Pirates make flurry of roster moves that telegraph Ben Cherington trade deadline plans

In a vacuum, there isn't much to dislike about the Pittsburgh Pirates' latest roster shakeup. That said, the timing makes it impossible not to wonder what Ben Cherington is actually planning for the trade deadline.

The Pirates recalled outfielder Jhostynxon Garcia and pitchers Hunter Barco and Noah Murdock from Triple-A Indianapolis ahead of Wednesday's important series finale against the Arizona Diamondbacks, while Tyler Callihan, Isaac Mattson and Brandon Eisert were optioned.

The Garcia-for-Callihan swap makes plenty of sense. Pittsburgh could use another right-handed bat, and Garcia has earned another opportunity after hitting .279 with a .346 OBP, 10 home runs and an .805 OPS in Triple-A this season. His first big-league stint wasn't especially productive — .200/.243/.229 with two RBI in 35 at-bats — but there is more offensive upside there than Callihan has provided lately, hitting .211/.283/.389 with three homers and 15 RBI over 95 at-bats for Pittsburgh.

The bullpen changes are a little more surprising, but they're also difficult to argue with. Mattson owns a 4.93 ERA and 1.56 WHIP over 34.2 innings, including a 6.75 ERA over his last seven appearances. Eisert, acquired from the White Sox earlier this month, has a 6.29 ERA and 1.40 WHIP in 34.1 innings this season. Why not get some fresh arms?

Barco hasn't exactly dominated since returning to Indianapolis, posting a 4.89 ERA and 1.57 WHIP in 46 innings, and he has a 7.71 ERA in five appearances with Pittsburgh this season. Murdock is the more intriguing addition after pitching to a 3.44 ERA and 1.06 WHIP with 44 strikeouts in 36.2 minor-league innings.

Again, these are perfectly defensible moves. But that's also the problem.

Pirates' latest roster shuffle offers little hope that Ben Cherington will make meaningful upgrades at trade deadline

With the Aug. 3 trade deadline now only days away, Cherington continues to exhaust seemingly every possible method of improving this roster from within. Shuffle the bullpen. Try another prospect. Swap one bench bat for another. Cycle through Indianapolis and hope somebody catches fire.

There is nothing wrong with doing any of that. But there is something wrong if that's the entire plan.

The Pirates have reached the point where marginal internal upgrades aren't enough. Garcia might help. Barco or Murdock might stabilize an inning or two. But a team fighting for a playoff spot should be adding proven major-league help from outside the organization, particularly to a bullpen that has repeatedly cost it games.

Cherington still has time to prove that's coming. For now, though, Pittsburgh's latest roster churn makes it look like he'll try just about anything before making the kind of meaningful deadline addition this team actually needs.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow