How Pirates can salvage their offseason

As the 2024 MLB Off-Season slowly comes to an end, the Pittsburgh Pirates are in a spot where they could benefit from some additional signings. The team has already made some good moves in my opinion. The Pirates have signed SP Martin Perez, 1B Rowdy Tellez, and LHP Aroldis Chapman to major league deals. They also have traded for SP Marco Gonzales and OF Edward Olivares. In small regard, they made strong minor league moves, a few to note involve former top prospect RHP Brent Honeywell, RHP Ben Heller, and OF Billy McKinney. These three specific players are the ones I could see being up on the major league squad frequently with injuries that occur throughout the season. However, I believe Ben Cherrington will still make another move if not two, and I believe that they could be pretty impactful depending on how other teams move during this dreadful off-season. 

When I picture the “best” move they can make, that doesn’t come from a free agent, that comes from a trade, a trade that involves the Miami Marlins.

The Miami Marlins have been rumored to be wanting to move a starting pitcher before the 2024 Opening Day. Along with that, they are rumored to be looking to add to the middle infield group. This lines up the Pirates as a top candidate as they have a large quantity of good young middle infielders. My first move would be trading for SP Edward Cabrera for 2B Nick Gonzales, RHP Thomas Harrington, and 1B/OF Connor Joe. Let’s be honest for a second, Nick Gonzales still has a lot of time to develop, however, last season Liover Peguero played 10x better than Gonzales. Gonzales has very concerning strikeout problems, however, if he cuts down on those, he could be an everyday 2B who hits .260 with 15-20 home runs, and 60+ RBI’s.

Along with that, you send over a starting pitching prospect in Thomas Harrington who can go into Miami’s farm system and be used in two years by the MLB team or used as trade bait. Harrington went 7-6 last season in Single-A and A+ with a 3.53ERA and a 1.24WHIP. Long term he can be a good 3 or 4 starter for an MLB team if development continues.

Lastly, Connor Joe is a guy who can also help Miami’s offense right now playing 1B while Josh Bell moves to the DH spot. Connor Joe has a better defensive mindset than Josh Bell and he can provide some power and contact against righties, but when lefties are on the mound, watch out because he is one of the best against lefties.

Here comes the fun part… Edward Cabrera. If the Pirates' could get Edward Cabrera, I would view this as the best trade since February 2012 when the Pirates traded for SP AJ Burnett. Cabrera has a fastball that hits in the high 90s with a nasty slider. He also throws the change and curve pretty frequently. The best part of this all is that he has five more years of team control…. FIVE. Let’s look past just this season, where if they acquired him, he would slot in as the number two or three starter. Let’s fast forward to 2026 where the Pirates likely could see a rotation of Paul Skenes, Mitch Keller (pending extension), Edward Cabrera, Anthony Solometo, and Jared Jones/Mike Burrows… yeah that’s pretty scary for opposing offenses. 

The next move that I would prefer to see is signing veteran catcher Yasmani Grandal to a 1 year, 4M contract. Yasmani has had a rough offensive stretch the last two seasons, however, he still gets on base. Let’s act like the Oakland A’s Moneyball management staff and think about people that get on base… that’s Yasmani Grandal. In 2021, Yasmani was one of the top OBP hitters in the league, where he ended up finishing with a .420 OBP. Along with that, he can provide a strong mentor for Henry Davis and provide a left-handed hitting catcher to complement Henry Davis. When you look at the catching group as of right now, you have Henry Davis, who is one the Pirates top prospects, but last season was viewed as more of an outfielder option compared to a catcher due to his defensive issues. Along with Davis, you have Jason Delay who is below-average in defensive statistics, hitting, and power. The only positive Delay brings to the team is his connection with Mitch Keller. Lastly, the Pirates signed Ali Sanchez to a deal in the beginning of the offseason, but Sanchez has no MLB experience. Long story short, the catching group is filled with a bunch of question marks. Adding Yasmani at least with give them some clarity in getting a catcher to provide mentorship, defense, and good plate appearances when playing. 

Lastly, I believe they should sign one more hitter that can provide a high upside and come at a discounted price. That player would be 1B CJ Cron. CJ Cron had a down year last year in terms of power, but I believe with the way the market has been, you can get him for roughly 5M for one year, or similar to a Tellez deal where you give him 4M and add an extra million for incentives. CJ Cron had a rough year last year, but in 2022 he hit 29 home runs and brought home 102 runs. Cron can enter a platoon role with Tellez where Cron faces strictly lefties and occasionally righties. People may say Connor Joe or Jared Triolo will platoon with Rowdy, however, in my ideal world, Joe goes to Miami for Cabrera. Doing that trade opens an opportunity for Cron to come to Pittsburgh and along with Cron playing 1B, he can also occasionally play the corner outfield spots. He is not the best defensively; however, he will provide you offensive power which the Pirates desperately need. 

All said and done, the biggest thing that this does is that it doesn’t break the bank for the Pirates, which will all know is going to be the problem with signing other FAs. These three moves would cost the Pirates between 8-10M in total. Edward receiving 740K, Grandal 4M, and Cron between 4-5M. These moves provide more clarity and experience to a young Pirates squad, and I believe raises their win total expectation by roughly 7-10 games.