The Pittsburgh Pirates today acquired outfielder Hudson Head, right-handed pitchers David Bednar and Drake Fellows and left-handed pitcher Omar Cruz from the San Diego Padres, along with catcher Endy Rodriguez from the New York Mets in a three-team trade between Pittsburgh, San Diego and the New York Mets. In exchange, the Pirates have traded right-handed pitcher Joe Musgrove to the San Diego Padres. The announcement was made by General Manager Ben Cherington.

The 26-year-old Bednar, who is a graduate of Mars Area High School north of Pittsburgh, has posted a 2.70 ERA (219.2ip/66er), 39 saves, 303 strikeouts and a .226 batting average against in 159 relief appearances during his minor league career since being selected by the Padres in the 35th round of the 2016 First-Year Player Draft. Bednar made his Major League debut in 2019 and tossed 5.2 scoreless innings in his first seven big league appearances before being scored upon in four of his final six outings. He also made four relief appearances during the 2020 campaign with the Padres.

The 21-year-old Cruz has posted a career record of 3-4 with a 2.38 ERA (98.1ip/26er) and 135 strikeouts in 23 games (22 starts) during his minor league career after being signed by the Padres as a non-drafted free agent on July 3, 2017. Cruz, who is currently listed as San Diego’s 17th-best prospect according to MLBPipeline, produced a 2.73 ERA (56.0ip/17er) and 76 strikeouts in a combined 12 starts between short-season Tri-City and Single-A Fort Wayne during his last season of competition in 2019.

Fellows, a 22-year-old righthander, was selected by San Diego in the sixth round of the 2019 First-Year Player Draft out of Vanderbilt University. During his final season as a junior with Vanderbilt in 2019, Fellows went 13-2 with a 4.09 ERA (116.2ip/53er) and 133 strikeouts in 19 starts while helping Vanderbilt win the NCAA National championship.

The 19-year-old Head is currently ranked by MLBPipeline as San Diego’s seventh-best prospect. The left-handed hitter produced a .283 (34-for-120) average, seven doubles, three triples, one home run, 12 RBI and a .383 on-base percentage in 32 games with the Arizona League San Diego Padres 1 club during his first professional season in 2019 after being selected by the Padres earlier in the summer in the third round of the First-Year Player Draft.

The 20-year-old switch-hitting Rodriguez entered today ranked as New York’s 14th-best prospect according to MLBPipeline. Rodriguez, who was signed by the Mets as a non-drafted free agent on July 2, 2018, hit a combined .294 (30-for-102) with 14 doubles, one triple, two home runs, 14 RBI, .411 OBP, .510 slugging percentage and .921 OPS in 31 games between the Dominican Summer League Mets 1 squad and Gulf Coast League Mets during his last season of action in 2019.

“This trade is an important part of our commitment to developing a talent base necessary to win in Pittsburgh,” said Cherington. “Winning requires a depth of talent that we will only build through a continued focus on acquiring the best young players possible via all avenues. Alongside our commitment to acquiring young talented players is our commitment to developing them. We are excited about the direction of our development program and eager to get back to work with our players on the field as soon as we can. In a little over a year, I’ve gotten to know Joe Musgrove as a pitcher and as a person and have the utmost respect for him. We wish him the very best.”