The most powerful, often painful impact of a baseball trade can be when a player is moved by the team that drafted him. That's according to Jeff Banister, who's experienced pretty much every role, every level of the game in his life, from participant to roving minor-league instructor to big-league manager to his current role with the Pirates as one of Neal Huntington's special assistants.
"That's your team, the day your name is called," Banister was sharing with me earlier this week in St. Louis. "The day you put on that uniform, that becomes your dream, to wear that in the big leagues. There's a real attachment there. An emotional attachment."
So when that trade comes?
"Now, there's an element of, 'Whoa, wait, that team didn't want me.' That's what you wrestle with. That's what rises to the top."
We were discussing, it should be known, Kyle Crick and Bryan Reynolds. The two players the Pirates acquired from the Giants for Andrew McCutchen on Jan. 15, 2018. Crick was San Francisco's 49th overall pick in the 2011 draft, Reynolds the 59th overall pick in 2016. Both were Giants ... right up until they were deemed by two teams to represent a fair exchange for a National League MVP and civic icon.
"Then there's that," Banister continued with a small smile. "There's the first shock, and then you realize who you've been traded for."
He's dealt with prospects and older players alike who've been put in this position. He's done it at all levels. He's broached the topic even when they haven't, ensuring nothing's being buried.
And with these two ...
"Nothing. I mean nothing. Normally, you've got to guard against the expectations, what they might feel they've got to live up to, what the fans will think about them because of that beloved player who's gone ... these two don't have that. They're different people, but they don't have that."
They sure don't. And the primary reason: They're both confident. They're capable.
In fact, given Cutch's status -- he's 32, he's already with his third team since the trade, and he's slashing a modest .239/.363/.390 with five home runs for the Phillies -- one could easily carve a compelling argument Huntington decisively won the trade. Meanwhile, Crick, 26, has 22 holds and a healthy 1.09 WHIP in 78 appearances since joining the Pirates in mid-April of last year. And Reynolds, 24, has been an instant hit as a rookie this year, slashing .300/.330/.450 and opening his career with that 11-game hitting streak.
It's the kind of thing, I thought, that might be a point of pride for both, even if just subconsciously.
I apparently thought wrong.
"I don't ever think about that trade when it comes to pride," Crick told me in St. Louis. "For me, the pride is what you bring to the field, to the team every day. Like, I want to be a guy who people want to see out there in the eighth inning. That's what I'm striving to be."
Oh, come on, nothing at all related to the trade?
"Honestly. It might be a little different for me now than Bryan because I've already been here a full season, so I'm kind of further away from the trade, you know? But he's so level-headed, so steady. Really has a noggin for the game. I'd be surprised if the trade has any impact on him at all, but you'd have to ask him."
I did exactly that.
"Yeah, it's cool to get traded for McCutchen, a big-name guy like that, a guy who had great success in this uniform, who meant a lot to the whole city," Reynolds replied without hesitation. "And yeah, you want to come in and show that you're a good player, too, to show what you're able to do."
And now that he has?
"It's a good feeling. It is. It's probably a good feeling for both of us."
As much as I was going to get.
