5 days until the Pittsburgh Pirates first spring workout

The start of Spring Training 2018 is now just half a handful of days away for the Pittsburgh Pirates

In just 5 days, the fields at Pirate City in Bradenton will be booming. This is because in 5 days pitchers and catchers for the Pittsburgh Pirates will take to these fields to hold their first workouts of Spring Training 2018.

For the past six seasons number 5 has belonged to Josh Harrison for the Pittsburgh Pirates. However, it remains unknown if there will be a seventh season of Harrison repping number 5 for the Pirates or not.

Throughout the off-season there have been trade rumors surrounding Josh Harrison. These rumors have only increased since last month’s trade of Gerrit Cole and Andrew McCutchen which seemed to signal that 2018 will be more of a rebuilding year than an attempt to compete for the postseason for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Teams such as the Milwaukee Brewers, New York Mets, New York Yankees, and Toronto Blue Jays have all been connected to Harrison in trade talks this off-season. However, with Spring Training now just 5 days away the odds of Harrison being traded seem to be much lower.

That said, with this off-season having a historically slow free agent market there will be many more moves in Spring Training than most seasons tend to see. Therefore, the odds of Josh Harrison being traded in Spring Training are likely greater than you would usually see for a player entering the spring.

The now 30-year-old Harrison is coming off a 2017 season that was cut short due to a broken thumb in early September. In 2017 Harrison led the Major Leagues in being hit by pitches, his .339 on-base percentage and .432 slugging percentage were both the second highest of his career, he hit a career high 16 home runs, he posted a 2.6 fWAR, and for the second time in his career he was a National League All-Star.

At this point, not trading Josh Harrison would be a mistake. The Pirates are not going to compete for the postseason in 2018 so the team would be best served to trade Harrison for young talent that they can add to their new young core.

Next: PECOTA projections for the 2018 Pirates

Just 5 more days until the Pittsburgh Pirates’ pitchers and catchers hold their first workout of Spring Training 2018.