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Pirates make agreeable trade, sending Hinske to Yankees
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Eric Hinske: Good guy, nice complementary piece... expendable to the Bucs. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Please don’t expect Eric Fryer and Casey Erickson to end up being superstars. Or even All-stars. Or perhaps even regular contributors to a Major League roster.
But that’s not the point. Looking at their past histories in the minor leagues, there is certainly at least the chance that that will happen. And when a couple of guys are added to the organization for the low, low price of a reserve outfielder who was all but ready to accept a minor-league contract this winter, how can you criticize this move?
In case you hadn’t seen yet, the Pirates acquired outfielder/catcher Fryer and righthanded reliever Erickson from the New York Yankees Tuesday for outfielder/infielder Eric Hinske.
Hinske was a nice little bench player at 31 years old, hitting .255 with a home run and nine doubles, getting on base 13 times in 30 pinch-hitting appearances, adding some nice versatility in that he could play first base, third base and the corner outfield spots – and providing some nice leadership to boot.
But in Garrett Jones, the Pirates had a replacement who was younger, cheaper (although the Bucs did toss in some cash toward the Yankees – who’d have thunk it? – to get this deal done), probably packs a little more punch in his bat and definitely provides more speed. Jones was batting .307 with 12 home runs, 18 doubles, 48 RBIs and 14 stolen bases in 72 games for Triple-A Indianapolis. He was among the top statistical offensive players in the International League.
So trading Hinske away did little to hurt the current Major League roster (Hinske was ona one-year deal, anyway), and you add two guys to the organization who – while they’ll never be confused with top prospects – have enough potential that it won’t hurt to plug them in and see what happens.
Erickson is only 23, and throughout his brief minor league career has struck out nearly a batter per inning. A 6-foot-3 former 10th round pick of New York, he seems destined to remain in the bullpen – at least if his stats from this season are any indication: 1.10 ERA, 33 strikeouts in 32 2/3 innings as a reliever; 5.56 ERA, four strikeouts in 11 1/3 innings as a starter. His statistics indicate he doesn’t give up too many home runs.
Fryer, also 23, was one of the top offensive players in the low-Class A South Atlantic League last season, leading it in batting average (.335) and on-base percentage (.407) and ranking third in slugging (.506). That alone is enough to classify him as “intriguing” – though his pedigree suggest that might have been an aberration. Still, what can it hurt to see if it wasn’t?
From the Yankees’ perspective, they had a front-row seat of what he did for the division-rival Tampa Bay Rays last season and obviously liked what they saw. There's no arguing that on a championship-caliber team, Hinske can play a valuable role off the bench. It's just that the use he was to the Pirates wasn't worth holding onto to get two young guys with potential -- however slight -- in return.
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