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According to multiple sources, the Pittsburgh Pirates have acquired left-handed hitting first baseman Chris McGuiness from the Texas Rangers in exchange for reliever Miles Mikolas. The 25-year-old McGuiness, who was designated for assignment by the Rangers after they signed outfielder Shin-Soo Choo last week, spent the majority of his 2013 with the Rangers' Triple-A affiliate in Round Rock, where he hit .246/.369/.423 with 11 home runs and 29 doubles. He also had a brief cup of coffee with the big league team in 2013, as he appeared in 10 games and managed just 6 hits in 34 plate appearances, to go along with 13 strikeouts.
The Pirates were still rumored to be in discussions with the Mets regarding first baseman Ike Davis as recently as last week, so it remains to be seen whether this acquisition will have any effect on those talks. At the least, McGuiness seems to be useful enough depth for the Pirates and could form a cheap platoon with right-handed hitting first baseman Gaby Sanchez if Sandy Alderson and Neal Huntington can't come to an agreement on a trade.
