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Pirates make trade for backup infielder

Pirates make trade for backup infielder

ORLANDO, Fla. -- The Pirates acquired veteran infielder John McDonald from the Arizona Diamondbacks Wednesday in a move that became necessary when they lost young shortstop Chase d'Arnaud for six to eight weeks with a hand injury.

The Pirates will send cash or a player to be named later to the Diamondbacks.

McDonald, 38, will be the team's backup shortstop behind Clint Barmes. He is a career .238 hitter and adds experience to an otherwise young bench. He hit .249 in 70 games with the Diamondbacks in 2012 with nine doubles and six home runs.

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"He provides us some depth and some stability at a spot that all of a sudden we didn't have a lot of depth and a lot of stability," general manager Neal Huntington said.

To make room on the 40-man roster, the Pirates placed infielder Chase d'Arnaud on the 60-day disabled list.

D'Arnaud had surgery Monday for a torn ligament in his left hand, an operation that requires six to eight weeks to recover.

D'Arnaud sustained the injury in a rundown drill last week and traveled to the Cleveland Clinic over the weekend to have it observed by orthopedic surgeon and hand specialist Dr. Thomas Graham.

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"I kind of knew when I got there that I was going to have the surgery," d'Arnaud said.

McDonald is in the second year of a two-year contract and is owed $1.5 million this season.

"Without the injury to Chase, we're not as motivated to make this type of move," Huntington said.

McDonald had a .995 fielding percentage at shortstop in 2012 and is a career .973 fielder at the position.

"He's a professional player with a lot of experience," Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. "He's got infield presence, clubhouse presence. He's just a seasoned vet."

The move also means Jordy Mercer, who played as Barmes' backup for most of 2012, is in competition for a utility bench spot.

"This gives us a backup catcher, it gives us a backup shortstop," Huntington said. "We've got one more infielder that we'll compete to find here in spring training. And then, the extra two spots -- it may be two outfielders, it may be one outfielder and one infielder. Time will tell as it plays out because we do have versatility."

First Published: March 21, 2013, 4:00 a.m.

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