By request I decided I would compile all of the two GMs transactions in one fanpost tp make it easier to judge the two, and grade the two. We'll start with Littlefield
Dave Littlefield (July 13. 2001-September 7, 2007)
July 28: Released IF John Wehner
July 30: OF John Vander Wal and SP Jason Schmidt traded to San Francisco Giants for OF Armando Rios and P Ryan Vogelsong
Schmidt only went on to become a great starting pitcher for the Giants, Rios and Vogelsong are now both out of baseball.
July 31: Released P Jose Parra
July 31: Traded P Terry Mulholland to the Los Angeles Dodgers for P Mike Fetters and P Adrian Burnside
Fetters and Burnside fetched big returns in later trades
July 31: Traded P Mike Williams to the Houston Astros for P Tony McKnight
We re-signed Williams, so this trade didn't matter too much
August 6: Signed IF John Wehner
August 10: Claimed OF Gary Matthews Jr. off waivers from Chicago Cubs
August 13: Claimed IF Mendy Lopez off waivers from Houston Astros
August 15: Claimed IF Luis Figueroa off waivers from New York Mets
November 18: Signed P Kevin Tolar
December 13: Traded P Todd Ritchie and C Lee Evans to Chicago White Sox for P Sean Lowe, P Kip Wells, and P Josh Fogg
Wells and Fogg were main-stays in the Pirates rotation for the better half of the decade. Fogg was arguably our most reliable pitcher all decade
December 13: Drafted IF Luis Ugueto in Rule 5 draft from Florida Marlins
December 20: Traded P Jose Silva to Cincinnati Reds for P Ben Shaffar
December 28: Sold OF Gary Matthews Jr. to the Mets
Matthews had an All-Star season for Texas, but since then he has been awful.
December 30: Signed P Salomon Torres
Great pitcher, great guy. One of the bright spots of the early 2000s teams
2002
January 2: Signed P Mike Williams
How many times did we trade and re-sign him?
Other players signed in January/February/March: P Brian Boehringer, P Scott Service, P Alberto Reyes, P Wayne Gomes, 2B Pokey Reese, P Ron Villone, C Mandy Romero, P Josias Mananillo, OF Curtis Pride, P Joe Roa, P Brian Meadows
Boehringer was a decent reliever, Pokey never lived up to the hype he received, Villone was ok at times, awful at others, Manzanillo and Meadows pitched in the bullpen
March 13: Released IF Warren Morris
March 27: Traded P Damaso Marte and UT Edwin Yan to White Sox for P Matt Guerrier
March 28: Sent P Joe Roa to Philadelphia Phillies to complete a trade
April 15: Claimed IF Tomas de la Rosa off waivers from Montreal Expos
June 4: Notable draft picks: Bryan Bullington (1st, 1st overall), 1B Brad Eldred (6th), P Matt Capps (7th), P Dave Davidson (10th), P Chris Demaria (17th), OF Nyjer Morgan (33rd)
July 6: Traded P Mike Fetters to Arizona Diamondbacks for P Duaner Sanchez
I felt Sanchez was going to turn out to be a great close, he was a huge project, but it was still a good trade for us
July 23: Signed P Ariel Prieto
July 31: Traded OF Chad Hermansen to Chicago Cubs for OF Darren Lewis
I know Hermansen was bad, but is he bad enough to trade him for a 39 year old outfielder? This is where Littlefield was wrong. If you are going to get an untalented player then get a young one.
