Latest Roki Sasaki update opens these 3 trade avenues for the Pirates

Toronto Blue Jays: Mason Fluharty

The third and final team that is a finalist for Sasaki is Toronto. One of the best fits for the Pirates for a trade involving international money would be something involving their 26th-ranked prospect, Mason Fluharty. He is a left-handed reliever who put together a very solid season in Triple-A.

In 2024, Fluharty put together a 3.63 earned run average in 67 innings pitched and produced a WHIP of 1.18. Opponents batted .218 against him, and his FIP sat at 4.15.

His cutter is his go-to pitch, which he throws 41.4% of the time. It is effective, too, limiting batters to a hard-hit rate of 17.8% and average exit velocity of 82.1 mph. Caleb Ferguson, recently signed by Pittsburgh, is also cutter-reliant; having the two men share a bullpen could be beneficial for game-planning and development.

Fluharty pairs his cutter with a sweeper, which generates a whiff rate of 39.5%. The pitch also prevents hitters from getting solid contact off him, as their average exit velocity is 85.3 mph and their hard hit rate sat at just 25.7% in 2024. That is not as strong as the cutter's potential, but is still a positive look.

Overall, the Pirates could not go wrong with adding any of these three young players. They have a decent amount of space in this year's international free agency pool, but a lot of holes still linger on their current roster. With that in mind, the Pirates should take advantage of the Sasaki market and formulate a trade with one of the finalists.