The Pirates announced that they have acquired corner infielder/outfielder Jason Rogers from the Brewers in exchange for outfielder Keon Broxton and right-hander Trey Supak.
Rogers, 27, is a right-handed bat that will give the Pirates further depth at first base, although the club admittedly already had a right-handed hitting option there in the form of Mike Morse. In 169 plate appearances will Milwaukee last season, Rogers batted .296/.367/.441 with four homers. That marked Rogers’ first extended taste of the Major Leagues, as he’d previously accumulated just 10 plate appearances — all in 2014. Lack of MLB experience notwithstanding, Rogers is a highly accomplished minor league hitter, having compiled a lifetime .290/.372/.476 slash in the minors, including a more impressive .326/.406/.582 line in 90 games at the Triple-A level. Over the past two seasons, between the Majors and minor, Rogers has handled right-handed pitching better than lefties, though his track record prior to that indicates a more traditional platoon split.
In exchange for Rogers, the Brewers will receive a fleet-footed center fielder (Broxton) and a right-hander that was Competitive Balance (Round B) draft pick as recently as 2014 (Supak). Broxton, 26 in May, made his big league debut in 2015, though he received just seven plate appearances. Most of his work came in the minors, where he batted .273/.357/.438 with 10 homers and 39 stolen bases between the Double-A and Triple-A affiliates for Pittsburgh. The Pirates originally acquired him from the D-backs early in 2014 in exchange for cash considerations. The former third-round pick (2009) long rated as one of Arizona’s more promising farmhands in the eyes of Baseball America, but he hasn’t appeared on a Top 30 list for either the D-backs or Buccos since 2012, when BA wrote that while he was a plus runner with a plus arm that played MLB-caliber defense in center field even at Class-A Advanced, he struggles to pick up breaking pitches and has a long way to go at the plate. Broxton’s drawn high praise for his athleticism, and it’s possible that even if he doesn’t hit much, he could seemingly be a defensive-minded reserve outfielder.
Supak is 19 years old and rated as the Pirates’ No. 15 prospect, per MLB.com. Supak received a healthy $1MM signing bonus out of the ’14 draft but hasn’t lived up to that investment just yet, as he struggled to a dismal 6.67 ERA with a 23-to-5 K/BB ratio in 28 1/3 innings with the Pirates’ Rookie-level Appalachian League affiliate. MLB.com notes that his fastball sits in the low 90s and could grow as his 6’5″ frame develops. However, their scouting reports note that his curveball and changeup are a ways behind his fastball, and even his heater could use some work, as it presently lacks downhill plane.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Pointless trade for both sides. The Brewers could use a young bat like Rogers, while the Pirates could use more of a veteran bat at first and do not need a third baseman nor an outfielder, but they did get the better half of the trade getting a young versatile player with potential.
Young bat? Rogers is 27. Not like he’s 21.
The Bucs definitely do need a corner IF/OF, given the absence of additional OF other than the starters, and Rodriguez being the primary MI sub, and the unclear status of Kang at the beginning of 2016.
The Bucs definitely do need a corner bat: Kang may not be ready at 3B, and there arcurrently no OF past the starters. He’ll make the team.
So basically we get a first baseman. That can’t hit lefties. Kinda like Morse except this guy has little experience in the bigs. NH is really making us question him this off season.
Morse has a career split of .273/.335/.472 over 850+ Plate appearances against lefties which is almost a mirror of his splits against RHP. He can hit lefties… well that assumes he gets back near his career numbers.
Really too bad to see Rogers go and I don’t really like either of the guys they got in return. These trades are killing me!
Supak is a solid prospect. High upside but injury just set him back a bit
Solid pickup for the Bucs. Rogers can hit and play 1st and corner outfield giving Hurdle a right handed batter to play matchups with Jake Goebbert as a pinch hitter. Hope he’s able to lock down 1st full time but doubt that’s too realistic. Also frees up Rodriquez to move around the infield. Think both Broxton and Supak can be fringe MLB contributors but the Bucs have plenty of 4th OF types and pitchers in the minors
Dude I wouldn’t say he can hit. He only has 196 ab’s in one year.
Very small sample size in the bigs but a career .290 hitter in the minors with a .326 average in a sizable AAA experience. All reports say his bat is legit too
It wouldn’t be the first time all the sources were wrong if he don’t pan out either.
Despite his size and good career slugging % he’s actually a very patient hitter who uses all fields. His bat should hold up fine, but he absolutely CANNOT make a throw from 3B. Needs to stick to 1B despite how they list him. Also a pretty solid pinch hitter in the clutch. Seems like a strange move for the Brewers.
I think freeing up serpico was the exact reason they did this deal
Yo go kill yourself.
People like you who support these types of moves are the reason I want the Pirates to leave Pittsburgh.
When did MLBTR comment section turn into mainstream social media? Please don’t comment again if you’re going to attack somebody over a computer screen by saying, “yo go kill yourself.” Grow up pal.
