The Pirates have acquired 30-year old lefty swinging outfielder Jonathan Van Every from the Red Sox for 22-year old righty swinging catcher Josue Peley. Van Every played in 21 games for the Red Sox this year and he was 4 of 19 (.211 avg, .707 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 1 homer and 1 RBI. He has now played in 39 games in his three years in the majors and he is 12 of 47 (.255 avg, .774 OPS) with 7 runs scored, 2 homers and 9 RBIs. Peley is not much of a prospect. He has played in 19 games in A-ball this year and he is 12 of 67 (.179 avg, .461 OPS) with 5 runs scored and 6 RBIs. Peley has now played in 150 games in his four years in the minors and he is 105 of 521 (.202 avg, .509 OPS) with 44 runs scored, 1 homers, 56 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. This trade certainly favors the Pirates as Van Every could help them out at some point off the bench this season.

The Pirates have placed 26-year old righty starting pitcher Charlie Morton on the 15-day disabled list with shoulder fatigue. Morton has pitched in 10 games (all starts) for the Pirates this year and he is 1-9 with a 9.35 ERA and a 1.89 WHIP. He has given up a amazing 66 hits in only 43 1/3 innings this season including 12 homers. It’s a wonder the reason he’s on the D.L. isn’t whiplash based on how horrible he is pitching this year. The Pirates have recalled 28-year old righty reliever Steven Jackson. Jackson has pitched in 17 games (0 starts) in AAA-ball this year and he is 1-0 with a 3.42 ERA and a 1.56 WHIP. He pitched pretty well for the Pirates last year working in 40 games (0 starts) in which he was 2-3 with a 3.14 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP. This is good news for Pirates’ fans as they won’t have to suffer watching a Charlie Morton start for a while and at least Jackson has had some success so he could help out the bullpen.

I know this is starting to sound like a broken record for Pirates fans but the current roster isn’t going to win anything. With that in mind I think the Pirates should start making moves to get the team going in the right direction. The first move I would make is to offer the Twins Akinori Iwamura, D.J. Carrasco and Brendan Donnelly for starting pitcher Jeff Manship, 2B Alexi Casilla and infielder Matt Tolbert. This would give the Twins a starting 3B and the bullpen help they need while giving the Pirates infield help and a starting pitcher. Then I would trade Ryan Church to the Angels for catcher Bobby Wilson. This would allow Ryan Doumit to play some more at 1B the rest of the year freeing Garrett Jones up for RF duty. I would then move Javier Lopez to the Rays for outfielder Justin Ruggiano who would replace Church as the Pirates’ #4 outfielder. Finally I would trade Octavio Dotel and Bobby Crosby to the Phillies for Ben Francisco, Scott Mathieson and Antonio Bastardo. The Pirates need to start getting more prospects with high upsides like Bastardo, Manship, Wilson and Mathieson instead of just taking what other teams are giving which has been their problem for almost 20 years now.

The Pirates have placed 27-year old righty swinging 1B Steven Pearce on the 15-day disabled list with a sprained left ankle. Pearce has played in 15 games for the Pirates this season and he is 8 of 29 (.276 avg, .809 OPS) with 4 runs scored and 5 RBIs. The Pirates have recalled 26-year old switch hitting 3B Neil Walker from AAA to replace Pearce on the active roster. Walker was the Pirates’ #26 prospect heading into this season according to Baseball America. He has played in 43 games in AAA-ball this season and he is 54 of 168 (.321 avg, .951 OPS) with 25 runs scored, 6 homers, 26 RBIs and 10 stolen bases. Walker played in his first 17 games of his major league career for the Pirates last year in which he was 7 of 36 (.194 avg, .497 OPS) with 5 runs scored and 1 stolen base. Walker will likely get some P.T. right away for the Pirates with starting 3B Andy LaRoche’s back barking right now.

The Pirates have placed 32-year old lefty reliever Jack Taschner on the 15-day disabled list with left hamstring tightness. Taschner has pitched in 16 games (0 starts) for the Pirates and he is 1-0 with a 6.23 ERA and a 1.56 WHIP. The Pirates have activated 38-year old righty reliever Brendan Donnelly from the D.L. to replace Taschner on the roster and in the pen. Donnelly has pitched in 11 games (0 starts) for the Pirates this season and he is 2-0 with a 7.00 ERA and a 2.00 WHIP.