Bleacher Report proposes Pirates trade with NL Central rival to solve first base issues

The Pittsburgh Pirates need to add another impact bat to their lineup, and they may not have to look beyond their own division to find it.

Bleacher Report's Kerry Miller proposed a trade between the Pirates and their National League Central rivals, the Milwaukee Brewers, that had Pittsburgh landing first baseman/designated hitter Rhys Hoskins and $8 million in cash in exchange for left-handed hitting shortstop prospect Tsung-Che Chung.

Hoskins' offensive numbers took a dip last season with the Brewers; his .214/.303/.419 slash line, 98 OPS+ and -0.2 WAR were all the lowest of his career. However, the 31-year-old has hit at least 25 home runs and driven in more than 70 runs in every season in which he's played over 100 games – even in 2024.

" become big fans of taking one-year flyers on guys coming off of disappointing seasons —see: Aroldis Chapman, Martín Pérez, Rowdy Tellez and Yasmani Grandal last winter, Rich Hill in 2023, Jose Quintana in 2022—and they could definitely use at least one more 1B/DH option, even after the recent acquisition of Spencer Horwitz," Miller wrote.

Hoskins is owed $18 million for 2025, as well as the $4 million buyout of the $18 million mutual option for 2026, as stipulated by his contract. If the Brewers were willing to sweeten the pot by including some cash in the deal, it could theoretically make Hoskins a more attractive option for the Pirates.

Bleacher Report's proposed trade between Pirates and Brewers feels unrealistic

The Pirates have already said that they plan to use Horwitz into a platoon situation at first base. While a potential platoon between Horwitz and Hoskins could be intriguing, both are significantly better against right-handed pitching – which kind of defeats the purpose of a platoon in the first place.

Besides, anyone who thinks this team is willing to do more than the bare minimum to solve even the biggest problems on their roster (i.e., getting a part-time player to fill the gaping hole at first base) is drastically overestimating the front office's desire to win. But that's another story for another time.

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