Pirates acquire 2B Akinori Iwamura from Rays for RHP Jesse Chavez

By Jenifer Langosch/MLB.com

On Tuesday, the Pirates acquired second baseman Akinori Iwamura from the Rays in exchange for right-hander Jesse Chavez. The Pirates will take on Iwamura's $4.85 million salary in 2010, a dollar figure that actually makes Iwamura the Pirates' highest paid player at the moment. No cash changed hands in the deal.

With Iwamura in tow, the Pirates now have their immediate answer at second base for 2010. After trading away Freddy Sanchez in July, the Pirates were left with no strong internal replacements. Delwyn Young got his chance to be the team's everyday second baseman for the final two months, but even after intensive daily defensive work with infield coach Perry Hill, he was still not seen as the optimal choice to be the everyday player there next season.

"It was a chance more to get an established player," GM Neal Huntington said. "It returns Delwyn to a role that he's excelled at. Ultimately, we felt Iwamura was a better fit for long term."

For Young, that role will be on the bench, where he hit. .316 in 38 pinch-hit appearances in 2010.

Iwamura, 30, comes to Pittsburgh after hitting .281 with 103 RBIs in 344 career games over three seasons with the Rays. He has also spent a considerable amount of his time in the Majors as a third baseman, though the Pirates do not have a need to use him there.

Huntington said that ideally Iwamura would be a solid fit to hit second in the batting order behind Andrew McCutchen. The left-handed hitter batted primarily from the leadoff spot in his time with the Rays.

Iwamura was limited to only 69 games in '09 and needed left knee surgery to repair a partially torn ACL. Huntington said that the Pirates have not independently examined Iwamura's knee, but that all the medical reports suggest that there will be no lingering issues.

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