Pittsburgh Pirates: Hypothetical Deadline Trade of Adam Frazier

With the shortened season, the trade deadline isn’t far off, and the Pittsburgh Pirates could be sellers. Could this hypothetical trade be one they explore?

As weird as this year has been, talking about potential names that could be on the move at the deadline isn’t too early. The trade deadline is at the end of August. Not far off. If the right players get off to good starts, we could be looking at a good situation for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

One name that has constantly been talked about being moved is Adam Frazier. Frazier is lined up to be the Pirates’ second baseman, but if Cole Tucker gets off to a hot start, he could be pushing Frazier out of the door. Frazier batted .278/.336/.417 line with 10 long balls and 33 doubles. Overall, he was just a few ticks below league average with a 99 OPS+ a 97 wRC+. He had a .320 wOBA which was the league average.

Defensively, Frazier was a Gold Glove Award finalist for a reason. Though he did have -1 DRS, Frazier posted +7 total zone runs above average, a 2.9 UZR, 1.6 range runs above average and +11 outs above average at second base. Plus, with two full seasons of control left, along with what could become of the 2020 season, Frazier has value in terms of control.

In a recent article, I said the Pittsburgh Pirates had to find the perfect time to trade Frazier. Players of his caliber aren’t necessarily that attractive in trades. They usually don’t fetch much in trades, unless you find the right team. That team could be the Texas Rangers at the end of August.

The Texas Rangers don’t really have a great option at second base. Currently, Rougned Odor is their best answer, but Odor has been inconsistent at best throughout his career. Last year was the second worst year of his career as he struck out at a career high rate of 30%, had a .721 OPS and 77 wRC+. Plus with sub-par defense (-5 DRS, -4 UZR, -.4 range runs above average), Odor’s status as the Rangers second baseman is up in the air. They don’t really have another option at second base. Danny Santana did have a solid 2019, but he had a 55 OPS+ from 2015 to 2018, and a high batting average on balls in play at .353. The Rangers are also going to move Nick Solak to the outfield, as the prospect was not a great defensive second baseman.

The Rangers have a starting pitching rotation that could sneakily be one of the best in baseball. Corey Kluber leads Lance Lynn, Mike Minor, Jordan Lyles and Kyle Gibson as the Rangers’ starting five. Plus, with a solid offense, the Rangers could be an under the radar contender. Having a competent second baseman would definitely help with that as well.

Frazier would definitely help the Rangers’ second base situation for now, but what should the Pittsburgh Pirates want in return? The player I would ask about is catcher David Garcia. The Rangers have plenty of young catchers in their system in Jose Trevino, and top 100 prospect Sam Huff for the future. Plus, Robinson Chirinos is under contract for the next two years. Garcia is ranked as the team’s 27th best prospect per FanGraphs and 14th per MLB Pipeline.

Last year, Garcia spent his entire season at the Rangers’ low-A affiliate. In 208 plate appearances, Garica batted for a solid .277/.351/.435 line with five long balls and 14 doubles. Garcia did walk 10% of the time, showing he has decent plate discipline. Overall, his offense totaled a 122 wRC+ and .363 wOBA. In the future, I could see him being a solid .260/.340/.400 hitter who hits about 12 long balls a year. While not a standout with the bat, his defense will make up for it.

Defensively, Garica has a high ceiling, higher than with his bat. Last year, he caught 32% of runners trying to steal on him, and 35% throughout his entire career that started in 2017. Garica has 55 future grades for both his fielding and arm grade. Garica will probably never be a power hitter with sub-50 raw power and game power grades, but he could be a solid batter still. Garcia has a 55 future grade for his hit tool. His average exit velocity is only 87 MPH though so there are some concerns about his bat. But at the very worst, he’s a solid defender who can get on base at a solid rate with his 10% walk rate.

This would give the Pirates a future answer at catcher. Although I have said that it’s not a necessity for them to have any sort of outstanding long term answer at catcher, and that still holds true. The Pirates don’t need to have a catching prospect to be good in the future. A Jacob Stallings-level catcher will do. But Garcia does give them a guy who could be an outstanding defender. Any sort of offensive production your catcher can give you is icing on the cake, and Garcia has the potential to be an overall pretty good hitter for a catcher.