Pirates Trade Hinske and Morgan

By David Ferraro
June 30, 2009

The Pittsburgh Pirates are at it again.

On Tuesday the Pirates made two more trades that saw veteran players leave the team.

The Pirates dealt outfielder Nyjer Morgan and left handed reliever Sean Burnett to the Washington Nationals for outfielder Lastings Milledge and reliever Joel Hanrahan.

They weren't done however, as they also sent veteran Eric Hinske to the New York Yankees in exchange for prospects Casey Erickson and outfielder Eric Fryer.

The moves have been nothing out of the ordinary for the Pirates, who just earlier this month sent star outfielder Nate McLouth to the Atlanta Braves. Last year they moved both Xavier Nady and Jason Bay before the trade deadline, and in the previous years have also traded players such as Brian Giles, Aramis Ramirez, and Jason Kendall.

Morgan becomes the latest Pirates outfielder to leave the club. Noted for his blazing speed, was hitting .277 with 2 home runs, 27 RBIs and 18 stolen bases. Morgan was coming into his own as a player in his first season as a starter after filling in for the traded Pirates last season.

In exchange for Morgan, the Pirates get outfielder Lastings Milledge from the Nationals. Milledge struggled mightily this season with the bat and injuries before being sent down to the minors with a .167 average in just 24 at-bats in mid-April. In May Milledge had surgery on his right ring finger and is expected to be sent to the Pirates AAA-affiliate in Indianapolis.

Milledge clashed with management and had been rumored to be on the trading block in previous weeks. A former top prospect with the Mets, Milledge played a full season last year with the Nationals and hit 14 home runs with a .268 batting average in 523 at-bats.

The Pirates also received relief pitcher Joel Hanrahan from the Nationals. Hanrahan, who spent the last half of last season as the closer for the Nationals failed to meet expectations and lost his closer job early on in the season. Last year, he struck out 93 batters in just 84.1 innings with 3.95 ERA. This year, however, he was 0-3 with a 7.71 ERA and blew 5 saves while saving the same amount.

Burnett, a former first round pick and starter turned reliever, is 1-2 with a 3.06 ERA in 32.1 innings. The Nationals hope he will bring stability to a struggling bullpen.

The Yankees received Hinske who was not seeing much playing time with the Pirates, hitting .255 in 106 at-bats with one home run. Hinske was the 2002 AL Rookie of the Year, but has struggled since. In exchange for Hinske the Pirates received a pair of 23-year old prospects in single-A. RHP Erickson was 3-3 with a 2.25 ERA on the season for class-A Charleston and Fryer was hitting .250 with 2 home runs and 11 steals in class-A Tampa.