Pirates trade Tim Alderson for Russ Canzler

The Pirates have traded Tim Alderson to the Orioles for 1B/OF Russ Canzler, who had recently been designated for assignment. Canzler will head to Indianapolis.

It appears Canzler will get a spot on the 40-man for now (with James McDonald going on the 60-day DL), but I can't imagine he'll keep it -- he's a decent Triple-A hitter, but at 27, there's no reason to think he's much more than that. This season he had a .798 OPS for Norfolk. He's had cups of coffee with the Rays and Indians.

Alderson was still well-regarded when the Pirates acquired him from the Giants for Freddy Sanchez, but he flamed out as a starter. He posted good numbers out of the Indianapolis bullpen this year, but he isn't much of a prospect at this point, with a ton of relievers ahead of him on the organizational depth chart.