Thursday Trade Tree – Orlando Merced

This tree is not as notable for its length as it is for its breadth. You just don’t see too many nine person trades. (Click to embiggen)

Merced was worth 13.0 WAR as a Pirate and had only one good year after he left so they traded him at just the right time. Craig Wilson was easily the best player received, so all in all a very meh deal.

I cannot find anywhere what happened to Mike Halperin. At some point during the 98 season he left the Pirates organization and reappeared in the Toronto system. There’s no evidence of a trade so I assume he was just released and signed back with the team that drafted him. He never played again after 1998.

Have a happy Memorial Day weekend everybody. Be sure to take a moment to remember those who served, those currently serving and those who gave their life in service of our country.

UPDATE 11:02AM: Thanks to Mark Jareb on the Pirates email list who was able to find that Halperin was traded back to Toronto for Jeff Patzke 5/13/98. Patzke never made the majors and left as a minor league free agent in October ’99. I’ll update the chart with the new information when I am able.