Pittsburgh Pirates: Revisiting the 1992 Trade Deadline

With the Pittsburgh Pirates riding a hot streak and sitting near the top of the National League Central standings, much mention has been made of the 1992 Pirates team.

Everyone knows how that season came to an end for the Pirates, and the Bucs haven't hit the .500 mark since.

With the trade deadline approaching and everyone wondering what moves the Pirates will make in order to make a run at the postseason, I thought it would be fun to take a look back at how that 1992 team was constructed up until that season's trade deadline.

With that being said, let's take a look back in time.

1. Offseason Free Agency

Many feel the decline of the organization actually began in 1991, yet this current group of Pittsburgh Pirates was able to take one more stab at reaching the World Series.

That offseason, the Pirates were able to come to terms with several of their own free agents but lost one big one.

Signed that offseason by the Bucs were: Dave Clark, Bob Walk, Mike LaValliere, Steve Buechelle, and Al Martin. They also selected pitcher Miguel Batista (yes, the one that's still pitching today) in the Rule 5 Draft, but would later be offered back to the Montreal Expos.

That actually would be it for then Pirates general manager Larry Doughty, who would be replaced by Ted Simmons in February of that season.

The Pirates didn't make a splash in free agency under either general manager, but in the end they paid a dear price when the Mets pried the loveable Bobby Bonilla away from the Pirates in December of 1991 with a five-year, $29 million agreement that made him the highest-paid player in Major League Baseball

2. Offseason Trades

Simmons made a couple of trades in March of 1992 before the season began. One turned out well, while the other didn't amont to much.

The first deal sent pitcher Neal Heaton, who was an All-Star just two years earlier, to the Kansas City Royals in exchange for outfielder Kirk Gibson.

Heaton's best days were behind him. He pitched in only 18 combined games the next two seasons, the final two years of his career.

Gibson on the other hand only appeared in 16 games for the Pirates before being released after hitting only .196. He would go on to sign with the Detroit Tigers after that and spent the final three season's of his career there.

Simmons made a bigger splash in the long term a week later when he dealt pitcher John Smiley to the Minnesota Twins in exchange for pitcher Denny Neagle and outfielder Midre Cummings.

Smiley won 60 games in parts of six season's in Pittsburgh and was coming off his best season in his career, winning 20 games in 1991. He still had quality baseball left in his left arm, winning 66 games in six more big league season's.

Cummings was supposed to be a big deal, an outfielder that could do it all. It turned out scouts missed on him as Cummings never lived up to the hype, only hitting .257 with 22 total homers in 11 season's. The Pirates gave up on him after four seasons, putting him on waivers in 1997.

Neagle on the other hand became a future Pirates ace and put together a solid big league career. He appeared in two games for the Bucs in the 1992 playoffs, though didn't pitch well. He turned out to become the Pirates best pitcher from 1995-96 before being dealt to the Atlanta Braves.

3. 1992 Draft

During the 1992 season, the Pirates were relatively quiet up until June. The only moves they made were returning Batista (April) and the release of Gibson (May).

In June came the draft where the Pirates needed to begin shaping their future. However, that June set a trend for drafts in the future as the Pirates didn't draft well at all that season.

Catcher Jason Kendall was the Bucs first-round choice that season and his career in Pittsburgh speaks for itself, but the Pirates got next to nothing out of the rest of that draft class.

They missed on another first round pick in Shon Walker and also missed on a pair of second round picks with Trey Beamon and Danny Clyburn and very few other guys reached the big leagues. The ones that did didn't offer up much; that includes Adrian Brown, Kevin Polcovich, Lou Collier, and Marc Wilkins.

4. Trade Deadline

Perhaps the most significant move of that season's trade deadline came on July 31, when the Bucs promoted knuckle baller Tim Wakefield, who took the National League by storm, compiling an 8-1 record down the stretch.

Simmons did make a pair of deals though that July that worked out pretty well.

The first deal sent prospect Tony Mitchell to the Cleveland Indians in exchange for speedy outfielder Alex Cole. Cole became the regular right fielder down the stretch for the Pirates and hit .278 the rest of that season.

Simmons also wanted to add a southpaw to the rotation and found one in the Chicago cubs Danny Jackson, who he acquired in exchange for Buechele.

Jacson went 4-4 down the stretch for the Bucs, but pitched pretty well. The same can't be said for his one postseason outing in which he was lifted after surrendering four earned runs in only 1.2 innings pitched.

5. The Aftermath

Unfortunately, we all know how that season ended. We also know about the ensuing 18 years of heartbreak that followed.

Gone from the 1992 team were the likes of Jackson, Doug Drabek, Jose Lind, Gary Redus, Barry Bonds, Cole, and many others.

The next 18 years in the record books are history.

With the upcoming trade deadline rapidly approaching, maybe current general manager Neal Huntington and the current group of Pittsburgh Pirates will be able to do enough to help erase the past from Pirates fans minds.