3 potential pre-arbitration trade targets for the Pirates to go after

Matt Wallner

The Minnesota Twins had an even harder late-season collapse than the Pirates. That could cause them to make a bold move this offseason. While Matt Wallner is by far the boldest name on today’s list, he’d be the sort of middle-of-the-order bat that would make the Pirates’ lineup a whole lot better.

Wallner has not yet played a full season in the bigs, appearing in about half of the last two campaigns, but he’s been nothing short of outstanding with the stick when he is on the field. In 515 plate appearances, the outfielder has hit .254/.371/.515 with a .381 wOBA and 149 wRC+. Wallner has gone yard 27 times with a .261 isolated slugging percentage. Only three batters have a better barrel percentage than Wallner’s 18.1% rate in 500+ plate appearances across the last two seasons. Those include Aaron Judge, Shohei Ohtani, and Giancarlo Stanton.

Wallner also draws walks at a healthy 10.1% rate. On top of that, there are only two issues with his game. The first is the sheer number of strikeouts. Wallner has struck out in 34% of his plate appearances in the last two seasons. His defense also receives mixed reviews. Defensive runs saved and UZR/150 both paint him as an average defensive corner outfield at -1 and -0.5, respectively. Outs above average is harsher on his glovework at -7. Wallner had the third-worst jump on flyballs in the league at just 29.2 feet, but he did make up for it by placing in the 99th percentile of arm strength, averaging 96.9 MPH on his throws from the outfield.

Given how good of a hitter Wallner is, along with his contract, the cost to acquire him would likely be high -- that is, if the Twins are willing to listen to offers for the outfield slugger. But, if they are, the Pirates should seriously consider pursuing him. Wallner is a hitter who could provide elite-level offense for years. Just imagine the sort of power output that Wallner and Oneil Cruz would provide batting back-to-back.