Yankees send Stewart to Pirates for Haynes

The New York Yankees have sent Chris Stewart to the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for Kyle Haynes. Stewart served as the Yankees primary catcher last season despite his poor play throughout the season. He batted just .211 over 340 plate appearances and struggled with the amount of chances. With the Pirates, Stewart can play behind former teammate Russell Martin at catcher. He brings great defense to Pittsburgh and looks to benefit from getting more rest between starts. The Yankees had no need for Stewart anymore (projected to earn $1 million in arbitration) with Brian McCann now becoming the main battery mate. This does leave questions though, with Francisco Cervelli slated to be the backup in New York after suffering a fractured hand and being involved in the BioGenesis scandal.

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In exchange for Stewart, the Yankees acquired prospect Kyle Haynes (originally a player to be named later). The young righty pitched at low-A West Virginia for the Pirates in a mix between relief appearances and starts. He only began to start in his last eight appearances but pitched to a 2.38 ERA over the entire season. He will most likely serve as organizational depth but could eventually make it to the major leagues and log decent outings. 

Overall, the Yankees were able to clear some salary and obtain a prospect and the Pirates were able to find a backup catcher in a relatively minor deal.

Yankees - B
Pirates - B

For more info on the trade see: http://espn.go.com/new-york/mlb/story/_/id/10067617/pittsburgh-pirates-acquire-chris-stewart-new-york-yankees

Image citations in order of page:
http://www.fancloud.com/articles/new-york-yankees-news-december-2-2013
http://www.piratesprospects.com/2013/08/west-virginia-loses-series-finale-despite-fine-outing-by-kyle-haynes.html

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