As other major league teams move to improve, the Pittsburgh Pirates aren’t even the subject of a credible trade rumor. By this time last year, general manager Ben Cherington had acquired Marco Gonzales, Rowdy Tellez, and Martín Pérez and re-signed Andrew McCutchen. This offseason hasn’t been as busy. So far, Cherington has traded for Spencer Horwitz and re-upped McCutchen for another season, along with several innocuous minor-league additions. It’s as though the GM is afflicted with tortoise nervosa.
Pirates Offseason Shopping: Not Even a Trade Rumor
It’s like Christmas shopping on Christmas Eve, finding all the stores picked over and the best merchandise gone. This snail-like approach is why the Pirates settled for Michael A. Taylor as their primary center fielder last season. The word in baseball circles is that Cherington will add to the team via trades rather than the free-agent market. There’s a gaping hole to fill in right field, but more importantly, the Bucs need hitters. Here are a few he should pursue.
A Favorite Shopping Destination
Cherington served the Boston Red Sox in various capacities from 1999-2015, including executive vice president and general manager from 2011-15. The Red Sox and the Toronto Blue Jays, for which Cherington was vice president of baseball operations from 2016-19, have been his favorite trade partners, as he’s seemed to favor players with whom he has familiarity. At last year’s trade deadline, he acquired Nick Yorke from Boston. He should consider engaging with the Red Sox one more time.
Specifically, his target should be 25-year-old right fielder Wilyer Abreu. Last year, Abreu, a left-handed batter, received American League Rookie of the Year consideration and won a Gold Glove Award. His career so far has spanned 160 games, almost the equivalent of a full season, during which he’s hit .263/.333/.461, 17 HR, 72 RBI, and 117 OPS+. PNC Park’s cozy right-field should help him increase that home run total. In the minors, Abreu had an outstanding .372 OBP. Meanwhile, it was Horwitz’s OBP, inter alia, that attracted the Pirates. Hitting back-to-back, Abreu and Horwitz could be table setters atop the order or hit lower where they could extend innings. Abreu’s OBP, defense, and years of contract control would surely be appetizing to the Bucs. The drawback to such a trade would be that the Red Sox would ask for more than Cherington might be willing to give up.
Taylor-Made for the Pirates?
At the 2024 trade deadline, there was a credible rumor connecting the Pirates to Los Angeles Angels outfielder Taylor Ward. Ward, 31, is a right-handed hitter who plays all three outfield positions and both corner infield spots. Last season, he hit .246/.323/.426, 25 HR, 75 RBI, and 111 OPS+. That home run total appears to be a reasonable expectation. He hit 23 in 2022 and 14 in just 97 games in 2023. These numbers translate to a 162-game average of 26 homers for 2022-24. Ward is arbitration-eligible now and can be a free agent in 2027. The home run was sorely missing from the Pirates attack in 2024 (and 2023, and 2022 . . . you get the picture). Furthermore, Pete Alonso isn’t coming to Pittsburgh. Ward may be among the best power hitters available.
A Former Batting Champion
Another legitimate rumor at the 2024 trade deadline had the Pirates in on Tampa Bay Rays corner infielder Yandy Díaz. What’s that you say? The Pirates are set at the corners with Ke’Bryan Hayes and Horwitz? Perhaps. However, Hayes had back issues that affected his play and eventually caused him to finish 2024 on the injured list. In any event, the need for hitters is so dire, that the Pirates need to follow what is apparently the Los Angeles Dodgers modus operandi of acquiring the hitters and figuring out who’s going to play where later. (As this was being readied for submission to our crack editing team, the Dodgers “figured it out” by dealing away the underachieving Gavin Lux.)
Díaz, 33, can become a free agent in 2026, and is likely available cheaply due to the Rays’ penchant for trading players as they approach free agency. The Pirates can look at the veteran right-handed batter as a short-term fix or, less likely, they might work on an extension as a condition to the deal. Last season, Díaz hit .281/.381/.414, 14 HR, 65 RBI, and 116 OPS+. His production may have been held down by an undisclosed personal issue that landed him on the restricted list for a while. In the previous year, he won the AL batting title, hitting .330/.410/.522, 22 HR, 78 RBI, and 157 OPS+. His career .373 OBP fits the Pirates’ philosophy and the fact that he has a little pop doesn’t hurt either.
“I got it” -Yandy DÍaz
By “it” he means the 1st AL Batting Title in Rays history. pic.twitter.com/jjegSJQ0O5
— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) October 1, 2023
Another Ray of Hope
Similarly, the Rays could make Brandon Lowe, another credible rumor subject this year and last, available to the Pirates in a trade. Lowe can also become a free agent in 2026 if the Rays don’t exercise his team option, which seems likely. He’s a 30-year-old left-handed hitter who would also find PNC Park’s short right field inviting. Last year, Lowe hit .244/.311/.473, 21 HR, 58 RBI, and 121 OPS+ in 107 games. It was his second consecutive season hitting 21 home runs, achieving that feat in 109 games in 2023. In 2021, he hit a career-high 39 homers when he also reached a career-high with 149 games played. Maybe 2021 was an aberration, but Pirates fans wouldn’t mind finding out how many Lowe could hit out of PNC Park in their favorite team’s uniform.
Photo Credit: © Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
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