Pirates trade Clay Holmes to Yankees for infielders Hoy Jun Park, Diego Castillo

Just a day removed from the Adam Frazier trade, the Pittsburgh Pirates kept the coals on the hot stove burning on Monday as they traded right-handed pitcher Clay Holmes to the New York Yankees in exchange for minor league infielders Hoy Jun Park and Diego Castillo.

Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette first reported the move and the team confirmed reports shortly after.

The 28-year-old reliever appeared in 44 games for the Pirates this season, posting a 3-2 record and a 4.93 ERA. He was the ninth-round choice for Pittsburgh in the 2011 MLB Amateur Draft out of Slocomb High School.

Holmes debuted in 2018 and appeared in four 11 games for the Pirates - four of them were starts. He has a career -1.0 WAR with the Pirates and opponents posted a slash line of .242/.375/.353.

One of his weak points was his control as he allowed a little over 14 percent of batters on base via the walk, but a bright spot for Holmes was his ground ball rate as 66 percent of balls hit against him where grounders. This exceeds the league average of 55 percent, according to Fangraphs.

In return, the Pirates get two middle infield prospects that have had successful seasons in the minors so far.

Hoy Jun Park excelled for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre this year, ranking first on the team in batting (.327), on-base percentage (.475), OPS (.475), and walks (46). Park was also an Eastern League All-Star in 2019 with the Trenton Thunder.

Diego Castillo hit .277 with the Somerset Patriots, the Yankees’ Double-A affiliate, clubbing 11 home runs and driving in 32 runs.

General Manager Ben Cherington has not announced where Park and Castillo will go to yet