Pittsburgh Pirates Offseason Simulation: Trade with the Phillies

While the Pittsburgh Pirates will likely trade Starling Marte and Keone Kela this offseason, it is hard to predict where and when.  There should be plenty of teams interested in both as they both represent impact players on cheap, shorter-term contracts.  It seems likely that the Bucs will get plenty of interest especially on Marte and it looks like the most interest will come from teams in the National League East.

The best thing that could happen for Ben Cherington and the Pittsburgh Pirates would be to get all three NL East teams in on Marte.  This could result in a bidding war among division rivals which will only benefit the Pittsburgh Pirates in the return.  Both the Phillies and Mets make a lot of sense so it very well could happen.

While this trade was just a simulation between two FanSided writers, it still is interesting to see how other fanbases value players.  Some teams that were interested in Marte didn’t want to give up much more than a couple of top 20 prospects, meanwhile other teams like the Phillies were ready to give up some of their top prospects to make a deal.

If the Bucs can get a package of multiple MLB or close to ready prospect talent with a couple being top 100 type prospects, then they will have done very well for themselves.  Hopefully, they can fill some of their organizational needs as well. This move also clears almost $15 million from the team’s projected payroll for 2020 and $12.5 million from their 2021 payroll.

This is just the first part of what will be a few different articles on FanSided’s offseason simulation.  There are a couple of trades that are in the works as well as a few free-agent signings that will be completed soon.  Check back tomorrow to see other moves I will try to make for the Pittsburgh Pirates.