One star defensive trade target who would be a perfect fit for Pirates' outfield

After a second consecutive 76-win season, and with the emergence of a once-in-a-generation talent in Paul Skenes, it's no secret that the Pittsburgh Pirates need take a step forward in 2025. Free agency is now underway, and the Bucs uncharacteristically added over $30 million to their books in free agency last winter. Still, it is unclear how far past that number they will be able to go this offseason.

Rather, given the franchise's financial restrictions, as well as the abundance of high-upside pitching depth in the upper minors, the Pirates are probably better suited to utilize the trade market to upgrade the major league roster. There are still multiple holes that need filled, and the Pirates need to add at least one outfielder before breaking camp in 2025. Enter Toronto's Daulton Varsho.

Varsho's offensive profile isn't particularly impressive. The 28-year-old lefty hitter is coming off of a campaign where he slashed .214/.293/.407 with 18 home runs after hitting 20-plus homers in each of the previous two seasons. His 9.4% walk rate was one of his best, but he continued his trend of striking out at a rate higher than the league average.

The bad news is that the underlying metrics hated Varsho in 2024. His expected batting average (.189), expected slugging percentage (.325), and expected weighted on-base average (.265) all ranked in the fourth percentile or worse among all qualified hitters. Despite above-average bat speed and swing decisions, Varsho has struggled to make consistent contact his whole career, and the advanced analytics indicate that he was a pretty bad hitter in 2024.

The good news is that a change of scenery should help. Varsho began his career (and posted his best offensive numbers) in Arizona, which, according to Statcast's Park Factors, was a top-10 offensive environment over the last three seasons. Over the same time span, Toronto's Rogers Centre was a bottom-10 park for left-handed hitters, whereas PNC Park ranked fourth.

While the Pirates potentially might be adding a league-average bat, the appeal here is in the glove. And Varsho's glove is elite. He just won the American League Gold Glove Award in center field - somehow just his first career Gold Glove - while leading all players in defensive runs saved, with the next-closest defender trailing him by five.

Pirates should trade for Daulton Varsho on heels of first Gold Glove win

Varsho wasn't a full-time center fielder last season, however. He made 94 appearances in center field and 67 in left field and played otherworldly defense at both spots. Varsho finished one DRS behind the center field leader (Jarren Duran) despite 138.1 fewer innings played and two DRS behind the left field leader (Riley Greene) despite 296.1 fewer innings played. He also has MLB experience in right field (primarily in 2022) and defended at a pace of 31 DRS per year at that position.

Varsho's defensive prowess makes him a perfect fit for the Pirates in multiple aspects. PNC Park's left field is massive, and having a gifted defender patrolling that much grass is a significant benefit. Starling Marte, who came up through the Pirates' system as a center fielder, posted 71 DRS as the Pirates' primary left fielder from 2012-2017, leaving him alone in a tier with eight-time Gold Glove winner Alex Gordon.

That also makes him an excellent fit for the current Pirates roster. The team has committed to Oneil Cruz as their center fielder, and while he has the skillset to thrive at the position, it's certainly still a work in progress, and Cruz is just 23 games into his tenure in center. As currently constructed, the three players most likely to spend significant time flanking Cruz in the outfield next year are Bryan Reynolds, Bryan De La Cruz, and Jack Suwinski, who combined for -27 DRS last season.

Adding a defender like Varsho would allow the Pirates to move Bryan Reynolds to right field (which the team tinkered with early last season), where he wouldn't have to cover nearly as much ground and where his arm - which led the National League in outfield assists in 2024 - would play much better. It would also take a ton of pressure off of Cruz and make his job a lot easier.

Varsho, who was also involved in a high-profile offseason trade following the 2022 campaign, would come with two more seasons of control and is projected to earn $7.7 million in arbitration. While that may seem like a high price tag for the Pirates to stomach, a free agent of Varsho's caliber would come at a much higher cost.

It is also worth noting that Varsho has some family ties to the Bucs. His father Gary played in MLB from 1988-1995 and spent three of those seasons in Pittsburgh. He also served as the Pirates' bench coach from 2008-2010.

He would likely represent an offensive improvement to their outfield while also providing world-class defense. Acquiring a player like Varsho would help signal that the Pirates are serious about taking a step forward in 2025.