The best acquisition in the last-minute frenzy is Joakim Soria, a reliever who not only adds depth to the back of the bullpen but also offers an experienced option to close games if something goes haywire with Mark Melancon.
That's a significant insurance policy.
Veterans Joe Blanton and J.A. Happ aren't anything special, but Blanton beefs up the bullpen and Happ is depth for the rotation. That's an issue because A.J. Burnett appears to have discovered that he's 38 and is admitting that his sparkling numbers from the first half were not sustainable.
Starting depth has been eroded by injuries at the Class AAA level, so it's good to have some options on hand.
Michael Morse hits some balls a long way when he's not on the disabled list. He's the latest to audition for the righthanded half of the first base job, a place where Corey Hart and Sean Rodriguez have swung and missed.
First base looms as a huge future issue for the Pirates as Pedro Alvarez nears his expiration date in Pittsburgh. Josh Bell has been presumed as the homegrown replacement, but some scouting reports suggest he isn't close to being able to handle the defensive part.
But that's a topic for another time. This roster reshaping is about the 2015 season and postseason, which is why the Pirates were willing to pursue so many rental players who won't last beyond this year's run.
The changes may not be done. Although waivers have to be secured to make more trades, that isn't impossible.
Two years ago, the Pirates got both Marlon Byrd and Justin Morneau in August.
The Pirates caught a break when marquee pickups like Johnny Cueto and Cole Hamels went to American League teams and don't loom as possible playoff obstacles.
The Pirates managed to get deeper in areas of concern without giving up a ransom in quality prospects. For a team that will always have to balance the present and the future, that's how it has to work.
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--ADIOS, JOSE
So long, Jose Tabata. No more bouncing between the majors and minors and somehow always finding a way to punch that return ticket to Indianapolis.
It was always something with Tabata, starting with 2009 when he was 20 and had a 43-year-old wife who falsified a pregnancy. His wife was convicted of kidnapping a baby and sentenced to 24 years in prison.
Tabata will always be cited as an example of a pre-emptive contract for a promising young player that went bad. The Pirates were paying him $4 million to play at Class AAA this season, and owed him $4.5 million next year.
If the Pirates projected him to develop power, it never happened. He was quickly surpassed by other outfield prospects and wasn't more than a bench player. He wasn't Clint Hurdle's type of player, which probably explains why he couldn't stay in the major leagues.
The Dodgers have him now. Maybe they can figure him out. He's still only 26, even though it seems like he was around for at least a decade.
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--SOMETHING COOKING?
Did Root Sports have a hockey scoop in the middle of a Pirates broadcast?
During one of the games at Minnesota, Greg Brown said that Matt Cooke, recently cut loose by the Wild, was hoping for a chance to return to the Penguins.
Cooke is a friend of Neil Walker and was at Target Field for at least one of the games.
It figured that Root would find him in the seats. He was wearing a Pirates cap and jersey, after all.
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--LAW AND ORDER
Pitt's Pat Narduzzi faces some big discipline decisions based on Tyler Boyd's DUI charges and the episode where Rori Blair was clocked at 117 miles per hour on the Parkway East.
Seems like coaches can combine these teaching moments under a single lecture with the topic, "Don't Be a Knucklehead."
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--VIEWER ALERT
Fair warning: Tuesday's Cubs-Pirates game is also the Pirates Charities auction.
Based on previous coverage, they'll try to squeeze some of the game into the telethon.
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