Pirates acquire Adeiny Hechavarria

The Pirates have acquired infielder Adeiny Hechavarria from Tampa Bay, along with cash considerations, for minor league right hander Matt Seelinger. Hecehvarria had been designated for assignment by the Rays.

First things first: No word yet on who comes off the major league roster. Hopefully, the Pirates have gotten a least a little more serious about winning baseball games and have finally, at long last, decided to part ways with Sean Rodriguez. More likely they’ll just send Jordan Luplow to the minors, which will open playing time for Rodriguez in the outfield.

Anyway, Hechevarria isn’t much of a hitter, with a career line of 255/291/344. So far this year it’s 258/289/332. Of course, his OPS+ of 75 still easily beats Rodriguez’ mark of 61. Hechevarria rarely walks and has no power, so there isn’t much hidden value in there. He does, however, have skills that aren’t common on the Pirates: he can catch and throw the ball. His UZR/150 over the past four years is 12.0, 7.0, 9.0 and 1.0. Hechavarria is making $5.9M this year, although the Rays are evidently covering at least some of what’s left of that. He’ll be a free agent after the season.

Seelinger was drafted in the 28th round last year. He’s currently at West Virginia, where he has a 3.03 ERA in 28 relief appearances. He has a WHIP of 1.26 and a very high K/9 of 14.3. Given his age, 23, it’s not unlikely that he’s just taking advantage of younger hitters. He’d be an longshot to reach the majors.