Lastings Milledge is on the move again.
The Palmetto native and Lakewood Ranch graduate was part of a four-team trade Tuesday that sent him from the Washington Nationals to the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Milledge and reliever Joel Hanrahan were dealt to the Pirates for outfielder Nyjer Morgan and reliever Sean Burnett.
The deal brings Milledge much closer to home — Pittsburgh plays its spring training games at McKechnie Field and its Gulf Coast League team works out of Pirate City, also located in Bradenton.
The 24-year-old outfielder helped Lakewood Ranch win the Class 5A state championship in 2003 before the New York Mets picked him with their first pick of that year’s draft. After spending parts of two seasons at the major-league level and making the Mets’ 2007 Opening Day roster, Milledge was traded to Washington in November 2007.
He appeared in a career-high 138 games last season and paced the Nationals in RBIs (61) and steals (24). He also tied for the team lead in home runs (14) and was second in total bases (215) and hits (140).
“We’re extremely excited to bring in a player with his type of ability,” Pirates general manager Neal Huntington told Piratesreport.com. “He has a world of ability, and we feel he is a player who can really help us try to build a championship organization here. He has had some issues in the past, they are well-documented, but we feel we have the staff and support group here that can help him realize his full potential.”
Milledge’s 2009 season hasn’t gone as well. He was demoted to Washington’s Triple-A affiliate in Syracuse after batting .167 in seven games, and suffered a broken finger May 11. He has been on a rehab assignment with the Nationals’ Gulf Coast League team and is expected to finish his rehab with the GCL team in Bradenton before reporting to the Pirates’ Triple-A club in Indianapolis. It is unknown when he will report to Pirate City. Milledge was 1-for-5 with a home run, three RBIs and a stolen base in three games with Washington’s GCL team.
“He is still a young player whose best years should clearly be ahead of him,” Huntington said, adding there was no set time as to when Milledge will be called up. “We thought he had a solid first full season in the major leagues and that there is something to build on.”
Milledge was the youngest player in baseball when he broke through with the Mets in 2006, batting .241 with four home runs and 22 RBIs in 56 games. He appeared in 59 games the next season, hitting .272 with seven home runs and 29 RBIs.
Yet it was during his time as a minor-leaguer when he caught the eye of John Russell, the Pirates manager who remembers watching Milledge play while Russell managed the Philadelphia Phillies’ Triple-A team in Ottawa.
“He is a very talented player,” Russell told Piratesreport.com. “I’m very excited that we were able to acquire a player of his ability. He has a chance to really help us for a long time.”
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