Bucs Trade Nady, Marte for 4 Yankees Prospects Posted by MattyGabe at 10:12AM on 7-26-08

URL: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08208/899777-13.stm?cmpid=pirate… " Officially, the Pirates have a trade in place to send Xavier Nady and Damaso Marte to some team for some players. "We have a deal in place, pending medical reviews of all the players," Pirates general manager Neal Huntington said last night. "But, until there's clearance, it's a little bit vague." Officially, it is vague. Unofficially, it seems clear that the Pirates have traded Nady and Marte to the New York Yankees for four minor leaguers -- including three pitchers."   Wow. I mean, I thought we could've gotten some prospects that were a little closer to producing on the major league level a little bit sooner. I realize that they weren't going to send us instant prospects and we'd be instant contenders, but I thought we'd get a little bit more. The one position player we got is Jose Tabata, who is currently INJURED in AA Trenton... COME ON!! The other three pitchers seem alright... But i'm not necessarily sure if they really equate to what both Nady and Marte bring to the table, granted it's the here-and-now performance that they provided.      View This Article in a Printer-Friendly Format    Send This Article to a Friend

MattyGabe Administrator Member #: 1 Total Posts: 273       Posted at 11:35PM on 7-26-08 (Last edited at 11:49PM on 7-26-08) I guess according to the PG, a few of the players were changed in the deal (the deal wasn't officially done until 3am I suppose), and Dejan Kovacevic believes the Buccos were about to receive damaged goods until the physicals showed otherwise. Interesting stuff, but it's still not a trade Buccos fans were really looking for. When I think of the Yankees, I don't necessarily think of a great, well-founded farm system, I see dollar signs and payrolls. Edit: And I rescind my comment about Tabata. The Bucs Brass stated (now take this with a grain of salt mind you) that they would have traded both Nady and Marte last winter for Tabata straight up, so he must be a decent player at the least. Also, they stated that it would be about a week and then he could be in the lineup.

"If sloth were an industry, I'd be General Motors." --Vincent van Gui

MattyGabe Administrator Member #: 1 Total Posts: 273       Posted at 10:45PM on 7-30-08 Read an interesting article on MLB.com by Pittsburgh native Jon Mayo. At the end, Jon had this to say: In Tabata, the Pirates have been given an enormous toolbox. If they light a fire under him, help him mature and get that box unlocked, the payoff will be huge and Xavier Nady will be a distant memory. Was this trade a good one for the Pirates? Only time -- and Tabata -- will tell. But for an organization like Pittsburgh, without a winning season for 15 years and counting, sometimes a risk has to be taken to help turn things around. The pitchers are nothing to woo over, but Tabata is really the make-or-break of this deal. I was a bit taken back when I first saw Tabata's AA numbers, but never realized the potential he had. The only problem is that his potential's potential is a question mark. My question is: how much does Pedro Alvarez being in the organization have to do with these trades? The whole thing with trading guys like Nady and Bay away is, yes, sure they are great players NOW but the only thing these players get us now us a record CLOSE to .500 and a seat close to the basement of the NL Central. You have to take whatever little you have now (hitting talent), turn it into either what you need (current pitching talent/depth) or what you will need in the future (pitching/hitting prospects), and then wait for them to develop and play for you. Combine that with players that come relatively free (draft) and that's how you re-build a franchise that has been mercilessly driven into the ground by a GM trying to put a fake front on to the franchise. By no means is Huntington the perfect GM, but it seems to me he's at least making a much better effort than Littlefield.

"If sloth were an industry, I'd be General Motors." --Vincent van Gui

Fashza Moderator Member #: 12 Total Posts: 184       Posted at 6:42PM on 8-6-08 And here we go again... rebuilding for like the 16th year in a row... all of them losing seasons!

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