Trade Talk Tuesday: Ronny Paulino Headed to Philadelphia

In our new series Trade Talk Tuesday, we will examine some of the best, worst, and middle of the road trades in Pittsburgh Pirates history. Today, we look at the trade that sent Ronny Paulino to the Philadelphia Phillies and brought back a catching prospect that would make an impact in the Major Leagues.

The Pittsburgh Pirates have not had a lot of catching depth over the years and have always seemed to have to go outside of the organization looking for the help they needed. At the end of the 2008 season, the Pirates were left with a dilemma behind the plate. Catching prospect Ryan Doumit was starting to emerge as the team's starting catcher and veteran Ronny Paulino was seeing his career start to spiral downward. Paulino wasn't happy about the drop in playing time, and the Pirates didn't have a variable back-up option in the Minor Leagues. The Pirates had been shopping Paulino the entire off-season,  and it wasn't until the Winter Meetings that they found a partner.

The Philadelphia Phillies were coming off of a World Series Championship in 2008 and their starting catcher Carlos Ruiz was getting up there in years. The Phillies were searching for someone to split time with Ruiz behind the plate who could step in right away with a proven track record. Paulino had two straight seasons with an average above .260 and he fit the bill perfectly. The Phillies had plenty of catching depth in their farm system and could help the Pirates get the back-up catcher they need. The Pirates linked up with the Phillies at the Winter Meetings and swapped catchers as the Pirates sent Paulino to the Phillies and the Pirates got catching prospect Jason Jaramillo. Now let's take a look at how the trade played out in our Trade Talk Tuesday's.

Phillips Get: C Ronny Paulino

After two strong seasons in a Pirates uniform, and four overall, Paulino was on the move for the first time in his Major League career. Paulino would enter Spring Training with the Phillies and battled for a spot as the back-up catcher against Chris Coste. However, in 13 games for the Phillies he would hit just .194 with one home run and two RBI in 31 at-bats. His defense was middle of the road for a major league catcher as he had one error and one passed ball while catching 33% (4-12) of the base runners against him. He wasn't what the Phillies thought he was and they ended up trading him towards the end of Spring Training to the Giants for relief pitcher Jack Taschner.

Paulino would be traded one more time that off-season before he found his home with the Miami Marlins. He would spend two seasons with the Miami Marlins and hit .272 and .259 respectively. He would play for the New York Meta and Baltimore Orioles before ending his career in 2017. He never was able to find the success he had with the Pirates anywhere else and served as a back-up catcher over his final four seasons in the MLB. As for the Phillies, they didn't get what they needed from Paulino and they got an ok season out of Taschner. Taschner pitched to a 1-1 record with a 4.91 ERA in just 29 innings of work.

Pirates Get: C Jason Jaramillo

Prior to the 2009 season, Jason Jaramillo had no experience at the Major League level and was coming from Triple-A. He had ok Minor League numbers hitting .266 with eight home runs and 39 RBI. He would play parts of three seasons in a Pirates uniform serving mostly as a back-up catcher. He never played more than 63 games in a season and bounced around offensively. He never got anything going consistently leading to him jumping up and down between the Majors and Triple-A. During the 2009 season, Jaramillo was able to fill in as the back-up catcher that the team needed and put up ok offensive numbers.

In 63 games played that season, Jaramillo hit .252 that season with three home runs and 27 RBI. He wasn't a very patient hitter, walking only 17 times while striking out 33 times. Defensively, Jaramillo was a solid option behind the plate and made up for the lack of defense showed by starting catcher Ryan Doumit. Jaramillo was up and down between the Pirates and the Minor Leagues during the 2010 and 2011 seasons before electing free agency. He did not appear in another Major League game after leaving the Pirates and only played in the Majors for two more seasons.

Winner: Pirates (Grade B-)

Looking back at this trade the Pirates were the clear winners because they at least got what they needed from Jaramillo. Although he wasn't a star catcher by any means, Jaramillo served as a quality back-up catcher for parts of three seasons. He helped buy some time for catching prospect Tony Sanchez to develop and helped give Doumit nights off from time to time. If I had to grade the trade, I would give the Pirates a B- because they got the bare necessity that they needed out of the trade and he played his role as the team's back-up catcher.

We hope you enjoyed this edition of Trade Talk Tuesday as we looked back at a catcher swap between two teams. Be sure to follow us on Facebook for more Pirates coverage including our Play of the day and other fun stories surrounding the team. Let us know what trade you would like to see broken down on the next edition of Trade Talk Tuesday.