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Pittsburgh Pirates: Recapping the Last Three Trade Deadlines

By Noah Wright

PITTSBURGH, PA - JULY 18: Oneil Cruz #61 of the Pittsburgh Pirates in action during the exhibition game against the Cleveland Indians at PNC Park on July 18, 2020 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH, PA - JULY 18: Oneil Cruz #61 of the Pittsburgh Pirates in action during the exhibition game against the Cleveland Indians at PNC Park on July 18, 2020 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images) /
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CINCINNATI, OHIO – JULY 30: Corey Dickerson #12 of the Pittsburgh Pirates hits a two RBI single in the third inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park on July 30, 2019 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /

2019

The most notable player the Pittsburgh Pirates traded was probably trading away outfielder Corey Dickerson. Dickerson had a solid 2018 season with the Pirates, hitting .304/.330/.474 with 35 doubles, 13 home runs and finishing with a 119 OPS+ and 115 wRC+ through 533 plate appearances.

Despite mostly serving as a LF/DH option for the Tampa Bay Rays before being acquired by the Pirates, Dickerson was even better in the field racking up +13 DRS, a 8.6 UZR and 6.7 range runs above average in left field. He placed second in left field DRS, range runs, and was 3rd in UZR, which led to him receiving the 2019 left field Gold Glove Award.

Though that defensive value didn’t carry over to 2019, but he was quite the batter. Dickerson hit .315/.373/.551 with 4 home runs and an outstanding 140 OPS+. The thing was that Dickerson did this in just 142 plate appearances after he missed nearly the entirety of April and May.

The Pirates, with Bryan Reynolds now their primary left fielder, traded Dickerson to the Philadelphia Phillies for international bonus pool money. This upcoming international signing date will include many notable names, some of which are young catchers, which is an area of need for the Pirates. Dickerson at the time was a rental, so combined with his lack of control, and being injured for most of the first half of 2019 meant that his value wasn’t all that high. Dickerson ended up being a pretty solid batter for the Phillies down the stretch hitting .297/.303/.8579 with 8 home runs and a 121 OPS+ through 127 plate appearances, but signed with the Marlins following the conclusion of the 2019 season.

One of the more underrated moves the Pittsburgh Pirates made was shipping Jordan Lyles off to the Milwaukee Brewers. Lyles was brought in on a one year deal to replace the traded Ivan Nova. Though he got off to a hot start with the Pirates, having a 3.09 ERA, 3.34 FIP and 1.10 WHIP through his first 55.1 innings with the club, his last 27 innings saw him surrender 30 earned runs, while walking 14 and surrendering 11 long balls.

In exchange for the veteran right hander, the Pirates received back prospect Cody Ponce. Ponce had worked as a starter up until 2019 where he was exclusively used out of the pen for the Brewers’ Double-A affiliate. Before the trade, Ponce had a decent 3.29 ERA, 2.59 FIP and 1.17 WHIP across 38.1 innings of work. Though he struggled as a starter after being acquired by the Pirates at Triple-A, it seems like his future is the bullpen. Still, a pretty good return for a guy who was really struggling, and on a one year contract.

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