PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates will bring back a familiar face and a fan favorite to the team in 2012. The Pirates today announced that they have signed outfielder Nate McLouth to a one-year deal.
“I had some great times here and it’s good to be back. I’m looking for some more good times,” McLouth said.
McLouth, 30, was drafted by Pittsburgh in the 25th round of the 2000 draft. He made his Major League debut with the Pirates in 2005 and played in Pittsburgh until the June of 2009 when he was traded to the Atlanta Braves for pitchers Charlie Morton, Jeff Locke and outfielder Gorkys Hernandez.
In his final full season with Pittsburgh in 2008, the left-handed hitting McLouth led the National League with 46 doubles while batting .276 with a career-high 26 home runs, 94 RBI, 23 stolen bases and a .356 OBP in 152 games. He was also a member of the National League All-Star Game that season and won a Gold Glove after making just one error in 149 games in center field.
“We are pleased to sign Nate and bring him back to Pittsburgh,” said General Manager Neal Huntington. “He will add a positive veteran presence to our outfield and club.
During his time with the Pirates, McLouth endured the losing seasons, that Pittsburgh has yet to break. He said it was one of his goals, to help turn the organization around. And now has a second attempt to be a part of it.
“That was my goal, in my nine years in the organization, my primary goal was to help try bring this organization back,“ McLouth said. “My first go-around, I obviously didn’t get a chance to see that through, but here I am again. Hopefully we will be building on what they accomplished last season and better things this season.”
McLouth joins a much different ball club then the one he left. Gone are players such as Ryan Doumit, Jack Wilson, Xavier Nady, Jason Bay that are filled with the young core of Andrew McCutchen, Neil Walker, Pedro Alvarez and Jose Tabata.
“Aside from all the new faces, there’s hardly anybody I’ve played with here,“ he said. “They had a good team last year, especially after the All-Star break, they were in a pretty good position. I know they kind of fell off late, but certainly in a much better position then when I left and I’m excited to rejoin them.”
McLouth played in 85 games with Atlanta in 2010, 81 last season, where he batted .249 with 35 runs, 12 doubles, three triples, four home runs, four stolen bases and 16 RBI.
His time in Atlanta, however, was much different from the player that was both an All-Star and Gold Glove winner for the Pirates in 2008. McLouth saw several stints on the disabled list and also lost the starting job in center field, getting demoted to Triple-A.
The Pirates will give Alex Presley the first chance as the starter in left field, as McLouth will most likely serve as the fourth outfielder.
“They’re good players,“ Said McLouth on the Bucs outfield. “There’s a lot of speed, players that can do a bench of different things and I’m excited to join that group.”
To make room for McLouth on the active roster, the Pirates designated infielder Pedro Ciriaco for assignment.
Photo credit: Yahoo! Sports
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