The Pirates Finally Made the Right Moves

Look, I'm a Pittsburgh Pirates fan...probably the biggest one you'll find these days. I'll be the first to point out the horrendous signings, drafting and trades they've made in the past 15 years. But the two trades made in the past week at the trade deadline were the right moves. Most of the fans and people around baseball are saying "here we go again" with the Pirates. I understand that fans are fired up once again (trust me, I've been there), but this time it is different. Really.

Some are comparing the Jason Bay trade to the Aramis Ramirez deal in 2003 when the Pirates handed the Cubs an All-Star third baseman for pretty much nobody (Bobby Hill, Jose Hernandez and Matt Bruback). They went ahead with that trade because they could not pay Ramirez what he wanted, and the front office at the time had no idea how to value its stars for sterling prospects. This is not the case this time around.

The Pirates can afford Jason Bay. They can afford Xavier Nady. The problem is prior management (Cam Bonifay, Dave Littlefield) left this organization in shambles with the Major League roster and minor league system depleted of stars and talent. The Pirates weren't going to finish over .500 with Bay and Nady...they simply need a lot more. Forget about the history and press that will come with the 16th consecutive losing season because it's already over. It's going to happen and there's nothing to do about it in the final two months, but they can start to finally rebuild in the right direction.

Neal Huntington took probably the worst job in baseball last winter with the task of piecing together a winning team with absolutely nothing in the cupboard. The former GMs left him with prize pieces such as John Van Benschoten, Sean Burnett, Bryan Bullington, Matt Morris and so on. In short, it's a mess. That's why Huntington went out and traded his best two bargaining chips for prospects that are Major League ready in an attempt to flood this system with quality prospects and add depth to it. He was able to acquire two top prospects in the Red Sox organization (Moss and Hansen), along with the number two prospect in the Dodgers organization (Andy LaRoche) and the third in the Yankees organization (Jose Tabata).

Huntington and the Pirates still have a long way to go. These trades are not going to make them contenders tomorrow, but it's a start. They need to continue building with solid draft picks and smart free-agent signings in the offseason. For the first time in the past 15 years, I can confidently say that the Pirates are finally moving in the right direction.