Finally, we have something--Jason Bay has been traded to Boston in a three team deal (see below). The most current reports I have suggest that the Pirates get 3B Andy LaRoche and SP Bryan Morris from the Dodgers, along with RP Craig Hansen and OF Brandon Moss from the Red Sox. This is what Dejan Kovacevic says, so I think it's safe to say it's happened.
This is a good deal, I think--the Pirates get both quantity and quality. LaRoche, who's Adam's brother, is an excellent hitting prospect who's been stuck in an organization that didn't appreciate him. He's going to join the Bucs immediately, presumably as their starting third baseman, and I think he's going to hit if he gets a chance to play every day. He put up fantastic numbers in the minors, but the Dodgers wouldn't commit to starting him. Before the season, Minor League Ball ranked him the second-best prospect in a strong Dodgers system. He'll block Neil Walker, but he's way better than Walker, so I have no problem with that.
Morris is the second-best part the Pirates get in the deal. He's had Tommy John surgery already, but he's 21, is a former first-round pick, and has good stuff and a good performance record. He'll head to Hickory.
The two players from Boston are less impressive, but they're not throw-ins. Hansen is a hard-throwing reliever with control problems. His velocity is apparently down this year, but he still throws pretty hard with (apparently) a fantastic slider, and his stats haven't suffered as a result. He's 24. He needs to start throwing strikes, but if he does, he should be very hard to hit. He'll step into the Pirates' bullpen.
Moss, also 24, is a lefty-hitting outfielder. He probably isn't a high-upside guy, but he can step right into the Pirates outfield and probably do pretty well. He strikes out a ton, but he's been pretty good in two brief trials in the majors. He's joining the Pirates right away, too, so the Pirates will probably have a Moss-McLouth-Pearce outfield for the time being. That suits me.
Good trade. The Pirates suddenly look a lot younger, and the franchise looks a lot more promising.