The Pirates have traded 36-year old closer Octavio Dotel to the Dodgers for 25-year old reliever/starter James McDonald and 21-year old lefty swinging outfielder Andrew Lambo. Dotel pitched in 41 games (0 starts) for the Pirates this season and he was 2-2 with 21 saves, a 4.28 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP. James McDonald has a good arm and the Pirates could use him in either the rotation or the pen. He has pitched in 4 games (1 start) for the Dodgers this season and he is 0-1 with a 8.22 ERA and a 2.09 WHIP. McDonald has now pitched in 53 games (5 starts) in his three years in the majors and he is 5-6 with a 4.11 ERA and a 1.51 WHIP. Lambo came into this season as the Dodgers’ #7 prospect according to Baseball America. He has only played in 47 games in AA-ball this season and he is 49 of 181 (.271 avg, .745 OPS) with 26 runs scored, 4 homers and 25 RBIs. His season started late because he was suspended for using PEDs. Lambo has now played in 362 games in his four years in the minors and he is 387 of 1,362 (.284 avg, .797 OPS) with 199 runs scored, 38 homers, 209 RBIs and 11 stolen bases. The Pirates got two quality young players for Octavio Dotel so I will have to give them a thumbs up for this deal.

The Pirates have traded 32-year old lefty reliever Javier Lopez to the Giants for 27-year old righty starter/reliever Joe Martinez and 26-year old lefty swinging OF/1B John Bowker. Lopez pitched in 50 games (0 starts) for the Pirates this year and he was 2-2 with a 2.79 ERA and a 1.47 WHIP. Joe Martinez pitched in 4 games (1 start) for the Giants this year and he was 0-1 with a 4.91 ERA and a 1.91 WHIP. He has now pitched in 13 games (6 starts) in his two years with the Giants and he is 3-3 with a 6.80 ERA and a 1.93 WHIP. Martinez has not miss many bats in the majors as he has allowed 61 hits and walked 18 batters in only 41 innings in his career to date. John Bowker has played in 41 games for the Giants this year and he was 17 of 82 (.207 avg, .609 OPS) with 9 runs scored, 3 homers and 8 RBIs. He has now played in 183 games in his three years in the majors and he is 113 of 475 (.238 avg, .678 OPS) with 47 runs scored, 15 homers and 58 RBIs. This was not a bad return for a lefty specialist out of the pen. Bowker could provide the Pirates with some power from 1B or a corner outfield slot and Martinez can help out maybe as a long reliever.

The Pirates have recalled 23-year old righty swinging shortstop Argenis Diaz and 26-year old lefty swinging 1B/C Jeff Clement. Diaz played in 2 games earlier this season for the Pirates and he was 0 for 2 (.000 avg). He also has played in 80 games in AAA-ball this year and he is 68 of 274 (.248 avg, .586 OPS) with 28 runs scored, 0 homers, 22 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. He will likely get more P.T. this time around. Jeff Clement played in 45 games earlier this season for the Pirates and he was 24 of 127 (.189 avg, .560 OPS) with 9 runs scored, 5 homers and 9 RBIs. He played in 40 games in AAA-ball after his demotion and he was 50 of 164 (.305 avg, .890 OPS) with 23 runs scored, 8 homers and 33 RBIs. The Pirates hope that Clement will be better this time around.

The Pirates have acquired 29-year old righty swinging catcher Chris Snyder, 25-year old righty swinging shortstop Pedro Ciriaco and $3 million bucks from the D-Backs for 33-year old reliever D.J. Carrasco, 30-year old infielder Bobby Crosby and 31-year old outfielder Ryan Church. Snyder will immediately take over as the Pirates new starting catcher. Snyder played in 65 games for the D-Backs this season and he is 45 of 195 (.231 avg, .778 OPS) with 22 runs scored, 10 homers and 32 RBIs. He has now played in 556 games in his 7 years in the majors and he is 379 of 1,626 (.233 avg, .737 OPS) with 179 runs scored, 62 homers and 240 RBIs. Pedro Ciriaco was the D-Backs #27 rated prospect heading into this season according to Baseball America. He will start his career with the Pirates in AAA-ball but he will likely be the starting SS at some point this season for the Pirates. Ciriaco has played in 87 games in AAA-ball this year and he is 92 of 355 (.259 avg, .670 OPS) with 44 runs scored, 6 homers, 51 RBIs and 14 stolen bases. He has now played in 648 games in his minor league career (6 years) and he is 714 of 2,611 (.273 avg, .660 OPS) with 351 runs scored, 22 homers, 268 RBIs and 138 stolen bases.

The only played the Pirates will miss that they traded to the D-Backs is D.J. Carrasco. Carrasco pitched in 45 games (0 starts) for the Pirates this season and he was 2-2 with a 3.88 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP. The Pirates will miss the innings that Carrasco worked as he literally would take the ball everyday if they asked him to. Bobby Crosby hasn’t done much for the Pirates this season so he won’t be missed. He played in 61 games for the Pirates this season and he was 35 of 156 (.224 avg, .595 OPS) with 9 runs scored, 1 homer and 11 RBIs. Ryan Church was a huge bust for the Pirates. Church played in 69 games for the Pirates this year and he was 31 of 170 (.182 avg, .552 OPS) with 16 runs scored, 3 homers and 18 RBIs.

For once I like a trade that the Pirates made on July 31st. Snyder will help the pitching staff and Ciriaco could be the starting shortstop sooner rather than later for the Pirates.

The Pirates have acquired 32-year old righty swinging outfielder Mitch Jones from the Braves for cash considerations. Jones played in 89 games in AAA-ball for the Braves this year and he was 81 of 324 (.250 avg, .786 OPS) with 42 runs scored, 18 homers and 45 RBIs. He has now played in 1,196 games in his 11 years in the minors and he is 1,086 of 4,322 (.251 avg, .836 OPS) with 703 runs scored, 254 homers, 806 RBIs and 55 stolen bases. Jones has played in 8 games in his major league career and he is 4 of 13 (.308 avg, .785 OPS) with 1 run scored.