3 change-of-scenery trade candidates the Pittsburgh Pirates should explore

Sometimes, all a player needs to figure things out is a new team and a new city. Change-of-scenery candidates also give teams a chance to take a low-cost flyer on a player who once showed potential. The Pittsburgh Pirates have had some change-of-scenery success stories over the last few years, like Joey Bart, Dennis Santana, Ryan Borucki, and Justin Lawrence (before he hit the injured list).

They could always use more depth, of course, and should look into acquiring another low-risk opportunity that may end up being their next Joey Bart.

3 change-of-scenery players the Pirates should target in trade (maybe for Colin Holderman?)

Austin Martin

Austin Martin was ranked as the second-best prospect in the 2020 draft by MLB Pipeline and Baseball America. He was selected fifth overall by the Toronto Blue Jays, but was shipped out just the very next offseason to the Minnesota Twins. While Martin made his MLB debut last season, his star has significantly dimmed since he was ranked as a consensus top-25 prospect in the sport.

Let’s first start off with the good from his 2024 season. Martin had a .253 batting average and a .318 on-base percentage, both of which were slightly better than the league average in 2024. He also carried a respectable 7.8% walk rate and 18.8% strikeout percentage. Martin had a chase rate of just 18.4% while whiffing just 21.4% of the time. His 75th percentile sprint speed helped him utilize his ability to get on base at a decent rate effectively.

Now, here’s the bad. Martin hit for next to no power. He had just a .352 slugging percentage and a .099 isolated slugging percentage. He hit just one home run and had a 1.1% barrel percentage. Despite grading out as a good fielder in the minor leagues, Martin struggled when he was called to the majors. He had -13 defensive runs saved and -7 outs above average in center field. He got poor jumps on fly balls as well. This was in spite of typically grading out as a solid defender throughout the minor leagues.

Martin has at least hit well at Triple-A. He is slashing .292/.426/.404 with a .387 wOBA and 120 wRC+ in 421 plate appearances at the level. While he only has a .111 ISO, Martin has walked more frequently than he has struck out, with a 16.9% BB% and a K% of only 14.3%. However, his exit velocity and barrel rate were still lacking, measuring 85.5 MPH and 2.9%, respectively.

Even if Martin doesn’t hit for power, he's still shown a decent enough ability to get hits and reach base at a solid rate. He needs to improve his defense, but he showed better defensive chops in the minor leagues. Even hitting .250-.260 with a .310-.320 OBP would be good enough if he can make strides on defense and become a super-utility guy.

Emerson Hancock

Austin Martin isn’t the only former top 2020 draft pick who is reaching change-of-scenery status. Both BA and Pipeline ranked right-hander as the fourth-best prospect in the draft. While Hancock has made appearances in the major leagues in each of the last three seasons, the results haven’t been too pretty.

Hancock has 112 major league innings under his belt, but just a 5.14 ERA, 5.40 FIP, and 1.45 WHIP. One of the few positives is that his walk rate sits at a quality 6.9% rate, but he’s only gotten 14.8% of opponents to strikeout and has allowed home runs at a 1.69-per-9 ratio. Both his 88.2 MPH exit velocity and 8.5% barrel rate aren’t horrible, but aren't great, either. 

At the very least, Hancock has steadily seen his fastball velocity rise since making his major league debut. In 2022, he sat at just 92.7 MPH. He then saw an uptick to 93.7 MPH last season, and is now up to 95 MPH in 2025. Hancock has become more reliant on his sinker this year, using it more frequently than any other pitch in his arsenal. His changeup, four-seamer, and sinker each get good horizontal break, but about average to below-average vertical drop. Meanwhile, his slider gets good vertical movement, but poor horizontal break.

The Pirates have had good luck turning pitchers around with not-so-impressive stuff, like Bailey Falter. The Mariners have plenty of pitching, and Hancock could use another chance elsewhere. All of the right-hander’s appearances thus far have been starts, so a move to the bullpen, where he pitches in shorter stints, may do him some good. That is an opportunity the Pirates may be able to offer Hancock.

Ty Madden

Ty Madden was the Detroit Tigers’ first-round competitive balance pick and was considered one of the biggest steals in the 2021 draft. Both BA and MLB Pipeline ranked him as a top-15 prospect, but he fell to the Tigers’ second first-round pick at number 32. He was ranked as a top-five prospect in the Tigers’ system as late as 2024, but he’s yet to take the next step forward.

Madden spent most of his season at Triple-A in 2024, but struggled to the tune of a 7.97 ERA, 5.34 FIP, and 1.77 WHIP across 79 innings. The right-hander struck out plenty of opponents with a 27.6% K%, and his 10.8% walk rate clocked in as about league average. He also had an outstanding 34.3% whiff rate. However, opponents had no problems hitting home runs against Madden, with a 1.94 HR/9 and an 8.8% barrel percentage.

Madden has a five-pitch mix, including a four-seam fastball, slider, splitter, cutter, and curveball. However, Madden doesn’t have one pitch that grades out as "plus". Baseball America pins all four of his offerings as fringy at a 45-grade level. That also includes his command. Madden can hit the upper 90s as well, but only sat around 93-94 MPH last season.

Madden made his MLB debut last season, pitching 23 innings, and was mainly used as a bulk reliever. He only walked eight and allowed two home runs, but only got 17 Ks with an unimpressive 24.4% whiff rate. Stuff+ backs up BA’s assessment of Madden, only pinning him at a 95. Madden is currently on the shelf with a rotator cuff injury, so a fresh start somewhere else may do him some good.