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)

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Akinori Iwamura Traded to the Pirates

The 31-year-old second baseman began his career with the Boston Red Sox but made his name with the Pittsburgh Pirates. He played with the Pirates from 2004 through the middle of last season. For his career, Sanchez has a .299 batting average and an on-base percentage of .334.

In 25 games with the Giants last season, Sanchez hit .284 with one homer, seven RBIs and 11 runs. In 86 games with the Pirates last season, he hit .296 with six homers, 34 RBIs and 45 runs.

The Giants were in the playoff race for much of last season but fell off near the end of the campaign. Still, their record of 88-74 beat most expectations and they have a number of solid pieces to build upon — now including Freddy Sanchez.

Freddy Sanchez - San Francisco Giants (Image: Zuma Press)

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Freddy Sanchez Signs Extension with Giants

Albert Pujols - St. Louis Cardinals (Image: Zuma Press)

That the homer came off of Capps is significant. The last time Pujols faced Capps, the reliever was ejected for hitting Pujols in the ribs with a fastball. However, Pujols said that it wasn’t a matter of revenge.

Said Pujols: “Not revenge. What I’m trying to do there is get on base and try to help my team win a game.”

With the win, the Cardinals are now sitting at 81-56. They are all but guaranteed a spot in the 2009 baseball playoffs. And if Pujols, who is hitting .321 with 44 homers and 117 RBIs, keeps hitting the way he is the sky is the limit for St. Louis.

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Albert Pujols Wins Game with Pinch Hit Bomb

On the season, the 30-year-old Grabow has a 3.42 ERA in 45 appearances. He’s been a member of Pittsburgh’s bullpen since coming into the big leagues in 2003. Last season was his best year — finishing with a 2.84 ERA in 74 appearances.

The Cubs have been interested in Grabow because they needed an additional left-hander in their bullpen. Currently, Sean Marshall is the only southpaw in Chicago’s bullpen.

Who exactly the Cubs are getting in return hasn’t been announced. Considering that the Pirates are clearly in a rebuilding mode, it’s likely that they will ask for young prospects in return. In their trades completed yesterday, the Pirates received Tim Alderson, Ronny Cedeno, Jack Lement, Aaron Pribanic, Brett Lorin and Nathan Adcock.

John Grabow traded to the Cubs (Image: Zuma Press)

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Another Pirates Trade: John Grabow to Cubs

The first trade sent Jack Wilson and Ian Snell to the Seattle Mariners. In return, the Pirates received Ronny Cedeno, Jack Lement, Aaron Pribanic, Brett Lorin and Nathan Adcock.

Wilson was the starting shortstop for the Pirates and will continue to start with the Mariners. On the season, he’s hitting .267 with four homers and 31 RBIs. Snell is a starting pitcher with a 5.36 ERA and a record of 2-8. Many scouts think that the 27-year-old Snell still has untapped potential.

The two big names the Pirates received in this trade were Cedeno and Clement. Both players will likely play at the big league level this season for Pittsburgh.

In the other trade of the day, the Pirates traded Freddy Sanchez to the San Francisco Giants. The second baseman, who has been an All-Star three times, is hitting .296 with six homers and 34 RBIs. For his career, the 31-year-old is a .300 hitter.

With the Giants, Sanchez will step into a big role right away. San Francisco hopes he’s the key to making a push to qualify for the 2009 baseball playoffs.

In return, the Pirates received Tim Alderson, a quality pitching prospect.

Freddy Sanchez Tradded to the Giants (Image: Zuma Press)

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Pirates Trade Sanchez, Wilson and Snell

On the season, the 29-year-old LaRoche is hitting .247 with 12 homers, 40 RBIs and 46 runs. In the month of July, he has been slumping — hitting just .138 for the month with one homer in 58 at-bats.

Considering that a number of Pirates players have expressed their displeasure with the way the team has been dismantled, LaRoche getting traded to a contender should be good news for him. The Red Sox, too, can use a pick-me-up as they’ve lost four straight games. Boston now trails the New York Yankees by a game in the AL East.

over the years, LaRoche has been a consistent performer.In the last three years, he’s hit at least 21 homers, knocked in at least 85 RBIs and posted a batting average of at least .270.

Adam LaRoche traded to the Boston Red Sox (Image: Zuma Press)

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Adam LaRoche Traded to the Red Sox

On the season, Morgan is hitting .277 with two homers, 27 RBIs, 39 runs and 18 stolen bases. The 28-year-old is an everyday starter for the first time in his big league career.

Burnett is a 26-year-old relief pitcher. Prior to the trade, he had a 3.06 ERA in 38 appearances with the Pirates. He began his career as a starter but is now a full-time reliever.

The Pirates get a player in Milledge who has a ton of potential. He was expected to breakout this year with the Nationals but has instead found himself in the minor leagues. If the center fielder can get back on track, he could turn out to be the best player in the trade.

Hanrahan has struggled this year. After pitching well in 2008, he has a 7.71 ERA in 34 appearances so far in 2009.

Nyjer Morgan - Washington Nationals (Image: Zuma Press)

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Nyjer Morgan Traded to the Nationals

Pujols finished the game 4-for-4 with two runs and one RBI. In the first inning, he connected on his 11th home run of the season. In 2009, to go along with his 11 long balls, Pujols is hitting .364 with 31 RBIs and an on-base percentage of .467.

With the win, the Cardinals are now 18-10 on the season. Only the Los Angeles Dodgers (20-8) and the Toronto Blue Jays (19-10) have a better record at the moment.

The loss dropped Pittsburgh to 12-15. They’ve lost four ballgames in a row and sit in fifth place in the NL Central — 5.5 games back of the division-leading Cardinals.

Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals (Image: Newscom)

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Albert Pujols Slugs Cardinals to Victory

Chris Carpenter, St. Louis Cardinals (Image: Newscom)

The 2005 National League Cy Young winner took a no-hitter into the seventh inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Thursday. Although the Pirates broke up his no-hit bid, Carptenter and the Cardinals were able to post a 2-1 victory.

In seven innings, the 33-year-old gave up one hit, two walks and no earned runs while striking out seven batters. Of his 92 pitches, 61 were for strikes.

In the last two seasons, Carpenter was only able to make five starts. However, from 2004 through 2006, Carpenter had a combined record of 51-18.

With the win over the Pirates, the Cardinals improved to 2-2 on the season. Carpenter’s win was the 101st of his career.

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Chris Carpenter Flashes Cy Young Form

5. Seattle Mariners
The Mariners will likely be improved from last season. They have a relatively high-priced roster so Seattle can expect less bad luck this year. That said, they will likely remain a top five worst team.

4. Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pirates simply don’t have enough talent. They’ve played hard the last few years but without the necessary talent, it’s difficult to put victories on the board.

3. Baltimore Orioles
Although the Orioles made a few runs at big name players, they once again had a disappointing offseason. They do have a few young players would could breakout but the team will still lose — a lot.

2. San Diego Padres
After a bad season, the Padres spent most of the offseason shedding salary. That is never a good combination. San Diego is in for another long baseball season.

1. Washington Nationals
The Nationals will likely once again be the worst of the worst. They don’t have much star potential in their lineup or at the mound. Overall, Washington just remains a mess.

Washington Nationals Losers Again? (Image: Newscom)

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Top Five Worst Teams in Baseball