How the Pittsburgh Pirates Should Tackle Today’s Trade Deadline

The Major League Baseball non-waiver trade deadline is at 4 PM today. So, how should the Pittsburgh Pirates tackle things between now and then?

The Pittsburgh Pirates do not play today. When they return to action against the Cincinnati Reds tomorrow night their roster could look different. This is due to the Major League Baseball non-waiver trade deadline being at 4 PM this afternoon.

Currently, the Pittsburgh Pirates own a 51-54 record. This puts them 5.5 games out of first place in the National League Central. In theory, they are still in contention for a division pennant. However, something that seems good in theory is not always true.

After struggling through the first 100 games of the season, the Chicago Cubs have finally started to play up to their capability. As a result, they have moved into sole possession of first place in the division and looked primed to run away with things.

The odds of the Pittsburgh Pirates being at least 6 games better than the Chicago Cubs the rest of the season are extremely slim. In my opinion, this must be taken into consideration by Neal Huntington today.

First off, any players the Pirates add today should be players under team control past this season. Simply adding rental players is not the best course of action this season. In 2018 the Pirates should be able to contend for a division championship, assuming no one gets suspended unlike this season, and adding pieces that can help the 2018 Pirates makes sense.

Secondly, their pending free agents should be shopped. That means John Jaso, Juan Nicasio, and Tony Watson should all be on the trading block today. All three of these players are set to become free agents at the end of the season, all of them will have varying amounts of trade value, and Neal Huntington should be looking to move all three.

Finally, the Pirates should be willing to move some of their players that are under control if the price is right. David Freese and Ivan Nova are two players I would be dangling in talks today if I were Neal Huntington. Both are proven veterans with years of control, which could net the Pirates a nice return, but are struggling.

No matter what happens, it should be an interesting few hours for the Pirates.

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In a few hours, the Pittsburgh Pirates’ roster could look different. That is the nature of trade deadline day. Stay tuned with Rum Bunter today for all of the latest breaking Pirate trade news as the 4 o’clock deadline approaches.