Insider's plea for Pirates to trade for Hunter Goodman almost makes sense, but the cost is too high

The Pittsburgh Pirates need to add right-handed pop to their left-handed-heavy lineup this offseason. And while Rafael Flores Jr. earned some trust with his 2026 performance, it came over jsut 163 plate appearances, which might not be solid enough to truly rely on him to solve the Pirates' longstanding catching woes.

When it comes to a club with limited resources like Pittsburgh, killing two birds with one stone is incredibly valuable. That's the motivation behind Pirates insider Noah Hiles' plea for the team to pull the trigger on a trade for Colorado Rockies star catcher Hunter Goodman.

"This is the time to do it, man, and [Hunter Goodman] makes so much sense. He makes a position group better, hand down. And he gives you the biggest thing that your offense was missing last year, which is right-handed hitting. So you know, if you don't bring back Brandon Lowe, you're looking around saying, okay, well, where are you going to get 30 home runs? You find it with Hunter Goodman, and you get it from the right side of the plate," Hiles said on a recent episode of Bucco Territory.

Goodman is just 27 years old, hit .245/.310/.529, and clocked 41 dingers in 2026. He's entering his first year of arbitration, meaning the Pirates would have him for three years, and he's projected to make $6.2 million in 2027. He also passes the Coors Field test, posting an .882 OPS on the road versus a .791 OPS in the mile-high air.

Basically, Goodman is a Pirates dream as a young, productive, and cost-controlled player. It would seem like a trade would make perfect sense, until you think through what the ramifications of such a deal would be.

The Boston Red Sox massive trade for Adley Rutschman puts Hunter Goodman out of the Pirates' reach

When the Red Sox traded for Adley Rutschman, they set the bar extremely high for a premium catcher. With the inclusion of Harold Rivas, Boston parted with four prospects that ranked in the top 15 of its farm system. Anthony Eyanson was the Red Sox No. 2 prospect, while Kyson Witherspoon ranked No. 4, and Eddy Azocar ranked No. 5.

That's a hefty price, but Goodman would be even more expensive. While Rutschman is a former first-overall pick and had a stellar first two big league seasons, he's been an average hitter over the last three years. He posted a 101 wRC+ over that time and had just a year and a half of team control remaining at the time of the trade.

Goodman has significantly more power, comes with twice the team control, and is nearly two years younger. If Rutschman yielded that treasure trove of assets, then convincing Colorado to trade a player they can hold for another year or two and still cash in on later will be even more expensive.

We're talking about Pittsburgh giving up one of Seth Hernandez or Edward Florentino, plus Murf Gray, Wyatt Sanford, and more. Colorado likely insists on Flores Jr., too, in addition to four or five top prospects, as a younger, more controllable replacement for Goodman.

This creates two problems for the Pirates. While we'd love to see them go all-in, the reality is they can't simply sell the farm. They're going to need to continue to rely on their pipeline to backfill holes, with youngsters like Hernandez and Gray likely playing big roles sooner rather than later.

On top of that, throwing so many assets in one trade will limit Pittsburgh's ability to make other maneuvers further down the road. The Pirates could use the same package they would have to give up to get Goodman for two or three other trades that provide them with multiple impact veterans who fill a few different holes. Putting all of their eggs in one basket doesn't seem wise.

Finally, catcher is the strength of the Pirates' system, and that includes Flores Jr. While catcher might seem like an issue now, it could soon be an overwhelming strength on its own, without needing to add Goodman. To that end, trading for Goodman now feels like panic buying, without having the foresight to realize that soon the issue behind the plate will take care of itself.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow