The Indians acquired shortstop Brian Bixler from the Pirates for infielder Jesus Brito, according to a team press release. MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince says Bixler will compete with Jason Donald, Mark Grudzielanek, and Luis Rodriguez for a utility infield role.
Bixler, 27, hit .275/.343/.439 at Triple A this year – his third stint at the level. Heading into 2009 Baseball America labeled him an "average defensive shortstop," noting his ability to play second base and predicting a utility future. Brito, 22, hit .353/.431/.567 for the Indians' rookie and short-season clubs in '09.
Jon A.
Bixler isn’t a Pirate anymore? That’s the best news I’ve heard since we traded Ian Snell.
bucco_nation
amen!
vivagermany
Eastern Mich, REPRESENT!
RiverKKiller999
Boy the Indians are getting it done this off season not lol
John Sparrow
hey we did better than a bag of balls for Bixler…
nslfy
There must be a god if the Pirates finally got rid of this garbage.
nslfy
Must be a god! The Pirates finally got rid of Bixler and actually got a warm body for him. Unbelievable! This might go down as the best deal in NH’s history.
tpstb
Must be a god! The Pirates finally got rid of Bixler and actually got a warm body for him. Unbelievable! This might go down as the best deal in NH’s history.
BLZR
The way Bixler was striking out last year in his short MLB time is completely unheard of from a position player. It was bad even for a pitcher. 26 in 46 plate appearances or 56.5% of the times he came up to the plate. Even Mark Reynolds can’t touch that rate.
lefty177
How about Chris Davis?
BLZR
Ha. No one touches Bixler’s 2009 numbers. Adding in his 2008 season it’s not as bad, but he’s still a little worse than Davis. It’s even worse when you consider that Bixler isn’t a power hitter. 0 MLB HR. Smaller sample for Bixler, though.
BenYankin
Bring on Octavio Dotel
Alldaybaseball
Great deal for the Pirates considering what else they could have got. This guy Brito hit like .350 and yes I know it is a short season he played in. Brito is 21 and yes I was hoping he would be younger.
Yahtzeeeee
I would have been happy if the Bucs would have got a bag of ranch sunflower seeds for Bixler, but we got Jesus. Jesus is only 22 and has some solid numbers. We are going to have to make another one of these shortly to get Dotel on the 40 man roster. Look for Moss or Delwin Young to move shortly
tchemmis
I heard about this trade four hours ago and I am still dancing! Trust in Neal
Matt
Wow, you guys make Bixler out to be a guy that’s the reason the Pirates suck so bad. I mean he’s gotten a whole 166 career PAs in the majors. He currently hasn’t done much in his MLB time and he likely never will, but if this is what Pirates fans get excited about, it’s sad.
Nice to see Bixler come home.
formerdraftpick 2
I liked Bixler. It is a shame that he didn’t make a good first impression with the Pirates because he has the makings of a good middle infielder and a better player than what he showcased. I hope he does better with the Indians. Ironically, he played for the (Indianapolis) Indians last year. Karma.
billyjoeflow21
The one thing I like about the new bucco management, they are getting rod of the garbage, although there is still a whole landfill left, they are ridding us of the JVB’s, Bullington’s, Bixlers and hopefully the Pearce’s!