August 15: Released P Josias Manzanillo
September 8: Released P Sean Lowe
October 10: Released OF Adrian Brown; Claimed P Jim Mann off waivers from Houston; Released IF Mendy Lopez
November/December signings: Signed IF Aaron Holbert, IF David Doster, IF Kevin Nicholson, P John Wasdin, C Chris Heintz, P Brian Boehringer, OF Matt Stairs, 3B Mike Gulan, P Ariel Prieto, P Mark Corey, P Nelson Figueroa, OF John Barnes
November 25: Traded P Adrian Burnside and P Roberto Novoa to Detroit Tigers for 1B Randall Simon
Novoa pitched a little bit for Detroit, Simon turned out to be a below-average first baseman
December 16: Royals select P D.J. Carrasco in Rule 5 Draft; Braves select P Chris Spurling in Rule 5 Draft; Padres select 3B/OF Rico Washington in Rule 5 Draft; Royals select C Ronny Paulino in Rule 5 Draft; Drafted P Matt Roney off the Rockies and sold him to Tigers
December 20: Traded P Chris Young and P Jon Searles to Expos for P Matt Herges
Herges was cut before spring training ended, Young is a solid starter for the Padres
2003
January/February/March signings: OF Tike Redman, P Jeff D'Amico, P Julian Tavarez, P Courtney Duncan, P Pat Mahomes, P Mike Holtz, P Jeff Suppan, OF Reggie Sanders, P Dennys Reyes, OF Kenny Lofton
You can argue that the Pirates made an effort to win in 2003. They signed Sanders, Lofton, Suppan, Tavarez and D'Amico. It didn't turn out too well. D'Amico led the league in losses, Sanders had 31 homers, Lofton was given to the Cubs, Suppan was involved in the Freddy Sanchez trade
February 14: P Bronson Arroyo claimed off waivers by Boston Red Sox
Why we let Arroyo go, we may never know
March 13: Royals return C Ronny Paulino
March 28: Released P Matt Herges
April 18: Signed IF Jeff Reboulet
March 19: Granted P Dennys Reyes free agency
June 3: Notable draft picks: P Paul Maholm (1st, 8 overall), P Tom Gorzelanny (2nd), 2B Craig Stansberry (5th), P Josh Sharpless (24th)
June 29: Released 1B Kevin Young
That 1999 extension didn't work out did it?
July 8: Traded P John Wasdin to Toronto for OF Rich Thompson
July 21: Traded P Mike Williams to Phillies for P Frank Brooks
Williams, traded again...
July 22: Traded P Mike Gonzalez and P Scott Sauerbeck to Boston for P Brandon Lyon and P Anastacio Martinez
We gave away Sauerbeck?
July 23: Traded OF Kenny Lofton and 3B Aramis Ramirez to Chicago Cubs for P Matt Bruback, 3B Jose Hernandez, IF Bobby Hill
Worst trade of the entire Littlefield era, Bruback was on the team for a few days, Hill was a below average bench player, Hernandez was an old overpaid pathetic player
July 31: Traded P Brandon Lyon, P Anastacio Martinez and P Jeff Suppan to Boston for P Mike Gonzalez, IF Freddy Sanchez and cash
Traded Suppan and all the players we acquired 9 days prior, to get Gonzalez back and Freddy Sanchez.. Overall one of the Pirates best trades in the decade in my opinion
August 17: Traded 1B Randall Simon to Cubs for OF Ray Sadler
Sadler played a few games with the Bucs, no results. Simons wasn't particularly good for the Cubs though...
August 26: Traded OF Brian Giles to Padres for OF Jason Bay, P Oliver Perez and P Corey Stewart
Giles started to get worse slowly after the trade, Bay was the Pirates best player for a few seasons and he won the Rookie of the Year award. Perez had electric stuff but he couldn't put it together (a la Charlie Morton). Stewart got in trouble for DUI and I haven't heard from him since
October 1: Claimed P Jason Boyd off waivers from Indians
November 20: P Matt Guerrier claimed by Twins off waivers; P Duaner Sanchez claimed by Dodgers off waivers; 1B/OF Walter Young claimed off waivers by Orioles
I really thought that Walter Young and Duaner Sanchez had the potential to be stars. I guess I was wrong. Last I heard Young was playing for a team in his home town of Hattiesburg, Mississippi
December 15: Rule 5 Draft- 3B/OF Jose Bautista (Orioles); P Jeff Bennett (Brewers); P Frank Brooks (Mets); 1B/C Chris Shelton (Tigers); OF Rich Thompson (Padres)
2004
December/January/February/March/April signings: P Chris Fussell, P Juan Acevedo, C Keith McDonald, 1B/RF Andy Abad, 3B Chris Truby, OF Chris Singleton, Chris Stynes, 1B/OF Daryle Ward, P Blake Stein, OF Luke Allen, P Hector Almonte, C Sandy Martinez, P Willis Roberts, SS Donaldo Mendez, P Jose Mesa, OF Ruben Mateo, OF Raul Mondesi, 1B Randall Simon, P Mark Guthrie, 1B/OF Orlando Merced, IF Kevin Nicholson, P Andrew Lorraine, 2B/LF Terry Shumpert, IF Mike Moriarty, P Romulo Sanchez (May 7)
Ward was a solid player for the Bucs, Mesa was about an average closer, Simon was below average again, Mondesi decided to give up after a month
March 31: Boston returns P Frank Brooks
May 21: Released OF Raul Mondesi
Mondesi suspiciously signed with the Angels only 10 days later.
