After yesterday’s trade for Derrek Lee of the Orioles, the Pirates took another step towards bolstering their offense by picking up Ryan Ludwick from the Padres for a player to be named later.
Ludwick has struggled with the bat this season, as he’s playing all of his home games in Petco Park, a notorious hitters park. He has only a .674 OPS this year, but with Jose Tabata currently injured, the Pirates are trotting out Xavier Paul and his .614 OPS every day. If Ludwick is able to hit like he has in the past, he’d be a huge upgrade over Paul and a great asset for the Pirates.
The return for Ludwick is unknown, as the Padres are only getting a player to be named later for him.
In another trade that came through right at the deadline, Erik Bedard and Josh Fields went to the Red Sox (via the Dodgers). The Dodgers will acquire catcher Tim Federowicz, Stephen Fife and Juan Rodriguez from the Red Sox. The Mariners will get outfielder Trayvon Robinson from LA and Chih-Hsien Chaing from Boston.
After the deal for Rich Harden fell through, the Red Sox still needed a starter, and Bedard is a good fallback option. He’s thrived in Seattle this year, with a 3.45 ERA, 87 strikeouts and 30 walks. Oddly, Bedard has actually been better on the road than at home at Safeco Field. Fields has been profiled as a future closer after being drafted in the first round of the 2008 draft, but has struggled with control and durability for his entire career.
Federowicz is a light hitting catcher who’s strong suit is his defense. He has a .734 OPS in 89 games for AA Portland, and he’s got decent plate discipline but not much else at the dish. Fife is more of an organizational arm, with 70 strikeouts and 37 walks in 103 1/3 innings for Portland. Rodriguez is a 22 year old reliever with Greenville of the Carolina League, and he’s got an electric arm, striking out 88 in 59 innings. Like most pitchers with that sort of arm, his control is out of whack, as he’s walked 32 hitters in that span. He could be an interesting bullpen option in a year or two.
As for the haul the Mariners got, we’ve taken a look at Robinson in one of our Minor League Monday feature on the site. He could get immediately called up to Seattle and start. Chiang is a little further away, as a 22 year old with Portland. Chiang has a crazy .338/.399/.647 line and has really come into his own this year after a few middling years in Boston’s system. The Taiwanese Chiang has fantastic gap power, with 36 doubles already on the season to go along with his 18 homers.
The Mariners made the most of one of their assets, and got back decent value for Bedard. I really don’t think they could have done any better, to be honest with you. I’m questioning the Dodgers involvement in the deal, as dealing Robinson is a very questionable move that doesn’t really help them at all. Boston got the starter they needed, and since they have a pretty loaded farm system, the subtractions won’t kill them.
