I like the trade of Damaso Marte for Rob Mackowiak. Marte (when I saw Greg's diary to the right my heart about stopped for a second; I was hoping it'd be Andy) probably couldn't be called an elite reliever, but he's close, and he's not terribly expensive. Best of all, he has a bit of experience closing, so the Pirates can stop their search for an overpaid veteran reliever. Mackowiak is a nice, versatile player to have around, but that's all.
The Bucs also grabbed Victor Santos in the Rule 5 draft. Santos isn't what you'd call a high-upside pick, but in the Rule 5, upside is less important than short-term performance, and Santos is a nice guy to have in a swingman role. If he's in your starting rotation for an extended period of time, you're in trouble, but as an injury fill-in and a bullpen arm, he can be very capable.
The Pirates also received Chad Blackwell as the PTBNL in the Mark Redman deal and local boy Clayton Hamilton as the PTBNL in the Bobby Hill trade. Blackwell is a pitching prospect with a little bit of upside; Hamilton will be an organizational player.
Overall, this was a very nice day of transactions for the Bucs. Now, about that big bat...