June 7: Notable Draft Picks: C Neil Walker (1st, 11th overall), SS Brian Bixler (2nd), P Todd Redmond (39th)
July 1: Sold OF Ruben Mateo to Royals
July 30: P Kris Benson, IF Jeff Keppinger traded to Mets for 3B Ty Wigginton, 3B/OF Jose Bautista and P Matt Peterson
Wigginton was supposed to be our long-term solution at the hot corner, Peterson was supposedly a solid pitcher like Josh Fogg. Neither performed at all. Keppinger is now a solid player fighting for a starting spot, which I am sure some teams would accomodate
August 4: Released 3B Chris Stynes
Another failed free agency signing
November/December signings: OF/1B/3B Howie Clark, OF Jon Nunnally, IF Jorge Velandia, C Carlos Maldonado, P Brian Reith, P Joe Roa, P Justin Kaye, P Kevin Olsen, P Mark Corey, 1B Damon Minor, 1B/3B Jose Leon, P Brian Mallette, IF/OF Cesar Crespo, P Kirk Bullinger
November 24: Traded OF JJ Davis to Washington Nationals for OF Antonio Sucre
The guy we picked over Lance Berkman was traded away for a 21 year old outfielder who gave up baseball after 2006
November 27: Traded C Jason Kendall to Oakland Athletics for P Mark Redman, P Arthur Rhodes and cash
Kendall was arguably the best liked player on the Pirates team from 1993-onwards, but he couldn't live up to his ludicrous contract. (who could?) Kendall will always be one of my favorites. Redman was awful, Rhodes didn't even pitch for us
December 1: Released OF Tony Alvarez, 1B Carlos Rivera and IF Abraham Nunez
The releases of Alvarez and Rivera paired with the trade of JJ Davis forced the Pirates to admit that that wave of prospects had been busts
December 11: Traded P Arthur Rhodes to Cleveland Indians for OF Matt Lawton
Lawton was supposed to be a great leader, but he never performed for the Pirates and was dealt in July
December 13: Rule 5 Draft-P Chris Demaria (Royals); P Henry Owens (Mets)
December 16: Traded P Leo Nunez to Royals for C Benito Santiago
Nunez is now the Marlins' closer, Santiago didn't survive two months with the Pirates. Enough said
2005
January/February/March signings: P Graham Koonce, P Hansel Izquierdo, P Todd Ritchie, OF Ben Grieve, P Albie Lopez, P Rick White, C David Ross
Rick White was a pleasant surprise for the 2005 bullpen
April 20: Claimed UT Alfredo Amezaga off waivers from Colorado (released May 5)
May 8: Released C Benito Santiago
June 7: Notable draft picks: OF Andrew McCutchen (1st, 11th overall), SS Brent Lillibridge (4th), 1B/RF Steven Pearce (8th)
McCutchen and Pearce look to be part of the Pirates future, if only we held on to Lillibridge...
