The Pittsburgh Pirates acquired left-hander J.A. Happ from the Seattle Mariners on Friday in exchange for minor league right-hander Adrian Sampson. He has a 4-6 record with a 4.64 ERA and 1.41 WHIP this season. They sent first baseman-outfielder Mike Morse, whom they had designated for assignment Thursday, to the Pittsburgh Pirates for outfielder Jose Tabata. Bobby LaFromboise will take Burnett’s 25-man roster spot.
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The Dodgers did not make a significant move as baseball’s July trade deadline passed Friday at 1 p.m.
Happ pitched Thursday night, allowing six earned runs and three homers in 3 1/3 innings in a 9-5 loss to the Minnesota Twins. He will serve as a right-handed complement to Pedro Alvarez at first base.
They worked on their bullpen first, obtaining Joe Blanton from Kansas City for versatility and Joakim Soria from Detroit as another setup reliever.
Sampson, a Redmond, Wash., native is scheduled to report to Triple-A Tacoma in the next few days.
Once upon a time Happ was supposed to be an ace and it appeared he would be in his rookie season when he went 12-4 with a 2.93 ERA and 119 strikeouts. With Triple-A Indianapolis this season, he was 8-8 with a 3.98 ERA over 124 1/3 innings with 95 strikeouts in 21 starts.
J.A. Happ struggled in his last two starts before being traded from the M’s to Pittsburgh. LaFromboise made his one appearance with the Pirates this season, pitching a scoreless inning on May 14 at Philadelphia.
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“If we get him back to what he was a year ago, it can play out very well”, Huntington said.
