By Jim Callis
December 20, 2002

It won't win the Pirates the National League Central, but a Friday trade gave them an alternative if they decide to trade all-star closer Mike Williams. Pittsburgh acquired Matt Herges from the Expos for Class A righthanders Chris Young and Jon Searles.

Herges, a 32-year-old righthander, went 2-5, 4.04 in 62 appearances with the Expos after joining them in a March trade with the Dodgers. Herges can reach 95 mph, but also has inconsistent velocity and sometimes struggles to to 90 mph. His second pitch is a hard curveball that he doesn't always locate well within the strike zone. He earned six saves in 2002 but is more cut out to be a setup man than a closer. In 213 games over four seasons, he has gone 22-18, 3.52 with a 219-120 strikeout-walk ratio in 299 innings.

Young, 23, was considered a coup when the Pirates signed him away from a potential NBA career for $1.65 million. A third-round pick in 2000, he had played both baseball and basketball at Princeton. However, since David Littlefield took over for Cam Bonifay as Pittsburgh's GM in June 2001, Young had fallen somewhat out of favor with the new regime. The Pirates had become frustrated that a 6-foot-10 pitcher couldn't throw harder than 93 mph, and wondered if his mechanics ever would allow him to find more velocity. His secondary pitches hadn't come along as quickly as expected, though he pitched well at low Class A Hickory in 2002. Young went 11-9, 3.11 with a 136-34 strikeout-walk ratio in 145 innings.

Searles, 21, isn't considered much of a prospect. An eighth-round pick out of a New York high school in 1999, he didn't fare well when he finally reached full-season ball for the first time this year. Searles went 2-3, 5.81 in 31 games (four starts) at Hickory, with 53 strikeouts in 79 innings.