Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Jack Wilson Traded to Seattle

A busy week for Pirates GM Niel Huntington got kick started earlier today when the Bucs shipped Jack Wilson, Ian Snell and cash to the Seattle Mariners for Jeff Clement, Ronnie Cedeno, Aaron Pribanic, Brett Lorin and Nathan Adcock. My first thought was Thank God. Anyone that knows me knows I was not a big Wilson backer. I loved his glove, but he is a an average major league player at best. With Snell, it was probably good to get rid of the baggage that comes along with him. He always has had the stuff, but he could never bring it out on a consistent basis. My second thought was "It looks like we got a lot for two average ball players."

The prize of the deal is Clement. He was the third overall pick in the 2005 draft and was rated the #1 overall prospect in the Seattle system after the 2006 and 2008 seasons. he is a catcher by trade, but has been seeing time at first base over the last two seasons. He has a nice bat and can hit for some power. In 92 games this season at AAA Tacoma, Clement hit .288 with 33 doubles, 14 homers and 68 RBI's. He has seen time with the Mariners and in a short stint hit .237 with 11 doubles, 7 homers and 26 RBI's. He has been assigned to AAA Indianapolis.

Cedeno will replace Wilson on the active roster and he is a similar player. A very solid glove guy with an below average bat and very little power. Sounds like Wilson. Cedeno is a solid professional though and will do all the little things a team needs. Pirates fans would remember him as a member of the Cubs, where it seemed the only team he could hit against was the Pirates.

Now a look at the 3 pitchers. Aaron Pribanic is a 22 year old right hander with a good fastball that hits the 93-95 mph range. He is said to have plus breaking stuff and throws a ton of ground balls. At A Clinton, he was 7-6 with a 3.21 ERA and has allowed only 1 homer all season, pitching in a hitters ball park. He represented the league in the All-Star game. He has been assigned to A West Virginia

Brett Lorin is also a 22 year old right hander. He is considered a strike out pitcher, currently with 87k to 22bb. His fastball is in the 90-92mph range, but is said to have a lot of life to it. he has an above average curve ball and also represented Clinton in the A All-Star game. He has also been assigned to West Virginia

Nathan Adcock is a 21 year old right hander who currently has a 3.31 era. Baseball America rated his curve ball as the best in the Seattle organization. He has been assigned to A Lynchburg.
It is a lot to get for a couple average at best major league players. that's why I am a fan of including cash in the deal. The return is worth it. The Bucs appear to be paying all but 400k of each players salary the rest of the season.

A couple comments on the deal include MLB's Jonathan Mayo, who says the Bucs got a "good haul" in the return and from Kevin Goldstein from baseball Prospectius who says "it's the best deal the Bucs have made in some time."


It won't be a popular move in Pittsburgh, as Wilson was one of the more popular players in this city over the last decade, but these kind of moves need to be made if this team will ever compete. You got a left handed power bat, a above average shortstop and 3 pitchers who are projected as MLB starters for Wilson and Snell. Wilson has missed over 175 games the last 4 seasons due to injury. That's over 1 full season. His production with the bat was really only there for one season and he could be a free agent at the end of the season if the Mariners don't pick up his option. it's another case of buying high and selling low. I'm all for that.

The only argument I'm hearing to the trade is that Jack is such a nice guy. I could care less how nice he is. Also remember that he was given an offer to stay. the offer was low, but it exceeded the production he has given and he rejected it. My philosophy has always been that nice guys don't win championships, talent does and Huntington is doing a fantastic job of adding talent to every level of the organization.

A fine job in my mind Huntington. Your not done yet though. You have more work to do. Make this a deadline that can help shape this team for the future. The Jack Wilson era is over and I couldn't be happier. While I will miss his glove, i won't miss him being a total baby and brat about everything. No longer do the Bucs have to cater to jack Wilson, and I bet the clubhouse will be a better place for it.

Keep doing it I say. Get rid of the losing culture entirely and turn the team over to the young guys. It's going to be a busy week for Huntington. I hear Freddy is next. maybe as early as tonight, following the game.

13 comments:

  1. what you aren't a fan of Wilson? I never understood the popularity of this guy. he simply just isn't that great of an all around ballplayer. I couldn't agree more about the trade. i really like it. im not so much concered short term but i am real excited to see what we look like next year after the dealing is done

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  2. matt,

    any clue on where they play clement? i do like his bat, but if jones or pearce will play first, and doumit is catching?

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  3. so hard to say until the bucs are done dealing, but my guess is that they keep experimenting with jones in the outfield and clement comes up to play first sooner rather than later. there is a small outside chance the Bucs could deal Doumit, but they would have to be overwhelmed to do it, so i wouldn't count on that.

    One note is that Clement's strength is his bat. he isn't viewed as a real strong defensive catcher (he is basically Doumit behind the dish). He will probably be a firsbaseman long term.

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  4. one other note is that mlbtraderumors says that Sanchez to the Giants is definitely going to happen

    two of the names being discussed is Bowker and frandsen. I'm not excited about either, so I'm hoping that isn't the return we are getting.

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  5. next season
    c doumit, 1b clement 2b andy laroche, 3b pedro alvarez,ss ronnie cedeno, lf lastings milledge, cf mccutchen, rf jones

    with hernandez and tabata among others still on the way. definitely better (and younger) than opening day this season

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  6. i also am tied of hearing about how nice jack wilson is. hit .320 then you can be as nice as you want.

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  7. BUT JACK IS A NICE GUY how many times do you see him with sick children and in the community

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  8. who cares? newsflash. every pro sports team spends time at the hospitals and doing charity work. jack just seems to be the only one on camera for it. sounds more like a glory hound to me

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  9. who cares what Jack did outside the white lines? i will tell you what he didn't do and that was produce. I agree with the writer. Being nice doesn't win. Talent and production does.

    Plain and simple, this was a good baseball trade that needed to happen. good jon neil

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  10. that should have read good job neil

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  11. matt

    do you feel that if the M's don't pick up Wilson's option, the Bucs will try and sign him as a free agent next season?

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  12. I guess anything is possible. If they would, it would be at a considerable less deal than the 2yr/8mil they had offered him a couple of weeks ago.

    My guess is no. I feel Huntington is simply cutting ties with most guys left over from the Littlefield era and building his own team. If they had no other option come spring training, then maybe, but we have a Jack Wilson type player now in Cedeno. I think the Mariners will wind up picking up his option though, so it won't matter

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  13. I like both deals today alot. It seems like we really are starting to head in the right direction. Now that Wilson is gone, has anyone heard any news on Sano? It might become vital to get a deal done with him

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