Maybe the Mayans were right after all.
How else could you explain the Pittsburgh Pirates trading for players?
On Tuesday night, they acquired Wandy Rodriguez from the Houston Astros in exchange for three minor leaguers, as MLB’s official Twitter feed confirmed:
BREAKING: @Pirates acquire LHP Wandy Rodriguez from @Astros for LHP Rudy Owens, OF Robbie Grossman and LHP Colton Cain.
— MLB (@MLB) July 25, 2012
Danny Knobler of CBS Sports reports that the Astros will pay “some” of the $30 million left on Rodriguez’s deal, which runs through the 2014 season.
The 33-year-old has accumulated a 7-9 record with a 3.79 ERA, 1.27 WHIP and .260 BAA in 130.2 innings pitched this season.
The Pirates are looking to register their first winning season in 20 years and are clearly pulling out all the stops. While the staff already ranks sixth in team ERA (3.48) and ninth in WHIP (1.27), there are concerns about the rotation keeping up the pace throughout the second half of the season.
Erik Bedard has been extremely inconsistent and has a 5-11 record, but Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports predicts that it will be Kevin Correia:
#Pirates fans, you are right! Karstens likely to stay in rotation over Correia. Same point. Rotation better.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 25, 2012
Correia hasn’t recorded an out in the seventh inning in his last nine starts and seems to be fading a bit despite the team winning his last four starts.
They might not be done yet, either. Fox Sports’ Jon Morosi reports the search for another bat is next up on the to-do list:
#Pirates still looking to add a hitter after trading for Wandy, source says.
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) July 25, 2012
1992 was the last time Pittsburgh made the playoffs. Will 2012 finally be the year the streak comes to an end?
At the very least, finishing this season over .500 is a very likely outcome now with Rodriguez on board.
Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com