Iwamura hopes Pirates can win soon
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Akinori Iwamura apparently didn’t check the standings after being traded from the Tampa Bay Rays to the Pittsburgh Pirates. Iwamura, acquired to be the Pirates’ starting second baseman, is hoping his new team can be a contender soon. Really.
“I know, of course, about Roberto Clemente and that it is a great organization,” Iwamura said after being traded from Tampa Bay to Pittsburgh on Tuesday night.
While Iwamura made it to the World Series with the Rays in 2008, he might want to rein in his expectations a bit. The Pirates lost 99 games during a major league-record 17th consecutive losing season this year, and they’ve averaged nearly 96 losses during the last five seasons.
Iwamura might be basing his optimism on the fact Tampa Bay went from winning 66 games in 2007 to winning 97 and the AL pennant in 2008, but the Rays had far more promising players ready for the majors than the Pirates currently do.
The Pirates are gambling $4.85 million, plus right-handed reliever Jesse Chavez, with the hope that Iwamura will heal from the torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee that sidelined him for three months this season. Iwamura, 30, played the final month of the season despite not being fully healthy.
“It feels very good, but it’s still not 100 percent,” Iwamura said, speaking through interpreter Yoshi Hasegawa, his agent. “But I proved last year I can still play at a high level. I think I can play just like I did in the World Series. It will be fine next season, completely healthy.”
The Pirates did not have a doctor examine Iwamura’s knee before making the trade, which the Rays needed to complete in a hurry. They did not plan to pick up their option on Iwamura for 2010 – a decision was due the day after the World Series ended – and would have allowed him to become a free agent after paying him a $550,000 buyout.
By making the trade, the Pirates didn’t have to worry about being outbid for Iwamura, but they also had to give up a pitcher who led major league rookies with 73 appearances last season.
“It was tough to give up Jesse Chavez, but the bullpen is the most difficult area to predict future performance,” Pirates general manager Neal Huntington said. “In our minds, it was much more difficult to find 600 quality plate appearances than 60 relief performances.”
Iwamura will replace Delwyn Young, who slumped offensively and defensively after the Pirates traded All-Star second baseman Freddy Sanchez to San Francisco in late July. Before dealing him, the Pirates offered Sanchez approximately $10 million over two seasons to remain with them, but he later signed with the Giants for $12 million over two seasons.
Iwamura is unsigned past next season but is amenable to signing a longer-term deal with the Pirates. He was a fan favorite in the Tampa-St. Petersburg area, but the Rays got 27 homers and 91 RBIs from Ben Zobrist last season and they have more infield prospects on the way.
Iwamura hit .290 with one homer and 22 RBIs in 69 games last season. During the Rays’ pennant-winning season in 2008, he hit .274 with six homers and 48 RBIs. He has a .281 career average with 104 RBIs and a .354 on-base percentage in 344 major league games.
The Pirates have shed so many contracts in the last two seasons – Jason Bay, Xavier Nady, Nate McLouth, Jack Wilson, Adam LaRoche, Ian Snell, Sanchez – that Iwamura becomes the highest-paid player. Their 2010 payroll would be in the mid-$30 million range if they don’t pick up additional experienced players, but that appears unlikely.
The trade was the first significant deal made by Huntington in two-plus seasons in which the Pirates didn’t give up veteran players for prospects.