MLB insider breathes life into Pirates trade rumor fans need to happen

The Pittsburgh Pirates have made a lot of progress this season building out their offense. But while they've added quality hitters at a variety of positions, third base is still an unknown.

Fans have resigned themselves to internal options, as Ben Cherington's PiratesFest promise to continue looking to upgrade the hot corner seems to have hit a snag. The options already present within the organization took a hit when promising young prospect Jack Brannigan suffered a scary injury.

Jared Triolo might be the favorite to land the job — and while that is uninspiring, he would bring a level of defensive competence that the team could desperately need. Nick Yorke and Nick Gonzales could also find themselves in the mix.

However, in the lead-up to spring training, Pirates insider Jason Mackey dropped a nugget that the team wasn't done shopping for a third baseman yet. While nothing has come to pass, FanSided's own MLB insider Robert Murray recently reported that Pittsburgh hasn't stopped looking for a third base upgrade, with fans' preferred target Isaac Paredes still on the menu.

MLB Insider Robert Murray reports that the Pirates are still shopping for a third baseman, hints at a possible trade for Astros star Isaac Paredes

According to Murray, the Pirates are still having conversations around the league with both free agents and other clubs, including the Houston Astros.

"The Pirates have had talks with the Houston Astros about Isaac Paredes, but Houston places a very high value on Paredes and won’t part with him unless they get that value in return," Murray wrote before speculating that Joey Bart could be a part of the package to bring Paredes to Pittsburgh.

We know from earlier in the offseason that these two clubs did discuss a deal involving Paredes and Bart. The question will be whether or not the urgency on either side has ratcheted up enough to break the impasse.

Houston has the once-promising Yanier Diaz behind the plate, but he's declined every year since his impressive rookie campaign in 2023. The Astros also lost backup Victor Caratini, who had proven to be a competent bat behind the plate that they had leaned on more heavily than most team's do on their backup catchers over the past two seasons.

Their likely backup now is César Salazar, best known for the Framber Valdez cross-up incident. Salazar has just 36 games of major league experience and owns a .232/.318/.268 line. Bart would represent a sizeable upgrade.

There's also the issue that Paredes doesn't have a regular place to play in Houston. Christian Walker blocks him at first, while Carlos Correa blocks him at third. He's probably the best player of the trio at this point, but the bloated salaries of his competitors make it hard to move either of them.

Money also matters here. The Astros are breathing up against the luxury tax line, a threshold their owner Jim Crane has made it clear that he's not comfortable passing. Paredes is set to make $9.35 million this year, while Bart only costs $2.53 million. That nearly $7 million savings isn't an insignificant incentive.

It will take more than just Bart to land this plane, and there's still a very good chance that nothing happens. But a move does make a lot of sense for both sides. We'll have to see if either blinks and gives into the other's demands to facilitate a trade before Opening Day.