One of the biggest reasons the Bucs won 98 games last year was because they had a good bench and didn’t miss a beat with Harrison, Kang, and Marte missing significant time. This move strengthens the bench and doest subtract from the big league club at all. Solid move
Not cool. Anyone who is a fan of Pittsburgh sports, who is in their right mind, should be embarrassed by your comment and the fact that you have Mario Lemieux’s name in your screen name. It takes no courage, combined with the maturity level of an eight year-old, to suggest that someone “go kill yourself” for expressing an opinion on a baseball website.
Are the pirates undercover rebuilding?
You have to like this for the Pirates. They originally acquired Broxton for very little and Supak, while still very young, has been very hittable in Rookie ball and remains years away. Rogers seems like a nice bench piece.
Can the Pirates actually bring in a first baseman that anyone’s heard of? This guy’s numbers look good but they’ve had plenty of quad A mashers who can’t cut it in the bigs.
They should have gotten Lind. Not sure who else they can get, would hate to see them rely on minor leaguers for such an important position. Moreland for Locke would make sense. Maybe get Texas to throw in a reliever as well.
John jaso, Moreland, and Justin Morneau. We’re a couple names I’ve heard.
I’d love for them to get a legit full-time 1st baseman — and hopefully that becomes Bell within a year — but if not, I’d rather they not bring in proven mediocres like Moreland. Rogers may not have name value, but he projects to be just as good.
I don’t really see a reason for them to grab a first baseman right now honestly, Rogers is a good pick up with good upside, same for goeberrt, plus having morse and guys like Sean Rodriguez who can play first, they are more then set there until Bell is able to break through, no need to block him at first with the depth they already have
I mean what do you want them to do? They could have overpayed (which is what Seattle did,) for Lind who’s marginal at best and played in an extremely hitters friendly park up in Milwaukee. Highly likely he returns to being Adam Lind now that he’s at pitcher’s friendly Safeco Field. Alternatively they could have kept Pedro, which nobody who’s watched him play the last 2 years wanted. Lastly does Moreland really Wow you? Because he doesn’t wow me, and certainly enough to give up anything valuable for. So to me I’d rather they go for the diamond in the rough especially since it barely cost them anything.
Returns to being Adam Lind? The career .274/.332/.466 guy who was a former Silver Slugger before back issues started plaguing him? It’s not like it was a 1 ear fluke. A lot of teams would take that Adam Lind.
What he means is he isn’t the Adam Lind he used to be back in Toronto, he had a great year in Milwaukee but I don’t he puts up big numbers like he did in Toronto now that he’s playing in seattles park which is much more pitcher friendly, he’s past his prime but he’s still a valuable bat
A first basemen that HAS to be platooned isn’t a legit everyday first basemen which is what they hope bell will eventually provide next year. They’re not going to give up significant resources (prospects) to trade for a Lind or Moreland who cannot be in the lineup a third of the time with an everyday player hopefully at the position next spring at the latest.
That said, If all it took was locke to get morland.. i’d probably do it.. saves another million to put to a pitcher and isn’t the worst option for a bench bat and you might be able to get a throw in player/prospect/cash as well that may make a difference
But really I think they’re done picking up first base players now. They have Morse, S-Rod and Rogers who will probably all be on the 25man, Bell working his way through and Gobbert for depth.. Unless they make a crazy deal for a star everyday first basemen……
So, worst case scenario, the Pirates just replaced Morse as the right-handed power bat off of the bench, for one non-prospect and one prospect who is nowhere near ready, if he ever will be. I can deal with that.
I will say that in the limited times I have seen Rogers, the guy knows how to pinch-hit and he has some power. He has a good eye and rarely is an easy out. If he can play 3B somewhat competently and keep hitting, he could get a lot of playing time and be very useful to the Bucs. He could allow Rodriguez to play more middle infield off the bench.
Crew continues to lose value in trades. Standing pat on some players is ok, Stearns. This was finally the perfect opportunity for a former minor league player of the year to see consistent at bats and increase his own trade value. Disappointing move.
Rogers is a platoon bat on an awful team. We are getting a young pitcher who is still growing and a defensive center fielder. I’ll take that all day as a Brewers fan. Great trade
His splits don’t garner the label as a platoon player. He’s an older prospect that has just never been given a starting opportunity. If he would have gotten 600 ABs this season
And do you know why he’s never been given the opportunity? Cause he’s really not that good. Good guy, decent hitter, not really a defender. Not a bad pick up for Pitt but I would much rather take my chances on a 19 year old starting pitcher who from what I think was ranked 9th in Pitts system last year by Keith Law. 2nd round pick as well I think. I’m taking my chances on that over the 27 year old who’s been pretty much a lifer in the minors.
Supak has continually slipped in the rankings since being given that top 10 Pirate ranking though. Still young and has a big frame, so could turn it around but seems like a real lottery ticket. Broxton on the other hand has shown a lot of pop and speed and while not an ideal starter in CF could be used as a stop gap to Phillips there if they decide to move Davis and move Santiago to the corner OF where he belongs.
My only big question about the trade is if they let Rogers play every day and he continued to hit, as he has at every level, he could have drastically increased his trade value. While 27 isn’t super young, it’s not real old at 1B and he is under control til 2022.
