The Milwaukee Brewers traded corner infielder Casey McGehee to the Pittsburgh Pirates for right-handed reliever Jose Veras.
McGehee broke onto the scene in 2009 with the Brewers, hitting .301/.360/.499 over his 116 games with the Crew, earning him Rookie of the Year consideration. McGehee dropped off a bit in 2010 as the Brewers everyday third baseman but still managed an OPS of .801.
But 2011 was a different story for McGehee. The 29-year-old was only able to hit at a clip of .223/.280/.346 over his 600 plate appearances for Milwaukee last season. The Brewers added Aramis Ramirez yesterday meaning McGehee was facing a reduced role with the club in 2012.
McGehee provides the Pirates with a player that has the ability to cover both of the infield corners and has shown that he can handle a bat fairly well. At this point, Pittsburgh does not have an established first baseman on their roster and their pool of hot corner players is fairly weak.
For McGehee, the Brewers received righty reliever Jose Veras. In 2011, his first season with the Pirates, Veras logged 71 innings while maintaining an ERA and WHIP of 3.80 and 1.239. The 31-year-old struck out more than a batter per inning last year while keeping a BB/9 of 4.3. Over his six seasons in the majors, Veras has held an ERA and WHIP of 4.11 and 1.318.
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