Pittsburgh Pirates: Colin Holderman Trade a Win for Both Sides

The Pittsburgh Pirates started selling before the August 2nd Trade Deadline.  The first deal they made looks to be a good one so far.

Many fans of the Pittsburgh Pirates did not know whether or not the team would trade away Daniel Vogelbach.  Vogelbach was an important part of this team’s offense and their clubhouse culture.  However, those are also all reasons for opposing teams to want to acquire the left-handed power hitter.

The Bucs could have had Vogelbach through the 2023 season if they had wanted.  However, this seems to be a pretty commonplace contractually that Ben Cherington is willing to trade his veterans.  Both Taillon and Musgrove were dealt with one full year of control remaining.  When moving established pieces, gone are the days of waiting until they are rentals.  If a player does not fit into a team’s long-term plans then they “sell high”.

This is what the Bucs did with Daniel Vogelbach, trading him to the Mets for rookie reliever Colin Holderman At the end of the day, he is a platoon-designated hitter.  He does okay against left-handed pitching but for a winning ball club, his value will lie in his success against right-handed pitching.  Also, he has no position defensively.  So overall he is a pretty limited player to keep on a rebuilding team. So the Bucs made the right decision trading him to the New York Mets.  So far the deal has worked out well for both sides: