3 relievers the Pirates should consider trading for (with 1 surprise reunion)

The Pittsburgh Pirates should look to improve the roster, both for this year and in future seasons. There are some clear holes on the roster, and one could be the bullpen. They have some good arms, and David Bednar and Ryan Borucki will soon return, but they lack depth. There has been more than one instance where they’ve had to use guys that aren’t accustomed to higher leverage because other arms had been used extensively in the prior games, or they had to bullpen some games, leaving their remaining 'pen thin on available arms.

Luckily, the bullpen can be one of the easiest things to fix via trade. Teams are always willing to move relievers. The Pirates should be looking for arms they can rely on, not just for the rest of this year, but through next year at the very least. There are definitely going to be some arms to look out for, so who are some relievers that should be on the Pirates’ radar?

3 relievers who should be on Pirates' radar at trade deadline

Jason Adam

The Tampa Bay Rays have already unloaded two of their pitchers, with Aaron Civale getting traded to the Milwaukee Brewers and Phil Maton heading to the New York Mets. The Rays are probably not done unloading pitching, and they could soon move one of their best relievers. That’s right-hander Jason Adam.

Since joining the Rays in 2022, Adam has established himself as a reliable relief arm for Tampa. This year, he’s pitched 39.2 innings with a 1.82 ERA, 3.58 FIP, and 0.86 WHIP. Adam has an above-average 24.7% strikeout rate, but that is a steep decline from the 31.4% K% he had between 2022-2023. He has also allowed walks at a 9.3% rate. Adam is allowing home runs at a career-low rate at 0.68 with a career-best 47.9% ground ball rate.

There are some questions about the sustainability of Adam’s performance. He has a .183 batting average on balls in play. Adam has a 3.60 SIERA and 4.04 xFIP. In Adam’s defense, he is typically a low BABIP pitcher. In 2022-2023, Adam had just a .215 BABIP, the second lowest among any bullpen arm with at least 100 IP.

Along with providing quality innings, Adam is controlled via arbitration through 2026. He isn’t young, as he’ll turn 33 in August, but he’s proven to be a quality reliever now for three years with two more full seasons of control remaining.