Pittsburgh Pirates Offseason Trade Proposal: Jacob Stallings

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The Pittsburg Pirates are still in the rebuild phase and should consider trading catcher, Jacob Stallings because he will most likely not be here by the time they start to compete. The farm system is now stockpiled with catching prospects which includes top prospect, Henry Davis. Here is my trade proposal the Pirates should consider to help bolster their farm system

Jacob Stallings to the Miami Marlins

Jacob Stallings had one of the best years of his career in 2021 with the Pittsburgh Pirates. He is a Gold Glove finalist and had the highest defensive runs saved by a catcher with 21 on the season. The next closest catcher was Austin Hedges at 12. He also had a decent year at the plate slashing .246/.335./.369 with and OPS of .704. He had 8 home runs, 20 doubles and 1 triple in 112 games played. He finished the year with a 2.6 WAR and a wRC+95.

Stallings’s trade value is at its highest it has ever been and at the age of 31, I think if Ben Cherington and company are looking to improve the farm system even more than they already have, this could be a good off-season trade chip. One team rumored to be looking for a catcher this offseason is the Miami Marlins. The Marlins have a great farm system and have the pieces to trade for a guy like Stallings. Here is what the trade should look like;

This trade would help out both teams for the 2022 season. The Pittsburgh Pirates would get another young athletic shortstop in the system with Yiddi Cappe. Cappe was the #10 ranked international free agent back in 2020 according to MLB Pipeline and currently is the Marlins #15 prospect with a FV of 40+. He played in 54 games this year in the DSL and slashed .270/.329/.402 with 2 homeruns. He had a walk rate of 8.8% and struck out 16.2% of the time.

Right-handed pitcher, Kyle Nicolas would be the next piece the Pirates would get in this deal. Nicolas is currently ranked #16 in the Marlins system according to MLB Pipeline. He currently has a FV of 40+. He has a four-pitch mix of a fastball, slider, curveball and changeup with his best pitch being the curveball. He is rule 5 eligible in December 2023 which would give the Pirates some Tim to work him into the system. Last year in Double-A, Nicolas had a 29.9% strikeout rate keeping his opponents to a .165 batting average in 8 games pitched. He finished the double-a season with a 2.52era in 39.1 innings pitched.

Next. Three Pirates Named Gold Glove Award Finalists. dark

I believe it would to take two top 20 prospects and a PTBNL to get Stallings because of how good he is defensively and how he is viable at the plate. He also wouldn’t be a free agent until 2025, so the Marlins would have control of Stallings for a few years. This trade would be good for both clubs if made during the offseason.

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