Pittsburgh Pirates clean house by trading three veterans

On August 2, 1985, the Pittsburgh Pirates clean house by trading three veterans – outfielder George Hendrick and pitchers John Candelaria and Al Holland – to the California Angels. In exchange, the Pirates acquire outfielder Mike Brown and pitchers Pat Clement and Bob Kipper.

 

Brown was 25 years old, in his third season with the Angels, and his first full season in the majors. He was hitting .268 with four homers in 60 games prior to the deal. Kipper had just turned 21, with only two games of Major League experience, both coming that April. He was in the minors at the time, and reported to Triple-A for the Pirates. Clements was a 23-year-old lefty rookie, with a 5-0, 3.34 record in 41 games and 62 innings pitched. Candelaria was in his 11th big league season, all spent with the Pirates, where he went 124-84. He had a high of 20 wins in 1977, but at the time of the trade, he was pitching out of the bullpen all year. The 32-year-old Holland had been acquired earlier in the season for Kent Tekulve. He was a closer for the Phillies in 1983-84. The Pirates used him 38 times, with three saves and a 1-3, 3.38 record to his credit. Hendrick, the veteran outfielder, did not play well in his only season in Pittsburgh, and was not well-liked by the fans for a lack of effort at times.

After the deal, Holland pitched great for the Phillies, posting a 1.48 ERA in his 15 appearances. Hendrick played even worse in California, hitting .122 in 16 games. He was also signed for three more years and provided almost no value (-0.5 WAR) during his time with the Angels. Candelaria moved back to a starting role for the Angels and went 7-3 in 13 starts. The next season he was even better, going 10-2, despite missing nearly half the season. For the Pirates, Mike Brown hit .332 in the last 57 games of 1985. That success didn’t last into 1986 however, as he hit .218 with four homers in 87 games. He played just 18 more games after that season, all with the 1988 Angels. Clement had a 3.12 ERA in 92 relief appearances over the 1985-86 seasons for the Pirates before being included in the deal that brought Doug Drabek to the Pirates from the Yankees. Kipper stayed around Pittsburgh for seven seasons, compiling a 24-33, 4.22 record in 244 games, 44 as a starter.

https://history.pittsburghbaseball.com/2020/08/02/this-date-in-pittsburgh-pirates-history-august-2nd-big-trade-with-angels/

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