The trade market has been relatively quiet to this point, one clear seller is emerging: the Chicago Cubs. After trading Scott Feldman and Steve Clevenger to Baltimore less than a week ago, and now according to Ken Rosenthal, the Cubs have traded reserve outfielder Scott Hairston to the Washington Nationals.
Hairston only has 112 plate appearances in 52 games this year, hitting .172/.232/.434. While it isn't a major addition for the Nats, Hairston can still do some things well, like hit for power against lefties. In admittedly small sample sizes this year, Hairston has hit .179/.239/.500 in 88 plate appearances against lefties, as opposed to just .143/.208/.190 in 24 plate appearances against righties. For his career, the splits aren't quite as drastic, but the gap is still easily visible: .268/.318/.500 against lefties, .227/.286/.413 against righties.
He's the type of veteran you pick up if your manager doesn't like/doesn't trust young players in reserve roles — which does describe Davey Johnson — and as the Washington Times points out, the Nats are about to face a slew of left-handers this week. Hairston's addition to the roster figures to be a bad sign for Tyler Moore, one of those young players who has struggled coming off the bench.
The Cubs will get 21-year-old right-hander Ivan Pineyro in return. Pineyro was named to this year's South Atlantic League All-Star team before getting bumped up to High-A, striking out 8.9 batters per nine innings and walking just 2.3 per nine in 13 starts, posting a 3.14 ERA. He's not considered a top prospect, but he is the kind of interesting arm you hope to get in return for a guy like Hairston.
Hairston will be under contract with the Nationals for next season, too, having signed a two-year deal with the Cubs this winter. Chicago will be kicking in $500,000 towards his $2.5 million salary next year as part of the deal.
The Nats will be Hairston's 6th big league team in 10 years. He still has some catching up to do to catch his older brother, though — Jerry's been on nine teams in 16 years, including a half-season in Washington in 2011 before getting traded to Milwaukee. Washington is the third team to employ both Hairston brothers, joining the Cubs and Padres.
