Pirates trade middle infielder Kevin Newman to rival Reds
The Pittsburgh Pirates traded their longest-tenured player, middle infielder Kevin Newman, to the NL Central Division rival Cincinnati Reds.
In return, the Pirates receive right-handed reliever Dauri Moreta, a 26-year-old from the Dominican Republic who was 0-2 with a 5.40 ERA and 1.17 WHIP, 39 strikeouts and 13 walks in 381⁄3 innings over 35 appearances last season. Moreta throws a 96 mph four-seamer and sinker, as well as a slider and changeup.
The trade was first reported by Rob Biertempfel and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.
A 2015 first-round pick out of Arizona, the 29-year-old Newman slashed .260/.303/.357 with 67 doubles, 11 triples, 20 home runs and 143 RBIs in 431 games over five seasons with the Pirates. They tendered a contract Friday to Newman, who was projected to make $2.8 million in his second year of arbitration eligibility. He earned $1.95 million in 2022.
The Reds addressed a position of need as they started three players at shortstop last season: Kyle Farmer (97 games), Matt Reynolds (19 games) and 24-year-old Jose Barrero (46 games). The Reds traded the 32-year-old Farmer, who was projected to make $5.9 million in arbitration, to the Minnesota Twins on Friday.
Newman missed two months with hamstring and groin injuries last season but batted .274/.316/.372 with 18 doubles and 24 RBIs. A Gold Glove finalist at shortstop in 2021, he split his time between shortstop (31 starts) and second base (37) after the arrival of Oneil Cruz last June.
Newman had a strong rookie season, batting .308/.353/.446 with 20 doubles, six triples, 12 home runs and 64 RBIs in 2019, but struggled offensively the next two seasons. He batted .224 in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season and .226 last year, when he had the lowest OPS (.574) among all qualified hitters.
The trade opens up the competition for the Pirates’ starting job at second base, where 10 different players started games last season. Newman, Josh VanMeter, Michael Chavis, Yu Chang and Cole Tucker are no longer with the Pirates, leaving Rodolfo Castro (28 starts) as the likely frontrunner, although Tucupita Marcano and Diego Castillo (18 starts each) and Hoy Park (eight starts) and Ji Hwan Bae (four starts) could get consideration. The odd man out likely will be deployed as a utility player.
Kevin Gorman is a TribLive reporter covering the Pirates. A Baldwin native and Penn State graduate, he joined the Trib in 1999 and has covered high school sports, Pitt football and basketball and was a sports columnist for 10 years. He can be reached at kgorman@triblive.com.
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