3 dream trades to complete Pirates' offseason ahead of spring training

We are now less than two weeks away from pitchers and catchers reporting for spring training, and to date, the most noteworthy additions the Pirates have made this winter are Spencer Horwitz, Caleb Ferguson, Adam Frazier, Tim Mayza, and the annual reunion with Andrew McCutchen.

GM Ben Cherington stated at PiratesFest that the roster will be improved before the team takes the field for the first time, and he's no stranger to waiting out the market—he signed Yasmani Grandal last February and waited until mid-March to add Michael A. Taylor and Domingo Germán. But the clock is ticking, and the Bucs are more than just one piece away from contending.

It always made sense for Pittsburgh to be more active on the trade front than in free agency, as the team clearly doesn't have a ton of money to throw around, but does possess a surplus of enticing young pitching. They already swung one trade at the Winter Meetings, parlaying a trio of young arms into a player the Pirates hope will finally provide the franchise with a mainstay at first base.

The Bucs still need help both offensively and in the bullpen, and there are multiple trade options who would be instant impact performers without breaking the bank.

The Pirates should trade for these players to help shore up the final few holes on their roster.

Willi Castro

At first glance, adding another light-hitting utility infielder seems redundant, given how many such players already exist on the Pirates' 40-man roster, and especially after the club just signed Adam Frazier. But Castro comes with a higher ceiling than most, if not all, of their current options, and checks multiple boxes that might not be checked by anyone in-house.

Castro is coming off of the best offensive season of his career. He appeared in a career-high 158 games for the Twins last year despite not playing more than 56 games at any one position:

The switch-hitter made his first All-Star team last season after slashing .266/.352/.422 in the first half. His bat faded some down the stretch, but he still finished the season with a 108 wRC+ and a strong 3.1 fWAR. He generally hits better from the left side but hasn't had drastic platoon splits throughout his career.

While he's played all over the diamond, and likely would continue to do so if the Pirates were to acquire him, he would provide quality depth specifically at shortstop and center field, where the starters are pretty set in stone, but the reserves are suspect at best.

It appears the plan is to roll with Isiah Kiner-Falefa at shortstop, with the favorites to back him up being Jared Triolo and Nick Gonzales. Triolo is the reigning NL Gold Glove recipient at the utility position, but he's not a natural shortstop and provides very little offensive upside. Gonzales, currently in pole position to start at second base, played shortstop in college but was moved off of the position fairly quickly after being drafted.

Meanwhile, former shortstop Oneil Cruz is set to patrol center field. Ideally, the Pirates would pair him with an experienced glove-first alternative (Castro finished in the 74th percentile in outs above average last season, but received worse marks in center field than at any other position). As things currently stand, next in line would be...Joshua Palacios? Jack Suwinski? Ji Hwan Bae? Billy Cook? Yeah, that's not gonna work.

With the Twins seemingly strapped for cash (they remain one of the only teams that has yet to sign a free agent to an MLB deal), they may be inclined to offload some salary if they want to add to the pitching staff. Castro, who is not locked in to any one position and will make $6.4 million in 2025, could be on the move, and Pittsburgh would certainly benefit from his services.