RADIO
The Pittsburgh Pirates acquired Aramis Ramirez in a trade with the Milwaukee Brewers for a minor leaguer and cash, according to The Post-Gazette. The Brewers received minor league pitcher Yhonathan Barrios.
Ramirez is owed roughly $5.2 million for the rest of the season. The Pirates will cover $3 million of that. The third baseman will likely be plugged into that spot now that he's in Pittsburgh.
Ramirez, 37, struggled to start the season. After the first 17 games of the season, he's been consistent, sporting a .270/.327/.477 batting line with 10 homers in 245 plate appearances. The month of July has been his best during the season. He has a .352/.422/.500 batting line, which is great timing for the Pirates.
Josh Harrison and Jordy Mercer are injured, and the production at third base for the Pirates has not been good this season. Pedro Alvarez has a .243 BA and can't field, limiting him to 1B, and Jung Ho Kang plays most of his games at shortstop with the Pirates since Mercer is hurt.
During his 18-year career, Ramirez has made three All-Star teams and one Silver Slugger award. He's stated before that this will be his final season.
The Pirates are six games out of first place in the National League Central behind the St. Louis Cardinals. They currently own a three-game lead for the first Wild Card spot with a 54-40 record.
Barrios was dominant with Double-A in his third season in the minors. He owned a 1.46 ERA in 20 appearances. When the 23-year-old was promoted to Triple-A, he struggled in 16 appearances with a 4.60 ERA.
The Pirates trade for Ramirez actually comes 12 years to the day that they traded him to the Chicago Cubs. One of his best seasons came during his first stint with the Pirates when he had 34 HR, 112 RBI and a .300 BA.
