Akinori Iwamura Traded to the Pirates
November 3, 2009 by Stephen Kersey
Filed under Baseball
In the middle of the 2009 baseball season, the Pittsburgh Pirates traded star second baseman Freddy Sanchez to the San Francisco Giants. During the offseason, the Pirates wanted to find a replacement second baseman. Following a trade with the Tampa Bay Rays, they found their man.
Akinori Iwamura, who was Tampa Bay’s everyday second baseman in 2008 when the team made a run to the World Series, was traded to the Pirates for Jesse Chavez, a relief pitcher. Iwamura will likely become Pittsburgh’s everyday second baseman.
In 2009, Iwamura’s season was cut sure due to a knee injury. The 30-year-old native of Japan hit .290 with 22 RBIs and 28 runs in 231 at-bats. In 2008, he hit .274 with six homers, 48 RBIs, 91 runs and an on-base percentage of .349.
Chavez pitched in 73 games last year for the Pirates and posted a 4.01 ERA. It was the 26-year-old’s first full season in the big leagues.
The Rays were able to trade Iwamura since Ben Zobrist emerged as a potential star at second base last year after Iwamura’s injury.
Akinori Iwamura is the new second baseman for the Pittsburgh Pirates (Image: Zuma Press)
