Pittsburgh Pirates Rumors: Looking at the Yankees Farm System

There is a rumor that the Pittsburgh Pirates and New York Yankees have discussed a few players.  What could the team target in the Yankees minors?

Many expect the Major League Baseball offseason to be a slower moving one.  This has been the trend over the last few offseasons, and this year there is more uncertainty than ever.  With that being said, teams have been making some moves, so the market is moving some.  There is also some rumors about the Pittsburgh Pirates starting to come out.

One rumor that came out last night was in regards to a pair of veterans and the New York Yankees.  According to Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Yankees have discussed both Jameson Taillon and Josh Bell with the Bucs.  While many expected to hear Bell’s name come up in rumors, Taillon’s name comes as a surprise. Still, the Pittsburgh Pirates are in a position that where they need to listen to every player if it means the right deal.

Now obviously there is a lot of layers to a potential Yankee-Pirate deal.  First and foremost, where would Bell play?  The Yankees would prefer to use Giancarlo Stanton as their designated hitter while first baseman Luke Voit has outperformed Josh Bell over the last season and a half.  Then there is Taillon, who is just coming back from his second Tommy-John surgery.  Are the Bucs prepared to move him at a lower point in value?

Regardless, as I said earlier, it makes sense for the Bucs to consider offers for nearly everyone.  Ben Cherington likely does not value Josh Bell and Jameson Taillon based on recent results.  Teams are not as worried about the past but rather what you project to do in the future.  Cherington knows the upside that both Bell and Taillon have.  It would not be selling low if Cherington receives enough value to reach the bar of his expected return.

So who could the Yankees offer in return for these two veterans?  Well, the Yankees have a very interesting farm system and are a logical team to target in trade.  The strength of the Yankees farm system is much like the Pirates in terms of it being in the lower minors.  The Yankees are always one of the most aggressive teams on the international market which helps make up for where they are typically drafting.

The Yankees have put together quite a few strong amateur classes over recent years and have a lot of high upside players that would project to debut in that 2022-2024 range Cherington has been seeming to focus on.  While the Yankees farm system may not be the strongest farm system, they have more than enough younger prospects that are developing.  While younger prospects can be riskier, Bell and Taillon also carry risk themselves.

For this article, the Yankees will be acquiring both Bell and Taillon.  Looking at the Yankees farm system on FanGraphs, they have 24 prospects who have a Future Value of 40 or higher and project to be MLB ready by 2022-2024.  This is a huge group of players and obviously gives the Yankees an area of depth to trade from.

The three biggest names in this group are outfield prospect Kevin Alcantara and infielders Ezequiel Duran and Alexander Vargas.   All three have a Future Value of 50, which would mean that at least one of them would have to be included in a potential deal.  Alcantara would be the best of the bunch, ranking as the 75th best prospect on FanGraphs top 100.  Also, outside of Travis Swaggerty, the Bucs do not have any top 10 outfield prospects.  Of the group, the Yankees would most likely be most willing to part with Duran, as Alcantara and Vargas were top signings and would not be given up easily.  Here’s a report on Duran from FanGraphs:

"“He’s a stocky guy who only really fits at second base, and as he continues to age he’ll likely only be able to stay there with the aid of good defensive positioning. But boy, does he have power.”"

If both Bell and Taillon are in the deal, then it would likely be a return of three to four players, depending on the value.  The Bucs should be able to get at least two more 45 FV prospects in this deal.  Right-handed pitcher Luis Medina would be a perfect fit and is the Yankees second best right-handed pitching prospect.  The only pitcher ranked ahead of Medina on the list is Clark Schmidt, who made his debut in 2020.  Additionally, here’s what FanGraphs says about Medina:

"“He still sits 94-98, has hit 101 mph, has a dominant power curveball that’s projects as a plus-plus pitch, and his sinking changeup moves enough to miss bats when it’s located competitively.”"

As I said, there are 24 prospects with Future Value of 40 or higher that would fit the window that Cherington is seemingly aiming for.  These are a few of the key names that should be involved in any trade talks whether they include Bell and Taillon as a package or for one or the other.  While both have question marks, they are under team control for two more seasons and they still project to be impact players.  Cherington will not just give them away.