Twins trade Justin Morneau to the Pirates
Twins Acquire Outfielder Alex Presley and a Player To Be Named Later
The Minnesota Twins announced that they have traded first baseman Justin Morneau to the Pittsburgh Pirates for outfielder Alex Presley and a player to be named later or cash.
Morneau has spent his entire career with the Twins after being drafted in the third round of the 1999 First-Year Player Draft. He broke into the big leagues in 2003 and has played in 1,278 games with the Twins hitting a career .278 (1318-for-4749) with 289 doubles and 860 RBI. Last night he passed Tony Oliva with his 221st career home run, placing him third on the Twins all-time list. The 2006 American League MVP is hitting .259 (128-for-495) with 32 doubles, 17 home runs and 74 RBI.
Presley appeared in 29 games for the Pirates this season, hitting .264 (19-for-72) with one double, one triple, two home runs and four RBI. The 28-year old was most recently with Triple-A Indianapolis, hitting .298 (102-for-342) with 17 doubles, six triples, five home runs, 27 RBI, 17 stolen bases and 57 runs scored. The 5-foot-10, 198-pound outfielder was originally drafted by the Pirates in the eighth round of the 2006 First-Year Player Draft and hit .261 (171-for-656) with 28 doubles, 14 triples, 16 home runs, 49 RBI and 83 runs scored in 204 career games for Pittsburgh.
Presley will join the Twins on their current road trip.