Pirates acquire J.A. Happ, land Michael Morse

CINCINNATI -- The Pirates made two deals that came out right after today’s 4 p.m. non-waiver trade deadline, bringing their total major league acquisition to five.

They announced a trade that brings lefty J.A. Happ to Pittsburgh from the Mariners in exchange for Class AAA Indianapolis right-hander Adrian Sampson. According to a source familiar with the trade, they also got first baseman Michael Morse from the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for Jose Tabata. CBS Sports first reported the Morse trade.

These moves are obviously intended to address two needs, one that has existed all season and one that cropped up recently: The rotation and first base, or at least a right-handed complement to Pedro Alvarez. A.J. Burnett has struggled in his past three starts, Charlie Morton in his past seven. Alvarez has hit better recently, but still has a .307 on-base percentage and is worth exactly 0.0 Wins Above Replacement, according to Fangraphs’ version of the stat (minus-0.4 according to Baseball Reference). 

But neither Happ nor Morse are having great seasons. Happ has a 4.64 ERA with a 1.41 WHIP in 1082/3 innings and Morse is hitting .213/.276/.313 with four home runs and a 63 OPS+ (league average is 100).