What's Next For The Pirates Off-season
If you haven't heard by now, the Pittsburgh Pirates will be without star first baseman Josh Bell after trading him to the Washington Nationals. It was the first major move of the 2020-2021 off-season by General Manager Ben Cherrington signaling that the rebuild is on. Bell was the final piece from the 2015 Pirates playoff team meaning none of the current Pirates have been in a playoff game with the team. With the movement of Bell, Cherrington brought in two young arms with upside for the future in RHP Wil Crowe and RHP Eddy Yean. While Bell may not have been the first player that fans thought Cherrington would move, it most certainly won't be the last.
The Pirates lack depth in their Minor League system, and one of the ways to acquire the talent necessary to refill that depth is through trades. The Pirates are coming off a season where they had the worst record in Major League Baseball and they have several asserts who would be major pick-ups for any team. But, what exactly should the Pirates be looking for when deciding where to send some of their players? No prospect is certain, so adding any prospects will help the future of the team, but there are some positions that are more desperate than others. We look at some of those positions and where Cherrington may be able to acquire some of those depth pieces from.
Catcher
One of the most desperate needs for the Pirates is the catcher's position. While the current team has their starter in Jacob Stallings, the future of the team looks grim. Behind Stallings, there is 28-year-old Michael Perez on the Major League roster, but he has yet to prove himself in the Big Leagues. After that, things get even more bleak as Christian Kelley, Jason Delay, and Arden Pabst wait below them and neither of them has yet to break out in the Minor Leagues. There isn't a single catcher on the Pirate's Top-30 prospect list and with Stallings turning 31 this season, he is already past his prime years. The Pirates will look to add a catcher through the trade market.
One team that the Pirates were linked to during the regular season has a very deep pole of catching prospects. Bleacher Report recently released their list of the top 30 catching prospects, and three of the top 30 were from the Toronto Blue Jays Organization. Right before the trade deadline, the Blue Jays and Pirates nearly had a deal sending Joe Musgrove to Toronto, but it fell through. The teams could link up again, and the Pirates might be able to look to one of those prospects. Topping the list for the Blue Jays is Alejandro Kirk, who is just 21 years of age. Kirk had only played as high as A-Ball in 2019 but made his MLB debut during the 2020 season.
He made an immediate splash hitting .375 with a home run and three RBI in nine games played. He is an average defender, but he has finished every season with more walks than strikeouts. While Kirk more than likely would be back in the Minor Leagues in 2021, the small sample size gave the team a taste of Kirk's hitting ability in the Big Leagues. He is a career .315 hitter in the Minor Leagues but hasn't shown a lot of power. He has an uncanny ability to get on base consistently and hopes to show that in the future. The other catcher in the top 20 is Gabriel Moreno, who had a strong season in his first full year in pro baseball hitting .280 with 12 home runs and 52 RBI. Either prospect would fit right in the Pirates organization and could land the Blue Jays Joe Musgrove.
Pitcher
One position that you can never have too much of is pitching. You never know what injuries might pop up during the season, and you have to have reinforcements ready to take over. For the Pirates, they have several veterans on the current roster, but if those guys are moved there isn't much behind them. Top prospects like Brennan Malone and Quinn Priester are still years away, and there isn't much MLB level talent at Triple-A. If the Pirates move guys like Musgrove and Jameson Taillon, guys like JT Brubaker, Cody Ponce, and newly acquired Wil Crowe wait in the wings. There are several bullpen arms ready in the Minor Leagues, but the starting rotation is a different story.
A team that could help the Pirates in that category is a team on the rise, the Chicago White Sox. With several strong offensive talents like Jose Abreu, the rotation still has some holes. Adding veteran arms now could help put them over the top for 2021. With the Pirates shopping a guy like Jameson Taillon, that could bring the team back a top prospect like Michael Kopech. Kopech has one of the best fastballs in the Minor Leagues but is recovering from Tommy John Surgery. There is a question as to whether or not he will be back to where he was in 2018, but it may be a gamble the Pirates are willing to take.
Corner Infielder
After the Pirates traded Josh Bell on Christmas eve, first base suddenly became a position of little depth. Mason Martin is the future, but he is only in Advanced-A ball and is still a year or two away. In the meantime, Colin Moran and Will Craig are the current and neither has really shown any consistency in the Major Leagues. On the other side of the diamond, Ke'Bryan Hayes made his MLB debut last season, but after him, there is nothing much else. Hayes is set to be the third baseman of the future, but if something happens to Hayes, there is really no back-up behind him. Dylan Busby is the next third baseman up and Hunter Owen is also available in Triple-A, but neither is a major prospect.
If the Pirates want to add to their corner infield depth, they might be able to swap with a team that is also in the bottom half of the league. The Rangers have two-third base prospects that the Pirates could add to their system. The Rangers are in need of a middle infielder, and the Pirates could swap Frazier for one of those third base prospects. John Jung and Sherten Apostel are the two prospects in the top 10 in the MLB. John Jung is the highest of the two prospects, playing in Class-A ball in 2019. Jung was one of the best hitters at Texas Tech and continued that into the professional ranks. He would help add a blanket of security around a position that is already set at the Major League level for a while.
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