Pirates acquire pitcher Sean Gallagher

The Pittsburgh Pirates today acquired right-handed relief pitcher Sean Gallagher from the San Diego Padres for cash considerations. The announcement was made by Pirates Senior Vice President, General Manager Neal Huntington.

The Pirates will make a corresponding move on the 25-man roster when Gallagher joins Pittsburgh on the club's road trip.

Gallagher went 0-0 with a 5.40 ERA (23.1ip/14er) in 15 relief appearances for San Diego before being designated for assignment on July 1. In his last eight appearances with the Padres beginning on May 1, he posted a 2.77 ERA (13.0ip/4er). He also went 0-2 with a 4.91 ERA (11.0ip/6er) in three starts with Triple-A Portland while on a rehab assignment from a sprained toe on his left foot in May.

The 24-year-old Gallagher has a career record of 8-9 with one save and a 5.57 ERA (173.0ip/107er) in 60 games (23 starts) since breaking into the big leagues in 2007 with the Chicago Cubs.

The 6-foot-2 righthander was originally selected by the Cubs in the 12th round of the 2004 First-Year Player Draft. He was named Chicago's Minor League Pitcher-of-the-Year in 2005 after going 14-5 with a 2.71 ERA in 26 starts for Single-A Peoria while also being named to both the Midwest League mid-season and post-season All-Star teams.

Gallagher entered the 2008 campaign ranked as the 82nd-best prospect in all of minor league baseball and also as the Cubs' fifth-best prospect according to Baseball America. He made 12 appearances (10 starts) with the Cubs before being acquired by Oakland as part of a six-player deal on July 8. He finished the year with a combined 103 strikeouts between Chicago and Oakland, which ranked ninth among all Major League rookies.