Writings on baseball by Matt Barnard and Dan Stein.

 
Lofton and Ramirez heading to Wrigley

Chicago Cubs get: Kenny Lofton, Aramis Ramirez.
Pittsburgh Pirates get: Jose Hernandez, Matt Bruback, a PTBNL.

A clear-cut win for the Cubs. Seriously hurting in centerfield since the loss of Corey Patterson for the season (they've been throwing Tom Goodwin out there on a regular basis), they finally acquire Dusty favorite Kenny Lofton, who helps the lineup significantly, giving them a real leadoff hitter. Of course, they've also been using Lenny Harris a disturbing amount at third base...something they'll no longer have to do with the arrival of the once-awesome but still young Aramis Ramirez.

And what do they give up to fill these two major holes? So far (there's still a player to be named in the deal), nothing of significance. Jose Hernandez was acquired about a month ago for Mark Bellhorn and hasn't been terribly effective since. While he's got some value when he's playing well, his numbers thus far in 2003 are pretty crappy (.227/.291/.359), and he certainly hasn't been pushing the Cubs in the direction they want to go. He'll likely man third base for the remainder of the season for the Pirates, but when the one year deal he signed with the Rockies this past offseason expires at the end of October, that'll be it for him in Pittsburgh.

So given that Hernandez isn't likely to stick around, who are the Pirates getting here? The answer is Matt Bruback, a borderline prospect coming from a team already plenty deep in young arms. The Cubs are paying Ramirez's salary (both this year and next, which takes him through the end of his contract), but I'm really surprised that Pirates GM Dave Littlefield couldn't mine something a little more valuable from what is a deep farm system, particularly on the pitching front. Anyhow, Bruback has spent this season-to-date at AAA Iowa, posting a 6-8 record in 20 games with a 3.96 ERA, striking out 90 over 125 innings. It seems conceivable that as the Pirates completely tear the team apart (with this trade, those of Scott Sauerbeck and Mike Williams, and the looming deals involving Brian Giles, Jason Kendall, Jeff Suppan and Kris Benson), Bruback could get a look at some starts pretty soon with the major league team.

While the dye on this trade hasn't been cast just yet, early indications are that the PTBNL isn't anyone of significance. Assuming that's the case, this is a pretty bad deal from the Pirates perspective, accomplishing little but taking Ramirez's salary off their books. The Cubs do a great job in filling some big holes and push themselves towards success both this season and in the future (as they now have a real third baseman). Ramirez has been disappointing over the past few seasons, but he's an improvement over Jose Hernandez right now and is a worthwhile risk going forward.
posted by VZW Watcher at 5:08 PM -