Not much information on this yet. Just:
Freese to dodgers
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) September 1, 2018
UPDATE:
Here’s some more:
TRADE: The Pirates acquired minor league infielder Jesus Manuel Valdez from the Dodgers in exchange for INF David Freese.
— Pirates (@Pirates) September 1, 2018
Valdez is probably not a prospect. He’s played just one year in the DSL and is already 20. He batted 230/343/412 this year while playing everywhere in the infield, mainly short and third. So the Pirates’ primary compensation appears to be salary relief.
This may increase the odds of the Pirates exercising Jung-Ho Kang’s option.
The Pirates’ statement:
“We made the difficult decision to trade David to give him an opportunity to pursue a World Series Championship this season. We truly appreciate all that David has contributed to the Pirates these three seasons and wish him well,” said Huntington. “This move will free up valuable playing time for some of our younger players, while clearing some salary. We are also pleased to add a player with interesting power, athleticism and defensive versatility to our system in Valdez.”
We’ll see who replaces Freese on the roster. Obviously, there’s now a 40-man spot open.
AND ANOTHER UPDATE:
The Pirates have also traded Adeiny Hechavarria.
The @Yankees have acquired SS Adeiny Hechavarria and cash considerations from Pittsburgh in exchange for a player to be named later or cash considerations. To make room on the 40-man roster, the @Yankees have designated LHP Ryan Bollinger for assignment.
— Yankees PR Dept. (@YankeesPR) September 1, 2018
So it seems the Pirates are at long last clearing the decks for the younger players. This raises some question about why they acquired Hechavarria in the first place, but whatever, they can move on now. Whether THIS means Kevin Kramer coming up, we’ll see . . . probably five minutes before game time tomorrow.