Pirates agree to trade Hanrahan to Red Sox
The Pittsburgh Pirates agreed to trade closer Joel Hanrahan to the Boston Red Sox on Saturday, according to multiple sources.
CBS Sports reported that the deal involves six players, with four of them going to Pittsburgh and two to Boston.
The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review earlier reported that the Pirates are sending Hanrahan and an additional player to the Red Sox and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that the Pirates will get more than two players from Boston.
ESPN first reported that the trade was agreed on by both teams. It reported that the Pirates will get outfielder/first baseman Jerry Sands and right-handed pitching prospect Stolmy Pimentel as part of the deal. CBS Sports was the first to report that Sands would be involved in the trade.
It was speculated that the Pirates would also get infielder prospect Jose Iglesias, but CBS reported that he is not involved in the trade talks.
Hanrahan has 76 saves over the past two seasons.
Hanrahan is also entering the final year of his contract.
The Red Sox already have a closer with Andrew Bailey, but Bailey is still considered a question mark after missing most of last season with injuries and was not effective when he did pitch.
Hanrahan, an All-Star in each of the last two years, could get a big raise in salary arbitration from his $4.1 million salary this year. That pay hike reportedly may be in the $7 million range.
If the trade goes through, Jason Grilli will likely take over as the Pirates closer. He recently signed a two-year, $6.75 million contract with Pittsburgh.
