It is time to play General Manager For A Day with the
Pirates again, as we lead up to the MLB Trade Deadline.
As always, we have to decide where the Pirates are, and if
they should be Buyers or Sellers at the deadline. That one is pretty easy. They Pirates should be Sellers. I keep seeing columnist writing that the
Pirates should go for it this year.
Radio personalities are advocating that the Pirates push their chips
into the middle and go after a weak NL Central division this year. Let’s slow down…
The Pirates are 42-47, 7 GB in the division and according to
Fangraphs have a 4.2% chance of winning the NL Central this year. So, although the Pirates technically have a
shot, there was nothing that I saw from there play in the 1st half
of the season that makes me believe they can win the division. People claiming that the NL Central is weak
and very winnable, well Milwaukee is in 1st place with a .549
winning percentage at 50-41, that isn’t all that terrible. If that W% were to play out the rest of the
season the NL Central Champ would have 89 wins.
Not too shabby. Just to give you
an idea, the Pirates would need to go 47-26 in the 2nd half to reach
89 wins. Are you still a Buyer? Didn’t think so.
So, now that it is clear that the Pirates are Sellers this
deadline, let’s have some fun.
To be clear, I really like the core of this Pirates
team. I think they had a ton of bad luck
this year already and if it hadn’t been for the Kang DUI, Marte PED’s and the
Tailion cancer, the Pirates could have a real shot at making a nice post season
run. The Pirates could trade away a few
pieces and build around the core, much like they did last year. This would allow them to keep competing
without a huge dropoff, but it also probably doesn’t give you enough return to
make a giant impact either. These moves
would be simple ones. Mainly just moving
guys with expiring deals (Watson, Nicasio, Jaso) awful contracts that you might
get a team to eat (Hudson, Cervelli), or a player that you feel is at absolute
peak value (Harrison). You likely won’t
get a ton back in return for these guys (except maybe Harrison), but since you
will be losing them in the offseason, you might as well get something.
The Pirates also could just blow things up, knowing that the
do have a nice young nucleus and with the right pieces could be very
competitive soon, if they are able to make the right deals.
That’s where General Manager Kevin Reitmeyer comes in.
I see 3 moves the Pirates should make if they are available
to them. All 3 of these moves are
completely fabricated by yours truly. I
honestly believe that all 3 deals are fair and equal for both sides.
NEW YORK YANKEES:
Pirates trade:
SP – Gerrit Cole
RP – Juan Nicasio
3rd – David Freese
SS Prospect- Kevin Newman (#89 in Baseball America’s Midseason Top 100)
Pirates trade:
SP – Gerrit Cole
RP – Juan Nicasio
3rd – David Freese
SS Prospect- Kevin Newman (#89 in Baseball America’s Midseason Top 100)
Yankees Trade:
SS – Gleyber Torres (#3 in BA Top 100) – Tommy John surgery in June will keep him out til mid-2018.
OF – Clint Frazier (#49) – Just called to MLB on July 1st. Batting 292 with 1 double, 2 triples and 3 HR in 7 Games with NYY.
SP – Justus Sheffield (#7 LHP prospect according to MLB Pipeline). Currently in AA, scheduled to make MLB debut during 2018 season. Potential to be a 2-3 Starter.
RP – Domingo Acevedo – Lower level prospect in Yankees organization. Very raw, but throws gas. Currently a starter, but forecasts to be a back-end RP. Throws 100 regularly and has been known to hit 103 on the gun. Projected 2018 MLB debut.
SS – Gleyber Torres (#3 in BA Top 100) – Tommy John surgery in June will keep him out til mid-2018.
OF – Clint Frazier (#49) – Just called to MLB on July 1st. Batting 292 with 1 double, 2 triples and 3 HR in 7 Games with NYY.
SP – Justus Sheffield (#7 LHP prospect according to MLB Pipeline). Currently in AA, scheduled to make MLB debut during 2018 season. Potential to be a 2-3 Starter.
RP – Domingo Acevedo – Lower level prospect in Yankees organization. Very raw, but throws gas. Currently a starter, but forecasts to be a back-end RP. Throws 100 regularly and has been known to hit 103 on the gun. Projected 2018 MLB debut.
The Yankees are desperately looking to upgrade their
starting rotation and they want a guy that they would have future control
over. Gerrit Cole does both, having 2 ½
years remaining on his contract. Juan
Nicasio gives the Yankees a big upgrade to their bullpen as they have struggled
to get the ball to their 2 dominant back-end relivers. The Yankees acquired Garrett Cooper from
Milwaukee on Thursday, but he looks to be more of a September call-up type and
a future possibility for the team. If
they want to win now, they are still in need of a 1st baseman. David Freese is a 3rd baseman,
that can play 1st base. The
Yankees have a major need at 1st base. They have had the least productive 1st
base bat of any team in the Majors this season.
