The Yankees acquired corner infielder Casey McGehee and $250K from the Pirates for reliever Chad Qualls, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post.
For all the talk of the Yankees seeking a defense-first third baseman to fill in for Alex Rodriguez, they went with right-handed power in McGehee. Perhaps the Yanks liked McGehee's versatility, with Mark Teixeira ailing as well. McGehee, 29, is hitting .230/.297/.377 in 293 plate appearances for the Pirates. They acquired him from the Brewers for Jose Veras in December; McGehee has about $890K remaining on his contract. He's arbitration eligible for 2013, but may be non-tendered. He was made more expendable by the Pirates' acquisition of first baseman Gaby Sanchez from the Marlins earlier today.
Qualls, 33, has a 4.89 ERA, 4.9 K/9, 2.8 BB/9, 1.63 HR/9, and 54% groundball rate for the Phillies and Yankees this year. The Yankees acquired Qualls from the Phils on July 1st after he'd been designated for assignment, and Qualls was a likely roster casualty had he remained with the Yanks.
I think the pirates would have been better served trading for a pitching machine with a yankee logo on it….
Can they still get one?
A bag of M&Ms would have been robbery by the Yankees. Qualls sucks.
There was no room for McGehee, so I’m glad we got something for him
Again, a bag of M&M’s would have been plenty.
As a Pirates fan, I am so amazingly underwhelmed about either of these guys. Hard to love it or hate it, but can’t say I’m loving Chad Qualls.
Even if we didn’t get McGehee in return, this would be a win for the Yanks.
Qualls is awfull.
Yankees fans were saying Burnett was horrible, and he became the Pirates’ best starter this year. i don’t have the same confidence in Qualls, but i don’t think he’ll be as bad as Yankees fans let on. they already have sky-high expectations for all of their players as it is.
Burnett IS horrible. Qualls is worse. The Bucs would have been better off selling McGehee to Japan for $50.
Yes, 12-3 is horrible…
Yes, wins are awesome and trumps all stats. #sarcasm
Anytime you need to use “#sarcasm” to explain that you’re being sarcastic, it’s just not funny. Wins do trump all stats when you pitch for a franchise that hasn’t finished over .500 in 20 years. You try winning 12 games behind an offense that is statistically one of the worse in baseball.
I still see people keep using pitcher wins as a relevant stat……..
He has been pitching some very good games too, his ERA is a little bit inaccurate because of a few bad games, like his first Buccos start.
Yankee fans that understand baseball knew AJ would get a boost by returning to the NL. Qualls….could be useful if used in the right spot.
Here’s the thing: Qualls has put up terrible numbers everywhere he’s pitched–the D’Backs, the Rays, the Yankees. Scouts keeps saying they “love his stuff”–well, if his stuff is so good, how come he can’t seem to get anybody out, anywhere he goes?
Check out Burnetts home and road splits and that should tell you the whole story. Plus he’s pitching in the NL the same place where Ryan freaking Dempster averaged 3 WAR.
#AngryYankeeFanWhoProbablyLivesInIdaho. And Dempster is nice, mad Rangers got em?
Im not mad at all, Ryan Dempster is not a 3 WAR pitcher in the AL. Im using common sense…
Burnett was horrible–in New York. He didn’t have the mental make-up to make it in the big city. Put him in Toronto or Pittsburgh, where there are probably only a handful of beat writers following the team and he flourishes.
Thanks God ‘Heart Attack’ Qualls is out of NY. I like Casey.
Looks like the Buccos are quickly going back to being the Chuckos. What a terrible move for the Pirates.
There was no room for mcgehee after the sanchez trade, so im glad something for him.
Wrong! Normally you’d be correct, but you just obtained the exception. Chad Qualls will lose you a couple games from here on until you release him and those couple games may be the difference between making the playoffs and sitting home again.
Heard the same thing about Jason Grilli when we got him last year.
And they didn’t make the playoffs last year
You’d be better with nothing than the “something” you got for him!
That makes no sense. If you can get an extra player in a trade you should do it.
I think they should have gone after Headley instead. I don’t think McGehee will get it done.
and i bet you wanted the yankees to give up a 32 year old triple a player.
Yanks have the prospects to trade for Headley but I think the cost was way more than they wanted to part with.
Arod will be back in september. Headley is better than McGehee, but he also costs way more. The padres asking price is way too high, and thus they never traded Headley.
Thank goodness! Chad Qualls is terrible. I would have shipped him over to the Pirates for a bagel and cream cheese. Fair deal.
Like it. McGehee became expendable with the addition on Sanchez. We still platoon Jones/Sanchez plus we add a veteran to the bullpen to replace Lincoln. All the trades together seem to gel well for Pittsburgh.
Lincoln > Qualls
Presley= Snider
McGahee= Sanchez
what exactly did we accomplish today???
