Ryan Ludwick was reportedly close to being traded to the Indians earlier this afternoon, but instead the Pirates have swooped in at the last minute to acquire the outfielder from the Padres for a player to be named later or cash considerations.
It’s tough to pass any sort of judgment on the trade without knowing the PTBNL’s identity, although the “or cash considerations” part certainly suggests it won’t be a noteworthy prospect heading San Diego’s way.
Even if the price tag was low the Pirates are betting on Ludwick turning things around following an extremely unproductive 160-game stretch with the Padres in which he hit just .228 with a .301 on-base percentage and .358 slugging percentage after being acquired from the Cardinals in the middle of last season.
In addition to Ludwick the Pirates also added another veteran right-handed hitter in Derrek Lee, who’s also struggled this year with a .246 batting average and .706 OPS in 85 games for the Orioles. So while the Pirates have brought in some experienced reinforcements for their first taste of contention in a long time, they did so without giving up any significant long-term building blocks and bet on second-half turnarounds instead.
