Pirates need to take advantage of Dodgers' roster crunch with this trade

When it comes to free agents, just assume the Dodgers have signed them already. They have had one of the craziest offseasons of all time, and it still might not even be complete.

Their most recent reported signing of Kirby Yates, once finalized, is going to require a bit of movement to create room on their 40-man roster. Bob Nightengale reported Wednesday morning that they are looking to trade some of their surplus of players, including veteran reliever Ryan Brasier.

If true, the Pittsburgh Pirates should join the feeding frenzy surrounding LA's impending surplus.

The Pirates' bullpen in 2024 completely collapsed and they returned the majority of the arms from that group, so it could still use a little work to be more effective this season. Adding Caleb Ferguson was a huge step in the right direction, but the idea of transitioning him into a starter takes that step backwards.

There is still work to be done to the group, and a financially reasonable opportunity with the Dodgers has opened up. Reaching out with Brasier on the trade block makes a lot of sense for the Pirates, given his productiveness and salary for next season.

Pirates should examine a trade for Ryan Brasier from the Dodgers, now that they are shopping for room on their 40-man roster.

Brasier battled some injuries in 2024, which only allowed him to throw in 29 games. When he was healthy, Brasier posted an earned run average of 3.54 with a FIP of 3.31 across 28 innings, striking out 25 batters. Opposing hitters batted .210 against him, and he walked batters at a 4.5% rate to generate a WHIP of 0.96.

With guys like Kyle Nicolas and Colin Holderman, who struggle with walks, already in place, the Pirates could use another right-hander who does not allow many free passes. As the roster sits right now, he would likely replace Peter Strzelecki in the bullpen as a low-leverage arm.

The cost for Brasier would not be too expensive either, as the Dodgers would want a player in exchange who is not on the 40-man roster. Given the role that Brasier would fill in Los Angeles' bullpen if he sticks around, they would probably move on from him for a younger player in the lower levels of the Pirates organization.

Pittsburgh should definitely be calling Los Angeles about a trade for Brasier. The Dodgers want to move him, and his 2025 price of $4.5 million would fit nicely in the Pirates bullpen. They wouldn't need to give up that much for him either, so this looks like a perfect match.