Thursday, May 8th, 2008 by Adam Wagner
Pirates trade for Jason Michaels
Neal Huntington executed a trade with his old organization, the Cleveland Indians, on Thursday, picking up reserve OF Jason Michaels for a player to be named later. Michaels, who is 32-years old, bats from the right side of the plate. His acquisition allows the organization to send Nyjer Morgan, who has only received three starts this season, to AAA Indianapolis.
Michaels will provide the Pirates with a solid, experienced bat off of the bench as well as another veteran presence in the clubhouse. He is also used to playing a reserve role and, unlike Morgan, will not get any better with more playing time. He is just a consistent, steady bat who will hold a place for the rest of this season until the Pirates decline his $2.6 million option for 2009. Making the decision even easier, the Indians basically gave Michaels to the Pirates, going as far as offering to pay most of his remaining salary for this season.
The most important aspect of the trade for the Pirates is that it allows them to send Morgan to Indianapolis, where he will actually be able to play regularly. This represents a sense of forward thinking that had been ignored by previous Pirate regimes, as prospects had been called up and then had their progress retarded by spending too much time on the bench and not enough time on the field during their time in Pittsburgh.
Morgan is being mature about the demotion, as he should, and seeing it as a positive. At Indianapolis, he will have the opportunity to better himself as both a hitter and as a fielder. He may even learn how to take a straight path to a fly ball.
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