Gaby Sanchez has the BEST clothesline in MLB … he’s there to protect AJ Burnett from the rest of the team when he reverts to form when it counts most
Lincoln >> Qualls
Presley < Snider
McGehee < Sanchez
Not if you look at this year’s numbers. I agree these guys will be upgrades in the future but the plan should be to win this season. Presley and Snider are each hackers who’ve shown flashes here and there, it’s essentially like they just shifted around some dusty spare parts for slightly shinier spare parts.
Qualls has been awful this year, true. Lincoln has been untouchable out of the pen, but he was a busted SP prospect who became expendable. Qualls has a career ERA of 3.85 which isn’t terrible.
Presley hasn’t been good at all. He has flashes, but he was never more than a marginal prospect. Snider has been a top prospect, he just didn’t get any chances. He has 3 HRs in his last 10 games, and he has only had 36 ABs this season so its hard to compare. His upside is much higher than Presley.
Sanchez and McGehee are about average, but Sanchez is a better fielder. McGehee had a decent rookie year and a good 2nd year. Since then though he can’t hit anything. Sanchez was an all-star 2 years ago and has been hitting well in AAA lately with his average above .300.
Apparently, We showed that some Pirates fans really don’t understand statistics.
I like this. He can play first until Tex comes back, slide over to third to fill in for A-rod, then gives the Yankees a good bench bat, something they haven’t had in some time.
Good isn’t the word I would use for McGehee’s bat, bench or otherwise.
Well his glove has been very good the last 2 years at about a +6 UZR. This is such a minor pickup considering what we gave up. Would be hard for it NO to be a
good move for us. He can run into a couple of HRS and not embarrass himself at 1b/3b. Good enough for me.
Chavez? Jones? The Yankees have one of the more experienced and better bench bats in the game when they’re at full strength, but currently the Nix’s, Jones, Ibanez’s and Chavez’s of the world are filling in for injuries.
enjoy McGehee. he wasn’t a great hitter, or even a very good one. he became expendable when the Pirates picked up Sanchez.
.250/.344/.463 vs LHP is exactly what we need, it’s a good move for someone who will be a part time player platooning with Chavez who’s hitting .283/.353/.513 against RHP. Together they make a good 3B option until Alex comes back.
What’s the big deal? PIrate fans get way too attached to our players. It’s one crappy player for another. McGehee is in his second straight year of winding up hitting around .225, and Qualls hasn’t gotten anyone out since 2009. So what? It’s not going to impact the W/L record at the end of the season either way.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR TAKING QUALLS!
Mcghee can play first and third. Nice low risk move.
He will help while Arod is down. The Pirates now have Sanchez.
Qualls was going to be cut anyways, good move.
Qualls was going to be the odd man out in the bullpen anyway once Joba is ready…I’ve always liked McGehee ever since he had that huge year with the Brewers and hopefully he can get some of that power back hitting in this lineup
Biggest loser in this deal? The Phillies…….
Unfortunately, Casey just couldn’t figure it out. Seemed like a great clubhouse guy, but he has just been terrible with RISP and has just regressed all season. Hope he does well in NY. Basically, the Pirates traded Jose Veras for Chad Qualls once it was said and done.
Good small move for the Yankees. McGehee is hitting .250/.344/.463 vs LHP so he’s a good platoon with Chavez to keep Eric healthy until Alex gets back.
I heard domonic browns flight was delayed because some of the HRs that qualls let up are still flying through the skies.
Brandon Laird could do the job I would expect McGhee to do. No harm no foul.
I would’ve like to have seen Laird given a chance, but I guess that’s what September is for.
Laird’s OBP is under.300 in AAA over 3 years. He cannot hit AAA pitching, what makes you think he can do anything in the majors.
This year he seems to have turned a corner. He stalled in AAA, which is why he went from prospect to forgotten, but I still think he can contribute to a ML team.
It’s funny watching Pirates and Yankees fans debate the worth of these two guys, and essentially who “won” this trade… there doesn’t always have to be a winner. Both teams received something they can use, that the other had no use for.
did both teams have injuries to their grounds keeeping team ?
Each team traded each other their garbage cans. The Pirates needed a garbage can that could throw, the Yankees needed a garbage can that could hit.
Unfortunately, neither one is good at those jobs.
Power? You call 8 homeruns power???
No. He can do a mad karaoke version of Power of Love by Huey Lewis….and the News. Don’t forget the News.
The Yankees fans saying AJ Burnett was/is no good are delusional and not paying attention. He’s been excellent this year. Thank you for paying his salary this year and next.
Uhh, delusional? The man had a 5.26 ERA and went 10-15 in 2010 and had a 5.16 ERA in 2011 and went 11-11.
