Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
The Dodgers and Pirates consummated a minor trade on Tuesday. LA sent 25-year-old utility player Zach McKinstry to Pittsburgh for right-handed reliever Rich Rodriguez and minor-league shortstop Cole Tucker.
McKinstry has spent all season with the OKC Dodgers and, despite being added to the 40-man roster IRL, he was not in OOTP. He hit .233/.327/.324 in the Pacific Coast League after a breakout 2019 season.
Rodriguez, 30, logged 21 1/3 innings in Pittsburgh this season. He pitched to an ugly 6.33 ERA and just-as-ugly 2.1 HR/9. He’ll be added to the 40-man roster and report immediately to the Dodgers.
Tucker, 23, was Pittsburgh’s 1st-round pick in 2014 out of Mount Pointe High School (Cody’s Note: It’s ‘Mountain Pointe,’ typical Californians knowing nothing about Arizona) in Arizona. He’s also apparently good friends with Cody Bellinger, so I’m sure he approves of the deal. Tucker was hitting .215/.271/.319 for Triple-A Indianapolis of the International League before the deal. He made his MLB debut in 2019 and hit .211/.266/.361 for the Pirates. He has 1st-round pedigree, so there’s hope the Dodgers developmental staff can figure something out, but all in all, this is the most minor of deals.