MORE PIRATES
• Anytime a player, particularly a pitcher, returns from an injury and is immediately rocked, there will be questions as to whether that player should have gone on a minor-league rehabilitation assignment. That obviously applies now to Chris Archer, who threw a 60-pitch simulated game at Busch Stadium, bounded into the clubhouse, declared himself "ready to pitch in a big-league game in five days" to me and other reporters even before meeting with Clint Hurdle ... then proceeded to get bombed in Phoenix. The thrust of this: The Pirates always prefer a minor-league rehab start and, I'm here to tell you, Archer didn't. Maybe next time, he will. -- DK
• Archer threw 80 pitches in just 3 2/3 innings against the Diamondbacks and just 44 were strikes. That only confirmed what scouts and opposing hitters have told me about the right-hander. They say Archer’s stuff has diminished to the point where he nibbles around the corners of the plate because he is trying to pitch away to contact. The big question is if Archer can make enough adjustments to get back to being at least a somewhat above-average starting pitcher. -- John Perrotto in San Diego
• Corey Dickerson has played in just four games this season and been on the injured list with a strained right shoulder since April 4. However, Dickerson is still contributing as he has become a mentor for Cole Tucker. When Tucker hit a home run Tuesday night against the Diamondbacks in his hometown of Phoenix, the rookie shortstop uttered, “I love you,” to Dickerson as he returned to the dugout. “Cole’s a great kid and I’m just trying to give him some tips here and there,” Dickerson said. “He really wants to learn, and you appreciate young guys like that who want to become better.” – Perrotto
STEELERS
• While much is being made in some circles regarding Ben Roethlisberger hosting the Steelers' skill position players at his home in Greensboro, Ga., it's really nothing new. In 2014, for example, Roethlisberger took all of his receivers to Newport Beach, Calif., to bond and throw. Yes, that group included Antonio Brown. In 2015, he did the same, taking the team's skill position players -- including Brown and Le'Veon Bell -- to Greensboro. And those are just the trips we know about. -- Dale Lolley
• The biggest news to come out of the opening of Phase 3 of OTAs last year was the swap of positions by T.J. Watt and Bud Dupree. That move had been in the works for a couple of months and wasn't a surprise to readers of this site. Phase 3 of OTAs -- where the veterans and rookies finally take the field together under the watchful eye of the media -- begins next Tuesday. And while the Steelers don't have any major position changes on the horizon, all eyes will be on the battle at inside linebacker. That competition between Devin Bush and Mark Barron will certainly be important, but I'm told the coaching staff is just as interested -- if not more so -- in the contest between Mike Hilton and Cam Sutton at slot corner. Hilton was a revelation in 2017, opening eyes throughout the offseason. He led the team in pass deflections and interceptions from the start of OTAs all the way through training camp. Yes, the Steelers track that stuff. They'd love for Hilton -- a gregarious, well-liked guy in the locker room -- to get back to that. But the coaching staff also wants to give Sutton every chance to win a job. -- Lolley
• The interesting thing about the Steelers' inside linebacker position is that Bush, Barron and Vince Williams are all making approximately the same money this season -- at least in terms of salary cap charge. Barron counts $3.875 million against the cap, while Williams is at $3.836. Bush, who is on his rookie deal, counts $3.43 million. That's $11 million wrapped up in their top three inside linebackers. Bobby Wagner will count just over $14 million against the Seahawks' cap as the highest-paid inside linebacker in the league. C.J. Mosley is at $13 million with the Jets. Things will get interesting in 2020, when Barron's cap number rises to $8.125 million. It's doubtful Barron sees that money. It will cost the Steelers $2.875 million against their cap to release him, but they'll save $5.25 million in cap space. Unless Bush falls completely on his face, Barron is working on a one-year deal. -- Lolley
PENGUINS
• I'll keep repeating this, if only to make clear precisely why the Penguins aren't in the news these days: Jim Rutherford's taking a break. A "breather," as he'd explained it to me a couple weeks back. Beyond the obvious, his objective is to clear his head after an intensive swing of meetings with people all through the organization, all the way up to Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle. Every indication I got from the man was he hadn't made up his mind about, really, anything. Which, given the scope of the situation's potential, probably is for the best. -- DK
• Which won't stop me from talking about it, of course, so here's something to share regarding a general sentiment within the organization: The gentlemen running the Penguins really, really hate when it's suggested their roster lacks speed. It's not just Rutherford. Mike Sullivan hates it just as much. And they doubled down on this that much more following the acquisitions of Jared McCann and Nick Bjugstad. In their eyes, the Penguins are plenty fast when they're "playing the right way," per the Sullivan-ism. Even where the defense is concerned -- and the additions of Erik Gudbranson and Marcus Pettersson didn't exactly address speed -- they feel there's plenty enough mobility. I'm not suggesting here that I agree, but I want to convey how they feel about it. And I don't ever get the sense it's forced or manufactured. -- DK
• One high-ranking member of the Penguins' hierarchy recently was comparing the 2018-19 seasons of Evgeni Malkin and the Blues' Vladimir Tarasenko. (And no, presumably, not because they're both Russian.) Tarasenko, owner of one of the NHL's most deadly shots, had been oddly reluctant to use it through the first three months, and it dragged down his overall performance. Once he started shooting, as everyone's seen, the Blues went from worst to first. It's never that simple, of course, but the parallel being made was that Malkin's confidence always has been tied to scoring goals. For all else he can do, that's No. 1 with him. And when he stops shooting, obviously, the goals won't come. Why, I asked this person, would any elite shooter ever stop shooting? "I have no idea," came the response. -- DK
