Pirates could rekindle this trade deadline rumor to resolve roster logjam

Heading into the offseason, the Pirates have a big roster logjam behind the plate. Henry Davis has the best glove, Joey Bart has the best bat, and stalled-out youngster Endy Rodriguez and recent top prospect addition Rafael Flores are also on the depth chart. Davis' bat still hasn't developed, but he managed to guide an over-.500 record this season and shouldn't be discarded yet. Therefore, moving Bart while he still has some value makes the most sense.

Notably, the Texas Rangers showed interest in Bart at the trade deadline, according to Rangers insider Jeff Wilson (subscription required). He also noted in a recent column that Texas may finally move on from Jonah Heim this offseason too, reopening the door for a trade for Bart.

When Bart caught for Pittsburgh, they were around 25 games below .500. One could label that a coincidence, but Pirates pitchers' collective ERA, when he caught, was 4.73. With no offense to speak of on the current roster, the Pirates need to maximize their pitchers' abilities. Clearly, Bart is current unable to do so; the rising ERA does not feel like a coincidence. When Davis caught this past season, their collective ERA dropped down to 2.87. With that in mind, getting Bart off the roster should be in the Pirates' offseason plans.

The Pirates should restart trade talks with Rangers for Joey Bart.

It would be tough for Pittsburgh to unload one of two players they had with a wRC+ over 100, of course; Spencer Horwitz and Bart were the Pirates' only hitters with an above-average wRC+ last season. Nonetheless, it is definitely worth sparking talks if the Rangers are interested in taking him.

One player the Pirates should target in a trade like this is Robby Ahlstrom, a 26-year-old left handed reliever currently in Triple-A. Pittsburgh does not have many southpaws on their 40-man roster, and to secure one with long-term upside would be ideal. Keeping Bart's glove in mind, the Pirates aren't going to get a very strong haul in return. His OPS in 2025 was .696, too, so the Pirates would ultimately be selling low on him.

It would easily benefit the Pirates to move on from Bart. Losing the bat hurts, yet his overall productivity was simply not there this season. His OPS dropped over 100 points from 2024-2025. Everything that made him valuable disappeared. If the Rangers seriously do make another push at Bart, Pittsburgh must take advantage of it.