The Pirates traded infielder Jim Negrych to the Marlins for catcher Carlos Paulino, tweets MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch.
Negrych, 26, hit .283/.369/.384 in 457 plate appearances at Double and Triple-A last year, playing second base, third base, and left field. He last appeared in a Baseball America Handbook two years ago, ranking 24th among Pirates prospects after being named the team's minor league player of the year. His main ability is to hit for average, and he profiles as a utilityman if he reaches the Majors.
Paulino, 21, hit .184/.214/.234 in 216 plate appearances in Low-A last year. He's never appeared on a BA Marlins top 30 prospects list.
Pirates are getting heart-attack serious about making that run for 5th place in the NL Central.
Paulino is a very young but also very small, having seen him play several times last year. He is a light hitting catcher but does have good speed especially for his position. I don’t see him as anything more than organizational.
The Pirates traded an older minor leaguer who can’t field for a younger one that can’t hit… meh.
I liked Negrych as a future bat off the bench one day. Not a fan of this trade.
Negrych is Daniel Nava… he’s a good story, will get a shot if there’s any meritocracy in baseball, but probably never collects 500 career big league plate appearances.
Why? I can never make sense of these moves no matter how hard I try? Orgazational filler traded for worse filler, and why pick up another catcher named Paulino?
I think they have enough infield depth and other infielders in the minors and was being kind to let him catch on somewhere else. Why Carlos Paulino? Who knows.
Glad to see the pirates are looking to acquire a big time star this season… Hello NL Central title
It would be fun if the Pirates would actually make a run at a division title soon. The Tampa Bay Rays have shown that a legitimate small market team can do it, even when matched against the two biggest spenders in all of baseball.
Even being a fan of the #1 spender as I am, it’s something to watch when a small market bunch starts kicking your butt.
Pirates never gave Negrych a chance. Play him at one position for a whole season at one position and see what he can do. Left side to right side to outfield and back. Check the numbers all you stat geeks…. he had similar stats with the glove as Iwamura who the Buccos had in the major leagues and paying millions, And, Negrych swung the bat better. Not saying Negrych is a major league regular but certainly serviceable as a utility guy and a good clutch left handed bat off the bench. Oh, I forgot the Pirates are full of .300 hitters..not. I hope he gets a legit chance with the Marlins, Only time will tell
Wow do posters here overreact! The guy wanted a spot in AAA and the Pirates had better middle infielder options so they did Negrych a favor and cut ties rather than see him fester in AA all year as a 26 year old. I like the gesture … it’s what a rebuilding club ought to do.
This move in no way impacts the Pirates run at the root cellar (5th in NLC) this year or any year. Negrych has no future in the bigs … at least not a meaningful one. He’s proved that … Buc’s GM would rather give AAA roster spots to players that have at least NOT proven to NOT be major league regulars.
As a Pirates fan, I’m completely ok with getting anything for Jim and I’m not at all hung up on his former number 24 BA org ranking because I know all too well that that number was more a statement of Dave Littlefield’s incompetence than Negyrch’s value to the club.
What you wrote does not in any way refute my post. In fact, all you did was throw out your opinion. At least I supported my opinion with some facts.
And just how has Negrych proven he has no future in the bigs given what I said previously? Check Walker’s AAA stats especially BA and OPS until his last year in Indy. Now Walker’s considered a solid big leaguer. For a couple of years, I guess you would have said the same about Walker.
Did you ever think they have been in the cellar forever because they suck as an organization? What did they have to lose by giving him a chance? I too am a Pirates fan but it seems there are certainly some perrenial issues in the areas of ownership, and management/player personnel. To imply that these folks are helping rebuild a club is laughable. Even if they hit the lottery and actually build a decent team ownership will never pay successful players (say goodbye to Alvarez in a couple years).
You and I agree on one thing (albeit for different reasons)..they did Negrych a favor by cutting ties.
No…I included the context of the situation that you conveniently omitted… those are qualitative facts. The guy had made it clear that he would throw a fit if he wasn’t either released or in AAA. With that knowledge in your back pocket and knowing that the FO believes they have better, higher upside options than Jim, why throw a fit about getting anything at all for a 26 year old utility player who’s barely seen AAA? The Walker comp is a joke … Neil had some supbar seasons at AAA for sure but we’re talking first rounder to sixth rounder here. Walker is still far from a “solid big leaguer” in my eyes but he’s at least shown the tools that scouts see as projectable. Negrych has ZERO power so his hit tool gets you a poor man’s Freddy Sanchez profile with worse defense. Unless you’re Jim’s dad or Bob Smizik, I’m not sure the org loss is worth the venom.
I’m not implying “these folks” are helping to rebuild the club. I’m flatly stating that that’s exactly what they’re doing while dealing with an extremely short-sighted, misguided fanbase that knows very little about the game of baseball. On top of that, they’re facing an uphill battle within a financially disparate system. I hear the Tampa Rays are accepting new fan applications and hey…they just flushed $25 million down the crapper to make it seem like they were trying to win now… maybe they’d be a better fit for you?
Wrong on many accounts here my arrogant friend. I am not his dad, Smizik or anything close. I am not going to give you my resume but I’ll address your backhanded dig by saying I am confident that I am at least as knowledgeable as you about the game of baseball. Unless, of course, you are with the Pirates organization, in which case I would consider myself more knowledgeable than you.
If you actually read what I am posting, I already stated his defense his subpar, why that might be and how his defense could possibly improve (through consistency in positioning) and defined what his role as a .305 hitter might be in the bigs if given an opportunity. What do they have to lose by paying a guy the minimum to see if he can be a serviceable .300 hitter at the highest level.
Speaking of crappers… Where exactly do you think the Pirates have been, the penthouse? If I’m not mistaken the Rays have been a wee bit more competetive than the Pirates.
Are you seriously defending Pirates ownership and management and blaming “the system” for the Pirates’ consistent cellar dwellar status? You must be blinded by your fan loyalty. Admittedly they are at an economic disadvantage but when you have an owner that takes money he is handed and pockets it instead of using it to get better it says something about the organization. I know, I know, that is going to change. Yeah, right. In addition, they have made more than their fair share of poor personnel decisions that cost them financially. If you are limited financially, you need to make better decisions and have great people on the management side. The Pirates have proven they do not have that. So when you talk about scouts projecting out and what round the they drafted a player in, especially coming from the Pirates,it doesn’t carry too much weight as far as I’m concerned.
Overreact…venom…not really. Just like the Pirates and adding my opinion about this move and the organization in general simply becasue I like talking baseball…. just like you.
You keep asking why they didn’t take a shot on Negyrch … I keep telling you because they think they have better talent and that he’s already made it clear he’ll throw a fit if he’s not in AAA.
Oh…here’s Negyrch’s MLE for 2010 – 246/319/332 … that’s pretty close to what Walker produced last year, right?