The Trade Has Changed

And for the Pirates for the better. As of 2:45 pm,Here's the deal

The Pirates send OF Xavier Nady,And RP Damaso Marte to the New York Yankees in exchange for SP Daniel McCutchen(AAA),SP Jeff Karstens(AAA)RHP Ross Ohlendorf(AAA),RF Jose Tabata(AA).I was planning on doing ALOT of work to find out info on all the new Buccos,But a friend sent me a run down of 2 of the 4 players involved(Thanks Jason),And I did some research on the 2 added to the deal today

Let's start with McCutchen(His stats courtesy of Pending Pinstripes)

Scouting Report: Daniel McCutchen throws a solid if unspectacular 92 mph fastball. He backs it up with a solid curveball and splitter combination. His control has improved considerably since moving to the starting rotation in college. Previously an above-average control guy, he’s now managed to compile a BB/9 of 2.04 in 172 minor league innings. Basically, he’s got above average stuff and emerging plus control. The pick knock against him is a lack of a true out pitch - neither his curveball or splitter are true strikeout weapons.

History: McCutchen got a late start to his baseball career. He started college ball in 2002 with division II Central Oklahoma. He transfered to the University of Oklahoma, but was forced to sit out in 2003. He spent 2004 and 2005 in the bullpen, and in 2006 he was finally given a chance as a starting pitcher. As a result, his 4th-5th round stuff went mostly unnoticed on draft day, and the Yankees grabbed him in the 13th round. He pitched very well after signing, throwing 29 innings between Staten Island and Charleston, allowing just 6 earned runs on 29 strikeouts and 6 walks. However, he was suspended for 50 games following a violation of baseball’s drug policy. McCutchen tested positive for a prescription amphetamine. The suspension continued into 2007.
This Season: McCutchen missed the first three weeks of the season serving the tail send of his suspension. He hit the ground running in Tampa - pitching 101 innings with a 2.50 ERA, 1.87 BB/9, 5.97 K/9, and 0.62 HR/9. He handled right handed hitters and left handed hitters equally well. Despite the low strikeout rate, the Yankees promoted him to Trenton, where he continued to flourish. In 41 innings, he posted an ERA of 2.41, with 2.63 BB/9, 7.90 K/9, and 0.44 HR/9. Edit - Reader Connor just noted that McCutchen’s strikeout rate was depressed because he was working on a changeup in Tampa and not using his curve.

Outlook and Movement: You could make a case that McCutchen deserves to start the year with Scranton, but the crowded Yankee rotation there will keep him at Double-A to start the year. If I were designing the Yankee depth chart, he’d probably be #5 on the call up priority list (behind Horne, Igawa, Marquez, and White), even at Double-A. If his past performance is any indicator, McCutchen should be knocking at the big league door very quickly. He’ll be in spring training this year. There is some speculation that due to the Yankee rotation depth, McCutchen could be converted to the bullpen.

Ranking: Rightfully skeptical before this season, Eric and I have both bought in to what McCutchen is selling. I have at #12 while Eric has him at #14. Ashish however did not rank him at all. Despite the rumors, I think that McCutchen can and will remain in the rotation. His only concern right now should be a relatively low strikeout rate, although he alleviated a lot of those concerns in Trenton this year. The man has done nothing but eat innings and not allow runs since his super-senior year in college. He doesn’t have the traditional curses that force a pitcher to be converted to the bullpen - poor control, poor endurance, or hitters figuring him out after the 2nd time through the order. The Yankees have previously shown reluctance to convert a successful starting pitcher to the bullpen regardless of supply with Chase Wright and Steve White, although McCutchen is on another level from them. Of the “lesser three” (McCutchen, Marquez, and Horne) Yankee high-level group of young pitchers, he probably has the fewest questions surrounding him. I have a feeling that I’ve underrated him considerably by placing him at #12, and would probably have him higher than Marquez if he were 22 instead of 25.

