Could Pirates Trade Pitching Depth To Address Other Needs?
The Pittsburgh Pirates haven't hesitated to use their biggest strength to address their biggest weakness in the past.
Could a similar move be on the horizon this offseason?
MLB.com had one beat writer for each team break down one burning question heading into the Winter Meetings on Monday in Dallas. For Pittsburgh, Alex Stumpf's burning question was whether it'll use its pitching depth in a trade to improve their offense or bullpen.
"The Pirates have a spoil of riches in the rotation and the game's deepest collection of prospect pitchers down on the farm," Stumpf wrote. "They also have big needs in the big league lineup and bullpen. It’s hard to see the Pirates dealing any of their top three Major League or Minor League arms, but the depth they have could be the center of a package to improve the Major League team. Does a deal start to take shape in Dallas?"
Ahead of the trade deadline, the Pirates traded right-handed pitcher Quinn Priester to the Boston Red Sox for second baseman Nick Yorke, who is now ranked as the No. 6 prospect in their system by MLB Pipeline. They also included former No. 17 prospect, right-handed pitcher Jun-Seok Shim, in their trade with the Miami Marlins for outfielder Bryan De La Cruz and traded right-handed pitching prospect Patrick Reilly to the Baltimore Orioles for outfielder Billy Cook.
Who the Pirates are willing to trade and how they're viewed by other teams will ultimately determine what they could get in return. Pittsburgh already making a trade with the Red Sox could potentially bode well for them given Pittsburgh's need for offense and Boston needing more pitching.
With seven pitchers in its top 12 prospects, Pittsburgh boasts the necessary depth to potentially trade one of its upper-echelon prospects without giving up one of top prospect Bubba Chandler, Braxton Ashcraft or Thomas Harrington. The trio of top pitching prospects are all ranked in MLB Pipeline's Top 100 rankings.
The Pirates also have Bailey Falter and Luis Ortiz in the big leagues, both of whom have proven to be solid young pitchers who are also under team control for the foreseeable future.
Given the importance of the 2025 season for the current Pittsburgh regime, the pressure should be there for them to make the necessary moves to help the Pirates become ready to contend in the National League Central. And if that means using its surplus of pitching to improve an offense or bullpen that struggled mightily last season, that's a move Pittsburgh should be more than willing to make again.
