First of all, I wanna start by saying that Nate McLouth was one of my favorite Pirates, and that I wish him nothing but the best of luck in Atlanta.  But with that being said, I believe almost all of the reaction by the fan base to this trade is wrong.  This trade was not salary dump like the infamous Aramis Ramirez trade.  This was not a move where we had to get rid of a player in a contract year, and were forced to take less than peak value for him.  This move, unlike so many moves made over the last 16+ years of Pirates misfortune, was made for the best of reasons, to give the team a better chance to win long term.  Now if the goal is simply to finish above .500, then yes, I agree with the general concensus that the Pirates should not have traded McLouth.  But for me as a fan, that isn’t the goal.  When you see the big picture, the goal is to win a World Series title.  To do that, because of the financial system Major LEague Baseball has in place, the Pirates need to make trades like this McLouth trade, even if they are unpopular moves.

Now I’m not a scout, and I don’t pretend to be one.   So I’m not really in a position to analyze the loot we got in Return for Nate McAwesome.  But I can say this much; prospects are coveted now more than ever by big league GMs.  With that in mind, what the Pirates got is substantial.  The return of 2 of the top ten prospects(according to baseball america) from one of the best minor league systems in baseball, and a starter who is considered major league ready is quite a haul for one player.  In this case, a player who won a gold glove despite what the advanced defensive metrics say.  According to fangraphs.com writer Dave Cameron

Despite winning a gold glove last season, the glove isn’t as valuable. McLouth has consistently ranked as a below average defensive center fielder, compiling a -10.6 UZR/150 over his career. He’s a corner outfielder playing out of position in center, but he’s not an atrocity out there.

Nate is basically at his peak.  Yes, he will hit 20-25 long balls a year, and steal 20 bases.  But he doesn’t have the power or speed to ever go far beyond those numbers, and his obp isn’t high enough to make him truly great.  As Keith Olbemann pointed out you can make the case quite easily that Andrew McCutchen, the pirates star prospect CF called up to replace McLouth, is an upgrade over Nate right away.  He is certainly a defensive upgrade today, and projects to be a far superior offensive player soon.

But really, the reason the Pirates made this trade wasn’t because McLouth was a sub par player, and It isn’t because they needed to make room for McCutchen today, that certainly could have waited.  The reason this trade was made for the same reason the Bay and Nady trades were made last year.  Its because when Neal Huntington and Frank Coonelly took over, they were handed an empty closet talent wise.  The Pirates minor league system was in shambles and was in dire need of restocking if this franchise is ever going to compete for a World Series and be a consistent contender in the NL Central and for NL Pennants.  This move, paired with the moves made last year and the moves that will be made later this year, likely trades of Adam Laroche, Jack Wilson, John Grabow, and possibly Freddy Sanchez, are moving this franchise one step closer to that ultimate goal of a World Series.

Tags: Andrew McCutchen, Nate McLouth, trade