The Pittsburgh Pirates have acquired 24-year old righty swinging outfielder Lastings Milledge and 27-year old righty reliever Joel Hanrahan in return for 28-year old lefty swinging Nyjer Morgan and 26-year old lefty reliever Sean Burnett. Lastings Milledge has way more talent than Morgan but he’s a head case and that’s why he was playing in AAA. Milledge played in 7 games for the Nationals this season and he was 4 for 24 (.167 avg, .398 OPS) with 1 run scored, 1 RBI and 1 stolen base. He has now played in 260 games in his major league career and he is 234 for 897 (.261 avg, .726 OPS) with 107 runs scored, 25 homers, 113 RBIs and 29 stolen bases. Joel Hanrahan started the season as the Nationals’ closer before losing his job to poor performance. Hanrahan pitched in 34 games (0 starts) for the Nationals this season and he was 0-3 with 5 saves, a 7.71 ERA and a 1.96 WHIP. He finished his career in Washington pitching in 115 games (11 starts) in which he was 11-9 with 14 saves, a 5.30 ERA and a 1.64 WHIP. But, he did whiff 171 batters in 168 innings for the Nationals which shows that he has talent it’s just up to the Pirates to tap it.

Nyjer Morgan was having a solid season for the Pirates as their starting LF. Morgan played in 71 games for the Pirates this season and he was 77 for 278 (.277 avg, .707 OPS) with 39 runs scored, 2 homers, 27 RBIs and 18 stolen bases. Morgan finishes his career with the Pirates having played in 157 games in which he was 156 for 545 (.286 avg, .727 OPS) with 80 runs scored, 3 homers, 41 RBIs and 34 stolen bases. Sean Burnett pitched in 38 games (0 starts) for the Pirates this season and he was 1-2 with 1 save, a 3.06 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP. Burnett finished up his career with the Pirates having pitched in 109 games (13 starts) in which he was 7-8 with 1 save, a 4.54 ERA and a 1.51 WHIP. Down the road this trade will look like a good one for the Pirates as long as Milledge acts his age and not his shoe size.

The Pirates have traded 31-year old lefty swinging 1B/3B/OF Eric Hinske to the Yankees in return for 23-year old righty swinging C/OF Eric Fryer and 23-year old righty pitcher Casey Erickson. Hinske played in 54 games for the Pirates this season and he was 27 for 106 (.255 avg, .741 OPS) with 18 runs scored, 1 homer and 11 RBIs. He did a decent job for the Pirates who could have a hard time replacing him because of his versatility off the bench.

Eric Fryer played in 59 games in A-ball this season for the Yankees and he was 56 for 224 (.250 avg, .677 OPS) with 34 runs scored, 2 homers, 24 RBIs and 11 stolen bases. Casey Erickson pitched in 21 games (3 starts) in A-ball this season and he was 3-3 with a 2.25 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP. Erickson allowed 51 hits in 44 innings this season while whiffing 37 batters. Neither Erickson or Fryer were considered one of the top 30 prospects in the Yankees’ system coming into the 2009 season according to Baseball America. Still, not a bad haul for a bench player.

The Pirates grew tired of Snell’s poor performances so they sent him to the minors. Snell started 15 games for the Pirates this season and he was 2-8 with a 5.36 ERA and a 1.62 WHIP. He has now pitched in 128 games (116 starts) in his career with the Pirates and he is 33-46 with a 4.75 ERA and a 1.53 WHIP. The Pirates would love to trade Snell but that might be hard now with him in the minors. 27-year old righty Virgil Vasquez was called up to replace Snell in the rotation and he won his Pirates’ debut by pitching 6 innings and allowing only 4 hits and 2 earned runs while whiffing 7.

The Pirates have designated outfielder Craig Monroe for assignment. Monroe played in 34 games for the Pirates this season and he was 17 for 79 (.215 avg, .641 OPS) with 8 runs scored, 3 homers and 16 RBIs. The Pirates should have kept Monroe who gave them some pop off the bench. In fact, his numbers are better than Brandon Moss who starts for the Pirates.

The Pirates have acquired 27-year old lefty swinging outfielder Chris Snelling from the Padres for future considerations. Snelling was playing in the Mexican League (AAA-ball) this season. He has played in 49 games in Mexico and he was 58 for 179 (.324 avg, .955 OPS) with 34 runs scored, 5 homers and 29 RBIs. Snelling also has shown a good eye at the plate walking 33 times while whiffing 27. Snelling has now played in 93 games in his major league career to date and he is 55 for 225 (.244 avg, .760 OPS) with 31 runs scored, 7 homers, 20 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Snelling’s biggest problem during his career has been just staying healthy as he has a couple of bad knees. But, if he can stay healthy he could help the Pirates this season.