July 28: Traded C David Ross to San Diego for IF JJ Furmaniak
July 31: Traded OF Matt Lawton to Chicago Cubs for OF Jody Gerut and cash
Traded an old below average outfielder, for a young underachieving outfielder. I love this trade, even though we didn't get anything out of it
November/December signings: 3B Travis Chapman, SS Jason Alfaro, P Jason Roach, P Britt Reames, P Scott Strickland, P Roberto Hernandez, P Nerio Rodriguez, P Giovanni Carrara, 3B/LF Mike Edwards
November 21: Traded IF Bobby Hill to San Diego for P Clayton Hamilton
Thus we admitted defeat in the Aramis Ramirez/Kenny Lofton armed robbery
November 28: Sold OF Tike Redman to Mets
I actually liked Tike Redman, too bad he was never that good
December 7: Traded P Mark Redman to Royals for P Jonah Bayliss and P Chad Blackwell
Redman was somehow an All-Star for the Royals (representation rule), Bayliss was a pathetic reliever, Blackwell was never heard from again
December 8: Released 3B Ty Wigginton; Selected P Victor Santos from Royals in Rule 5 Draft; Traded P Dave Williams to Reds for 1B Sean Casey and cash
I guess our future star at the hot corner (Wigginton) wasn't going to be a star after all. Santos was a below average starter, Sean Casey was a good local guy, good story to bring him back, only to dish him off in July
December 13: Traded OF/3B/2B Rob Mackowiak to White Sox for P Damaso Marte
Mackowiak was a good utility player, Marte was a good lefty specialist. Both teams did well in this trade
2006
January/February/March signings: 3B Joe Randa, P Marty McLeary, P Brandon Duckworth, P CJ Nitkowski, OF Jeromy Burnitz, P Terry Adams, P Brandon Knight, P Jorge Vasquez, IF Jose Hernandez, 1B Chris Richard
Arguably the worst free agency signing period for the Pirates in the entire decade. Duckworth was a surprise, but Burnitz was the biggest waste of $6 millon Pittsburgh's ever seen, Randa robbed the Pirates of $4 million, and Terry Adams who was supposed to lead our bullpen, didn't make the team
June 6: Notable Draft Picks: P Brad Lincoln (1st, 4th overall), IF Shelby Ford (3rd), IF Jim Negrych (6th), OF Alex Presley (8th), Michael Crotta (17th), P Rudy Owens (28th)
This draft could end up providing us with 5 or 6 solid major leaguers, or none.
July 31: Traded 1B Sean Casey to Detroit for P Brian Rogers; Traded P Roberto Hernandez and P Oliver Perez to Mets for Xavier Nady; Traded 1B/C/RF Craig Wilson to Yankees for P Shawn Chacon; Traded P Kip Wells to Rangers for P Jesse Chavez
I think we could have gotten more for Casey, Craig Wilson was a fan favorite and all he fetched was an overpaid, below average veteran pitcher, Wells fetched a good return, Chavez a solid relief pitcher for the Pirates in 2009, the Nady trade is the most important though. At the time I thought Perez's potential was too high and we shouldn't just trade him away, I'm now glad we traded him because Nady was a solid player for us and then helped us acquire Tabata, Ross, DCutch and Karstens. Ricardo Rincon-the gift that keeps on giving.
August 22: Sold Jose Hernandez to Phillies; Selected P Juan Perez off waivers from Mets
November/December signings: P Ronald Belisario, P John Wasdin, OF Chris Aguila, IF Eddy Garabito, UT Don Kelly, P Jim Brower, P Masumi Kuwata, C Einar Diaz, SS Nick Green, OF Luis Matos
Kuwata was the only one of the bunch who made a difference. It wasn't a very positive one
December 7: Selected P Sean White in Rule 5 Draft from Braves and sold him to Mariners
December 12: Claimed P Franquelis Osoria off waivers from Los Angeles Dodgers
I actually thought Osoria was one of our best relievers on pure stuff alone. He just was too inconsistent
December 20: IF Craig Stansberry claimed off waivers by San Diego Padres
Stansberry got to see some big league playing time elsewhere, never really developed into anything major league caliber though
2007
January/February/March signings: P Tony Armas, P Michael Tejera, P Brandon Puffer, 3B Chris Truby, P Mark Corey, P Danny Kolb, P Yoslan Herrera, 1B Randy Ruiz, IF Luis Ordaz, P Alay Soler
Armas' contract knocks on the door for top 10 worst Pirates contracts since 2000, Herrera was one of the highest profile Latin American signings that the Pirates ever had.
