Pirates Might Offer Righty Hurler For Red Sox Bat; Should Boston Bite?

Pittsburgh has a plethora of young pitchers for Boston to choose from

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The Pittsburgh Pirates could be calling the Boston Red Sox this offseason about a pitcher-hitter swap.

Boston has young bats like Wilyer Abreu and Triston Casas who are enticing to a team like the Pirates in need of some pop.

Bleacher Report’s Zachary D. Rymer thinks that Pittsburgh could dangle its young righty flamethrower Braxton Ashcraft to the Red Sox in an attempt to pry away some of Boston’s offense.

“The Pirates should be ready to make a play for contention after a 76-86 season, and there isn't any question that they need bats to make it happen,” Rymer said.

“You can rule the Bucs out of making an impact in free agency, though, which means it's trade market or bust if they want to add a hitter (or hitters) with any kind of heft. To this end, their best hope involves leveraging their surplus of young arms.”

“The injury-prone, yet talented Braxton Ashcraft is in that sweet spot of not being Paul Skenes, Jared Jones or Bubba Chandler, but still placing within MLB.com's top 100. He's thus an ideal centerpiece for the kind of trade the Bucs should be looking to make.”

“Potential Fits: Boston Red Sox, Baltimore Orioles, Cleveland Guardians.”

Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow has already worked with the Pirates in a pitcher-hitter trade. Breslow sent Red Sox infield prospect Nick Yorke to Pittsburgh before the deadline in exchange for pitching prospect Quinn Priester.

The Red Sox and Pirates clearly have a working relationship, which means more moves could be on the horizon this winter.

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