Bucs continue dealing players

PITTSBURGH - If it seems the Pirates have no one else left to trade, there is a reason for that.

It's because, well, they have no one left to trade.

Pittsburgh pulled off its sixth trade since June 3 on Thursday when it sent left-handed reliever John Grabow and Class AAA Indianapolis left-hander Tom Gorzelanny to the Chicago Cubs for right-hander Kevin Hart and two minor-leaguers, right-hander Jose Ascanio and infielder Josh Harrison.

Hart will move into the Pirates' starting rotation while Ascanio will report to Class AAA Indianapolis and Harrison was assigned to high Class A Lynchburg.

Grabow became the latest Pirates player to leave town this season, joining center fielder Nate McLouth, left fielder Nyjer Morgan, left-handed reliever Sean Burnett, first baseman Adam LaRoche, shortstop Jack Wilson and second baseman Freddy Sanchez.

General manager Neal Huntington and manager John Russell will hold a team meeting tonight before the Pirates host the Washington Nationals at PNC Park in the opener of a four-game series and 10-game homestand. The message will be that the dust has settled.

"These are our 25 guys, for the most part, the group we are moving forward with," Huntington said. "This is the team we want to grow together and have them go out and outwork and outperform the competition and evolve into a championship team.

"I'm not saying that every guy on our roster now is going to be here next July. It never works that way in baseball. Every guy in that clubhouse, though, is going to have an opportunity to step forward and be a part of it."

The Pirates are 38-53 and likely on their way to a 17th straight losing season, which would set an American professional sports record. However, Huntington believes the Pirates have a nucleus of young talent both at the major-league and minor-league levels that will allow the organization to be competitive over the long haul.

"We need to break the cycle of losing," Huntington said.

"We need to break the cycle of being in a situation where we're making trades every year. We have the pieces in place to build something."

The Pirates feel Hart, 26, is one of those pieces as he was 3-1 with a 2.60 ERA in eight games, four starts, for Cubs this season, including beating Houston on Thursday afternoon in Chicago. Hart began the season with Class AAA Iowa, where he was 3-3 with three saves and a 3.10 ERA in 22 games, six starts.

Hart has spent parts of the last three seasons with the Cubs, going 5-3 with a 3.93 ERA in 37 games, three starts. Baseball America ranked him as the Cubs' sixth-best prospect coming into this season.

Huntington said the Pirates had not determined who would be dropped from the rotation to make room for Hart but right-hander Virgil Vasquez is the likely candidate. Vasquez, a 27-year-old rookie, is 1-5 with a 6.21 ERA in six starts and on a five-game losing streak.

"Kevin has the size, pitch arsenal and makeup to be a solid major-league starting pitcher or late-inning reliever," Huntington said of the 6-foot-4 Hart. "He pitches as a starter with a live fastball in the low 90s and has been in the mid-to-upper 90s as a reliever. He also has the ability to complement his fastball with a quality curveball, solid slider and changeup."

Ascanio, 24, has split the season between the majors and minors, going 0-1 with a 3.52 ERA in 14 relief appearances for the Cubs and 2-4 with a 3.16 ERA in 12 starts with Iowa. He has spent parts of three seasons with Atlanta (2007) and the Cubs (2008-09), going 1-2 with a 4.86 ERA in 33 relief appearances.

"Ascanio is a right-hander pitcher with a solid pitch arsenal," Huntington said. "He possesses above-average velocity on his four-seam fastball, a major league-caliber slider and changeup as well as a solid sinker. He has the traits to pitch as a starter or out of the pen at the major-league level."

Harrison, 22, hit a combined .327 with five home runs, 42 RBIs and 26 stolen bases in 97 games with low Class A Peoria and high Class A Daytona this year. He has played all over the infield but Huntington believes he profiles as a major-league second baseman.

Harrison is the nephew of former major-league outfielder and Pirates first base coach John "T-Bone" Shelby.

"Harrison is an intriguing athletic player with a quality combination of makeup, hitting ability and speed," Huntington said.

(Perrotto can be contacted at jperrotto@piratesreport.com)