Aramis Ramirez is heading back where it started. The Milwaukee Brewers have dealt the third baseman to the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for minor league pitcher Yhonathan Barrios.
12 years ago to this day, Pittsburgh traded Ramirez (and Kenny Lofton!) to the Cubs for a steaming pile of garbage. Now, he’s back.
BREAKING: The #Pirates have acquired INF Aramis Ramirez from the Milwaukee Brewers. pic.twitter.com/1S7VZFQpXW
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) July 23, 2015
The trade includes cash considerations from Milwaukee as the Pirates send minor league pitcher Yhonathan Barrios to the Brewers.
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) July 23, 2015
Trade Deadline
- Winners and losers of the 2015 MLB trade deadline
- Mets acquire Yoenis Cespedes from Tigers
- Astros swoop in on Carlos Gomez, add Mike Fiers for four prospects
- Tigers’ reboot continues, Joakim Soria traded to Pirates
- Blue Jays get their ace, agree to acquire David Price from Tigers
- Cole Hamels is getting traded to the Texas Rangers
- Ben Revere is being shipped to the Blue Jays
The 37-year old Ramirez is hitting .247/.295/.430 with 11 home runs this season, and has been hot and cold all season. He’s in the midst of a July hot streak, however – Ramirez has hit .352/.422/.500 in 16 games this month.
If Ramirez’s bat stays hot and he hit like he has for the vast majority of his career, he should be an upgrade at third for the Pirates, who are currently without both starter Josh Harrison and shortstop Jordy Mercer. The Bucs were able to weather the loss of Harrison thanks to the presence of Korean import Jung-Ho Kang, but losing Mercer as well has forced them into a tough decision. Ramirez’s addition will allow the team to play Kang at short and removes a light bat like Pedro Florimon or Brent Morel from the lineup.
And when Harrison is ready to return, which should be sometime in August, the Pirates can get the struggling Pedro Alvarez out of the lineup (that is, if he’s not dealt in the next week). Neither Ramirez nor Harrison has played first in the past, but given Ramirez’s defensive liabilities at third base, it’s not as if the Pirates will be losing all that much with either him or Harrison shifting across the diamond.
The return for Milwaukee is light. Barrios is a 23-year old that was converted into a pitcher back in 2013. This season, he’s split the year between AA Altoona and AAA Indianapolis. He has a 2.68 ERA over 40 1/3 combined innings, striking out 21 and walking 17. But he’s still a work in progress and throws hard, so we won’t be able to judge the return for another couple of years.
