Pirates Acquire Michaels from Tribe
By JSeiner • May 8th, 2008 • Category: News & Opinion
Pirates made a small splash today, optioning OF Nyjer Morgan to AAA Indy to make room for recently acquired OF Jason Michaels, who was recently waived by the Cleveland Indians.
Michaels is a career .270 hitter, with an impressive .351 OBP. The corner outfielder has struggled so far in 2008, however, collecting just 12 hits over 58 at bats — a .207 batting average.
Huntington commented that the 32-year-old Michaels brings with him a solid club house presence, and also that the Indians would pick up the majority of his $2.15 million contract.
Morgan, who is just 5-for-31 in ‘08, has had his role limited to just two starts this year, playing behind Nate McLouth, Xavier Nady, and Jason Bay, all of whom have been doing their best to make sure Morgan sees the field as little as possible.
“As we talked about coming out of Spring Training, Nyjer plays a role on the club that’s an important role,” general manager Neal Huntington told MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch. “But overall, we want him to be more than that. We don’t want him to be a role player. We want Nyjer to be an everyday big leaguer.”
JSeiner is currently a journalism student at Boston University. He plays for the BU club baseball team, and he pretty much eats, sleeps, and breathes baseball. He hails from Bridgeville, PA, and has been a huge Pirates, Pens, and Steelers fan since birth.
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Am I crazy to think, but could this Michaels move plus the Meek situation be a possible trade scenario with the Rays involving one of our current corner outfielders?
I’m not sold on this move. Does this not take away the speed from the bench? Plus, Michaels has struggled all year and had a tough time taking playing time away from Guitierrez, Delluci and Ben Francisco. I think this deal was done to help accomodate another.
I don’t think I’m sold on this move, unless it is, like you say Yeater, to accomodate a move of another sort. Michaels has struggled all year and isn’t necessarily a youth movement type deal. Wonder what move is next.
I don’t think this is a sign of a possible trade, but this is must my opinion. If you think about it, why have Morgan sit the bench and only get an AB here or there? He’s still relatively young and sitting the bench is not helping him any.
Why bring up Pearce or Thompson? They also are young and would sit the bench behind McClouth, Bay, and Nady.
If Michaels sits the bench, no big deal. He’s used to being a role player and he is nothing better than a role player. And veterans always seem to be better at it.