Big Lead Sports Bar

3/29/2010

PIRATES DFA BRANDON MOSS, CLAIM HAYDEN PENN



Brandon Moss, one of the key players in the 2008 Jason Bay trade, has just been designated for assignment by the Pittsburgh Pirates in order to make room for incoming pitcher Hayden Penn, who was claimed off waivers from Florida. A team has 10 days to release, trade, or waive a designated player, so odds are that we've seen the last of Moss in a Pirate uniform.

Moss hit .236/.304/.364 with 7 HR and 41 RBI last season for the Pirates, and is a lifetime .241/.307/.393 hitter in his career. He was handed the starting right fielder's job last season, but frittered that opportunity away by midseason. The team was thinking of using Moss as a bench player in 2010, but he batted just .081 (3-for-37) this spring. Moss's play basically painted the Pirates into a corner where they had to make a move like this, and I think few would argue with the course they took.

As of now, the Pirates' final bench spot would go to John Raynor, Ramon Vazquez or Steve Pearce. There is also speculation that the team could use a six-player bench, which would mean two of the three players would make the team.

The incoming Penn owns a 4-6 record in 15 MLB starts and a 38-33 mark and 3.86 ERA in 123 minor-league games. The 25-year-old opened the 2009 season on the Florida Marlins' roster, going 1-0 with a 7.77 ERA in 22 innings pitches. He was 2-4 with a 4.11 ERA in 70 innings with Triple-A New Orleans. A 2002 fifth-round draft pick of the Baltimore Orioles, he was with that organization until April 1, 2009, when he was dealt to the Marlins in exchange for infielder Robert Andino.

Pirates claim P Penn from Florida; Moss designated [PBC Blog]

Pirates' Moss designated for assignment [Jen Langosch/MLB.com]

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1 comment:

Nate said...

Moss was anything but a key player in the Bay trade. In order of importance, he was probably the least important player in that trade. That trade was about acquiring Andy LaRoche and Bryan Morris. Craig Hansen was thought to be a nice bullpen addition (and might have been if a career-threatening injury didn't hit him at the start of '09), and Moss was seen as a fourth outfielder with potential to be more.

To quote Mike Gundy: GET YOUR FACTS STRAIGHT!