“It seems cool here,” he said.

On the day of the trade deadline last year on July 31, Moss was the first baseman for the Quad Cities River Bandits in the High-A Midwest League, an affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. He and the team were both having a solid season. The River Bandits were in first place, and Moss was hitting .270 with seven home runs and 70 RBIs in the first four months.

The team was in South Bend, Indiana playing the High-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. It had looked like everyone had made it through the 6 p.m. deadline, but Moss was called into the manager’s office as the Royals had struck a trade with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Moss and left-handed relief pitcher Evan Sisk were going to the Pirates in exchange for starting pitcher Bailey Falter.

Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski Curve's Tyrone Yulie takes batting practice.

Earlier that day, South Bend Cubs outfielder Ivan Brethowr was also traded to the Pirates for left-handed relief pitcher Taylor Rogers. Brethowr is starting this season in Greensboro.

“It was kind of a wild day,” Moss said. “I had my whole family there. We had just hit batting practice. We all thought we kind of made it through the deadline. It was kind of a wide range of emotions, but overall I’m very happy with it.”

Moss reported to Greensboro, which was also having a successful season, and picked up where he left off in Quad Cities. In 30 games with Greensboro, Moss hit .339 and mashed six homers.

His work over a short amount of time has caught the Pirates organization eye, including Altoona Curve manager Andy Fox.

Moss got limited time in spring training games with the Pirates this season, finishing 3-for-7 at the plate with a triple.

“It was nice being down in Florida,” Moss said. “I spend the offseason down there. I went to college down there, so I know a lot of people in the area. It was just nice being over there. I had a really nice team at Pirate City and LECOM.”

“He’s a real athletic kid for his size,” Fox said on Tuesday at Curve media day. “He’s got some pop. It’s exciting. There’s going to be some challenges for all these guys for their first time in Double-A. You see it every year. It’s just a matter of how they manage it. He had a real good spring. He played really good defense. It’s always nice to see.”

Moss, who played his collegiate baseball at Seton Hall and at Division II St. Leo’s in Florida, is originally from Brooklyn and is excited to be closer to home. He also has family in the Harrisburg area, and also has friends that attend Penn State.

The Falter trade may have been seen as unfavorable by the Pirates fan base at the time. Falter is working out of the bullpen with the Royals. Sisk is starting the season with Triple-A Indianapolis, but will likely spend some time in Pittsburgh at some point this season.

The key piece in the trade may just be Moss, a former undrafted free agent, who will likely be the starting first baseman for the Curve in Thursday night’s opener.

“Each year it’s a new season and an exciting group,” Fox said. “It’s time to play. Ready or not, here we come.”