Pittsburgh Pirates designate Nate McLouth for assignment

After re-uniting with outfielder Nate McLouth by signing him to a one-year deal worth $1.75 million in the offseason, the Pittsburgh Pirates have designated him for assignment after an awful start to the season.

The former 3.9 WAR young star in 2008, Nate McLouth enjoyed another successful season in 2010 and was worth 3.4 WAR. However, he fell hard and fast in his first full season with the Atlanta Braves in 2010 and had a .190/.280/.322 triple slash in 288 plate appearances with even worse defense than usual for a putrid -1.2 WAR season. Things didn’t go much better for McLouth in 2011, as he finished with a low total of 0.2 WAR despite a .344 OBP. Part of that was due to a lack of power, as he finished with just a .333 slugging percentage. His 92 wRC+ wasn’t terrible, but he had a -11 UZR.

In 62 plate appearances, McLouth has had a 2010-esque year. He has a .140/.210/.175 triple slash for a wRC+ of (gulp) 7. His pre-season ZiPS projection was at 0.7 WAR (bad enough), but that has now changed to at replacement-level. He is a terrible defensive player as well, so it seems like McLouth is a 0.5 WAR player.

It is insane how Nate McLouth fell from a rising outfielder with speed, pop, and the ability to get on base to an outfielder with little value. He will most likely clear waivers, but there are no guarantees that he ends up leaving the Pirates for the second time in his career.

The $1.75 million deal looked like a nice low-risk, buy-low deal for a formerly quality hitter, but McLouth’s slow start didn’t instill confidence into anybody. Hopefully, he gets things together either on the Pirates or on another team in the future.

In a corresponding move, the Pirates recalled right-handed first baseman Matt Hague from AAA. The Opening Day starter made his MLB debut in the team’s first game of the 2012 season, but his cameo only last nine plate appearances. Hague is projected to be worth 0.3 WAR, and he will provided depth at the corner infield spots.

In 151 plate appearances this year in the minors, Hague has a wRC+ of 88. In 2010, he finished with a 128 wRC+ in 595 PAs in AAA with a .373 OBP. He has some pop and can get on base, but Hague is a limited player and is a depth guy right now. He has a decent minor league track record as a hitter, and it will be interesting to see what he does with this opportunity.

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