ALTOONA, Pa. -- The Pirates followed their first win in July by trading infielder Kevin Kramer to Milwaukee for left-handed pitcher Nathan Kirby.
Kramer, a second-round pick out of UCLA in 2015, struggled while in Pittsburgh during brief stints in 2018 and 2019, slashing .152/.222/.387 in 79 at-bats. He had bounced around the infield during his time in the minors and even found himself in the outfield during his 2020 season, which was halted by hip surgery last July.
Kramer hit .196 with Class AAA Indianapolis in 2021, with three home runs and 35 hits in 51 games.
Kramer once was thought to be part of the infield of the future, along with Kevin Newman and Cole Tucker, but that never came to fruition.
Kirby was a first-round compensation pick for Milwaukee in the 2015 First-Year Player Draft and will be assigned to Class AA Altoona when he reports.
With the Biloxi Shuckers, Kirby has appeared in 17 games, going 0-1 with a 1.97 ERA. He has 19 strikeouts in 18.2 innings of work out of the bullpen this season. Kirby joins a Curve bullpen lacking on lefties, with only Cam Vieaux, Oddy Nunez and Cam Alldred on the roster now.
Opponents were hitting .182 this season off Kirby, a University of Virginia product, in the Class AA South.