2 contracts the Pirates absolutely need to trade, 2 they should hang onto

After yet another miserable season, the Pittsburgh Pirates are approaching the trade deadline with designs to sell everything not bolted to the floor. Well, almost everything that is, as it has been reported that only Paul Skenes and Andrew McCutchen are on the untouchable list.

But just because the Pirates want to sell off nearly everything doesn't mean that they can. While owner Bob Nutting prefers to run the club like his own personal piggy bank rather than an MLB franchise, the Pirates are one of the most profitable teams in the league thanks to revenue sharing.

While the revenue sharing model doesn't exactly dictate that those funds be reinvested into the team, there is an expectation that a minimum amount of spending his exercised. See the Athletics and the money spent on Luis Severino and Brent Rooker this past offseason as an example.

There's also a baseball reason as to why the club shouldn't go scorched earth and jettison any and all contracts above the minimum, and it has to do with the trade returns now versus the potential returns in the future.

These two contracts the Pittsburgh Pirates desperately need to offload

Ke'Bryan Hayes - original deal eight years, $70 million (four years, $30 million remaining)

When the Pirates locked up Ke'Bryan Hayes to this extension, they thought they were keeping a future superstar in house for the long term at a considerable discount. Now, Hayes is struggling to earn his $8.75 million AAV, which is a pittance in today's game.

While the deal was frontloaded, there are four years and $30 million left before a club option for the 2030 season, which comes in at $12 million and carries a $6 million buyout, making the total expenditure for Hayes in the coming years either $36 million or $42 million.

Hayes has consistently been a stellar defender, but the bat has lagged so far behind the glove that the overall value proposition he presents is flimsy at best. Right now, the only thing that may entice a rival club to give Pittsburgh something of value is his 2023 season, when he showed signs of life in the box, posting a .762 OPS and 15 homers.

A team may be able to convince themselves that they could fix the 28-year-old and tap into his superb tools that once made him a top prospect. However, the more that his 2023 season becomes a distant memory, the harder that sale becomes.

The longer the Pirates wait to move on from Hayes, the more his value turns to dust. Moving him at the 2025 deadline, therefore, is a must if Pittsburgh hopes to swap him for pieces that may bring about a brighter future.

David Bednar - $5.9 million, under team control through 2026

With another year of team control remaining, it might not seem imperative to move David Bednar this year. However, that's exactly why it makes sense to move on from the 30-year-old right-hander now rather than later.

Closer salaries have been skyrocketing in recent years, which will likely take Bednar from a shade under $6 million this year to a number the Pirates are a bit less comfortable paying in his final year of team control.

After three dominant seasons upon his arrival in Pittsburgh from 2021 through 2023, Bednar struggled mightily, posting a 5.77 ERA last season. Those struggles continued at the beginning of this season, with Bednar earning a brief demotion to Triple-A.

However, since that initial rough patch, Bednar has returned to form with a 2.93 ERA and career-best 12.69 K/9 on the year so far. Pittsburgh would be wise to strike while the iron is hot. Relievers, even those with some track record like Bednar, are extremely volatile, but having a cost-controlled closer beyond just the stretch run is an insanely valuable proposition for a contender.

Bednar's value won't get any higher, and hanging on to him beyond the trade deadline opens up the Pirates to the risk of injury or a drop-off in performance, derailing his value. Best to strike while the iron is hot.

The Pittsburgh Pirates would be wise to hold on to these two contracts

Bryan Reynolds - original deal eight years, $106.75 million (five years, $75.25 million remaining)

For Pittsburgh, it's not as simple as jettisoning the largest contracts on the books. As mentioned before, in order to continue to receive revenue-sharing money, they have to have some minimum expenditure, and Bryan Reynolds' relatively large contract helps achieve that goal.

Furthermore, trading Reynolds now would be selling low on a key asset. The two-time All-Star is batting just .233/.303/.372 with eight dingers on the year, which is a performance that has been good for just an 86 wRC+.

However, from 2021 through 2024, Reynolds put up wRC+ numbers ranging between 109 at the low point and a high-water mark of 140, making him one of the more fearsome hitters in the game.

Selling now on the 30-year-old would be settling for pennies on the dollar, as any team that takes him on would have that significant commitment on its books for the next five years, plus a $20 million club option with a $2 million buyout for the 2031 season.

Instead, Pittsburgh can receive a much more substantial return if it hangs on to him for the foreseeable future, thus reducing the acquiring team's commitment to him and giving him the opportunity to rebound and get back to his typically stellar offensive performance.

There's some risk involved if he doesn't return to what he once was now that he's on the wrong side of 30, but that is just a gamble the Pirates will have to take, as no one will give them anything of value for him at this moment in time.

Bailey Falter - $2.22 million, under team control through 2028

Pitching-needy teams are going to be circling the Pirates like vultures in the coming weeks, and with good reason. Pittsburgh has a ton of talented arms, both in the rotation and the bullpen, that can serve as the missing piece that puts a playoff hopeful over the top.

One of those arms that they should hold onto, though, is that of 28-year-old Bailey Falter. The southpaw is enjoying a breakout season in which he has posted a 3.59 ERA through 16 starts and 85.1 innings pitched.

Save for last year's 142.1 innings total, Falter had never eclipsed the 84 innings pitched plateau in his career prior to 2025. A big reason for that has been his struggles putting it all together.

That may lead one to believe that it's time to offload him before the cracks in the foundation are exposed and he comes back to earth; however, with so much team control left and such a low salary in his first year of arbitration, holding onto this asset is a gamble worth taking.

Best case scenario, Falter continues his standout performance through the second half and builds on it in the seasons to come, giving the Pirates an even more valuable trade asset in the future. Or, he proves that his 2025 first half is merely a mirage, and his salary doesn't rise exponentially throughout the rest of the arbitration process.

Pittsburgh has little to lose and a lot to potentially gain by keeping Falter around past the July 31 deadline, and would be wise not to settle for a small payoff when a much greater payday could be on the horizon.