MINNEAPOLIS — Shane Baz, a starting pitcher selected 12th overall by the Pirates in last June's MLB Draft, was traded to the Rays Tuesday to complete the blockbuster Chris Archer deadline deal.
Baz, 19, was named the Appalachian League pitcher of the week Monday after throwing 9 2/3 scoreless innings with 12 strikeouts in his past two starts for short-season Bristol and was ranked the Pirates' No. 3 prospect by Baseball America entering the season. To acquire Archer, the club parted with two of its top three prospects — Baz and Austin Meadows, who was ranked No. 2 entering the season — and Tyler Glasnow.
Meadows has appeared in 11 games with the Rays' Triple-A affiliate, while Glasnow has allowed three earned runs over four major-league starts. Baz had a 3.97 ERA, 1.50 WHIP and 54 strikeouts to 23 walks in 10 starts for Bristol.
"Well, as we’ve all said, we’re excited to have Archer, and we knew Archer’s price tag was going to be high," Clint Hurdle said Tuesday afternoon at Target Field. "We wish [Baz] nothing but good things. I hope it turns out to be a great trade for both sides. The other hard part is not every minor league prospect ever pans out to be a great major league pitcher. You just don’t know. We love the kid, love the development, the progress and tracking he was on, just as we did with Glasnow, just as we did with Meadows. ... It’s all part of organizational development and success. There’s only two types of currency in today’s game to go get players you don’t have and you’re not raising: you either buy them or you trade for them. This was the option we were able to choose."
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