2 major league outfielders and 1 prospect the Pirates should consider trading for

The Pittsburgh Pirates’ lineup could get better as the season progresses. Getting Nick Gonzales and Spencer Horwitz back into the major leagues will give the offense two large boosts. But unfortunately, the Pirates likely aren’t going to find much in terms of reinforcements in the outfield. Bryan Reynolds and Oneil Cruz are currently stationed in two of the three positions. Cruz has begun to heat up, and Reynolds’ underlying numbers suggest he could soon do the same.

Unfortunately, the Pirates do not have as much hope when it comes to the last outfield spot. Tommy Pham and Alexander Canario have, unfortunately, been their go-to answers. Matt Gorski, who is in the major leagues, and Billy Cook, who is stationed at Triple-A, could help the cause, but are far from safe bets (at least offensively). They could call upon Nick Yorke, but he’d likely be better off with a role on the infield. Given their options, they'd likely be better off trading for an outfielder.

These 3 outfielders - two MLB players, one prospect - could be Pirates' trade options

Brandon Marsh

Brandon Marsh doesn’t have a great path to playing time this year on the Philadelphia Phillies. Both outfield corners are filled with Max Kepler and Nick Castellanos. He could platoon with center fielder Johan Rojas, but Rojas is a better fielder up the middle, and is out-hitting Marsh this year, both against righties and especially against lefties.

Marsh isn’t off to a great start to 2025 either, only batting .185/.270/.277. He owns a .251 wOBA and wRC+ of just 56. At the very least, he’s drawing walks at a healthy 10.7% rate, with a career-best 30.7% strikeout percentage. While these are obviously bad numbers, Marsh has stepped to the plate less than 100 times this season (75 PAs), as a hamstring injury hampered him in mid-April. However, he was solid in both 2023 and 2024. 

Between his previous two seasons, Marsh hit .263/.350/.438 with a .342 wOBA and 117 wRC+. Marsh hit for some power, going yard 29 times in 948 plate appearances, and posting a .175 isolated slugging percentage. Although he struck out over 30% of the time with a 31.4% K%, he also walked in 11.5% of his trips to the dish. Marsh was also a threat to steal, going 29 for 33 in stolen base attempts.

Marsh’s defense hasn’t been great, with -7 defensive runs saved and -1 out above average. But again, part of this could be caused by a hamstring injury. Between 2023 and 2024, he graded out as an above-average glove, with +7 DRS and +5 OAA. His jump and route running on fly balls were also slightly better than average in 2024.

Marsh is struggling to make good contact early on in 2025. His 91.2 MPH exit velocity is just as good as any other season for Marsh. But his barrel rate is down from 9.5% in 2023-2024 to just 5% this year. Given that it’s less than 100 plate appearances that were interrupted by a hamstring strain, it’s hard to get too frustrated at his slow start.