The Pittsburgh Pirates have acquired Oakland Athletics prospect Corey Wimberly, according to Wimberly himself on Twitter. The Pirates sent Ryan Kelly to the Athletics, according to Jane Lee of MLB.com. Wimberly, who turned 27 in October, reached the AAA level in 2010, with a .284/.373/.354 line in 531 at-bats, and 56 stolen bases. Wimberly has played second base, shortstop, third base, left field, and center field. He has primarily been a second baseman in his career, although he spent most of his time in 2010 in the outfield, between left and center field. He also played 31 games at shortstop.
Wimberly has good range, which allows him to play all of those positions. His offensive numbers are interesting. He doesn’t have any power, but hits for average, and has a lot of speed, stealing 50+ bases in three of his six seasons in the minors. It’s likely that Wimberly could compete for a bench role in the majors in 2010, considering his success at the AAA level, and his range of positions.
Kelly was drafted by the Pirates in the 26th round in 2006, and signed out of high school for $100,000 as one of the rare over-slot signings during the Dave Littlefield era. He has worked out of the West Virginia bullpen in each of the last two seasons. He has a fastball that sits in the low-to-mid 90s, with good control. He has a career .277 BAA, and doesn’t project as more than a middle relief prospect, although he looks to be organizational depth at the lower levels, considering he hasn’t made it past low-A at the age of 23.
