The trade deadline passed at 4 PM, but as I mentioned earlier today, don’t think it’s over if you hear nothing by then. Late word from Jeff Passan and Robert Murray have the Pirates trading Richard Rodriguez to the Atlanta Braves and Austin Davis to the Boston Red Sox.
Richard Rodriguez goes to Atlanta, source tells ESPN.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) July 30, 2021
and
The Boston Red Sox are in agreement on a deal to acquire left-hander Austin Davis from the Pittsburgh Pirates, according to a source familiar with the situation.
— Robert Murray (@ByRobertMurray) July 30, 2021
Here are the reported trades, with more coming up on this breaking news
Bryse Wilson and Ricky Devito from Braves to Pirates for Richard Rodriguez, source says.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 30, 2021
and
Can confirm Austin Davis to Boston for Michael Chavis. @ByRobertMurray and @keithlaw were on it.
That's all that's expected from the Pirates at this point.
— Jason Mackey (@JMackeyPG) July 30, 2021
From the Pirates
TRADE: We have acquired right-handed pitchers Ricky DeVito and Bryse Wilson from the Braves in exchange for RHP Richard Rodríguez. pic.twitter.com/Jbp68z5N3l
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) July 30, 2021
First the Rodriguez deal with the Braves. DeVito is a right-handed pitcher who is about to turn 23 years old. He is in High-A right now, but has only pitched five games this year. He was a 2019 draft pick out of Seton Hall. He recently ranked 17th in Baseball America’s midseason update of the Braves system. He has not pitched since going on the injured list on June 9th. BA says he has a mid-90s power sinker and a split-change that is an out pitch.
Wilson was once a top prospect in the Braves system, but he no longer qualifies as a prospect. He will have five full seasons of service time left after this year. He has pitched parts of four seasons in the majors with the Braves after being a fourth round draft pick out of high school in 2016. He’s a 23-year-old right-hander with a 5.45 ERA, a 1.70 WHIP, a 33:58 BB/SO ratio and a 5.48 FIP in 74.1 big league innings. In seven starts this year he has a 4.83 ERA and a 1.55 WHIP.
TRADE: We have acquired INF Michael Chavis from the Red Sox in exchange for LHP Austin Davis. pic.twitter.com/VwqDvP72TU
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) July 30, 2021
Chavis was a top 100 prospect in baseball in 2018 and 2019. He was a first round pick out of high school in 2014, who has played 168 big league games over the last three years, seeing most of his playing time at first base and second base. He’s about to turn 26 years old. This season he is hitting .190/.207/.342 in 31 games. Overall he is a .234/.291/.413 hitter in the majors, with a 40:209 BB/SO ratio in 622 plate appearances. He’s been a -0.2 WAR over his career, though he had a solid rookie season in 2019, with a 0.8 WAR in 95 games. He will have four full years of service time remaining before free agency after this season.
The Pirates were giving up a 28-year-old pitcher with 5.65 ERA in parts of four seasons in Davis, so this is a pretty good return, especially if Chavis can return to the 2019 numbers. He will report to Indianapolis according to reports.
In Rodriguez, the Pirates were giving up their closer, who will still have two more years of service time after 2021. He has been solid in the closer role each of the last two years, which has increased his value. He got the Pirates a top 20 prospect in the Braves system and a starting pitcher with some big league success at times, but he’s so young that there’s a possibility of his being better and sticking around in that role for 5+ years.
