Pittsburgh Pirates should pursue a trade for this blocked standout rookie

The Pittsburgh Pirates need an outfielder. That has been made abundantly clear plenty of times. Oneil Cruz may have struggled for most of 2025, but his underlying numbers were definitely promising. So were Bryan Reynolds' numbers under the hood, and he ended the season with a 128 wRC+ after the All-Star break. But if the Pirates' season were to start tomorrow, their third outfielder would be a mix of Jack Suwinski, Billy Cook, Will Robertson, or Nick Yorke. They need to acquire an outfielder, either via trade or free agency, and one blocked rookie who just came off a strong showing in MLB and fits the bill is Athletics outfielder Carlos Cortes.

Cortes signed a minor-league contract with the A's last offseason, and he immediately put up some of the best numbers of his career at Triple-A, slashing .322/.414/.603 with a .436 wOBA and 139 wRC+ over 314 plate appearances. Cortes went yard 17 times with an isolated slugging percentage of .281. He also walked nearly as often as he struck out, with a 13.1% free pass rate and a 14.6% strikeout percentage.

That earned him a promotion to the major leagues after the All-Star break, and he rewarded the A's with a .309/.323/.543 triple-slash, .363 wOBA, and 132 wRC+. Cortes continued to hit for plenty of power, with a .234 isolated slugging percentage. While he carried a 20.2% strikeout rate and 21.4% whiff rate, Cortes only managed to put up a 3% walk rate and 30.4% chase rate.

He showed off solid raw power, with an 89.8 MPH average exit velocity and 9.2% barrel percentage. His defense between the outfield corners graded out as about average, with +1 defensive run saved and out above average.

The Pirates need outfield depth, and blocked rookie Carlos Cortes should be on their radar.

The Athletics' outfield is already crowded as is. Tyler Soderstrom and Lawrence Butler look to flank Denzel Clark in center field. Even after DFA'ing JJ Bleday, the A's still need to make room for top prospect Colby Thomas, who made his debut last season as well. They also have more top outfield prospects in tow - including Henry Bolte, who hit well at Triple-A this year - and drafted high school outfielder Devin Taylor 48th overall in the 2025 draft.

That makes Cortes potentially expendable, but we do need to pump the brakes first before calling in the trade. 2025 was his age-28 season, and he will be 29 by the end of next June. His strong major league numbers were based on a microscopic sample of only 99 plate appearances. Cortes also struggled at Triple-A in 2023 and 2024, with a combined wRC+ of just 97, making him slightly below average. 

Plus, even though Cortes did undeniably well at Triple-A this year, he wasn't without his flaws. He had just a 6.4% barrel rate and a xwOBA of .368, a 68 percentage point difference from his .436 wOBA. Cortes hit well, but it happened in the Pacific Coast League, where the league-average OPS was already .803. The Las Vegas Aviators, the A's Triple-A affiliate, play in an extremely hitter-friendly environment, and it reflects in Cortes' home/away splits. He had a 1.125 OPS at home vs an .825 OPS on the road. 

It's hardly a one-for-one, but the Pirates did take a similar chance on a relatively unproven player with Spencer Horwitz last offseason. Obviously, the most significant difference between the two is that Horwitz got an extended look in the major leagues. He played in nearly 100 games and fell just short of 400 plate appearances. Cortes' rookie status is still intact, so he still has three years of pre-arbitration left on his contract. 

Cortes certainly comes with red flags and questions he'd need to answer, but you could argue he comes with fewer than the likes of Canario and Suwinski. The A's would likely be willing to entertain offers for Cortes, given their abundance of young outfield depth. The Pirates need outfield depth, and Cortes would give them an option who has shown some promise at Triple-A and the major leagues, is under control for many more seasons, and is someone they could immediately slot into the outfield.