Youtube Video: Joel Hanrahan Interview

Joel Hanrahan is no longer in Pittsburgh.  The Pirates beloved closer of the last few years has been shipped to the Boston Red Sox, eccentric and impressive facial hair in tow.  Hammer Time is over, at least near the confluence of the Allegheny, Monongahela, and Ohio rivers.  Despite his departure from the Steel City, Hanrahan can still provide entertainment as he did prior to being traded.  Cuteness was also involved, although the main source was not Joel Hanrahan, but 11 year-old Haley Smilow, who's well on her way to finding herself on national television one day as a reporter. Check out the video below after the jump.

Thing 3

Here, I profiled Thing 1 - Jerry Sands - who came to Pittsburgh via the Joel Hanrahan trade.  Sands was one of four players - three that have largely played their careers in at the minor league level thus far.  Thing 2 is Stolmy Pimentel, profiled here.  Thing 3 is Ivan DeJesus.  This article profiles him.

Thing 1

On December 21st, the Pirates signed former Twins and White Sox starting pitcher Francisco Liriano.  This article is not a reaction to that signing - that's already been done here by my colleague Jimmy - but the signing now seems to be one of the dominoes that led to the shipping of closer Joel Hanrahan to the Red Sox. It must be noted that the Liriano signing was not the only reason for trading Hanrahan, but it did reduce the Pirates need to trade the closer for a starting pitcher.  Ultimately, Hanrahan was shipped due to his high cost as a closer who had a mediocre year last year when viewed under the surface.

I'll take a Yamaico Please

Earlier in the offseason, the Pirates signed Clint Barmes to fill the hole left behind by the departure of shortstop Ronny Cedeno.  A few weeks later, in order to add shortstop depth, the Pirates traded prospects Brooks Pounders and Diego Goris to the Kansas Royals for Yamaico Navarro.   It is unclear exactly what role Navarro will play this year, but he is young (24) and still has upside.

Navarro was signed out of the Dominican Republic back in 2005 without much fanfare by the Red Sox organization.  Navarro played for the DSL Red Sox in 2006 as a 18 year-old and put up a solid .279/.344/.438 line.  The next season, as a 19 year-old, Navarro was promoted state-side and put up another solid .289/.357/.409 line for short-season Lowell.  His 6.1% BB rate and 15.1% K rate were also acceptable considering he was an international signing, a class of players that often struggles with plate discipline.