The Pirates were 5 1/2 games behind St. Louis in the NL Central, but first in line for a wild card playoff berth.
They worked on their bullpen first, obtaining Joe Blanton from Kansas Cityicon1 Pirates Acquire Starter J.A. Happ From Mariners for versatility and Joakim Soria from Detroit as another setup reliever.
They traded for the 32-year-old Happ a day after A.J. Burnetthad a third straight subpar performanceicon1 Pirates Acquire Starter J.A. Happ From Mariners during a 15-5 loss to the Cincinnati Reds.
Happ went 4-6 with a 4.64 ERA in 20 starts and one relief appearance for the Mariners this season. Manager Clint Hurdle hadn’t yet discussed the deal with general manager Neal Huntington and was noncommittal about how the rotation would look with Happ aboard.
The deal was announced shortly before a 4 p.m. EDT deadline for non-waiver trades.
“I’ve got a lot of catching up to do,” Hurdle said.
The 38-year-old Burnett gave up 10 hits, two walks and eight runs – seven earned – in 4 1/3 innings in the series opener. The Reds also stole four bases off Burnett, whose velocity was down at the start of the game.
After the game, Hurdle said he needed some time to figure out what to do next with Burnett. He hadn’t reached any conclusions a day later.
Soria arrived in town shortly before the 4 p.m. Hurdle plans to use him in a set-up role for closer Mark Melancon, who has converted a club-record 30 consecutive save chances and is 32 of 33 overall this season.
“If that’s the case, the eighth (inning) is very similar,” Soria said.
When he walked into the clubhouse, reliever Jared Hughes was first to notice him and say hello. Soria doesn’t have any close friends on the Pirates.
“It’s kind of like spring trainingicon1 Pirates Acquire Starter J.A. Happ From Mariners,” he said. “You recognize faces. I know some of them. It’s normal for us to have these types of situations.”More...
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