The Pittsburgh Pirates Might Actually Know What They're Doing

You know Manny Ramirez has gone to Los Angeles. That's the big news. The national news that everyone will be talking about all night and into tomorrow. But the trade was three-team trade, and a pretty layered one at that. Most people's reaction to the Pittsburgh Pirates' trading Jason Bay is going to be, "Well, I guess the Pirates are rebuilding again. Snicker." The question is, is that really what happened?

In return for their best player the Pirates received Andy LaRoche, Bryan Morris, Brandon Moss, and Craig Hansen. LaRoche is one of the Dodgers' best prospects with a great minor league track record and the potential to be an All-Star at second or third base. Morris is coming off of Tommy John surgery, but seems to have bounced back nicely this year and projects as a high end starter for the Pirates in a couple of years. Moss and Hansen are nice players that the Pirates can use to fill holes on the team that they have right now. Not one of these guys was filer or a throw-in. The Pirates got two really good prospects and two useful players in return for Bay.

The problem the Pirates have had is that previous front offices have had no idea how to rebuild. They continually tried to improve the major league team while ignoring the minors, creating a painful void of talent that kept the team perptually stuck in the mud. Today, they hit the jackpot for Bay and combined with a good draft and the trade they made last week, it looks like the Pirates might be headed in the right direction for the first time in years.