Pittsburgh sent rookie outfielder Rajai Davis and a player to be named to the Giants.

Normally, teams not in the race don't look to add an aging and expensive starter such as Morris. But the Pirates felt their young rotation needed a boost with their two top starters — Ian Snell and Tom Gorzelanny — struggling since the All-Star break.

Morris, who will be 33 next week, is a former 22-game winner for St. Louis who is 7-7 with a 4.35 ERA this season. He was rocked for 13 hits and six earned runs in seven innings in his last start, an 8-5 defeat to Florida on Sunday.

"It is what it is," Morris said in a phone interview from the Giants' hotel in Los Angeles. "I'm just moving on. It's just a shock. You hear rumors. I never heard Pittsburgh."

The Giants were looking for a team to take some of their high-salaried players, and the Pirates will pick up all of the remainder of Morris' $10,037,283 contract for this season.

"Almost at the 11th hour we were talking to two other teams I would consider competitors in the playoff situation," Giants general manager Brian Sabean said. "As it turns out, Pittsburgh stepped up not only to take the player as is, with the contract."