Pirates Named Winners of Trade Deadline
PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Pirates made a number of moves at the MLB trade deadline, to bolster their roster going through the rest of the season.
ESPN writer Bradford Doolittle wrote about his MLB trade deadline winners and losers and looked at the Pirates as one of the winners.
Other teams that he put in the winners category included the Los Angeles Dodgers, his biggest winners, plus the Arizona Diamondbacks, Baltimore Orioles, Cincinnati Reds, Colorado Rockies, Kansas City Royals, Miami Marlins, New York Mets, New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies, San Diego Padres, Seattle Mariners, St. Louis Cardinals, Tampa Bay Rays, Texas Rangers, Toronto Blue Jays and Washington Nationals.
Doolittle liked the Pirates trades, especially since they didn't go for the huge deal and instead made smarter transactions to land extra pieces to compliment their roster, featuring outfielder Bryan De La Cruz from the Marlins and utilityman Isiah Kiner-Falefa from the Blue Jays. He also liked them sending 2019 First Round pick in starting pitcher Quinn Priester to the Boston Red Sox for a prospect, as they kept their best young talent going forward.
"I was hoping for a head-turning splash," Doolittle wrote. "Luis Robert Jr.! Cody Bellinger! The ghost of Honus Wagner! But for a team that is so often an afterthought this time of the year, I'll take the additions of Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Bryan De La Cruz and look forward to a second-half run on the strength of that exciting rotation. The Pirates didn't dip too deeply into their prospect base and you could argue they could have pushed the envelope a little more. The best prospect they dealt was arguably Quinn Priester and they traded him for ... another prospect (Nick Yorke)."
The other trades the Pirates made included sending left-handed starting pitcher Martín Pérez to the Padres for 18-year old left-handed pitcher Ronaldys Jimenez, trading minor league left-handed pitcher Luis Peralta to the Rockies for left-handed pitcher Jalen Beeks and they acquired left-handed pitcher Josh Walker from Mets for minor league left-handed pitcher Nicolas Carreno.
The Pirates are 55-52 overall, with a three-game winning streak and winners of 13 of the last 18, as they continue to fight for a National League wild card spot.
DOMINIC CAMPBELL