2017 marks GM Neal Huntington’s 10th trade deadline with the Pittsburgh Pirates. From the good, the bad and the ugly, let’s recap the previous nine as this year’s deadline looms closer.
Today, we’ll take a look at the deals the Pittsburgh Pirates’ GM made in 2012.
Deadline Approach
Like the 2011 Pittsburgh Pirates, the 2012 team found themselves in the mix for the division title in July. Unlike the 2011 Pirates, they looked like they belonged. Andrew McCutchen was in the middle of his first MVP-worthy campaign and the offense was filled with power hitters.
While they were better and looked like a playoff caliber team, the Bucs had a few glaring holes. The most obvious one was starting pitching.
July 24: Traded RHP Colton Cain, OF Robbie Grossman and LHP Rudy Owens to the Houston Astros for LHP Wandy Rodriguez
Rodriguez became the “ace” of the Astros once Roy Oswalt was traded. While he was not a true number 1, he was a good middle of the rotation arm with multiple years of control. He had a 3.79 ERA with the Astros and a 3.72 with the Pirates in 2012, so he was basically what they expected that year. He pitched just as well in 2013 before being sidelined with injuries. He struggled in 2014 and was released after six poor starts.
Grossman was the best prospect of the bunch. The AA outfielder was the eighth best prospect in the Pirates’ system, according to Baseball America, and was leading the minors in walks at the time of the trade. He eventually reached the majors with the Astros and is now playing for the Twins. He’s been a fringe starter, but he did not have a future with the Pirates’ crowded outfield.
Owens became a less desirable prospect once he struggled in AAA in 2012. He eventually made a cameo appearance with the Astros in 2014, but he didn’t stick. He’s now pitching in the Italian Baseball League. Cain was an eight round pick who only made 14 appearances above A-ball.
July 30: Traded RP Brad Lincoln to the Toronto Blue Jays for OF Travis Snider
Lincoln was one of the Pirates’ top prospects for years. While he struggled as a starter, he seemed to come into his own as the seventh inning guy, recording a 2.73 ERA in 28 games in 2012. Snider was a consensus top 10 prospect across baseball a few years prior, but he did not do enough to convince the Blue Jays to give him a steady major league job.
The Pirates needed an extra outfielder and the Blue Jays needed pitching, so this was a trade of trying to tap said untapped potential. It would be a generic offseason deal, but it seemed a little out of place now with one of the teams in a pennant hunt.
Lincoln had a 5.65 ERA with the Blue Jays down the stretch and lost his major league job for a final time in 2014. Snider only homered once and had a .652 OPS through the end of the season. He was eventually traded to the Orioles for Steven Brault and Stephen Tarpley before the 2015 season- his last in the majors.
Neither team ended up getting what they wanted or needed at the deadline. It was a wash.
July 31: Traded OF Gorkys Hernandez to the Miami Marlins for 1B Gaby Sanchez and RHP Kyle Kamisaka
Yep, it’s another midseason deal of two teams trying to fix underperforming players. Sanchez was an All-Star in 2011, but was optioned to AAA after posting a putrid .202/.250/.306 line. Hernandez was ranked as the 62nd best prospect by Baseball America before the 2009 season, but struggled in the majors and upper level of the minors.
Kamisaka was a 23 year old reliever who spent time with the Marlins’ AAA team. He was passed on to Boston before the 2013 season and never pitched in the majors.
Hernandez has bounced around baseball the past five years as an emergency outfielder. Sanchez was an effective platoon in 2012 and 2013, but that production dropped off in 2014.
July 31: Traded 1B/3B Casey McGehee to the New York Yankees for RP Chad Qualls
Now the Pittsburgh Pirates found themselves with one first baseman too many and one reliever too few. McGehee was the logical choice to go: a right-handed corner infielder with a .230 average and 86 wRC+.
The best return the Pirates could find for him was the rental reliever Chad Qualls. It was Qualls third team of 2012: he was worth -0.6 fWAR with the Phillies and had a 6.14 ERA with the Yankees.
He didn’t fair much better in the ‘Burgh. Qualls finished the year with a 6.59 ERA in 17 appearances as a Pirate. While that was only slightly worse than what Lincoln did in Toronto, but it he weakened the team’s greatest strength: the bullpen.
Hindsight
The Rodriguez pickup was solid, but it wasn’t the type of deal that was going to make or break the season. They needed to upgrade more.
Instead of dealing a top prospect, Huntington ended up chasing his tail, trading a relief pitcher, first baseman and an outfielder for a relief pitcher, first baseman and an outfielder. Did those deals make the team any better?
Ehhhhhh, maybe…kinda…sorta…not really.
Snider eventually had a good season with the Bucs in 2014 and was flipped for a nice return, but Qualls was a huge letdown and Sanchez was an ok platoon guy at best.
The season started to unwind shortly after, and the Pittsburgh Pirates finished the year with their 20th consecutive losing season. Perhaps this was the wakeup call the front office needed: to win with this budget, they’re going to have to make a trade that hurts.
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