Kevin Newman helps replenish the farm system at SS, after giving up
their top prospect.
For the Pirates, this would be a haul, but one that is very
realistic after seeing what Jose Quintana brought back for the White Sox on
Thursday. Clint Frazier gives the
Pirates a solid OF bat for if and when McCutchen leaves. It also gives them flexibility with Gregory
Polanco who has continued to struggle.
Torres, becomes your everyday SS once healthy and replaces Mercer who
will be in his final year of his contract in 2018. Sheffield and Acevedo are arms any
organization would love to have in their system.
BOSTON RED SOX:
Pirates Trade:
2nd – Josh Harrison
RP – Tony Watson
Pirates Trade:
2nd – Josh Harrison
RP – Tony Watson
Red Sox Trade:
SP- Jay Groome (#87 in BA Top 100, #2 LHP in MLB Pipeline) – Young but a monster of a man. Just 18 years old (1st RD 2016), he is 6’6, 220lbs. Already touched 97 mph, and will probably improve on that as he gets stronger. Not expected in the MLB until 2019-20.
SP- Jay Groome (#87 in BA Top 100, #2 LHP in MLB Pipeline) – Young but a monster of a man. Just 18 years old (1st RD 2016), he is 6’6, 220lbs. Already touched 97 mph, and will probably improve on that as he gets stronger. Not expected in the MLB until 2019-20.
The Red Sox need another left-handed arm in their bullpen
and even though Watson has not been good, he would still be a really good
option considering what Boston is currently working with. The Red Sox are also seeking help at 3rd
base, which is why Harrison makes sense. Harrison’s versatility will help find a spot
for him over the final 3 years of his contract as well. The Red Sox top prospect, Rafael Devers, will
likely take over the Hot Corner for Boston next April.
LA DODGERS:
Pirates Trade:
OF – Starling Marte
RP – Daniel Hudson
Pirates Trade:
OF – Starling Marte
RP – Daniel Hudson
Dodgers Trade:
2nd – Willie Calhoun (#74 on BA Top 100, #4 prospect in LA organization) – Calhoun is a power hitting 2nd baseman, that is MLB ready.
2nd – Willie Calhoun (#74 on BA Top 100, #4 prospect in LA organization) – Calhoun is a power hitting 2nd baseman, that is MLB ready.
The Dodgers need outfield help and Marte gives them a young
player with team-friendly contract control.
He would also immediately be the team’s best defensive outfielder. Marte would help stabilze a rotating door in
the Dodger outfield that has already seen 10 different players man the outfield
in their first 90 games this season.
Despite having the best ERA of all bullpens in the NL this season, like
all other contenders, the Dodgers believe you can never have too many arms in
that area. The Dodgers have already been
looking to add to the bullpen. Hudson
would be someone that could help them get the ball to Kenley Jansen.
With Calhoun MLB ready, the Dodgers might not be willing to
part with him on this exchange. The
Pirates may have to pay some of the future salary of Hudson (owed $5.5M in
2018), but it would be worth it if you are the Pirates.
I would also not rule out the idea of moving Cervelli to a
team like Arizona, who is in need of a catcher badly. This would get the Pirates out of the awful
contract they gave him last offseason, which he will still be owed $22M on over
the next 2 seasons. The Diamondbacks
farm system is one of the worst in baseball, so this would likely have to be
just a complete salary dump.
Making these moves would obviously put up the White Flag on
the 2017 season, but they aren’t winning anyway this year. The faster the Pirates realize that the better. The remaining 2 months of the 2017 season
become a Spring Training of sorts, a chance for the many question marks in the organization
to prove themselves. The Pirates should be
creative with how they use their roster (crazy concept for this organization, I
know). Steven Brault should be in the
rotation, maybe Tyler Glasnow gets another shot too. Maybe even Huntington’s man-crush, Drew
Hutchison. Nick Kingham should probably
be ready for a few starts as well come September. Heck, run a 6-man rotation the last few
months. Use that 10-Day DL to your
advantage and just rotate pitchers through it giving everyone some extra rest
down the stretch.
As for the field, bring up Austin Meadows, let’s see what he
can do. Adam Frazier and Max Moroff
(even Chris Bostick and Eric Wood), get to know 3rd base. If you are going to help the 2018 team, it
will have to be at that spot.
I know that most Pirate fans don’t like the idea of a “rebuild”
but I don’t see these moves as being that.
With the pieces they would acquire from these trades, the Pirates would
be able to put a very competitive line-up on the field in 2018. Who knows, maybe they surprise some people
like the Brewers have done this year or the Astros did in 2015. These moves also extend the window for the
Pirates, which many thought would be closing as McCutchen’s contract comes up
and Cole nears Free Agency.
Keep a competitive team on the field, while stock-piling prospects to promise a bright future AND cutting salary... Sounds like a win-win for the fans and ownership!
