The Pittsburgh Pirates have made yet another move, trading star shortstop Jack Wilson and pitcher Ian Snell to the Seattle Mariners. In return, the Pirates are getting shortstop Ronny Cedeno, minor league catcher and former number one draft pick Jeff Clement and right-handed pitchers Nathan Adcock, Brett Lorin and Aaron Pribanic. The Pirates have been trying to rebuild their farm system after a disappointing first half of the season and have made multiple trades already this season to address that issue.

The four prospects going to the Pittsburgh farm system join eight other prospects already acquired this season. The Pirates also received outfielder Lastings Milledge and pitcher Joel Hanrahan from the Washington Nationals this season. The Pirates came into the 2009 season with hopes of a .500 or better season for the first time since the 1992 season when they won the National League Pennant. Those hopes were erased as management started trading players to build for the future. Outfielder Nate McLouth was traded to the Atlanta Braves, infielder Adam LaRoche was traded to the Boston Red Sox and outfielder Nyjer Morgan was sent to the Washington Nationals. Also, minor league pitcher Romulo Sanchez and outfielder Eric Hinske, brought in this year to help lead a young team, were traded to the Yankees.

Jack Wilson, the latest to get traded from the Pirates this season, was an All-Star and a Silver Slugger in 2004. He is hitting .267 with 4 home runs and 31 RBI’s this season. Ian Snell joins Wilson in this latest trade. Snell has been effective in AAA after a disappointing start to the season. Snell is 2-2 with a .96 ERA and 47 strikeouts in six starts with AAA.

Seattle is parting with shortstop Ronny Cedeno, who has struggled this season. He is hitting .167 with 5 home runs and 17 RBI’s in 59 games. Perhaps a change of scenery will help the struggling shortstop produce. The Mariners are also parting with four prospects; the biggest name being catcher Jeff Clement. Clement has not lived up to the hype since being drafted third overall in 2005. This season, he is hitting .288 with 7 home runs at the AAA level.

These moves come with just two days left until the non-waiver trade deadline. Only time will tell if more moves are forthcoming for either of these two teams.

The Nationals sent outfielder Ryan Langerhans to the Mariners for infielder Mike Morse. Morse will be assigned to Triple-A Syracuse. From 2005-08 Morse hit .300 with 3 homeruns, 37 RBIs, and 18 doubles for Seattle. He was drafted by the White Sox in 2000.

Langerhans has struggled since making his Major League debut with the Atlanta Braves, hitting .198 in 103 games with the Nationals in 2007 and .234 in 73 games in 2008. Langerhans has yet to appear in a Major League game in 2009.

More of these minor deals are sure to occur in the coming month as some teams might not be able to land a major bat or a major arm prior to the non-waiver trade deadline on July 31st. The majority of these minor trades will either help the Major League team’s bench or will help their Minor League teams during the final couple months of the season.

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