Pittsburgh Pirates: Buyers or Sellers
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After a scalding hot 20-8 start to the season for the young Buccos, it felt like buying at the deadline was a no-brainer. A young team performing well above expectations should be buying at the deadline, a few good moves accelerates their timeline even more.
Then May came along, and the Pirates found themselves with the third worst team OPS in all of baseball for the month at .655. And they are now following that up with fifth worst team OPS in all of baseball following the series against the Marlins at .652. What was once a very promising young team is now 36-42 on the season
With the trade deadline in late July, there is still plenty of time for Pirates’ GM Ben Cherington to wait and see if the team continues their freefall to potentially make the decision easier. However, the Pirates are still just 5.5 games back from first in the NL Central on June 27th, and a few moves right now can rocket them close to first.
Buy:
Right now we are looking at a team that just isn’t healthy. Nevermind the injury to O'Neil Cruz in April that left the team scrambling to fill the shortstop position, but now it has been revealed that Bryan Reynolds and Ke’Bryan Hayes have both been dealing with injuries that are now forcing them to miss some time.
That said, all three of these injuries will be healed by September at the latest, and the Pirates will have their three cornerstone stars right at the end of the season when they need them. So, trading a few young players in the farm system to pick up some veteran talent now and keep them in the playoff race for when Cruz returns from injury might be the best thing this team can do.
Maybe Cherington should operate at the deadline according to the talent this team has when healthy, and not what they are putting on the field right now. Because in this division, all you need to do is get hot once and you're right there in the thick of things for the division title, just ask the Cincinnati Reds.
There are plenty of options if the Pirates want to go the buying route too, the main one being Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Shane Bieber. Cleveland is very well known as a pitching factory, and Bieber just hasn’t been what he was, there is a solid chance they move him for some hitting, and make room for some of their young pitching.
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Pittsburgh should look there first if they are buying. Starting pitching is a big question mark for this team, especially after Roansy Contreras’ demotion to the bullpen. The Pirates have had a plethora of hitting struggles from just about everyone on the roster, but there will be reinforcements coming from Triple-A and the IL. There is no pitching reinforcement coming soon though, so adding an arm like Bieber may work wonders.
However, if they do decide to upgrade the lineup, they can look to another team in the AL Central, the Chicago White Sox. Luis Robert and Tim Anderson are two players that have been talked about as trade pieces for a while, and both slot right into a position of need for the Pirates. Anderson in the middle infield, and Robert in center field.
The Pirates will have to be careful buying with this record, fans won’t soon forget about the Chris Archer trade. However, if done right, buying with this up and coming team may launch them into contention.
Sell:
After an attempt to get back on track in early June, the Pirates have fallen flat on their faces again, this time even worse than the first. The Pirates have done everything they could to fall out of the funk they were in, but at this point it doesn’t look like it’s just a funk at all, and other teams are starting to notice.
A report came out earlier this week that the Texas Rangers may be interested in making a move for Andrew McCutchen, who’s having his best season since 2015. While it doesn't seem likely the Pirates will trade him since it doesn’t seem like he wants to go, it does mean teams see them as a target for veteran talent.
The Pirates just aren’t contending for a World Series this year, it will still be another year or two at the earliest, so some of the players that are contributing for them now, will not be there when they are contenders. Players like Rich Hill, Andrew McCutchen, and Carlos Santana won’t be on the team to contribute, and right now, it doesn’t seem like they have the talent to replace all of them in the minors.
If they want to have reinforcements in the minors, they have to start moving people to get them. The more obvious sells are seeing what you can get for Connor Joe, Santana, and Ji-man Choi. However, it is likely that the more the Pirates lose before the deadline, the more they may be willing to sell.
If they continue at this pace, that means players like David Bednar and Mitch Keller may be up on the trade block. The Pirates have two pitchers in the minors in Jared Jones and Anthony Solemento who people feel could be big time contributors at the major league level. Add them in with Johan Oviedo, and the potential to take one of the greatest pitching prospects of all time, and Keller could be replaceable.
Selling is a tough thing to do when you started the season 20-8 and held the best record in the National League for a while, because it means you are accepting that it was a fluke and you’re not that team. However, it also means you have a good core to work with, and maybe adding some good young talent is exactly what you need.
