MLB insider hints NL Central rival could pivot to Pirates' key trade chip

The MLB trade deadline is nearly here. and the Pittsburgh Pirates are one of the most active teams involved in trade talks. David Bednar has a rumored price that's now out there for teams to chase, and Mitch Keller has another team in the mix as of Tuesday morning, yet the latest rumor involves Isiah Kiner-Falefa and the Cincinnati Reds.

Buster Olney of ESPN reported that the Reds have been very active in the Eugenio Suárez market, but there are a lot of other teams involved. Suarez is the top player on the market, and the Reds' level of interest in matching an exorbitant asking price is unknown. Teams like the Cubs are reportedly very aggressive in his market, so Cincinnati will have to go through a bidding war if they are serious about him.

This is where Kiner-Falefa comes into play, as Olney stated he's among the players the Reds may pivot to if they miss out on Suárez. He noted Kiner-Falefa, Gio Urshela of the A's, and one of the Mets' infielders in Mark Vientos, Brett Baty, or Luisangel Acuña could make sense.

MLB insider uses Pirates infielder Isiah Kiner-Falefa as a Reds pivot option for the MLB Trade Deadline.

There are clearly plenty of opportunities at play for the Reds here, and seeing Kiner-Falefa in there is great for Pittsburgh. The Yankees were a team interested in both Kiner-Falefa and Ke'Bryan Hayes, yet neither will go to the Bronx, as they acquired Ryan McMahon and Amed Rosario. The Pirates need to unload this rental, since the opportunity is there - but the market appeared to be shrinking before the Reds showed up.

If this deal with the Reds is anything like the Kevin Newman trade, Cherington needs to be all over it. Pittsburgh got Dauri Moreta for a regressing Newman in that swap. Moreta has missed a lot of time from Tommy John surgery, but he was an extremely valuable piece to the 2023 bullpen.

When considering another rental on that list, it's clear Urshela is not as valuable a piece as Kiner-Falefa is. Urshela may play third base more consistently, yet his mediocre defense goes with his lousy offense for a -0.2 fWAR. Kiner-Falefa has put together an 0.8 fWAR with a better wRC+ and OPS.

There is not a lot of time left, and Ben Cherington has a handful of moves he has to make. Kiner-Falefa is one of those guys that has to go, and now that a rival has been formally linked, a deal once again feels likely to get done.