The MLB trade deadline has passed, and so far the easy winner is the Boston Red Sox, making the ultimate loser on the day the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Not only did the Pirates trade away Xavier Nady, who went to the Yankees, but for some reason they compromised their immediate future in the Canadian kid Jason Bay.
What was the rationale of that deal? Did the Pirates need to get any younger?
Pittsburgh has been the epitome of mediocre in major league baseball, hovering around .500 level or below and never in the playoff hunt. However, the team had a tremendous upside with a bundle youth and a potential down the road MVP in Bay.
Now, the Pirates are in the rebuilding stage again, after dishing their franchise player to Boston for minor leaguers. That's right, I'll say it again, because it's hard to believe. Pittsburgh dealt the former Rookie of the Year and one-time All-Star for absolutely nothing.
Bay has relished in his new diggs, scoring the winning runs in both games as a Red Sox, including a game-winning home run last night which was belted over the Green Monster.
The Pirates should be kicking themselves or at least the GM because something went terribly wrong.
With the trading of the Pirates' core in Bay and Nady, Pittsburgh is primed to be the next Montreal Expos-like franchise: a team that at one point holds on to an abundance of talent but either loses them as free agents or stupidly trades them away before hand.
Need a short list? How about Larry Walker, Vladimir Guerrero, Jose Vidro, Pedro Martinez, and Orlando Cabrera? The worst part is that's just a short sample of the past 10 years before their move to Washington. The Expos even lost Andre Dawson to the Cubs and Gary Carter to the Mets back in the older days. I could go on all day as it became a Montreal trend; something that prevented the team from winning consistently.
If you take a look around the league, many of the contenders have a some sort of link to the now defunct Expos.
If the majority of teams have an ex-Expo, maybe the future of baseball lies in the Pittsburgh Pirates' organization. Or will they stop the bleeding with only losing Jason Bay?
11 comments Last one added 10 months ago — Leave a Comment
eric altgilbers 11 months ago
I am glad that bay is helping boston, but if the pirates did not trade bay and get players in return, he would be wearing pinstrips and killing your team instead. If you look more deeper into what has been going on in baseball this past week. Two of the four players that the pirates got have hit homeruns, the pirates just don't have the pitching to make them a great team. You can have Bay and his so so performance. He might help out, but if he has a season like last year, you'll be wishing to trade him back to pittsburgh. You might need to do alot more research before posting.
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Sean Crowe 11 months ago
The biggest issue you should have with your team is that they gave away two of their three best players to the Yankees for a Yankee-crap-poo-poo-platter.
At least you got four ok-to-decent prospects in return for Bay. The Yankees gave up NOTHING and got two very good players.
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Tom Au 10 months ago
Please "delete the obscene," (the three words in line two before "platter.")
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David Belako 11 months ago
The trend continues. jason bay has had his ups and downs, and his trade alone is obviously not the issue here. As a hometown Pirates fan, it's discouraging to see the trend continuing. They continue to trade away playmakers for prospects that may never make it to the majors, in spite of the fact that the new G.M. said that this year that was not going to happen. When are the Pirates going to trade up instead of down? If you're looking to dump somebody, look at the bullpen.
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Tom Au 11 months ago
I emphatically agree with Todd: the Pirates traded "their birthright for a mess of pottage."
Bay has been ranked the fourth best left fielder in Pittsburgh history (which goes back to 1891), after Brian Giles, Willie Stargell, and Ralph Kiner. One of his caliber or better comes along every 29-30 years on average. It may be the 2030s before the Pirates see the next Bay (the original came in 2003).
Management probably thought that they were getting "the next Bay" in Jose Tabata. Apparently, Tabata may have a similar level of raw talent. But there is a vast difference in the characters of the two men. Bay was a model citizen off the field who would have had value to the Pirates (and Pittsburgh) A.B. (After Baseball), much like Willie Stargell. And Bay wanted to stay, practically begging management to sign him to an "affordable" long-term contract (maybe $10 million a year) with a no-trade clause. Tabata will be the next Manny Ramirez at best, who could force his team to trade him away for less than he's worth. And that's if he ever makes it to the majors. To repeat: people like Bay have value on and off the field over and above their playing statistics; people like Tabata are worth less than their statistics suggest.
My, times have changed. No one thirty or forty years ago would have traded Willie Stargell away. And it was a shocker when they traded Mattie Alou (although they got Nelson Briles in return).
Warren Buffett, the master investor, once said that a competent CEO would not sell his company's crown jewel, "regardless of price" (unless he were planning to go out of business). Peter Lynch, another master investor, would characterize the Pirates' actions as "cutting the flowers and watering the weeds."
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Alexa Freed 11 months ago
Pirates need pitching!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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josh millar 11 months ago
they draft pirchers and thhey get hurt 4 of their last 5 pitching prospects have been injured
whats in the water in pittsburgh
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m clem 11 months ago
I know everyone's tired of 16 losing seasons. I definitely am. However, the way to change that is not to hang on to these players. Bay, for example, is 29 and had one year left on his contract. After that, he would probably command at least $10 million a year. Xady's in a similar position. That is money the Pirates can afford to pay, but does it really make sense to invest that all in one or two players who really aren't as great as you all are making them out to be. Tom, Bay's a once in every 30 year player??? Seriously?? What about last season's dismal numbers? Bay was never going to be worth more than he was when he traded him. In return we got some decent prospects, two of whom are already contributing fairly well. I would say this new management seems to have a plan. There's a dearth of talent in the minor league system thanks to Cam Bonifay or Dave Littlefield. That has to be remedied. We weren't winning with Xady, Marte and Bay, so even though they put up good numbers, we may as well try to win without them.
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Mike Cronin 11 months ago
Your first sentence demonstrates you do not understand baseball.
Jason Bay is doing well because he is in a lineup surrounded by good hitters that allow him to get good pitches. He did not have that in Pittsburgh.
The Red Sox are not winners in that trade at all. The Sox gave up two very good players PLUS Manny Ramirez and paid Manny's entire salary for one player: Jason Bay. Boston got no relief pitcher in exchange, which they desperately needed and continue to need.
Bay and Nady would've been free agents at the end of next year, which means both their trade values were at their maximum at this year's trading deadline.
The Pirates gave up too much for Nady. But they got FOUR players in the Bay deal, at least two of whom have a very good chance of turning out to be as good as Bay and Nady.
Even Peter Gammons, the most respected baseball analyst alive and a lifelong Red Sox fan, said the Pirates did well in the Bay deal.
The only way the Pirates are going to win is if they further cultivate their farm system, augment smart deals like the Bay trade with higher spending on solid veterans and pursue some stars in free agency. That's probably not going to happen with the current ownership group.
But trading Bay has zero to do with Pittsburgh's continuing futility.
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Tom Au 10 months ago
You made a good point about "higher spending on sold veterans and pursue some stars in free agency." But how about keeping (selectively) the ones you have before looking for new ones.
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Ben Ernst 10 months ago
if you're talking about who won in the Bay-Ramirez deal, its pretty obvious the dodgers won. To be able to give up 2 prospects and get a player of Ramirez's caliber is unheard of, especially when the red sox took on the rest of his contract for them. Pitsburgh wasnt going to be able to do much with Bay and Nady anyways, so might as well trade them and get some talented youth in return.
I think Bay is a great player and i wish him the best, but Boston lost in that deal, and they know it.
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