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TRADE!
The Houston Astros and Pittsburgh Pirates have finally agreed to a trade involving Catcher Francisco Cervelli. The back and forth discussions had been going on for over 2 weeks, with the biggest hiccup being how much of the remaining 2019 salary the Pirates would cover. The Astros initially wanted the Pirates to cover 75% of the remaining salary.
With the Astros clearly needing some help at Catcher at the MLB level due to poor offensive production from Robinson Chirinos & Max Stassi, the Astros dropped their salary retention demands of the Pirates and agreed to send 4 pitchers plus one of their better minor league catcher prospects in exchange for Cervelli.
Here are the details:
Astros receive:
C - Francisco Cervelli (.253 AVG, .363 OBP, .681 OPS, 1.4 WAR)
*Pirates will cover 50% of the remaining salary for Cervelli this season.
Pirates receive:
Catcher Jamie Ritchie - alternating between AA & AAA levels this season (.281 AVG, .404 OBP, .794 OPS, 28/16 BB to K ratio)
RHP Jacob Billingsley - currently in A level (4.58 ERA in 12 starts)
RHP Cody Deason - currently in A- level (6.00 ERA in 7 appearances - 6 starts)
RHP Lupe Chavez - currently in A+ level (6.07 ERA in 17 appearances - 9 starts)
RHP Jose Bravo - currently in A level (2.45 ERA in 10 relief appearances)
Of the prospects going to the Pirates, Bravo and Ritchie are the pieces that have potential down the road to make the big leagues. Ritchie could even be their backup catcher right away or stay in AAA the rest of this season. Bravo definitely is a couple of years away, but he's only 22 years old and has decent stuff in his repertoire. Cervelli is by no means an all-star, but he is an upgrade compared to the current production we are getting out of our catchers.
We will designate Robinson Chirinos for assignment and try to find a trade partner in the mean time.
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