Red Sox Trade Zach Stewart To Pirates For PTBNL

The Red Sox acquired Zach Stewart this past season as part of the Kevin Youkilis trade with the White Sox. Brent Lillibridge, the other piece in the return, was already sent packing, and now Stewart is gone as well. The Pittsburgh Pirates dealt for Stewart on Wednesday, sending Boston a player to be named later in exchange for the right-hander.

Stewart was an intriguing piece, yet another arm with more stuff than results. Boston has had some luck with those the last couple of years, but Stewart didn't excel in his time in the minors, and his brief time in the majors is something we'd all be better off forgetting about. (For the masochists around here, 14 earned runs in 5-2/3 innings with four homers allowed.) In essence, the Youkilis trade has now become Jose De La Torre (the return for Lillibridge) and this player to be named later, rather than what it initially brought Boston.

Maybe that won't be a sexy return, either, but at least it's a fresh start on two players who didn't work out in Boston. And for what it's worth, Youkilis hit just .236/.346/.425 with the White Sox, and dealt with injuries as he has the last few years before having his option declined. Maybe this is just one of those deals that isn't going to make a major impact for either side.

There's no word on who the player to be named later might be, but since Stewart was designated for assignment in order to push him off of the 40-man, ensuring protection for someone else from the Rule 5 draft, expecting much of a return is setting yourself up for disappointment.