3 outside-the-box outfield trade targets the Pirates should pursue this offseason

The Pittsburgh Pirates could definitely use a corner outfielder. They recently non-tendered both Bryan De La Cruz and Connor Joe, which leaves right field a complete mystery. If the season were to start tomorrow, they’d likely roll with some platoon of Jack Suwinski and Billy Cook or Nick Yorke, which isn’t an ideal trio to rely on.

The Pirates should be plenty active in the trade market, given their vast wealth of pitching depth, and should have many opportunities this offseason to improve their right field situation. There are many underrated options they should pursue, and we’ll take a look at three of them today.

3 outside-the-box options Pirates should trade for to fill outfield gap

Jesús Sánchez

Jesús Sánchez, currently of the Miami Marlins, is teeming with breakout potential. The slugger is coming off his second straight solid season with the bat, but he has a powerful engine under the hood that leads to a very optimistic outlook. Along with that, he’s a solid defensive right fielder, which makes him a near-perfect fit for the Pirates.

Sánchez batted .252/.313/.417 with a .317 wOBA and 100 wRC+ in 2024, making it the second season in a row he’s put up a wRC+ of 100 or greater. Sanchez hit a career-high 18 home runs in 537 plate appearances and had a .166 isolated slugging percentage. The only notable downside to his game was his 7.6% walk rate and 26.1% strikeout rate, both of which were below average, and his walk rate represented a downgrade from the 9.5% rate he had in 2023.

But Sánchez's raw power and expected numbers are very promising. He was in the 93rd percentile of exit velocity (92.5 MPH) and the 83rd percentile of barrel rate (12.2%). His barrel rate was better than 30+ home run hitters like Eugenio Suarez, Gunnar Henderson, or Anthony Santander. Sánchez was also in the 80th percentile of xwOBA at .343 and the 86th percentile of xSLG% at .468.

Sánchez can hold his own in right field. He isn’t a spectacular defender, but only had -2 defensive runs saved and zero outs above average. He did cover ground at an above-average rate during his jump while running routes at an average level last season. Sánchez's arm is also powerful enough to play in right field, as he was in the 77th percentile of arm strength.

Sánchez is only 27 and comes with three years of control left via arbitration. He is also expected to make a fairly low salary of just $3.2 million. With his potential and contract, the Pirates should make a serious effort to pursue Sánchez. He has some of the best breakout potential of any player in baseball.