For years fans have begged and pleaded with the Pittsburgh Pirates front office to spend money. Something as simple as that could make the Bucs jump from an on-the-fence playoff team to a World Series contender. After this year’s trade deadline those pleas have yet again gone silent.

Granted, the Pirates have hit a rough patch playing on the west coast, but the division and a wild card spot is still very much in play. The Cubs trading for Alex Avila and former Pirates relief pitcher Justin Wilson proves yet again Pittsburgh is nothing more than the little brother of the NL Central.

Neal Huntington could not have foreseen the absence of Jung-Ho Kang and Starling Marte. However, that does not excuse the lack of interest in finding players who could have made an impact amidst their absence.

Yes, it may have been a season where player’s mistakes hurt the team, it is a fair point. But, if acquiring Joaquin Benoit is the only notable move made, how can you convince fans you are serious about winning?

A little over a week ago the Pirates were on the verge of competing with the Cubs for first place. Today, the only thing fans see being raised are white flags.

Trade Deadline Breakdown

While it is hard to see how the moves help the Pirates the rest of the season, or at all, there were two trades that were executed.

The first trade to be reported shipped closer Tony Watson to the Los Angeles Dodgers for two minor league players: Angel German and Oneil Cruz.

German, a 21-year-old right handed pitcher out of the Dominican Republic has posted a 1.91 ERA in 33 innings. Over his entire minor league career German is 3-15 with a 5.10 ERA in 150 innings pitched.

Cruz is a left handed infielder also out of the Dominican Republic. The 18-year-old has played only two years in the minors and has a .259/.320/.378 stat line in 529 total at-bats.

The second and final trade of the day for the Pirates sent minor league pitcher Seth McGarry to the Philadelphia Phillies for 40-year-old RHP Benoit.

Benoit has appeared in 44 games with a 4.07 ERA and has a K/9 of 9.2.

To put it lightly, this trade makes no sense. Even if it is a back-fill for Watson’s departure, there are 13 pitchers in Triple-A Indianapolis that have a lower ERA than Benoit.

Obviously Triple-A is a whole different ball game compared to the MLB, but what do the Pirates gain? While McGarry may be virtually unknown to the common fan, a 23-year-old pitcher with a 1.34 ERA in 40.1 innings and a WHIP of 0.84 should not depart a team for what Pittsburgh received.

This should disappoint fans. Considering the team is still only 5.5 games out of first place and 8.5 games out of a wild card spot. There are two full months of baseball left, but after today it looks like there will only be two months of baseball left in Pittsburgh.

Photo Credit: Matt Freed /Post-Gazette

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