To no one's surprise, the Pirates have acquired outfielder Delwyn Young from the Dodgers. Los Angeles will get two players to be named; surely neither of them will be a prospect. The Pirates have been interested in Young for some time--going back, at least, to the Dodgers-Pirates Jack Wilson trade discussions last year.
Young came through the Dodgers' system mostly as an infielder, but he's played only eight games in the infield since 2005, so the Pirates will surely treat him as an outfielder. Young is out of options and will have to be added to the big-league team. That could mean that Craig Monroe will be cut to make room for him. (UPDATE: In the comments, WTM suggests Luis Cruz could be the one to go, since the Bucs have used him so sparingly, but we'll see; if Andy LaRoche continues to be unreliable, it will be hard for the Pirates to avoid carrying an extra infielder, because utilityman Ramon Vazquez will need to be available to play third. So my guess is still that Monroe will be odd man out.)
I don't share the Pirates' strange infatuation with Young; he never hit much at Class AAA until he was old for the level, and he's entering his age-27 without having accomplished anything in the majors. As a switch-hitter with little bits of patience and power, he should be more useful than Monroe would have been, but then that's true of about a thousand Class AAA outfielders.
Still, as long as the Pirates didn't give up a prospect, they haven't lost anything here. PECOTA (subscription required) sees a shred of upside here, comparing Young to Ryan Doumit, Carl Everett and John Vander Wal amidst a mess of fringe players.
Thanks to Phil79.
UPDATE: To make room for Young, Dave Davidson has finally been kicked off the 40-man. Look for him to make it through waivers and be back with the Bucs in a week or so. In the meantime, Cruz looks to be the odd man out.