3 prospects the Pirates should trade this offseason as sell-high candidates

It’s time for the Pittsburgh Pirates to make some serious trades. After a horrendous late-season collapse this year, they need to make some improvements to the roster, especially with the offense.

And it's more than doable. They have prospects at their disposal they should trade. There are plenty of potential sellers that will be looking to move Major Leaguers for prospects. The biggest strength the Pirates could deal from is pitching talent, but there are definitely some position players they should consider moving if the opportunity arises.

Either way, the Pirates need to strike now while the iron is hot and part with younger talent while their value might be at its highest.

The Pirates should be willing to trade these prospects this offseason

Carlson Reed

Carlson Reed is certainly a promising talent. But given the ample amount of pitching in the system, one of the Pirates’ priorities this offseason should be to move pitching talent for hitting talent. Reed is coming off an extremely promising campaign, but there is reliever risk, and the Pirates should take advantage and sell high.

Reed pitched most of his season at Bradenton, where he had a 2.43 ERA, 3.49 FIP, and 1.25 WHIP in 77 1/3 innings. The right-hander induced a swing-and-miss rate of 32.2%, resulting in a strikeout rate of 29.7%. When opponents did make contact, they managed just an 85.4 MPH exit velocity, 3.3% barrel rate, and 55.7% ground ball rate. The only thing Reed struggled with was walks, with a 13% BB%.

Reed’s strong performance earned him a promotion to Greensboro, where he would work to the tune of a microscopic 0.87 ERA, 0.65 WHIP, and 2.75 FIP. Reed continued to strikeout batters at a very high rate of 29.7%. While his ground ball rate dropped from well over 50% to just 37.5%, his HR/9 also fell from 0.46 to 0.29. However, the most promising part of his season was his walk rate lowering to just 7.9%.

When the Pirates drafted Reed in the fourth round back in 2023, he was a reliever for West Virginia University. He has good stuff but lacks the command of it. While he did significantly cut down on walks after his promotion, the command was still spotty. That could be a major deciding factor for Reed moving forward.

Even though Reed pitched a full season as a starter, he’s yet to do it in the upper levels of the minor leagues. The jump between High-A and Double-A is the largest in the minor leagues. That jump could decide Reed’s fate as a starter or reliever. But that could mean Reed’s value is at the highest its going to be as a prospect. Yes, these are also reasons why another team might be put off by Reed, but again, his value as a prospect might not get any higher.

Anthony Solometo

Anthony Solometo’s star was beginning to shine in 2023. He was coming off a strong season where he posted some solid numbers at Double-A at just 20 years old. But now, Solometo is coming off a poor season, one that has been riddled by injuries and underperformance. But he did enter the year as a top-100 prospect and is still a young arm.

Solometo had a 3.26 ERA, 3.46 FIP, and 1.19 WHIP last year in 110 1/3 innings for both the Pirates’ High-A and Double-A affiliates. In 2023, he had a 26.2% strikeout rate and an 8.6% walk rate and only allowed home runs at 0.65 per 9 innings. While Solometo has always been a soft-tossing pitcher, he did see an uptick in velocity. He was sitting 92-94 MPH, topping out at 95. With his plus command, solid secondaries (including a slider and changeup), and a deceptive motion on the mound, he looked like a potential rotation option for the Bucs as early as this season.

But the 2024 season has not been kind to the former second-round pick. Solometo has been limited to just 58 1/3 innings at Altoona. When he was healthy, the lefty was not effective, pitching to a 5.98 ERA, 5.51 FIP, and 1.62 WHIP. His strikeout rate has dropped by nearly 10% to 17.1%. The plus command he showed off during 2023 has not been on display this year, as he’s walked 13% of opponents. Solometo has been much more home run prone with a 1.07 HR/9 rate. Along with his command going by the wayside, his velocity was also down, sitting closer to 91-92 MPH. 

But Solometo is still a young prospect. He is just 21 years old and turns 22 in December. He was the 14th-youngest pitcher to make at least 15 starts at Double-A. He had a poor, injury-riddled campaign, but given his age and recent prospect notoriety, the Pirates could definitely use him in a trade package.