Two Minor Trades in the MLB

There were a few minor trades in the MLB on Tuesday June 30^th that made the MLB news, each that involved the Pittsburgh Pirates. First off the New York Yankees acquired utility player Eric Hinske from the Pirates for two 23 year olds, pitcher Casey Erickson and outfielder Eric Fryer. In another move the Pirates then turned around and acquired Lastings Milledge and RHP Joel Hanrahan from the Washington Nationals. In return the Pirates sent LHP Sean Burneet and outfielder Nyjer Morgan to the nationals.

Eric Hinske has played in 54 games this season so far and only has 1 home run, 11 RBIs and is batting a meagre .255. That is his far cry from his rookie of the year campaign when he was with the Toronto Blue Jays. It seems Hinske has been unable to return to form since that 2002 season and has been quite a disappointment in a lot of ways. He has been a part of successful teams in the past as he was on the roster for the 2007 AL champion Boston Red Sox and the roster for the 2008 AL champion Tampa Bay Rays.

The Pirates are excited about adding both Milledge and Hanrahan even though the moves are minor. Hanrahan has a very decent year last year as a relief pitcher and should give the Pirates an extra option into the late innings. Milledge is comparable to Hinske in a few ways as he was one of the top prospects in Major League Baseball just a few years ago. He is young and still has all the tools to be an impact player but he really needs to figure out his game and improve his attitude in order to reach the level that many scouts expected him to.

All in all these were two minor moves as the Yankees and Pirates looked to try and beef up a bit before the All Star break. There is no word on where Hinske will fit into the Yankees stacked line up but he adds another pinch hitting option.