That’s terrible, man. What planet are you from?
The one where calling a guy with a 12-3 record and with a 3.52 ERA terrible is silly. No doubt he needed a change of scenery. But if he was washed up and terrible, how do you explain him winning 12 games and being the Ace on a team that is in the playoffs as of today?
You really expect those same numbers if he was pitching on the Yankees?
Right. And hes 12-3 with a 3.52ERA with the Pirates. He’s good. What planet are YOU from?
Listen, he was terrible for a solid 2 and a half years. That’s pretty bad.
And he was pitching in the AL East, which is much harder. The division the Pirates play in is much easier. That’s probably why he turned it around suddenly.
I wonder if AJ is reading this forum considering his performance last night! His curveball was amazing.
All Pirates fans wish Casey McGehee could have worked out here. The Bucs traded an expendable bullpen piece (Jose Veras) for McGehee in hopes he would figure out how to hit again. He’s a great clubhouse guy, a fun player. Unfortunately, he is just terrible in clutch situations and continuously popped out or struck out with RISP. It’s hard to root against Casey, I hope he figures it out and rips it up for the Yankees. He simply lost his job today. Qualls will be DFA’ed within a few weeks. This was just a case of the Yankees needing to clear a roster spot for McGehee.
The Pirates seem content on bringing in guys who need a change of scenery and Qualls is no different. The NL might be exactly what he needs to be at least average and make this trade a win for the Pirates. Otherwise it’s just a nothing lost by either team trade.
THE NL ???????? he was a phillie, and was terrible… they have a terrible bullpen and just gave him away !
He was just in the NL, and had an era of 4.60.
This is a terrible trade for the Pirates. The guy doesn’t need a change of scenery, he needs a new career. He was shipped off to the Yankees because he sucked in Philadelphia and blew countless games earlier this season.
AND Joba is back tonight. <3
Yankees could have gave Qualls away for free… the fact they gave McGehee up for Qualls is a absolute steal because you cant do any worse than Qualls did.
Wow, plus $250K… for Qualls? Balls like a brownstone Mr. Cashman.
So I take it from the trades that the Pirates made the past 24 hours, they are in sell mode?
How do you figure that? They traded 3 prospects for Wandy Rodriguez this week, traded a failed starter-turned middle reliever for an outfielder who is basically the same type of guy only a position player, traded a young OF and a comp. pick for Gaby Sanchez, then moved McGehee to clear room for Sanchez. Where do you get sellers out of that? Did you expect them to trade for Greinke?
No, they are in “this is the first time we’ve been contenders and have no clue what to do” mode.
@mlbscout6:disqus TruDat
I’m not too thrilled with the Pirates deadline moves. other than maybe Wandy, not one seems to be much of an upgrade. Snider OR Sanchez has to pull it together and Marte has to do well, The rest of the batters doing no worse and the bull pen will have to…. um.. not suck with one of the best pieces now gone. Personally I think they tried to do too much at the deadline and didn’t get much out of it.. hopefully I’m wrong.
I’m pretty sure Jayson Nix is as good if not better than McGehee! Don’t understand this move at all. Getting a middle infielder to back up Jeter/Cano would’ve been better
Why didn’t they just sign Jaime Moyer instead?
I’m far from being a Yankee fan, but this is a straight win for the Yanks all across the board. Besides the Pineda trade, I think many of the Yankees trades are wins. Qualls might benefit from pitching in the NL but I haven’t trusted him in years.
The Pineda trade we cant’ decide yet – but I think the fact that the Yankees clearly had no place for Qualls with Joba coming back, it’s a win in that alone – considering the need for coverage at 3B.
Wow, the Yanks always seem to come out with more money… How the bleep does this always happen?
I really don’t know what you people are making a huge deal out of. The Pirates got something they needed and the Yankees got something they needed.
The Yankees were about to get Joba back and the Pirates got Gaby Sanchez. Both players in the trade were headed for DFA status. The teams just decided to swap them instead.
I hope that the Pirates aren’t expecting major relief from Qualls…otherwise, this trade will be one they will doubly regret.
McGehee becomes expendable with the Sanchez acquisition… Jones can still play 1st if Snider turns it on and Sanchez struggles.
There was no room for McGehee, so I’m glad we got something for him.
Let’s be real here: McGehee was batting .230 and had 8 HRs. What did you expect to get for a guy that can barely hit? Cliff Lee and Roy Halladay?
Have you seen his numbers in the two years since?
He only needs to hit LHP with Chavez hitting righties.
McGhee has a .807 OPS vs lefties and Chaves a .872 OPS vs righties. Perfect combo.
You realize that you’re arguing over two piles of garbage, right? One hits and one doesn’t, but they’re both garbage. No highway robber wants to steal a corner infielder who’s had an OPS in the .600’s for two years.