The Pittsburgh Pirates added depth to the middle of their lineup Saturday by acquiring first baseman Justin Morneau from the Minnesota Twins in exchange for outfielder Alex Presley and a player to be named later or cash considerations.
The Pirates (78-56) are currently in a heated race with the St. Louis Cardinals for the National League Central division crown. The Cardinals and Pirates have the same record heading into tonight's head-to-head clash at PNC Park following the Pirates 5-0 win Friday night. Sunday will be the final game of the series between the two.
The Pirates added Morneau in hopes to add some more power to the team's lineup. This season, Morneau is hitting .259 with 17 homers and 75 RBIs in 127 games and has hit nine of his long-balls in August. The Pirates hope his hot bat can help them reach the division crown.
Morneau, who has played with the Twins for the duration of his entire 11-year career, is owed $14 million this season in the final year of his contract. Morneau won the American League Most Valuable Player Award in 2006, posting a .321 batting average while blasting 34 homers and 130 RBIs.
Morneau, 32, leaves behind a lot of history with Minnesota, as he's third on the team's all-time homers list with 221 and has a career average of .278. A retrospective of Morneau's career in Minnesota can be seen in the video below:
The Twins are in a rebuilding phase as the team currently sits in fourth place in the American League Central, 20 games shy of the division-leading Detroit Tigers and 17 games behind the Tampa Bay Rays for the second wildcard spot in the AL.
The Twins received Presley, 28, who hit .264 with Pittsburgh in 29 games.
Morneau is expected to join Andrew McCutchen, Pedro Alvarez and newly-acquired Marlon Byrd in the middle of the Pittsburgh lineup.
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