MLB Trade Deadline: Pittsburgh Pirates Land Ryan Ludwick and Derrek Lee

Pittsburgh Pirates general manager Neal Huntington pleased many fans this weekend after acquiring Baltimore Orioles first basemen Derrek Lee and San Diego Padres outfielder Ryan Ludwick.

The fans who wanted some bigger names and bigger bats got their wish.

But, the fans who didn’t want Pittsburgh's future to be demolished got their wish as well because the Pirates gave up a player to be named and minor leaguer Aaron Baker for the two veterans.

The future wasn’t held hostage, and they got bats that should help the offense immediately.

It was a win/win for fans and everybody involved.

Ludwick is hitting .238 with 11 HR and 64 RBI in 101 games played.

Lee is hitting .246 with 12 HR and 41 RBI in 85 games played.

Both will improve the Pirates offense, which is one of the worst in all of baseball.

The Pirates have only 66 home runs in 2011, and Ludwick and Lee combine to be one-third of that statistic.

Pittsburgh has 382 RBI; Ludwick and Lee combine for 105 RBI.

For a team that is 26th in runs 25th in batting average, 24th in on-base percentage, and 28th in slugging percentage, acquiring these two bats will give them a better chance of competing down the stretch.

Neal Huntington didn’t salvage the future, but he didn’t stand pat at the trade deadline.

For a man who gets a ton of criticism, he came through on this one.