Pirates' shrewd Jacob Gonzalez pickup can't erase one glaring problem

The deal that brought Jacob Gonzalez and Brandon Eisert to the Pirates is typical Pittsburgh dealmaking. General manager Ben Cherington flipped an unknown (in this case, literally, since the return to the White Sox was a Competitive Balance round pick) for a versatile infielder and a reliever.

The Pirates seem to love to collect bit players (see: Tyler Callihan and Robert Hassell, both acquired this year). Few of those deals have generated such a dichotomy of fortune and failure as the Gonzalez-Eisert trade.

While Gonzalez may have cooled a bit from his torrid first few games with the Bucs, the rookie (and former first-round draft pick) has proven himself a capable and valuable addition to the squad. Just 24 years old, Gonzalez compares favorably to his utility platoon partner Jared Triolo. He has excellent bat-to-ball skills with a whiff rate of just 19%. In the minors, he struggled to hit breaking balls, but so far in his limited MLB career, he has handled those pitches well. In short, the Pirates could have snatched up a real diamond in the rough.

The other side of the trade, though… not so much.

Pirates' Jacob Gonzalez trade could be deemed a failure thanks to Brandon Eisert

Eisert, a lefty reliever, has had an inauspicious start to his Pirates career to say the least. In his first six appearances, he completed just 4.2 innings, walking four and allowing six runs. He didn't even last three full weeks on the Pirates' major-league roster before being optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis.

There’s a real argument to be made here about the deception of small sample size and bad luck (his actual wOBA is nearly 50 points higher than his xwOBA). The Pirates don’t have much time to wait for the statistics to right themselves. They need bullpen help now.

That actually might be the most frustrating part of this trade. The piece that the Pirates didn’t really need (yet another promising prospect that hasn’t quite made it like Nick Yorke, Billy Cook, Jhostynxon García, etc.) has earned his keep. The player that could help the Pirates keep pace in the Wild Card race as the trade deadline nears has fallen short. As is often the case with Pirates baseball, there’s a sliver of hope alongside disappointment.

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