Bucs acquire veteran right-hander for outfielder Davis

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By Jon Heyman, SI.com

Matt Morris was acquired Tuesday by the Pittsburgh Pirates for young outfielder Rajai Davis and a player to be named.

Morris is 7-7 with a 4.35 ERA this season. He still has one year remaining on a three-year, $27 million deal he signed after 2005, and there is a club option for 2009 at $9.5 million with a $1 million buyout.

"It is what it is," Morris said in a phone interview with The Associated Press from the Giants' hotel in Los Angeles. "I'm just moving on. It's just a shock. You hear rumors. I never heard Pittsburgh."

The right-handed Morris, who will be 33 on Aug. 9, was a 22-game winner for St. Louis in 2001. But he was rocked for 13 hits and six earned runs in seven innings in his last start, an 8-5 loss to Florida on Sunday. He is 0-4 in his last eight starts since June 11.

"He's been very productive and played for winners, and I think he will be effective in a rotation with a lot of young guys -- a veteran, experienced guy who will help us out a great deal," Pirates general manager Dave Littlefield said.

The Giants were looking for a team to take some of their high-salaried players, and the Pirates will pick up all of the remainder of Morris' contract for this season.

"Almost at the 11th hour we were talking to two other teams I would consider competitors in the playoff situation," Giants general manager Brian Sabean said. "As it turns out, Pittsburgh stepped up not only to take the player as is, with the contract."

Morris is 118-84 with a 3.83 ERA in a career that began in 1997 with St. Louis. He also won 17 games in 2002 and 15 games in 2004. He joined the Giants after signing a $27 million, three-year deal in December 2005.

"He became the odd man out," Sabean said. "It was a difficult bridge to cross because we all know what he meant to the organization and working with the young pitchers. ... At the end of the day, it's a lot about business, too," Sabean said.

The 26-year-old Davis, a 38th-round draft pick in 2001, is hitting .271 with no homers and two RBIs in 24 games after getting called up from Triple-A Indianapolis, where he batted .318 with 27 steals in 211 at-bats.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.