The Bechtold Breakdown - Pirates trade Mike Burrows for Brandon Lowe & more
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What trade did the Pirates make involving Mike Burrows?
Joe, typically we start the Bechdel Breakdown with this. But today, we're instead going to start the Bechdel Breakdown with this.
Joe. Joe. Yes, limits. We have a Pirates trade. The Bextel Breakdown is brought to you by Southside Plumbing and Heating on this Friday, December 19th. Merry Christmas to everyone. The Pirates have made a trade. where the frameworks are still being worked out on everything and being finalized, but this is what it currently looks like from Ken Rosenthal. The Pirates are acquiring slugger Brandon Lau, second baseman, also could play some outfield, from the Tampa Bay Rays at 31 home runs a year ago. He's in the final year of his contract, he's 31. In addition to Mason Montgomery and Jake Mangum, So Montgomery, Mangum, I should, Mangum is an outfielder. He's a switch hitter. He is going into his age 30 season.
He made his MLB debut last year. Three home runs, 40 RBIs, but he hit 296. And Mangum, or Montgomery, is a young left-handed pitcher who is going to be 26 next season. He had a 5.67 ERA, obviously not great, but 63 strikeouts and 46 innings out of the bullpen last year. I don't care about them. Tell me about Brandon Lau. And they're sending Mike Burrows to Houston in the trade. The Rays are getting two players. So, of course, Brandon Lau is the headliner in the deal. Lau, a year ago, hit 31 home runs. He drove in 83. He hit 256. A slug of 477. The home runs would obviously be the most of anybody on the Pirates. He made the All-Star game last year. Also 19 doubles. Had 130 hits, which was close to a career high.
So he immediately goes into the Pirates lineup and is... Honestly, probably their best bat, depending on what ultimately happens with O'Neal Cruz and his development. It's Lau, Cruz, and Reynolds. This should just be the start, though, for the Pirates. They still need to go get another bat, probably two more, unless they truly believe in this Garcia outfielder that they acquired in the trade with Johan Oviedo earlier. Donnie, what do you think of the deal? I mean, it almost sounds too good to be true for them to only get rid of Mike Burrows. Listen, I like Mike Burrows. I think he's a guy you could toss in the back of your rotation. Oh, him and Oviado will be competing for the Cy Young, but keep going.
But the fact that they just grabbed a guy who, I agree with Austin, you immediately plug him in, and he's the best bat they have. People can argue if they want about the projection of O'Neal Cruz or what Brian Reynolds used to do. This guy, to me, is their best one. He's coming off a season in which he had 31 home runs. He had back-to-back years of 20-plus. He had 39 home runs a couple of years ago. They also get an outfielder, an extra outfielder in Mangum that... Mangum P.I.?
What impact will Brandon Lowe have on the Pirates' lineup?
He doesn't have the huge power numbers, but the guy can actually see and hit the baseball. That means, most importantly, Jack Sawinski can be fired into the sun. Yeah. This is a win-win. I can't believe. Wait a second. You're including Mangum P.I. as a real part of this deal? It means Jack Sawinski is not going to be a guy that we watch play like 80 games in a pirate ship. Well, let's hope. I'm not so sure about that. How do you even know Mangum P.I. is going to make the team out of spring training? He's a 30-year-old who's played one year, and he only had four homers. Maybe he's a late bloomer. And he hit almost 300 in over 100 games last year. I know batting average is old school. So did what's-his-name. Joey Bart a couple years ago looked like Johnny Bench.
Joey Bart continued to be one of their better players, even though he sucked the last half of last year. That was the problem. Let's talk about Brandon Lau, for God's sakes. Yes, 31 homers last year. I don't know if he repeats that. He had 21 each of the previous two years. Then he had eight in an abbreviated season, then 39. Listen, this is great. This is what we want them to do. And as Mr. P put it, It needs to be the beginning, not the end. Is he going to play second base here? He's played a couple games at first, and he's been a DH.
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Chapters
7 chapters
1
What trade did the Pirates make involving Mike Burrows?
0:02–3:18
2
What impact will Brandon Lowe have on the Pirates' lineup?
3:18–5:24
3
Who are the players the Pirates received in the trade?
5:24–8:25
4
What are the opinions on the value of trading Mike Burrows?
8:25–10:37
5
How does the Pirates' trade strategy reflect their future plans?
10:37–16:53
6
What are the implications of Kyle Louis declaring for the draft?
16:53–23:10
7
How did Pitt volleyball perform in the Final Four this year?
23:10–25:28
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