January 19: Traded P Mike Gonzalez and SS Brent Lillibridge to Atlanta for 1B Adam LaRoche and OF/3B/1B Jamie Romak
I don't like this trade. Not because of LaRoche and/or Gonzalez, because of Lillibridge and Romak, Lillibridge became a young decent shortstop, Romak stopped progressing at High A;.LaRoche was one of the Pirates' better hitters
March 8th: Released OF Jody Gerut
April 25: Released P Jonathan Albaldejo
Albaldejo actually has turned into a middle reliever for the Yankees
June draft: Notable picks- P Daniel Moskos (1st, 4th overall)
Signability...
June 22: Claimed 1B Josh Phelps off waivers from Yankees
July 19: Traded cash to Chicago Cubs for SS Cesar Izturis
July 31: Traded OF Rajai Davis and P Stephen MacFarland to Giants for P Matt Morris
First we traded two decent prospects, Davis has become one of the league's best base stealers. Morris remained on the Pirates for only a little longer before we realized it was a bad deal. Oh and we also paid for all of Morris' contract
End of Littlefield Era (September 7, 2007), beggining of Neal Huntington Era (September 25, 2007)
HALELUJAH
October 15: Claimed OF Kevin Thompson off waivers from Oakland Athletics
October 26: Claimed P Phil Dumatrait off waivers from Reds
November 20: Claimed P Jimmy Barthmaier off waivers from Houston Astros
November 28: P Shane Youman claimed off waivers by Phillies
I had the honor of seeing Youman pitch the last game of the 2006 season. He was impressive, I am somewhat surprised he never really turned into any major league material
December 3: Claimed P Ty Taubenheim off waivers from Toronto Blue Jays; Claimed SS Josh Wilson off waivers from Tampa Bay Rays
December 6: Released 2B Jose Castillo; Drafted P Evan Meek in the Rule 5 Draft from the Rays
Castillo underperformed and never lived up to his potential, Meek has become the Pirates best reliever this season
December 7: Traded P Salomon Torres to Milwaukee Brewers for P Marino Salas and P Kevin Roberts
This was a shame. Torres publicly was dissapointed and he retired only a year later. Salas and Roberts both stunk, Torres loved Pittsburgh but obviously management didn't love him back
December signings: C Raul Chavez, SS Luis Cruz, IF Luis Rivas, SS Chris Gomez, P Mike Thompson, P Adam Bernero, IF Jorge Valendia, P T.J. Beam, C Miguel Perez, 3B/OF Jose Macias, P Elmer Dessens
Gomez was a waste of money and a roster spot, Chavez, Cruz, Rivas and Beam all played at some point for the big league team in 2008
2008
January/February/March signings: P Mike Burns, P Jaret Wright, P Casey Fossum, SS Melvin Dorta, P Hector Carrasco, 1B Doug Mientkiewicz, P Byung-Hyung Kim, P Jason Davis, 1B/RF/C Craig Wilson
Mientkiewicz was a leader in the clubhouse, and always gave 110% on the field. Davis pitched from the bullpen for a while, Wilson's return to the system wasn't what we all hoped for
February 1: Claimed IF Ray Olmedo off waivers from Blue Jays (Phillies claim Olmedo 24 days later)
March 26: Traded P Todd Redmond to Atlanta Braves for P Tyler Yates
I didn't and I still don't like this trade, Redmond is a younger version of Yates, a below average reliever
March 28: Received IF Matt Kata from Colorado Rockies
April 27: Released P Matt Morris
Neal Huntington just cleaning up Dave Littlefield's little mess
May 8: Received OF Jason Michaels from Cleveland Indians
Michaels was a solid outfielder off the bench for 2008
May 15: Returned P Evan Meek to Tampa Bay Rays; Purchased Meek from Rays
One of the greatest moves yet by NH, he somehow was able to get the Rays to part with Meek
June 5: Notable Draft Picks: 3B Pedro Alvarez (1st, 2nd overall), P Tanner Scheppers (2nd, did not sign), SS Chase D'Arnaud (4th), P Justin Wilson (5th), P Quinton Miller (20th)
Imagine if we has signed Scheppers...Taillon, Scheppers, Allie, Heredia
June 19: Traded P Jonah Bayliss to Toronto Blue Jays
Bayliss was nothing but awful for us
June 25: Traded P Kyle Pearson to Detroit Tigers for P Denny Bautista
Bautista was a solid reliever for the Bucs
July 10: Bryan Bullington claimed off waivers by Cleveland Indians; Traded 1B/RF/C Craig Wilson to Seattle Mariners; Acquired P Dan Reichert from Cleveland Indians
Bullington pitched a gem for Kansas City the other day against the Yankees, is he finally going to perform?
