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 Only 48 hours after the Cleveland Indians designated Jason Michaels and his negative batting average for assignment, the Associated Press reports that the Tribe has traded Michaels and some cash to the Pittsburgh Pirates for the ever-coveted “player to be named later.”While I’m not too big of a fan of this part…

[The] Indians would pay a large portion of the remaining $1,680,055 Michaels is owed from his $2.15 million salary.

…I’m not going to get too beat up over it, as it appears that we’ll at least be getting something in return.  The interesting part of this whole transaction is the network of managers involved. 

Neal Huntington is the current GM of the Pirates.  Huntington is also the former special assistant to Mark Shapiro. 

Current Pirate bench coaches John Russell and Gary Varsho are former members of the Phillies organization, and were coaches of Michaels when he was “mashing” in the City of Brotherly Love, and are both well aware of his abilities.

Apparently, all coaches on the Pittsburgh side felt that this would be a cheaper, more-efficient way to obtain the services of Michaels – opposed to going the whole waiver route.  On the other hand, the Pirates just traded for the leftovers of a team with one of the worst batting averages in the AL.  Take your pick.

“He brings a lot of experience to the table,” Huntington said.

No word on how excited Michaels is that his gold locks will now match his uniform.

Pirates Trade for OF Michaels [Associated Press]