Pirates Deal Pena to St. Louis for 3 Players

Tony Pena, a four-time National League All-Star catcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates, was traded Wednesday to the St. Louis Cardinals for outfielder Andy Van Slyke and two other players.

The Pirates also received catcher Mike LaValliere and minor league pitcher Mike Dunne.

In 801 major league games, Pena, 29, has a .286 batting average with 63 home runs and 340 runs batted in.

An outstanding defensive catcher, he won three Golden Glove awards from 1983 to 1985 and has thrown out 270 of 749 runners attempting to steal in the past five seasons. He is in the last year of his contract.

“I can’t praise Tony Pena enough,” Pittsburgh General Manager Syd Thrift said. “We really hate to lose someone like him, not only because he has been a four-time All Star, but because he has been a credit to the club and to the community for so long.

“This is a move that we believe will benefit the Pirates because we are able to obtain a player like Andy Van Slyke, who has the capability and physical tools to become an outstanding, complete player.”

Van Slyke, 26, had his finest major league season with the Cardinals in 1986, when he hit .270 with 13 homers, 61 RBIs and 21 stolen bases in 137 games.

In 3 1/2 seasons, he has a lifetime average of .259 with 41 home runs, 204 RBIs and 104 stolen bases. He can also play third base and first base. He batted .365 in 17 spring games with St. Louis.

LaValliere, 26, opened the 1986 season as the Cardinals’ backup catcher but was starting by midseason. He played in just 18 major league games before last season and finished his rookie year batting .234 with 3 homers and 30 RBIs.

LaValliere will split the catching duties with Junior Ortiz in Pittsburgh.

Dunne, 24, was assigned to the Pirates’ minor league team in Vancouver. He was the Cardinals’ first round pick and seventh player taken overall in the 1984 free agent draft.

Last year with Louisville, he was 9-12 with a 4.56 ERA in 28 starts.

A non-roster player in spring training, he was reassigned to the Cardinals minor league camp March 21 after going 1-0 with a 4.50 ERA in two games.

In his lone start on March 11, he was the winning pitcher in a 6-2 victory over Pittsburgh.