July 26: Traded 1B/RF Xavier Nady and P Damaso Marte to New York Yankees for OF Jose Tabata, P Jeff Karstens, P Daniel McCutchen and P Ross Ohlendorf
The consensus best trade yet by NH, He acquired 4 young players who can help turn the Pirates around for a lefty specialist and a solid corner outfielder
July 31: Traded OF Jason Bay to Boston Red Sox for P Craig Hansen, OF Brandon Moss, 3B Andy LaRoche and P Bryan Morris
Was this the best trade on the table? Some say Jeff Niemann and two prospects were offerred for Bay. We may never know, we do know though that if Morris doesn't become a good #2 or #3 starter that this trade can be filed in the failures
August 2: Traded SS Josh Wilson to Boston Red Sox
August 21: Traded 3B/OF Jose Bautista to Toronto Blue Jays for C Robinzon Diaz
Did anybody actually think Bautista was going to become a 40 home run hitter?
December signings: P Brian Slocum, IF Ramon Vazquez, 1B/OF Garrett Jones, P Juan Mateo, OF Jeff Salazar, 1B/3B Andy Phillips, P Chris Bootcheck
For every Garrett Jones' there's 5000 Jeff Salazars. Salazar was awful, Jones went from AAA depth to core player in the big leagues in the span of one year. Bootcheck pitched sparingly out of the Pittsburgh bullpen. Vazquez was the latest waste of money
December 10: Traded C Ronny Paulino to Phillies for C Jason Jaramillo
JJ is a defense-first catcher, Paulino recently got suspended 50 games. Paulino was a better hitter but JJ is a better defensive catcher
December 11: Selected P Donnie Veal from Chicago Cubs in Rule 5 Draft
2009
January signings: P Jeremy Powell, IF Pedro Lopez, SS Anderson Machado, OF Craig Monroe, C Erik Kratz, C Hector Giminez, 1B/OF Eric Hinske, IF Ruben Gotay, P Harvey Garcia
Kratz was a pleasant surprise and made his major league debut this year, Monroe played poorly for the big league club, Hinske was a jerk and requested a trade, which he indeed got
January 27: Claimed P Virgil Vasquez off waivers from San Diego Padres
Nooooooooooo
February 5: P T.J. Beam claimed off waivers by Toronto Blue Jays
April 15: Traded P Eric Krebs and P Harvey Garcia to Los Angeles Dodgers for 2B/OF Delwyn Young
Delwyn Young has been the best Pirates bench player over the last two seasons. Lets just keep him as the DH/never playing defense
April 17: Traded 1B/3B Andy Phillips to White Sox for P Michael Dubee
Dubee is actually pitching pretty well at AAA
April 24: P Dave Davidson claimed off waivers by Florida Marlins
May 16: Traded P Romulo Sanchez to New York Yankees for P Eric Hacker
May 18: Claimed P Steven Jackson off waivers from Yankees
Jackson has been solid and has done everything the Pirates have asked of him
June 3: Traded OF Nate McLouth to Atlanta Braves for P Charlie Morton, OF Gorkys Hernandez and P Jeff Locke
McLouth was sold at just the right time, he not only struggled in Atlanta, he's struggling at AAA Gwinnett, Morton is the most inconsistent starter since Perez (maybe more inconsistent), Hernandez has good glove and speed but an Argenis Diaz-like bat, Locke is showing promise at AA Altoona. This trade is a win more for what potential we have then what McLouth isn't doing
June Draft: Notable picks- C Tony Sanchez (1st, 4th overall), Victor Black (Comp. 1st), Brooks Pounders (2nd), OF Evan Chambers (3rd), Zackary Dodson (4th), P Zack Von Rosenberg (6th), P Trent Stevenson (7th), P Colton Cain (8th),
