3 potential trade targets that would fill the gaping hole in the Pirates' outfield

There are a lot of holes in the Pittsburgh Pirates’ lineup. It’s why Mitch Keller, despite owning a 3.90 ERA, is 2-10 and Paul Skenes has a sub-.500 record. And their biggest void is a Grand Canyon-sized hole in at least one of their outfield spots.

They regularly trot out Alexander Canario and Tommy Pham with no immediate fix in the minor leagues. The Pirates are going to have to get creative to address this, but the outfield trade market could hold some potential multi-year answers for them, ones with both experience and success at the Major League level.

A decent outfield prospect isn't as much of a guaranteed fix as finding an everyday regular, so the Pirates should be aggressive at the trade deadline.

3 potential trade targets that would fill the gaping hole in the Pirates' outfield

Wilyer Abreu

Wilyer Abreu would be one of the top outfielders on the trade market if the Boston Red Sox are willing to move him. Abreu has followed up his quality 2024 rookie campaign with another strong encore. He is batting .252/.324/.465 with a 112 wRC+ across 253 plate appearances. Abreu already has 13 home runs this season, nearly matching his 2024 total of 15, but in about 200 fewer plate appearances. 

Abreu has also improved in multiple areas with the bat. He slightly upped his walk rate from 8.9% to 9.9% this season. However, Abreu’s most significant improvement was in swing and miss. He had a 29.6% whiff rate and 28% strikeout percentage last year. But he now sits at a 22.5% whiff rate and 24.1% K% this year. His xwOBA also shows improvement from .317 to .353, and he saw an improvement in xSLG% from .417 to .509.

Abreu’s defense has looked great since making his debut. Since the start of 2024, he has +23 defensive runs saved and +10 outs above average. He has experience at all three outfield positions, but right field is his primary spot. His arm strength, which is in the 96th percentile, plays well in right field. Only eight total position players have at least 20 defensive runs saved and 10 outs above average over the last two seasons.

It seems like the Red Sox will have to move an outfielder at some point. They have Abreu, Jarren Duran, Ceddanne Rafalea, and the number one prospect in all of baseball, Roman Anthony, in the Major Leagues. Kristian Campbell showed some promise earlier this season, and they just acquired a top outfield prospect in the Rafael Devers trade in James Tibbs. That’s also not mentioning another talented outfield prospect in Jhostynxon Garcia they have in their system. Abreu seems like a potential trade candidate based on the amount of controllable outfield talent the Sox have.

Jesus Sanchez

Jesus Sanchez is a player the Pirates should have acquired already. The Miami Marlins’ outfielder would be a perfect fit for what the team needs. Sanchez is consistently an average (or better) power bat. This year, he is slashing .246/.321/.408 with a .320 wOBA and 101 wRC+. He has seven home runs across 237 plate appearances and a .161 isolated slugging percentage. One huge positive is that Sanchez is walking at a career-high 9.7% rate and is putting up a sub-30% chase rate for the first time in his career. His 21.9% K% is another career-best, the first time he’s ever had a sub-25% K%, and his whiff rate is down to 27.1%.

But Sanchez has plenty more in the tank. He is in the 75th percentile of xwOBA at .357 and the 77th percentile of xSLG% at .495. His raw power is excellent. He has consistently put up excellent exit velocity and barrel rate numbers. This year, he sits at 91.6 MPH and 11.8%. With improving plate discipline, there’s a greater chance that Sanchez can reach some of these expected numbers, especially considering it hasn’t come at the cost of his raw strength.

Defensively, Sanchez isn’t anything to write home about, but he does the job. He has +3 defensive runs saved, a -2.1 UZR/150, and zero outs above average since the start of the 2022 campaign. He has a strong arm, ranking above the 75th percentile of arm strength since getting an extended sample size of playing time in 2021. His primary position is right field, but has played all three outfield positions.

Some may see this as Bryan De La Cruz 2.0. He is a Marlins outfielder who doesn’t have any standout features. But there is a lot more potential for a better hitter in Sanchez than De La Cruz. BDLC’s career-high xwOBA of .339 set in 2021 is Sanchez’s career average xwOBA. De La Cruz’s career 9.1% barrel rate would be a career-worst for Sanchez. De La Cruz went from a 111 wRC+ his rookie year and slowly declined from there. Meanwhile, Sanchez has maintained a range of 100 to 107 over the last three seasons. 

Matt Wallner

Matt Wallner is having a down year, by his standards. He is batting just .203/.299/.442 with a .324 wOBA and 109 wRC+ across 157 plate appearances in 2025. He is striking out 29.3% of the time, albeit with a solid 10.2% walk rate. On the plus side, he is providing a ton of power, with a .239 isolated slugging percentage. Wallner is ripping the cover off the ball with a 91.2 MPH exit velocity and a 13% barrel rate.

But Wallner essentially played a full season between 2023 and 2024 and was outstanding. Between these two seasons, the corner outfielder posted a .254/.371/.515 line, .381 wOBA, and 149 wRC+. He went yard 27 times in 151 games/515 plate appearances. Wallner drew a walk in 10.1% of trips to the plate but struck out in just over a third of the time with a 34% K%. With an elite 92.3 MPH exit velocity and 18.1% barrel percentage, he made up for his strikeouts with an immense amount of power. 

Wallner’s defense gets mixed reviews. Defensive runs saved and UZR/150 pin him as an average glove, at zero and -0.5 over the last three seasons. But outs above average does not like his range, at -9. Then again, his arm rivals Oneil Cruz’s, as he’s been in the 99th or 100th percentile in arm strength.

So why would the Twins even consider moving Wallner? Minnesota has more outfield talent than they know what to do with. Walker Jenkins and Enmanuel Rodriguez are ranked as consensus top 30 prospects in all of baseball and are top five among all outfield prospects per Baseball America. Luke Keaschall is another consensus top-50 prospect, and while he is primarily an infielder he is now getting playing time in center field. Byron Buxton isn’t going anywhere, and Trevor Larnach can slide over into an outfield corner.

The opportunities are there for the Pirates is all we're saying.