Pirates Get Infield Depth, Send Duncan To Arizona

THE DEAL

The Pirates shored up their infield depth on Friday, trading righthander Frank Duncan to the Diamondbacks for second baseman Phil Gosselin.

The Diamondbacks designated Gosselin for assignment earlier this week after signing Daniel Descalso, but were able to acquire a close-to-the-majors arm for him three days later.

The Pirates designated for assignment righthanded reliver Nefi Ogando to clear a 40-man roster spot for Gosselin.

DIAMONDBACKS ACQUIRE
Frank Duncan, rhp
Age: 25

The Pirates drafted Duncan in the 13th round in 2014 after his senior year in Kansas and the sinkerballer shot up their system despite his lack of draft pedigree, reaching Triple-A and excelling less than two years after being drafted. He was ranked the Pirates No. 23 prospect in the 2017 BA Prospect Handbook. The 6-foot-4, 215-pound San Francisco native rarely tops 90 mph, but the sinking action on his fastball and his above-average-to-plus slider induce a heavy amount of ground balls and prevent hard contact. He gave up only four home runs in 138.2 innings last year between Double-A and Triple-A while inducing 73 percent more groundouts than airouts. Duncan has been especially tough on righthanded hitters, holding them to a .214/.286/.288 line last season. His ability to keep the ball on the ground portends well to Arizona’s Chase Field, where balls fly, and his two effective pitches and righthanded platoon splits make him a plausible candidate to contribute out of the Diamondbacks bullpen this year. Duncan has also been durable as a starter throughout his career and earns high marks for his smarts and ability to make adjustments on the mound, making him a potential back of the rotation option if he develops an effective third pitch. He has already been assigned to Triple-A Reno and is expected to open the 2017 season there.

2016 Club	W	L	ERA	G	GS	SV	IP	H	HR	BB	SO	AVG
Altoona (AA)	3	2	2.36	7	2	0	26.2	23	0	7	24	.228
Indianapolis (AAA)	9	6	2.33	20	20	0	112	106	4	29	92	.251

PIRATES ACQUIRE
Phil Gosselin, 2b/3b
Age: 28

Gosselin, who was involved in the trade from the Braves to the Diamondbacks for Bronson Arroyo and Touki Toussaint in 2015, has settled into an effective pinch-hitter role in recent seasons. Though he brings little in the way of power or effective speed on the bases, he has hit a respectable .281 with a .331 on-base percentage in his career with roughly even platoon splits. He primarily plays second base, but has also seen time at third base, first base, left field and right field. Gosselin gives the Pirates a veteran bench option and is expected to contend with youngsters Adam Frazier and Alec Hanson for a backup infielder spot.