3 Pirates prospects who’ve made themselves untouchable in trade talks

The Pirates once again find themselves out of contention a month before the trade deadline. However, that does not prevent the front office from selling off only MLB talent at the end of next month. The minor leagues remain fair game.

A prime example of this phenomenon comes from last July, when the Pirates sent right-handed pitcher Patrick Reilly to Baltimore for Billy Cook in an all-minor-league exchange.

The threat of general manager Ben Cherington making a drastic series of trades in an effort to save his job also remains a possibility. These three players must remain in the Pirates organization entering 2026, no matter what Cherington's whims tell him. They've officially joined Bubba Chandler and Konnor Griffin under bubble wrap.

3 Pirates prospects who've joined Bubba Chandler, Konnor Griffin among the untouchables in trade talks

Esmerlyn Valdez

Konnor Griffin and the blazing hot start to his career has rightfully stolen all the attention so far in 2025. While Griffin sits as an obvious untouchable piece, Valdez has done enough to join his now teammate on that list. The 21-year-old appears to sit on the brink of a promotion to Double-A Altoona, along with a necessary breakthrough into the organization’s top 30 prospects list.

Valdez enters the week with a .316/.397/.617 slash line (1.014 OPS). The outfielder/first baseman also adds 19 home runs, 18 doubles and 52 RBI to his name over 66 games with High-A Greensboro. With the big-league team in desperate and immediate need of quality, power-hitting bats, Valdez should quickly shoot towards the top of nearly every list in the organization. He has become an untouchable piece for a power-thirsty team.

Carlson Reed

Drafted in the fourth round of the 2023 MLB Draft, Reed has impressed at every level of the lower minor leagues in his three-year professional career. The 6-foot-4 righty recorded a 1.99 ERA in 23 starts and 108.2 innings between Low-A Bradenton and High-A Greensboro in 2024. Reed struck out 130 and held opponents to a .173 batting average. That propelled him to 20th in the organization’s prospect rankings.

He has continued that success in 2025. Reed sits with a 2.70 ERA across just 20.0 innings this season and finds himself as a regular in the Greensboro rotation. The 22-year-old offers a four-pitch mix that includes two different fastballs that have touched 97 mph. You can never have too much pitching. Reed has the potential to blossom into yet another solid MLB arm in a very pitching-friendly developmental program.

Edward Florentino

Florentino signed his professional deal with the Pirates in the 2024 international signing period and immediately got to work in the Dominican Summer League. A solid campaign in the DR led to his promotion to the Florida Complex League to begin 2025. The outfielder/first baseman took that opportunity and ran with it. Florentino slashed .347/.442/.642 with six homers, six doubles, two triples, 23 RBI and a 1.084 OPS.

Those numbers earned the 18-year-old a promotion to Low-A Bradenton last week. Florentino already sits at 6-foot-4 and weighs 200 pounds. The left-handed hitting youngster still has some filling out to do and could get even taller over the next few years. Florentino already sits as the 23rd best prospect in the Pittsburgh system and should see a large jump at the list's next update. This remains a guy to not only keep an eye on, but keep under lock-and-key as an organization.