Many Pirates fans remember the June 3, 2009 trade that sent All-Star outfielder Nate McLouth from Pittsburgh to the Atlanta Braves. The outrage from fans that followed was significant and the Pirates remained the cellar dwellers in the National League Central. But do Pirates fans remember what that trade brought them in return for McLouth? Hint: One of the players is an All-Star this year.
Jeff Locke wasn’t even the main piece in return for the Pirates. Outfield prospect Gorkys Hernandez was. Jeff Locke wasn’t even the second piece of the trade, as that honor belonged to Charlie Morton. But in 2013, Locke has taken the major leagues by storm and was named to the All-Star Game, which will be played July 16. (Note: Back issues have caused Locke to miss the All-Star Game, but he is scheduled to make his next start Sunday, July 21 as the injury is not considered serious.)
For those wondering, Hernandez’s only time in with a major league club came in 2012 with both the Pirates and the Miami Marlins. Pittsburgh traded Hernandez to the Marlins at the trade deadline last season after just 25 games with the team. He hit for an average of .083 during the handful of games.
Morton’s best season thus far came in 2011 when he went 10-10. He underwent Tommy John surgery early in the 2012 season but has returned to the Pirates’ starting rotation in 2013 and has looked good in the early going. It might not matter, though, with the Pirates' plethora of starting pitching.
Locke is 8-2 with a stellar 2.15 ERA that is only topped among qualifiers by the Los Angeles Dodgers’ ace Clayton Kershaw, and is an All-Star. Enough said. Francisco Liriano is a Comeback Player of the Year candidate with a 9-3 record and 2.00 ERA at the All-Star break while veteran A.J. Burnett has returned from a calf injury that kept him out a month and sports a solid 3.06 ERA with 110 strikeouts in 100 innings. Rookie Gerrit Cole made his major league debut last month and has been impressive in each of his seven starts with the team. Cole has yet to allow more than three runs in any of his seven starts.
Then there’s Wandy Rodriguez, who is currently on the disabled list with left forearm tightness. When Rodriguez comes back, regardless of when that is, he and Morton will have to fight it out for the fifth rotation spot unless the Pirates elect to send Cole back to the minors. That is an option according to the team’s general manager Neal Huntington, as it would be a business move given Cole has options remaining. It’s hard to envision him being demoted, though, from a baseball standpoint given his success through the last month.
On the other side, remember when Pittsburgh had a struggling Pedro Alvarez and wasn’t sure he would work out like they planned? The days of Andrew McCutchen being the lone consistent factor in the Pirates lineup are long over, as Alvarez has come alive along with Starling Marte.
McCutchen, a NL MVP candidate last season, is hitting a team-best .302 at the All-Star break. Marte is not far behind with a .291 mark. Alvarez is only hitting .250, but he has 24 home runs and took part in the Home Run Derby July 15 for the National League squad.
Until July 13, no other Pirate had double-digit home run totals, but McCutchen changed that when he launched his 10th of the season at home against New York Mets’ reliever David Aardsma. Regardless, the lack of power has not hurt the Buccos, as the Pirates sit with a 56-37 record, good for second in the National League only behind division-rival St. Louis, who sits one game ahead at 57-36.
For the record, Pittsburgh has five All-Stars this season — Locke, McCutchen, Alvarez, closer Jason Grilli and setup man Mark Melancon. Only one of those players was with the Pirates in 2009 — McCutchen. What we don’t remember is that trade that sent McLouth to the Braves was the move that cleared the way for McCutchen to make his MLB debut a day later on June 4, 2009.
So maybe the McLouth trade wasn’t such a bad idea after all. He struggled mightily with the Braves and never could get through a full season in his two-and-a-half years with the team. He re-signed with Pittsburgh before the 2012 season, but was designated for assignment early in the year after struggling again.
Now, he’s with the Baltimore Orioles and performing adamantly. He’s nothing special, but he’s no schmuck. Still, Jeff Locke, Andrew McCutchen and company have made Pirates fans forget the trade that sent the Pirates’ lone All-Star in 2008 packing.