The Indians announced Wednesday
that they’ve acquired outfielder Jordan
Luplow and infielder Max
Moroff from the Pirates in exchange for utility man Erik
Gonzalez and minor league right-handers Tahnaj
Thomas and Dante
Mendoza. The Pirates, too, have issued a press release announcing
the move.
In Luplow, Cleveland adds an
outfield option to what was a perilously thin mix. The 2014 third-rounder has
yet to find success in the big leagues, but he’s raked to the tune of a
.300/.378/.479 slash with 15 homers and 11 steals in 539 Triple-A plate
appearances across the past two seasons. Luplow won’t turn 26 until next
September, so there’s still plenty of time for him to carry that
Triple-productivity over to the big league level.
Moroff, also 25, has had
similar struggles to this point in his young major league career, hitting
.193/.293/.331 in a tiny sample of 209 plate appearances. Like Luplow, he’s
fared better in Triple-A, where he’s a .233/.363/.399 hitter in 1045 plate
appearances. He joins the Indians with more than 2,700 minor league innings at
second base, 1,900-plus innings at shortstop and 601 innings at the Triple-A level.
In Gonzalez, the Pirates
will acquire a versatile infield option who’s had more big league success than
Moroff to this point, though he’s yet to truly thrive at the plate. Gonzalez
hit .265/.301/.375 in 143 plate appearances this past season and is a career
.267/.306/.406 hitter in Triple-A. He’s out of minor league options, so he’ll
jump right into the mix for playing time with the Pirates in 2019 — a sentiment
that was emphasized by general manager Neal Huntington in a press release
announcing today’s trade.
Thomas, 19, spent this past
season pitching for the Indians’ Rookie-level affiliate in Arizona, though he
pitched just 19 2/3 innings in total. Overall, he’s totaled 58 professional
innings since signing out of the Bahamas as a 16-year-old, and he’s posted a
5.28 ERA with a 61-to-43 K/BB ratio in that time. The bottom-line results are
rough, but Thomas did land 30th on
MLB.com’s ranking of the Indians’ prospects, with Jim
Callis and Jonathan Mayo writing that the projectable righty should add
velocity to what is already a 92-95 mph fastball. He also draws praise for his
athleticism and a potentially above-average curve, but he’s still several years
away from being anywhere near big league ready. Fangraphs’ Eric
Longenhagen was a bit more bullish, ranking
him 26th in what he notes is a “very deep”
Cleveland system.
Mendoza is 19 and also spent
the most recent season pitching for the Indians’ Rookie affiliate in the
Arizona League. He worked to a 4.58 ERA in 37 1/3 innings with 37 strikeouts
against 20 walks. Longenhagen notes that
Mendoza is another “projection arm,” crediting him for two above-average
secondary offerings and an 87-90 mph heater that figures to tick upward as his
6-foot-5 frame fills out.
The swap also opens a spot
on the Pirates’ 40-man roster, as they’re dealing two big leaguers for Gonzalez
and a pair of right-handers who are years from needing 40-man protection. The
trade, then, gives them a potential upgrade in terms of utility infielder while
also giving the front office some additional flexibility in advance of next
Tuesday’s deadline to protect players from the Rule 5 Draft.
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