Neal Huntington on Marlon Byrd trade: 'We've given up a little bit of our future for a lot of our present.'

Notes from Neal Huntington's press conference following today's trade. (Details on the trade here.)

* Neither John Buck nor Marlon Byrd will arrive in Pittsburgh until tomorrow.

* Asked whether he has been looking for a deal like this all along, or if it was prompted by Starling Marte's injury, Huntington said, "A little of both."  He added,

We looked to add to the offense at the trade deadline and were disappointed that we were unable to. While the cost of this move wasn't cheap, we felt it was an appropriate addition. ... Our goal is to play deep into October, not just to get there.

* Huntington described Marlon Byrd as able to use the "whole field with authority" and having been strong against lefties.

"The bottom line is, he is a guy who can drive a ball into a gap and drive a ball into the seats," Huntington said.

* On the acquisition of catcher John Buck, Huntington commented, "It is important for us to have three catchers that we feel very good about. We love Tony Sanchez, but we were one injury away from being very shallow ... you can never have enough catching depth."

* Huntington updated Starling Marte's status saying that the Pirates' left-fielder has met with doctors and has a "contusion with some inflammation" and a sprain.

"He'll be out at least two weeks on the disabled assignment," Huntington said. "Right now the swelling and pain is such that he can't really grip a bat."

* Huntington summed up today's moves: "We gave up some good pieces to get him (Byrd). But we felt it was the right time to continue to try to push us forward." He added, "The Mets did a nice job in this trade. They turned two veteran pieces into couple good young players. We've given up a little bit of our future for a lot of our present."

(Clint Hurdle's comments on today's trade will follow in separate post.)