.jpg)
2 hours ago
1
The Pittsburgh Pirates have just gotten news of an unexpected departure.
Cam Devanney, a righty hitting third baseman, was set to be a depth player for the Pirates in 2026.
Instead, he's heading across the Pacific.
Devanney is signing a contract with the Hanshin Tigers of Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan, according to Colin Beazley of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
He had only just made his MLB debut in the second half of the 2025 season. The Pirates landed Devanney as the return from the Royals in the Adam Frazier trade at the deadline.
At the time of the trade, Devanney was hitting .272 with 18 homers and 14 doubles at Triple-A Omaha.
He hit worse with Triple-A Indianapolis (.256 with a .361 slugging) before struggling big time in 14 games with the Pirates, batting just .139 and striking out in more than half of his at bats.
This is likely a chance for Devanney to earn a better payday than he would've as a player shuttling between Triple-A and the majors.
The Pirates probably didn't have Devanney in their starting lineup plans for 2026, anyway. At best, he would've squeezed onto the MLB roster as a bench piece.
It ends up being a trade acquisition that quickly didn't work out for Pittsburgh. Frazier was never going to command a huge piece in return, but such a quick departure by Devanney certainly goes down as a failure by the Pirates' front office.
English (US)