Pittsburgh Pirates: Looking at Four Baseball Trade Values Trades

Baseball Trade Values has become a popular site for baseball fans to create mock trades, so what are some Pittsburgh Pirates trades from the site?

The Pittsburgh Pirates already made a notable trade as the trade deadline quickly approaches. They sent Daniel Vogelbach to the New York Mets in exchange for rookie reliever Colin Holderman. However, the Pirates should be far from done making moves.

The team has a handful of short-term veterans that should garner some attention around baseball. Most are only controlled through this year, and a few are controlled through 2023, but overall they should be able to find some potential suitors and get some decent prospects back. When playing around with mock trades, most fans use the site Baseball Trade Values.

Baseball Trade Values has become popular in the baseball-sphere with its trade simulator. This gives value to every player and lets fans make mock trades. Today, I want to look at some of those simulated trades. The first three we will look at are from other site users, and the fourth trade we’ll examine was one I created through the simulator.

Now keep in mind that Baseball Trade Values is far from a perfect tool. Values don’t change based on what a team needs, and I’m sure there are plenty of player values that you and I would disagree with. However, that doesn’t detract from having fun with the website and playing around with its main feature.

With that being said, let’s look at some mock Pittsburgh Pirates trades that were thrown through Baseball Trade Value’s trade simulator.

The second trade proposal we will look at today was posted by Pittsburghbob69 on BBTV. In this proposal, the Pittsburgh Pirates would be sending Chris Stratton to the Texas Rangers. In exchange for the reliever, the Pirates would receive left-handed pitching prospect, Cole Ragans.

The Rangers are in a spot where they’re close enough they could gun for a Wild Card spot but also retool. However, with their indication that they are not too keen on trading starting pitcher Martin Perez, it’s entirely possible they might end up buying some small pieces to improve the current situation and the 2023 team.

The Rangers’ bullpen has been pretty good, but they are out a valuable contributor in closer Joe Barlow. He is currently serving a 15-day IL stint. Matt Moore, Matt Bush, Brett Martin, and Brock Burke have been good, but you can never have enough pitching. Plus, the likes of John King, Garrett Richards, and Jose LeClerc haven’t pitched up to expectations.

So who is Cole Ragans? Ragans was the Rangers’ first-round selection back in 2016. However, he missed three years, from 2018 through 2020, because of Tommy John surgery and the suspended COVID season. The now 24-year-old lefty is back and is pitching better than ever.

In 82.2 innings of work between Double-A and Triple-A, Ragans has a 3.38 ERA, 4.01 FIP, and 1.17 WHIP. He’s held opponents to just a batting average of .229 and has struck out 29% of all batters faced. He’s also only allowed 7.6% to draw a walk. The worst number on Ragans’ line is his .98 HR/9. Although Ragans has had some struggles at Triple-A, he still has a 4.86 K:BB ratio, a sub-1.0 HR/9 rate, and his batted ball rates are relatively the same.

Ragans isn’t a hard thrower. He only sits around 90-94 MPH but can hit 95 when he needs to. His slider has improved over time, and his changeup is considered elite. His curveball is a ‘get-me-over’ type of pitch, so he doesn’t use it that often. Ragans steep delivery gives his fastball a little more oomph, which helps him get more out of the low-velocity four-seamer.

The third proposal was created by ajcapGM, who has the Pittsburgh Pirates sending outfielder Ben Gamel and minor league right-hander Braxton Ashcraft to the Tampa Bay Rays for right-handed starter Yonny Chirinos. So how realistic would this offering be?

The Rays could be looking for some short-term outfield depth down the stretch. Manuel Margot, Kevin Kiermaier, and former Pirates prospect Harold Ramirez are all on the injured list. This leaves them with Randy Arrozerena, Josh Lowe, and Brett Phillips as their primary outfield options right now.

Gamel would fill that immediate, short-term outfield hole. He’s been a solid hitter this year, batting .239/.335/.384 in 209 trips to the plate. Gamel is putting up a career-best 11% walk rate. His .320 wOBA and 106 wRC+ are only slightly below his career bests. Gamel receives mixed reviews for his outfield defense, having -3 DRS and -3 outs above average but a strong 12.1 UZR/150. Gamel isn’t a Gold Glover by any means, but he gets the job done. Gamel might not be a hot commodity, but he fills the basic needs for a team looking for outfield help.

The other player going to the Rays in this trade is right-hander Braxton Ashcraft. Ashcraft hasn’t pitched yet this year, having undergone UCL surgery. The former second-round pick has mostly struggled in his minor league career, clocking in with a 5.60 ERA, 4.82 FIP, and 1.29 WHIP. There’s nothing he particularly excels in either, having a 20.5% K-rate, 8.7% walk rate, and 1.13 HR/9.

In return, the Pirates would get veteran right-hander Yonny Chirinos. Chirinos established himself as a quality starter for the Rays in 2018-2019, pitching to the tune of a 3.71 ERA, 4.07 FIP, and 1.12 WHIP. Although Chirinos only had a 21% strikeout rate, he put up a phenomenal 5.9% walk rate. Chirinos’ 88.5 MPH exit velo and 35.4% hard-hit rate aren’t going to jump off the page, nor will his 43.5% ground ball rate. Chirinos underwent Tommy John surgery back in 2020 but is back and starting his rehab. He also comes with control through 2023 and 2024.

This would give the Pittsburgh Pirates what they need: another major league starting pitcher with control remaining. This trade fills the needs of both the Pirates and the Rays. If Ashcraft isn’t the right guy, he’s easily interchangeable with someone like Hoy Park, Omar Cruz, or Santiago Florez. But this is the Rays we’re talking about. Nobody likes trading with the Rays, and if the Rays want a struggling pitching prospect, every team would be wary of the trade.

The fourth and final trade is my trade that I posted on Baseball Trade Values. In my mock trade, the Pirates send Quintana to the Seattle Mariners for one prospect. The prospect going back to the Bucs in this trade is left-handed pitching prospect Adam Macko.

The Mariners just ended an impressive 14-game winning streak, which puts them in a Wild Card spot. They’re still 11 games out of first place for the American League West, but they’re definitely in a prime spot to end their 21 straight seasons without a playoff berth. Although the M’s have gotten quality seasons out of a handful of their starting pitchers, they recently optioned youngster George Kirby and prospect Matt Brash struggled in his small sample size earlier this year.

Macko, the headliner in this deal, is a top prospect in the Mariners’ system. In 38.1 innings with the M’s High-A affiliate, Macko has a 3.99 ERA but quality 3.55 FIP and 2.97 xFIP. That’s because Macko has an extremely impressive 35.9% K-rate and has allowed just four home runs while having a 48.1% ground ball rate. However, despite that high ground ball rate, opponents have a .367 batting average on balls in play against him. That should normalize and help lower his ERA.

Macko already averages out in the low-to-mid-90s with his fastball at just 21 years old. His slider is a plus offering as well, but his curveball has plus-plus potential. He averages 2800 RPM with his curve, which gives it a ton of depth. Macko’s command is on the iffy side, though. Currently, he has a 12% walk rate and projects to have 45-grade command.

The Pirates are also sending over some cash in this trade. They did a similar thing during last year’s trade deadline when they included cash in the Adam Frazier trade. This convinced the San Diego Padres to surrender Tucupita Marcano and Jack Suwinski in that deal. According to Baseball Trade Values, this would be enough to make the deal.