back and limited defensive range, however, playing for an organization like the Pirates, he was never going to be in their long-term plans.

I understand Neil Walker’s popularity in this city and I completely understand why any fan would be upset with the deal, but in terms of the business of baseball, it is a solid and fair deal. If you’re angry about the local kid being traded away, you get angry or annoyed, but understand that this doesn’t mean the Pirates are giving up on 2016. Nor should you give up on the Pirates and start rooting for the Mets. The Pirates are trying to build a sustainable organization and part of that is making unpopular decisions.

The Cardinals didn’t re-sign Albert Pujols, which was hugely unpopular at the time, but are a better organization today because of it. They traded away their local and World Series hero David Freese, and once again they are a better organization for it. Sometimes the unpopular move is the correct one. The jury will obviously still be out on this trade until the season starts, but don’t quit on the Pirates just yet. Trust that Neal Huntington knows what he is doing.

We will all miss the Pittsburgh Kid and I am sure it will be extremely weird seeing him in a Mets’ uniform next season, but that is the business of baseball in 2015. Rarely do players stay in one place for their entire career anymore. The key is knowing when to move them and get the most value for them. You could have kept Neil Walker for 2016, gave him a qualifying offer, and potentially gotten a draft pick if/when he left in 2017. Instead, the Pirates traded an above-average second baseman for three years of a league-average starting pitcher. There is more value in that than a potential draft pick for sure.

If you are angry at the Pirates for trading Neil Walker, I understand and sympathize with you. He was a local kid that grew into a productive major league player for the Pirates. However, try to understand this move from purely a baseball stand point before you curse the Pirates as a franchise. Trust the process and watch Uncle Ray Searage work his magic on Jon Niese. I have a feeling you’ll be really happy with the results come 2016.

Thank you for checking out Pirates Breakdown!  Please follow us on twitter and jump into the hot stove conversation with us!