Well the Bucs have added McCutchen to the 40 man roster,And projects to a 4th starter we'll have to wait and see how he does. Next up is Jeff Karstens,Again not knowing some of the players involved, I had to look info up,(Courtesy of Pinstripe Potentials) Stuff: Karstens throws an average fastball at 90-91 mph. He has a decent slider, which is one of the better in the Yankee system. It used to be his out pitch. He throws a curveball in the mid 70s, but he only really throws it when behind in the counting and needing a strike. His main out pitch has become an above average 78 mph changeup, which he uses to get a significant amount of weak fly balls and pop ups. He can throw a slightly slower heavy fastball, but rarely ever uses that pitch.Command: Karstens is a major league prospect not because he has one particularly good pitch or a good fastball, but because he can consistently throw all four pitches for strikes. He locates his curveball especially well. Karstens functions well when he is able to keep his pitch count down and force contact on batters. He gets tired easily into higher pitch counts and his control suffers.Outlook: Karstens is rated so high purely because he is such a fair bet. His minor league record indicates that Karstens is incredibly average. Good control. Average velocity. Four average pitches. Average strikeouts. Karstens just uses his skill to pitch good fundamental baseball. He changes speeds and throws strikes. If he continues to attack hitters and throw the right pitch at the right time he will have a very long replacement level major league career. His future might be in a Ramiro Mendoza role, thanks to his lack of ability to sustain high pitch counts. His health record is as good as it can get.Grades: Ceiling C+, Health A, Comparison: RodrigoLopez

Jose Tabata, OF: The New York tabloids at one point last season had the audacity to liken Tabata to Manny Ramirez. He's young, he's talented and he was supposed to be one of the prospects to whom the Yankees were keeping a firm hold. But along with being young and talented, he's also temperamental, so maybe the Manny comparisons weren't too far off after all.
Tabata bolted from the Trenton Thunder at the end of April in an incident that ultimately may have played a role in making him a future Buc instead of a future Bomber. He had been struggling through the first month of the season when his frustrations came to a head on April 26 at New Britain. After striking out for the second time against the Rock Cats in an Eastern League contest, Tabata went into the visiting clubhouse, picked his belongs and left the stadium.
The Yankees suspended him for three days and welcomed him back after he apologized and copped to being immature. He was hitting .200 when he walked out on the team and has batted .270 since returning, raising his average to .248. Tabata has three homers, 36 RBIs, 10 stolen bases and a bunch of unanswered questions that have cropped up about his makeup since the incident.
If he can put that behind him and continue to rebound and play the way he played early on in his career with New York, then the Pirates could have a nice young outfielder to build around. He hit .314 as a 17-year-old in the Gulf Coast League in 2005 and was batting .305 at Class A Charleston of the South Atlantic League the following July when he was hit by a pitch on the right wrist.
Doctors struggled to make a diagnosis and he played with a sore hand for much of 2007 before having the hamate bone removed in August. Still, he hit .307 and had 54 RBIs in the Florida State League.
While there was talk that he was the heir apparent to Bobby Abreu in right field, his inconsistencies and obvious immaturity have tarnished his reputation as being one of the brighter prospects in baseball" Ross Ross Ohlendorf, RHP: The most experienced of the quartet the Pirates received, Ohlendorf was with the Yankees the first three months of the season after appearing in six Major League games last year. His big claim to fame is that he was part of the trade that sent Randy Johnson back to the Diamondbacks in January 2007.
Ohlendorf has seen considerable time at the Triple-A level over the last three seasons and had appeared for 25 games out of the bullpen for the Yanks this year, going 1-1 with a 6.53 ERA. He has been used mostly as a starter throughout his career since the Diamondbacks took him in the fourth round out of Princeton in 2004.
His departure from New York coincided with Sidney Ponson's arrival. Ohlendorf was 1-1 with a 4.03 ERA in five starts for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre but took the loss in his last start, a 5 2/3-inning effort against Richmond on Thursday in which he allowed four runs on nine hits.