Pirates Acquire Veteran Catcher From Yankees in Post-Deadline Move

The Pittsburgh Pirates are struggling to stay afloat in the National League Wild Card race. After a strong start to the year, they have fallen off in the second half.

At this point in time, the Pirates hold a 63-66 record. They have gone 5-5 over their last 10 games and are now sitting 5.5 games out of a Wild Card spot. It's still possible for them to make a comeback, but it'll take a lot of work.

On Wednesday, August 19, Pittsburgh made an interesting move to acquire a new catcher.

According to a report from Pirates insider Jason Mackey, the team has acquired catcher Christian Bethancourt from the New York Yankees in exchange for cash. He also offered a couple of other notes about the move.

"Would imagine not great news for Endy Rodriguez. Bethancourt expected to join taxi squad," Mackey wrote.

Bethancourt began his Major League career back in 2013. He has played for quite a few teams throughout his tenure in the league.

So far, he has played for the Atlanta Braves, San Diego Padres, Athletics, Tampa Bay Rays, Miami Marlins, and Chicago Cubs. He has had stints with quite a few other teams, including most recently with the Yankees.

Throughout his long journeyman career, the 34-year-old catcher has played in 427 Major League games. He has hit 35 home runs to go along with 135 RBI and has produced a slash line of .229/.259/.362.

Just looking at the numbers, it's clear that Bethancourt isn't the piece that will power Pittsburgh back into the playoff race. Rather, it's a move to provide depth. Bethancourt is capable of playing a solid role when absolutely needed.

Looking into the future, the Pirates will begin a three-game series on the road against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday. They will then face the Padres and St. Louis Cardinals on the road as well between August 24 and August 30, before returning home to take on the San Francisco Giants in a three-game series on September 1.

Hopefully, the team is able to figure out a way to turn things around and get back on track. Unfortunately, the second half slide will be difficult to overcome.

All of that being said, the Pirates acquiring Bethancourt shows that they haven't given up yet. They're still trying to tweak some things in order to pick up wins down the stretch.