The Angels trade two minor leaguers for Pittsburgh 2B Johnny Ray, and the A’s send minor league P Tim Belcher to the Dodgers for P Rick Honeycutt. Honeycutt (2-12), loser of his last 11 games with the Dodgers, will drop two more with the A’s before beating the Indians on September 22nd.
On August 29, 1987 — The Angels trade two minor leaguers for Pittsburgh 2B Johnny Ray, and the A’s send minor league P Tim Belcher to the Dodgers for P Rick Honeycutt. Honeycutt (2-12), loser of his last 11 games with the Dodgers, will drop two more with the A’s before beating the Indians on September 22nd and Angels minor leaguers Bill Merrifield and Miguel Garcia. Ray played seven years in Pittsburgh, winning a Silver Slugger award and finishing second in the 1982 NL Rookie of the Year voting. In 931 games, he hit .286 with 391 RBIs and 414 runs scored. In 1987, the 30-year-old Ray was hitting .273 with 54 RBIs through 123 games before this trade. Twice while in Pittsburgh, he led the NL in doubles.
After the deal, Ray played in California until 1990, making his only All-Star appearance during the 1988 season, where he hit .306 with 83 RBIs and 75 runs scored. Garcia played three seasons with the Pirates, but he pitched just 13 games total. He was a 20-year-old left-handed reliever in 1987, who made one appearances for the Angels that year. He pitched a total of 18.2 innings for the Pirates, ending with a 7.71 ERA. He was actually sent to the Pirates on September 3rd as a player to be named later. Merrifield never made the majors and lasted just three games in the Pirates organization. He played the 1988 season for the Rangers Triple-A team, his last year in pro ball. He was a 25-year-old third baseman at the time of the deal, who was originally drafted in 1980 by the Pirates, but did not sign
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