I’d love to make trade with you. Especially if you would swap a Big Leaguer for an A-ball pitcher. Let’s make a deal
He hit at every level because he was older than most people at every level. I mean he was a 25 year old in Double A, 26 in Triple A. I don’t think he’s a bad player and maybe he does continue to hit but in the position the Brewers are in wouldn’t you much rather take a shot at the young arm? Supak is 19 years old, a once pretty highly rated prospect and has only pitched 50 innings in the minors due to injury. Not like he’s been in the minors for 3-4 years and has sucked every year. He’s still growing into that 6’5 frame. Way worth it for the Brewers I think
Dan Szymborski from ESPN just projected Rogers WAR next year in Pittsburgh will be 1.0. Projections are projections but i’ll take my chances on the prospect in this case.
So you’d rather have prospects over a player who’s projected at a positive WAR in a season where they’re trying to compete? Really? Because I’ll take the contributor in this case any day over most prospects especially ones like these with major struggles in Supak’s case or lack of skills in Broxton.
Major struggles for Supak? Dude only pitched 50 innings due to injury and is 19 years old. Pittsburgh obviously thought he could be pretty good if they give him a million dollar signing bonus. And a 1.0 WAR means he’s a below average player. I understand why Pitt did it because they are going for it but I would much rather have the lottery ticket than a below average player. We shall see
Since we’re talking about this from the Brewers side, yes you’d take the prospects, we are not going to compete this year. And not sure how you can say a guy like Broxton who was once pretty highly regarded and had a solid line last year with .273/.357/.438 with 27 2B 12 3B and 10 HR to go with 39 SB and above average defense has a lack of skills. Needs some plate discipline and to cut down on the K’s and will probably never live up to his early promise, but he obviously has some tools.
Despite all the doomsaying from fans of both teams, this is a minor deal. I think it’s pretty simple – Rogers, at 27, is no longer a prospect and the two guys the Brewers got from Pittsburgh (including a 25-year-old who might just be their opening day CF) could someday have value, in total marginally more than Rogers, they hope. I like the deal for the crew. Eventually they’re probably going to have to stick Braun at 1B anyway.
Terrible trade imo for the Pirates. We get a guy who replicates Morse and who likely won’t be the answer long term since Bell should be up in June after the Super Two deadline. If the plan is to trade Morse to dump salary, 1. Good luck and 2. It better be used to get quality starting pitching or long term Cervelli. Freeing up Rodriguez from first is a very small consolation.
Meanwhile, we give up Broxton, who should have been the pinch runner (a threat we haven’t had for a good while)/4th outfielder. Now we probably have to sign someone like Travis snider to a short term deal and pay him 4-5x more than Broxton. In terms of Supak, I think it might be too early to give up on him, but even if it is time, it seems like a lot of value to give up for half a season of a prospect with less than half a year of experience in the majors.
Pirates need to her making moves. If they think what they have done to date is going to get them past the Cubs and Cardinals, they’re delusional.
Making outrageous moves in December means nothing in September, just ask the White Sox and Padres. It’s the little moves that build a full roster that make the difference, and for a defensive outfielder who can’t hit (these are a dime a dozen) and a prospect who struggled in rookie ball they got a guy who actually could contribute this year. Oh and I have to question how much you watched Pirates games last year because they used Pedro Florimon to pinch run a bunch at the end of the year when the rosters expanded.
All season long. Once the rosters expanded florimon came up and that is when Broxton broke into the majors as well. Throughout the rest of the year, the best pinch running options were Jose tabata or Harrison if he wasn’t playing that day–not great options. I had hoped the Pirates would give Broxton the 4th outfielder spot and therefore have him available to pinch run late in games. One key concern the past few years has been the depth/options or lack thereof of the Pirates bench.
Maybe I’m wrong about Rogers and he does well for us. That would be great. I just question giving up assets for a guy who won’t be playing in June if thing go the way the club would truly want them to go, i.e. Bell taking over first base.
Thinking Bell will be up sooner than later but if Rogers is doing decent, they will keep Bell in Indy to keep improving defense. No way will they take a chance on bringing him up and have him have Pedro like errors and possibly kill his career. Best case scenario, Bell has figured out his defense and will be up in June and have a good power bat for the bench in Rogers. Not many great 1st baseman out there at the moment so you have to look for a possible diamond in the rough. Maybe he turns out to be a flawed diamond that still has some value. Considering who else is available, not a bad trade for the Pirates.
Morse’s salary is largely paid by the dodgers… about 3-4million to offset the cost of Tabata. thats not really an issue. But between Srod and rogers it does give you room to move him if someone would be interested.
He isn’t a mirror for morse. Morse can play defense and at multiple positions fairly well if needed (think s-rod only better hitter)
He will be a bench bat 4th OF and insurance if Morse doesn’t continue to recover from his issues.
The pirates still would like a lefty bench bat i’m sure
I wonder if the Pirates would have made this trade if they knew both Jerry Sands and Nate Freiman would be available moments later?