Who Will Be The Pittsburgh Pirates Catcher In 2020? Who To Trade? And More!

It’s time for the latest edition of the Pittsburgh Pirates mailbag here at Rum Bunter

Who will be the Pittsburgh Pirates starting catcher in 2020? Will the team look to trade Josh Bell? And more in this week’s Pirate mailbag!

As always, thank you to everyone who submitted questions to this week’s mailbag. Now, let’s dive in!

There is no doubt that the Pirates have a major hole at catcher. Yes, Jacob Stallings emerged to have a strong campaign in 2019, but his ceiling appears to be that of a backup catcher. As for Elias Diaz, after posting a negative WAR in 2019 he has now been a negative WAR player in three of his four MLB seasons. That’s not good, folks.

Most likely, the Pirates’ starting catcher in 2020 is not currently on the roster. Austin Romine and Jason Castro are two catchers still available on the free agent market that are worth monitoring. Old friend Russell Martin could be a target, too.

General manager Ben Cherington could always look to the trade market as well. Regardless of how he does it, Cherington needs to address catcher this offseason. Neither Stallings nor Diaz are an every day catcher. And, honestly, Diaz may not even be a viable option as a backup.

These are all similar so we’ll tackle them together.

Bell is still controlled by the Pirates for three more seasons. So, there is no urgency to trade him. That said, the Pirates should most certainly listen to offers for him.

Power is the most valued commodity in baseball and Bell has plenty of that. He is coming off the best season of his career, is trending upward, is not yet expensive, and comes with three years of team control. For all of these reasons Bell should be able to net the Pirates a large return in any potential trade, especially any potential trade with an American League club where Bell’s defensive shortcomings can be hidden as the designated hitter.

Looking at the rest of the roster I expect Starling Marte and Keone Kela to both be traded. Adam Frazier, Chris Archer, Kyle Crick, Richard Rodriguez, and Trevor Williams are all names that are likely to be discussed in potential trades as well.

When looking for teams that would be a good fit in Marte trade talks the Mets, Padres, White Sox, and A’s all come to mind. There has already been smoke surrounding Marte and the Mets this offseason.

As for the minor league question, that is a good one. Cherington will undoubtedly target minor league players he has crossed paths with in the past or scouted in the past that he thinks highly of. Acquiring these players could require prospects or MLB players. We will simply have to wait and see.

This will hinge on how Cheington tackles the offseason. If he and his staff look to rebuild and move their veteran pieces, then the team is in store for another losing season and that would be ok because, right now, restocking the minor leagues and adding as much young talent is possible is what is needed.

However, if, instead, Cherington decides to hold onto players such as Marte and Kela, and addressing the catching situation and the starting rotation then this team could end up around 80-82 wins. But I would not count on that being the route the Pirates take this offseason.

No, the odds of that happening are just about zero. A.J. Burnett is enjoying retirement and spending time with his family. There is zero indication that A.J. has any interest whatsoever in entering coaching. However, you can read about three potential pitching coaches here.

That will do it for this week. As always, if you ever have a question for the mailbag look for our Tweet each week asking for questions. Also, do not ever be afraid to ask a question on Twitter or Facebook.