The Pirates have traded Adam Laroche to the Boston Red Sox.
The Pirates will receive pitcher Hunter Strickland and shortstop Argenis Diaz according to Alex Spiere of WEEI.
The 29-year-old Laroche is batting .247/.329/.441 this season with 12 home runs and 40 RBI and is in the final year of his contract which pays him $7.05 million per season.
It is being speculated that the Pirates will pay some of Laroche’s salary.
The only other known team to show an interest in Laroche has been the San Francisco Giants.
The Red Sox were in pursuit of Nationals 1B Nick Johnson but the asking price for Laroche is much lower.
* The first impression on the return for Laroche is that it isn’t much, although Strickland is a player the Pirates like a lot.
Hunter Strickland, Age 20
Height: 6-5 Weight: 200lbs
Pitcher: Throws Right
– Strickland’s fastball sits 89-91 MPH, has good movement.
– Struggles at times with his off-speed pitches
– Sliders sits around 79 MPH and change up sits around 84MPH.
Current Stats – 5-4 with a 3.35 ERA for the Greenville Drive of the Single-A South Atlantic League this year
– 51-13 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 83.1 innings this year.
– MLB potential – Reliever
*Argenis Diaz is a very good defensive shortstop
– Struggles at the plate and is viewed as a potential utilility player in the majors
– Diaz, 22, is batting.253/.309/.310 with Double-A Portland this year
