Dave Littlefield

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David Littlefield is a former Major League Baseball executive. Littlefield was employed as Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates, a position he held from July 13, 2001 to September 7, 2007. He took over as GM for Roy Smith, who had assumed the position on a temporary basis after the firing of GM Cam Bonifay on June 11. He is currently working as a scout for the Chicago Cubs. ^[1]

1 As GM
2 References
3 External links

[edit] As GM

[edit] 2003 Rule 5 draft

Littlefield received a large amount of negative publicity after the Pirates lost five prospects from their minor league system with the first six picks in the 2003 Rule 5 draft, even though they had unused spots on their 40-man roster and could have protected several of the players if they had chosen to do so. Chris Shelton, who had recently been honored as the team's minor league player of the year, went with the first pick, and he was followed in short order by Rich Thompson, Frank Brooks, Jeff Bennett, and José Bautista.^[2] Baseball executives present at the draft laughed openly at Littlefield's embarrassment, and the laughter intensified after the Pirates declined to make a pick of their own.^[2] The Cincinnati Reds, picking seventh, had all five Pirate players listed on their draft board and were frustrated to see them all go too soon, and an anonymous executive from another American League team said that his team had also planned to take a Pirate prospect, refraining only because in his words, "There wasn't anything left."^[2] In subsequent years, however, the apparent gaffe began to look less appalling as only Jose Bautista (who the Pirates had subsequently re-acquired in another trade that year) was an everyday Major Leaguer in 2007.

[edit] Trading record

Littlefield has acquired a reputation throughout MLB as a difficult trading partner, in that his demands during negotiations are often seen as grossly excessive.^[3]

Littlefield has traded players such as Jason Schmidt, Jason Kendall, Sean Casey, Aramis Ramírez, Chris Young, Gary Matthews Jr., and Kenny Lofton for little or nothing in return. While small market teams thrive on trading established veterans for packages of talented minor leaguers, Littlefield has repeatedly asked for lower-ceiling "Major League ready" prospects in return. As a result, the Pirates have a plethora of mid-to-late 20's, borderline Major Leaguers, and very few young, impact prospects within the system. This strategy runs contrary to that of successful low-payroll teams like the A's, Twins, and Marlins.^[4]^[5]

In 2003, Littlefield approached the San Diego Padres with a trade proposal in which the Pirates would receive Xavier Nady, Oliver Perez, and minor league pitcher Cory Stewart in exchange for star outfielder Brian Giles. The Padres refused to surrender Nady, so Littlefield and the Pirates agreed to accept Jason Bay instead.^[6] Bay immediately emerged as a star, winning the National League Rookie of the Year award in 2004, while Nady spent the next three seasons as a part-time player with the Padres and the New York Mets. Two years later, Littlefield was successful in trading for Nady. Unfortunately for the Pirates, in order to do so he had to surrender struggling star pitcher Oliver Perez, who has become a better pitcher for New York, as well as veteran reliever, and soon to be free agent, Roberto Hernandez and the compensatory draft pick the Mets received when Hernandez left as a free agent that offseason.

Among his most widely lampooned transactions to date was the trade of pitcher Chris Young, in whom the Pirates had invested $1.5 million, to Montreal for Matt Herges in December of 2002. Herges was promptly released in spring training, while Young has developed into one of the best young pitchers in baseball four years later after having been traded from the Montreal Expos to the Texas Rangers and, finally, to the San Diego Padres, where he blossomed. Similarly, the 21-year-old Leo Nunez was traded to Kansas City in December of 2004; in return, the Pirates received 39-year-old Benito Santiago in order fill an immediate hole at the catcher position. Nunez was used as a reliever in 2005 and 2006, and in 2007 showed some promise as a starter by making three quality starts (out of six total starts); Santiago had 6 hits with the Pirates before being released one month into the 2005 season. Some argue that trading away future impact players has severely hindered the Pirates in recent years. ^[7]

On July 31, 2007, Littlefield traded outfielder Rajai Davis to the San Francisco Giants for pitcher Matt Morris. The move was widely criticized, as Morris, who was 7-7 with a 4.35 ERA at the time of the trade, is slated to make $9.5 million in 2008. Many were surprised that the Pirates would take on such a large contract (especially without having the Giants pick up part of it), as their 2007 Opening Day payroll was just $38.5 million. ^[8] At the time of the trade, the Pirates were 42-62, 14.5 games out of first place. ^[9]

Though he was frequently criticized for some trades that worked out poorly in the long-run, Littlefield also managed to acquire the bulk of the Pirates' lineup through trades during his tenure. Jason Bay, Freddy Sanchez, Adam LaRoche, Jose Bautista, and Xavier Nady were all acquired through trades. In his final season as GM, only one of the seven players with over 400 at bats on the team, Ronny Paulino, was not acquired through a trade. Yet, this is faint praise as this team comprised of Littlefield trade yields finished in last place in the NL Central and had the second worst record in all of MLB. In fact, the fact that seven of the eight starting position players were acquired by trade only underscored the team's inability to draft and develop under Littlefield.

[edit] Drafting players

Some would argue, of course, that the reason so many of the hitters had to be acquired through trades was due to a lack of impact hitting prospects in the farm system. This may have been partially due to his focus on drafting pitchers, but many argue that it is due to poor drafting. During his tenure the Pirates were widely criticized for taking players that were perceived to be more signable than talented.

The most notable example of this is the 2002 draft when the Pirates had the 1st overall pick. B.J. Upton was widely regarded as the top prospect, but Littlefield passed over him and other players, including Prince Fielder, Khalil Greene, Scott Kazmir, Nick Swisher, Matt Cain, Cole Hamels and Jeff Francoeur and instead drafted Bryan Bullington, who Littlefield said could be a "good #3 pitcher". After battling with injuries, Bullington has yet to make any impact with the Pirates. Littlefield's other #1 draft picks include Paul Maholm, Neil Walker, Andrew McCutchen, and Brad Lincoln. [1]

In 2007, Littlefield and the Pirates passed over the top-ranked college hitting prospect, Matt Wieters, instead drafting relief pitcher Daniel Moskos, a move that fueled a strong backlash from Pirates fans.

[edit] Latin America

Under Littlefield's direction, the Pirates have been less aggressive than other teams in signing players from Latin America. The team currently has no Latin American impact prospects within their minor league system, and those on the major league roster are regarded by many as marginal talents, most signed or acquired before Littlefield's tenure: Jose Bautista, Ronny Paulino, Jose Castillo, Salomon Torres, Damaso Marte, and Tony Armas. The Pirates have been widely criticized for failing to employ a Latin American scouting director until hiring Rene Gayo nearly three years after Littlefield took over as General Manager. In addition, the team's facilities are widely considered to be among the worst in baseball. While other teams have recognized the benefits of signing such talent at relatively reasonable prices, the Pirates have yet to extend a signing bonus of more than $85,000 to a Latin American prospect. Some contend (particularly beat writer Dejan Kovacevic) that, as much as any other decision during Littlefield's tenure, the lack of emphasis on competing in Latin America continues to be one of the most confounding and debilitating for the organization.^[10]

[edit] Firing

Littlefield was fired on the morning of September 7, 2007. The announcement came shortly before the Pirates could clinch their seventh consecutive losing season under his management. The Pirates complied a 442-581 record during Littlefield's tenure, never finishing higher than 4th place in the NL Central. Brian Graham, the director of player development for the Pirates, served as interim general manager until new Pirates GM Neal Huntington took over September 25, 2007.^[11]