Saturday, June 23rd, 2007 by Adam Wagner
The Transaction Wheel Begins to Turn and other notes
It’s the end of June, so it’s the time of year that Pirate fans most dread . . . No, not the end of bobblehead season (even though that’s coming right up). I’m talking about the trade deadline and the inevitable firesale that accompanies it. The Pirates have decided to be proactive in this approach this time around, however, and launched a preemptive strike on Friday.
Okay, that’s exaggerating a little bit. The fact of the matter is that the Pirates picked up a bench player in Josh Phelps, whose most important contribution will be allowing Ryan Doumit to see more playing time. Phelps is one of those guys who got to the majors and had a little bit of success only to see various factors turn him into a bench player. The bench player certainly has some degree of power, as he has always hit a decent amount of homeruns in minimal plate appearances. Phelps could be an interesting addition to the team and may end up mildly surprising Pirate fans, who justifiably take a negative approach to everything. (my first quotes upon seeing the move? “Oh, great, they got a backup catcher.”)
Phelps will be able to spell Ronny Paulino at catcher and Adam LaRoche at first base, allowing Ryan Doumit to play right field, where his rocket is most helpful, and not catch, where his hamstrings are liable to act up.
Also occurring yesterday was Jim Tracy’s borderline denial of interest in Milton Bradley on the Pirates’ part. Bradley is the type of guy who the Pirates should be interested in. Sure, he’s near the end of his career, probably, but he serves a role as he would be able to play centerfield everyday, something that neither Chris Duffy nor Nate McLouth (no matter how much fun he is to watch play) has shown. Bradley would be a valuable addition to the Pirates and Littlefield would be an idiot for not at least taking a look at the troubled outfielder.
Most interestingly about the Milton Bradley situation, however, is the fact that he was traded yesterday in a trade that was later reneged due to Bradley having an oblique injury. The trade was for a reliever who Pirate fans might remember . . . Leo Nunez, the 21-year-old fireballer surrendered in the Benito Santiago deal. He has not amounted to much, as he was rushed to the majors, but as of late he has been dominating AA. Also, Billy Beane thinks that he’s valuable. That means almost as much as John Schuerholz trading you, but in the opposite direction (if you are traded by Schuerholz, you will underperform; if you are traded for by Beane, you will be a decent player).
In short, the Pirates made a small ado about nothing and no ado about something yesterday. Typical.
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