June 30: Traded P Sean Burnett and OF Nyjer Morgan to Washington Nationals for P Joel Hanrahan and OF Lastings Milledge; Traded 1B/OF Eric Hinske and cash to Yankees for P Casey Erickson and C Eric Fryer
Hinske was detrimental to the team, Morgan was one of the funnest players to watch, it was hard to see him go. Milledge is a beast with RISP but otherwise he's below average. Hanrahan is a good reliever who could turn into an average closer or an above average set up man
July 1: Released OF Craig Monroe
July 22: Traded 1B Adam LaRoche to Boston Red Sox for SS Argenis Diaz and P Hunter Strickland
LaRoche had little-to-no-value, Diaz has actually surprised me and is seeing some playing time in the big leagues, Strickland is at one of the A league teams
July 29: Traded SS Jack Wilson and P Ian Snell to Seattle Mariners for SS Ronny Cedeno, 1B/C Jeff Clement, P Brett Lorin, P Nate Adcock, P Aaron Pribanic; Traded 2B Freddy Sanchez to San Francisco Giants for P Tim Alderson
Wilson was a fan favorite, Snell was inconsistent and Seattle has since given up on him. Cedeno is a great fielder, bad hitter, Clement has a ton of power potential but can he actually get contact? Lorin, Adcock and Pribanic all are solid pitchers who have a shot at making a difference
July 30: Traded P John Grabow and P Tom Gorzelanny to Chicago Cubs for IF Josh Harrison, P Kevin Hart and P Jose Ascanio
Grabow was going to leave anyways, Gorzo is pitching well for the Cubbies. Harrison is hitting for a great average at Altoona, Hart is out for the year, Ascanio has been out all year, no idea when he's going to be back. Bad trade if this keeps up
August 5: Traded P Mike Koplove to Seattle Mariners for SS Deybis Benitez
September 24: Claimed P Anthony Claggett off waivers from Yankees
October 29: Claimed P Justin Thomas off waivers from Seattle Mariners
November 3: Traded P Jesse Chavez to Tampa Bay Rays for IF Aki Iwamura
Aki wasn't that good leadoff hitter NH thought he'd be. Aki was slow as molasses in the field. Chavez has pitched poorly for Atlanta this season. Tampa Bay turned Chavez into an All Star closer (Rafael Soriano). Maybe we could've gotten more than Aki. Bad trade
November/December signings: P Wil Ledezma, IF Bobby Crosby, P Vinnie Chulk, P Brian Burres, P Javier Lopez, 1B Brian Myrow, P Jack Taschner, P Tyler Yates, P Neal Cotts
Lopez, Ledezma and Taschner have all pitched out of the bullpen this year, Crosby was a backup infielder before being shipped off to Phoenix, Burres pitched well as a starter.
November 20: Claimed P Chris Jakubauskas off waivers from Mariners
December 7: SS Luis Cruz claimed off waivers by Milwaukee Brewers
December 10: Selected OF John Raynor from Florida Marlins in Rule 5 Draft
2010
January/February/March signings: C Luke Carlin, OF Ryan Church, P Brian Bass, P Brendan Donnelly, P D.J. Carrasco, P Octavio Dotel, 2B Doug Bernier, OF Kevin Melillo
Church was dreadful. Donnelly was bad, Carrasco and Dotel were good. Carlin, Church, Dotel, Carrasco, and Donnelly are all out of the organization already
January 18: Traded UT Brian Bixler to Cleveland Indians for IF Jesus Brito
YES!!!!!
