The Washington Nationals found a reliable pitcher for the ninth inning, acquiring All-Star closer Mark Melancon from the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday.
Washington sent reliever Felipe Rivero and pitching prospect Taylor Hearn to the Pirates for Melancon, who will supplant struggling Jonathan Papelbon as Washington’s closer.
Melancon is expected to join the Nationals on Sunday for their series finale at San Francisco.
Melancon, a 31-year-old righthander, has converted 30 of 33 saves with a 1.51 ERA this season and joins his fifth organization in eight years. He is making $9.65 million and is eligible for free agency after the World Series.
Once considered a possible successor to Mariano Rivera when he broke into the majors with the Yankees in 2009, Melancon said during the All-Star break he knew a trade was possible, given his contract status.
The move comes as the Pirates find themselves on the fringe of the wild-card race. While general manager Neal Huntington stressed the team remains committed to reaching the playoffs for a fourth straight season, the opportunity to deal Melancon — who led the majors with 51 saves in 2015 and had 33 in ’14 — for two young arms with friendly long-term contracts was too good to pass up.
Rivero is under team control through 2021 and hit 100 miles per hour on the radar gun regularly during an extended relief appearance against the Pirates this month. If Melancon left as a free agent, Pittsburgh would have received a high draft pick as compensation.
‘‘We knew full well that holding Mark Melancon would have been a good return, but at the end of the day we felt this was a better return for us,’’ Huntington said.
This was the well-traveled Melancon’s fourth season in Pittsburgh after he also pitched for the Astros, Red Sox, and Yankees.
Papelbon is 2-4 with a 4.41 ERA and has allowed eight runs and seven hits in his past three outings.
Manager Dusty Baker pulled Papelbon from a game Thursday in the ninth inning.
Rivero, 25, is 0-3 with a 4.53 ERA this season. Hearn, 21, was the Nationals’ fifth-round pick in the 2015 amateur draft. The Pirates will plug Rivera into a seventh-inning role, with Neftali Feliz working the eighth and Tony Watson the ninth.
Lucroy to Cleveland
The Indians reached an agreement with the Brewers late Saturday night to acquire catcher Jonathan Lucroy, who has a no-trade clause in his contract. If he approves the deal, Lucroy, 30, will have to learn to catch that extraordinary Indians’ staff on the fly, but offers the Indians a strong middle of the order bat.
Fox Sports reported that the Brewers will receive four players in exchange for Lucroy, who represents a big upgrade to Cleveland’s catching corps, the least productive in the majors this season. The Brewers will receive highly regarded Single A catcher Francisco Mejia, shortstop Yu-Cheng Chang, outfielder Greg Allen, and a fourth lesser prospect.
Hill to DL, Burns to KC
Outfielder Billy Burns was traded from the Athletics to the Royals for outfield prospect Brett Eibner. Oakland also placed lefthander Rich Hill on the 15-day disabled list with a blister on the middle finger of his pitching hand, a move retroactive to July 20. Burns, who has been playing at Triple A Nashville, hit .234 with 12 RBIs in 73 games with Oakland this season. Eibner batted .231 with three homers and 10 RBIs in 26 games for the Royals.
Hill is 9-3 with a 2.25 ERA in 14 starts and hasn’t pitched since July 17, when he threw only five pitches before leaving due to the blister. Righthander Sonny Gray will take Hill’s turn against Cleveland.
Hill was scheduled to start Sunday but was scratched after experiencing discomfort during a throwing session Friday.
Lefthander Dillon Overton was recalled from Nashville to start Saturday night against the Indians.
Braves pick up Kemp
The Braves acquired pricey slugger Matt Kemp and $10.5 million from San Diego for troubled outfielder Hector Olivera. Atlanta had tried for several months to deal Olivera following his April 13 arrest on domestic violence charges. Olivera is eligible to play again in the major leagues on Tuesday following his 82-game domestic violence suspension, but he will be designated for assignment immediately after his activation, according to a San Diego Union-Tribune report. Kemp has a $21.5 million salary this year and is owed the same amount in each of the next three seasons . . . The Mets put infielder Jose Reyes on the 15-day disabled list because of a strain in his left ribcage and signed Justin Ruggiano.
The Mariners placed righthander Nathan Karns on the 15-day disabled list with a lower back strain a day after he was roughed up in a relief appearance. Righthander Cody Martin was recalled from Triple A Tacoma before Saturday’s game against the Cubs. Chicago scored five runs in two innings off Karns in Friday’s 12-1 romp. He gave up three hits, walked three, and allowed a home run to David Ross.
