MLB Trade Rumors 2016: Jesse Biddle Leaves Phillies For Pirates
The Philadelphia Phillies have given up on a prospect they once thought to be part of the team's future. On Wednesday, the team traded Jesse Biddle to the Pittsburgh Pirates for reliever Yoervis Medina. The move is an interesting one, too, because the Phillies actually designated the left-handed pitcher for assignment.
But then again, trading him to the Pirates was no longer a secret for the club because the 24-year-old is expected to miss the entire season after undergoing a successful Tommy John surgery in October of last year.
The former first round pick of the 2010 draft is actually lucky to have found a team that was willing to get him in spite of an uncertain future.
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Biddle still has a lot of potential in him at just 24 years old, but the Phillies are looking to be in a "win-now" mode, suggesting that they could no longer afford to wait for him to develop, especially that he's out for the entirety of the 2016 season. The 27th overall draft pick couldn't be more inconsistent the past two seasons, posting an era of 4.80, while allowing 4.6 batters to walk every nine innings.
While the Phillies are done with the Biddle experiment, the Pirates, on the other hand, may have found something in him to take the gamble. Who knows, they might eventually develop him in a way they tapped the potential supposedly "failed" experiments in the past, with names like J.A. Happ and Vance Worley.
When Philadelphia drafted him, his name was consistently found in the prospects list. He became an intriguing young pitcher because of his fastball. However, his biggest issue so far as a professional has been control. That should be something the Pirates will be taking a closer look at once he returns to action.
The Venezuelan Medina, on the other hand, is a 27-year-old right-hander who played for the Seattle Mariners, Chicago Cubs, and Pirates prior to this trade.
