Neal Huntington has been a very, very busy man lately.  First the McLouth deal, then the rule 4 draft, then all the Snell craziness, and now NH has consummated 2 trades affecting the major league roster in 1 day.  First, the Pirates sent utility man Eric Hinske and cash to the New York Yankees for 2 prospects, and then they sent Nyjer Morgan, aka Tony Plush, along with Sean Burnett to the Washington Nationals for OF Lastings Milledge and RP Joel Hanrahan.

First the Hinske deal.  Eric Hinske was on a one year contract, he’s 32, and he was hardly playing (only 106 ABs so far this year).  He was distinctly not part of the future of this team.  To get anything in exchange for him is a win, even if we did have to cover about half of his remaining salary, sending the Yanks $400k.  In return we got 2 prospects, both currently playing A ball.  Eric Fryer is a 23 year old outfielder currently playing at high A Tampa Bay and will be assigned to Lynchburg.  Last year at low A West Virginia, then part of the Brewers farm system, he hit .355 with 26 2Bs and 10 Hrs in 104 games.  So far this year in Tampa he has hit .250 with 2 dingers.  He has played mostly left field, but can also play behind the plate.  Casey Erickson is a left handed pitcher, and will be assigned to low A West Virginia.  In 21 appearances with Charleston, Erickson has gone 3-3 with a 2.25 ERA.

I love this trade, absolutely love it.  While neither of the prospects we got in return is considered to be an impact level player, this trade characterizes what this front office is doing right.  Neal Huntington never stops, he never settles.  He continues to add pieces and organizational depth, taking advantage of every possible opportunity to do so.  Eric Hinske is a good guy and a nice player, but he was never going to be a part of the future of this club.  Instead of just letting him play out his contract here and lose him at years end, NH went out and made a move to get something in return, even if its small.  For a team in situation the Pirates are in, these are the kinds of moves that need to be made.  If either of these guys turns out to be anything at the big league level, this trade is a win.

Of these 2 moves though, the one more likely to have a long term impact is the Nyjer Morgan trade.  Frankly, I’m still not sure how I feel about this one.  Nyjer is one of my favorite players on the buccos roster this year.  His glove is a thing of beauty.  His interviews are fun to listen to, and the way he plays the game, you can tell he’s having fun out there.  For evidence of that, just go back to the game last week where he was mic’d up.  It was very entertaining to say the least.  But he is also very limited offensively, and at 29 he’s not likely to ever develop into much more than what he is now.  Along with Nyjer, the Pirates sent Sean Burnett, a pitcher who has done a very nice job in making the transition from being a starter into the bullpen.

In return, the Pirates received Lastings Milledge, a player who seems to have been a top prospect and ready to break out, first with the Mets, now with the Nats, since about the turn of the century.  Milledge has career numbers of .261/.326/.400 for an OPS of .726.  While these numbers don’t really jump off the page, the indications are that he has the tools to do much more than that.  He has definite baggage and character issues that have followed him, and from all accounts that seems to be what have prevented him from becoming the player his skills indicate he can be.  You may remember, for example, that after he hit his first career homer, he was criticized for high-fiving a fan when returning to the field for the next half inning.  The point is this guy is ultra talented, but also, ultra risky.  At 24, he is also five years younger than Morgan, which could make him part of the outfield of the future.  However, I should balance that by saying he has more Major League service time, and will be arbitration eligible after this season. (EDIT: It seems this is not true.  Due to the service time Milledge has missed with injuries, he will not be arbitration eligible for another year, after the 2010 season and not before.)  The Nats also sent over Right handed reliever Joel Hanrahan.  Hanrahan has a career ERA of 5.30, 7.71 this year. Neither of those numbers looks good.  I’m not quite sure what to make of the reliever swap here.  I don’t really know much of anything about Hanrahan, aside from seeing his numbers.  I believe he was given a shot at the Nats closer job this year and blew it.  Burnett seems to have developed into a solid reliever, lefty specialist, but frankly that’s not a big piece in this deal, and long term it probably won’t have a ton of impact.  This trade will ultimately be judged on Milledge for Morgan.

So, considering all of that, I’m not sure if I like this deal.  I really haven’t seen enough of Milledge to really know how much I like him, and I have seen enough of T-Plush to know he’s the kind of player I love to watch.  It seems obvious, though, that the Pirates are getting the more talented player in this deal, at least offensively.  Based on that, and Neal Huntington’s track record making trades, I have to support this deal in principle.  It certainly seems much more likely that the Pirates can calm Milledge down, allow him to mature, and have him reach his potential than it is that Nyjer will develop into an elite player at age 30. I guess only time will tell on this one.  Either way, stay tuned, as you never know when the next time NH will make a big move, they seem to be coming almost daily now.

Tags: Eric Hinske, Lastings Milledge, Neal Huntington, Nyjer Morgan