Pittsburgh Pirates: Multiple Players Hurting Their Trade Value

It is well known that the Pittsburgh Pirates will be one of the few sellers before next week’s trade deadline, and Tuesday night’s offensive performance did not help their return value.

Through 25 games this season the Pittsburgh Pirates have collected only 7 wins. Many did not consider the Bucs to be real contenders in 2020, but most did not project them to have the fewest wins in all of MLB through 25 games. With the Trade Deadline coming up next Monday the Pirates’ roster is going to look a bit different soon, but last night’s performance probably won’t help general manager Ben Cherington.

Coming off of a three-game weekend sweep of the Milwaukee Brewers in which the Pittsburgh Pirates put up 24 runs, many had hope moving forward that the offense might be starting to put things together. Gregory Polanco caught fire at the plate going 5-for-10 with 2 home runs, 5 RBI and 2 stolen bases. Bryan Reynolds was also hot at the dish, collecting 6 hits to go along with a home run and 6 RBI.

The Pittsburgh Pirates were given Monday off before traveling to Chicago to take on the White Sox but left their bats in Pittsburgh. On Tuesday night, Chicago righty Lucas Giolito silenced the Bucs in 2020’s first no-hitter.

Being no-hit is upsetting no matter how you look at it but it is even more upsetting as the continued disappointment at the plate is not helping the front office move potential pieces to build for the future. Entering last night’s game, Erik Gonzalez‘s .261 batting average was the highest Giolito was faced with. That is not to take anything away from Giolito’s no-hitter as it is quite the accomplishment no matter how you look at it, but being tasked with trading away players who are not performing may not be the easiest thing for Cherington to do in the next few days.

Adam Frazier is a piece that is likely to hold some value in the coming days but even after collecting five hits including a home run in Milwaukee the utility man is still batting a dismal .194. With the depth the Pirates have in terms of middle infield prospects, Cherington is likely to be shopping Frazier at the deadline.

As mentioned, Polanco had himself quite the series against the Brewers but even after his breakout performance the right fielder is still hitting just .143 on the year. Not only that, but Polanco has also dealt with his fair-share of injury problems in his career so he may not be the easiest piece to trade in the coming days.

Following Tuesday night’s 0-3 showing at the plate Jarrod Dyson, is batting just .157 (8-for-51) this season. Once again, these are not exactly the easiest numbers to move at the deadline but Dyson’s value is his speed as he has collected four stolen bases thus far and a team in contention may be interested in the speedy veteran.

The only positive note to come from Tuesday night’s game was reliever Nick Tropeano‘s 4 scoreless innings in his Pirate debut. After spending the previous four seasons in the Angels’ organization, the right-hander made his Pirates’ debut and certainly impressed. Tropeano may be in consideration for a potential spot-start in the coming days as he has primarily been used as a starter throughout his career.

In the coming days, including a double header against the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday, the Pirates will look to get back on track. Specifically, they will hope to see their potential trade chips get back on track.