Make that two trades for the Pirates in the opening weeks of this offseason.
After acquiring Ji-Man Choi from the Rays right before free agency opened earlier this month, the Pirates shipped Kevin Newman to the Reds Friday night for right-hander Dauri Moreta. It’s a deal that makes perfect sense on paper. There are plenty of middle infielders on the 40 man roster, so Newman was probably expendable. He had some trade value, so the Pirates picked up a project reliever in return.
Had this trade happened last year, it probably would have been a bit more exciting on the Pirates’ end.