The Pittsburgh Pirates have traded right-handed pitcher Bryton Trepagnier to the Atlanta Braves in exchange for third baseman Edward Salcedo. This is a minor league deal and has no effect on the 40-man roster.
Salcedo has also played shortstop and right field often during his minor league career, but the majority of his time has come at third base. He’s a 23-year-old, 6’3″, 210 pound righty/righty, who hit .212/.294/.357 in AAA last year. Salcedo has reached double-digits in homers each of the last three seasons, topping out at 17 in High-A ball in 2012. Over his five year career, he is a .230/.297/.395 hitter, with 57 homers and 100 stolen bases. He signed for a $1.6 M bonus in 2010 out of the Dominican Republic.
Trepagnier is also 23 years old. He pitched for Bradenton in 2014 and made the All-Star team. He had a 2.53 ERA in 53.1 innings, with a 33/40 BB/SO ratio. Trepagnier was not among the top 50 prospects in our latest Prospect Guide. He was drafted by the Pirates in the 41st round in 2010.
You can find Trepagnier’s player page here.
Sources: Pirates trade RHP Bryton Trepagnier to Braves for UT Edward Salcedo. ATL stocking up on arms, PIT gets change-of-scenery candidate.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) February 6, 2015
John started working at Pirates Prospects in 2009, but his connection to the Pittsburgh Pirates started exactly 100 years earlier when Dots Miller debuted for the 1909 World Series champions. John was born in Kearny, NJ, two blocks from the house where Dots Miller grew up. From that hometown hero connection came a love of Pirates history, as well as the sport of baseball.
When he didn't make it as a lefty pitcher with an 80+ MPH fastball and a slider that needed work, John turned to covering the game, eventually focusing in on the prospects side, where his interest was pushed by the big league team being below .500 for so long. John has covered the minors in some form since the 2002 season, and leads the draft and international coverage on Pirates Prospects. He writes daily on Pittsburgh Baseball History, when he's not covering the entire system daily throughout the entire year on Pirates Prospects.
I like the trade: you move a longshot reliever from Single-A for a former top third base prospect. Now Salcedo is different than “former top prospects” like Brent Morel. Salcedo is still only 23, has shown pop, and everything I have read, was rushed through the lower levels of the minors. Obviously this can have an impact on your development, the Pirates can be patient with him, and hopefully they can turn his career around in a position that we do not have a lot of depth in.
Dang, I was really looking forward to seeing what Bryton could do when he panned out. I really thought he could be a under the radar prospect, sad to see him leave. I hope he is worth it.