January 19: Claimed OF Brandon Jones off waivers from Atlanta Braves
March 29: Claimed P Hayden Penn off waivers from Florida Marlins
Penn was well......umm....a headcase?
April 2: Traded P Virgil Vasquez to Tampa Bay Rays for PTBNL
April 8: Released IF Ramon Vazquez
NH sucked up his pride and admitted he made a mistake with Vazquez
April 24: Traded OF Jonathan Van Every to Boston Red Sox for PTBNL
May 4: Returned OF John Raynor to Florida Marlins
May 31: Traded C Josue Peley to Boston Red Sox for OF Jonathan Van Every
June 1: Traded P Ronald Uviedo to Toronto Blue Jays for P Dana Eveland
???? This trade doesn't make any sense
June Draft: Notable picks: P Jameson Taillon (1st, 2nd overall), P Stetson Allie (2nd), OF Mel Rojas Jr. (3rd), P Nick Kingham (4th)
July 7: Acquired P Sean Gallagher from San Diego Padres for cash
Gallagher has actually impressed me, he is pitching average, which is better than some of our pitchers
July 12: Acquired UT Brian Bixler from Cleveland Indians for PTBNL
NOOOOOOOOOOOO
July 22: Sold P Vinnie Chulk and P Hayden Penn to Japan
July 29: Released P Brendan Donnelly
Donnelly was a cool guy, and a leader but his on-field performance just didn't cut it
July 30: Acquired RF Mitch Jones from Atlanta Braves for cash
Could he turn into the next Garrett Jones? The Jones Brothers-they're on a mission from Neal
July 31: Traded P DJ Carrasco, OF Ryan Church and IF Bobby Crosby to Arizona Diamondbacks for C Chris Snyder, SS Pedro Ciriaco and cash; Traded P Javier Lopez to San Francisco Giants for OF John Bowker and P Joe Martinez; Traded P Octavio Dotel to Los Angeles for OF Andrew Lambo and P James McDonald
NH performed some great robbery on the deadline this year. He acquired a starting catcher (Snyder), an Argenis Diaz clone (Pedro Ciriaco), a couple of fringe players with oodles of team control (Bowker and Martinez), a top prospect who fell out of favor (Lambo), and a major league starter who has displayed filthy breaking balls (McDonald) all for the price of 5 free agency signings, Dotel, Church, Carrasco, Crosby, and Lopez (about $7.5 million combined)
August 2: Traded OF Brandon Jones to Detroit Tigers for PTBNL
August 4: Claimed P Chris Resop off waivers from Atlanta Braves; Claimed P Chan Ho Park off waivers from New York Yankees
August 7: Traded UT Brian Bixler to Washington Nationals for cash
Wait, didn;t we trade him already?...
August 10: Traded C Luke Carlin to Cleveland Indians for PTBNL
Overall grades:
Littlefield signings: F (Burnitz, Randa, Mondesi, Stynes overshadow Sanders)
Littlefield trades: D (2 good trades- Freddy Sanchez trade and Brian Giles trade)
Littlefield draft: C+ (Bullington and Moskos makes me want to put an F here but Littlefield picked Neil Walker, Cutch, Lincoln, Paul Maholm, Gorzo, Capps, Nyjer Morgan and Steve Pearce and a few others)
Huntington signings: B- (Garrett Jones, the 2010 bullpen and many good veterans who have contributed, but he also signed his share of bums, Vazquez, Church, and Chris Gomez to name a few)
Huntington trades: B (Nady and McLouth were big wins, Bay is still to be determined, but NH acquired young prospects so he has given himself the chance to win most of his trades. He's also done well on a few minor ones like Delwyn Young)
Huntington draft: B+(Sanchez was an overdraft in 2009, but he picked a bunch of high potential high school pitchers, Taillon and Allie are phenomenal, and Alvarez is already making his dent in the big leagues)
Thanks for reading my take, I'd like you to share yours