The Pittsburgh Pirates have slowly dipped to seven games
below the water line with the chance of being passed up by the Cincinnati Reds
for the NL Central’s worst record. It looks as if the division will come down
to a slugfest between the Milwaukee Brewers (54-36) and the Chicago Cubs
(51-36). You can never count out those folks in St. Louis, as the Cardinals are
right behind the two above mentioned teams at 46-43.
With those two teams likely sustaining their current success
in the upcoming years as well, it is time for the Pirates to continue their
rebuild. To speed up the process, the Bucs will need to be sellers after the
All-Star break runs its course.
Most of the teams who are looking to buy tend to be teams
that are in the National League which could cause some instability on the
Pirates end. Typically, you see NL teams trade with AL teams and vice versa,
not within the same league. Pittsburgh will have to navigate the trade market
and see what teams desire in combination with what they have to offer.
There are a couple pieces to Pittsburgh’s puzzle that could
easily be coined as a trade chips before the non-waiver trade deadline on July
31st. A couple of names that come to mind are Corey Dickerson, Josh Harrison, and Ivan Nova. Each of those players have the makeup to impact a
contender in positive manner.
Dickerson is only on a one-year deal with the Bucs so he
would be more of rental to any team that he went to. As of late, his bat has
cooled off but he is still contributing to the tune of a .308/.341/.458 slash
line with six big flies, 34 RBI’s, and five stolen bases. In addition to his
offensive caliber, he is an above average defender who typically roams in
center field.
At the keystone, Josh Harrison got off to a slow start after missing about
30 games from mid-April to mid-May with a hand injury after being hit by a
pitch. This is the same hand that forced an early finish to last season. He was
openly disgruntled in the offseason after the Pirates front office shipped
out Gerrit Cole and Andrew McCutchen, two of his closest peers on the team and
franchise players. Currently Harrison is hitting just .260 with four homers, 22
RBI’s, and swiped three bags in that time. His reoccurring injuries and dip in
production may scare some teams off but the potential is still there.
The only pitcher of the trio that I proposed was Ivan Nova. Since heading to Pittsburgh in the middle of the
2016 season from the New York Yankees, he has redefined himself and been very
serviceable during his time in the Steel City. His numbers are a little
inflated after a start on the Fourth of July where the fireworks started a
little early. He gave up seven runs and five homers to the Dodgers to bump his
ERA up to 4.48. If he can put together a few good starts in a row, he will
likely have suitors who need some back end rotation help.
Of the three, the most likely to be traded in my opinion is
Harrison. He has expressed his desire to play for a contender, not a rebuilder,
already this past winter and has been quiet thus far. There are multiple teams
out there that could use help in the middle of the diamond such as Milwaukee,
Arizona, and the Los Angeles Angels.
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