3 trade targets who could help fix the Pittsburgh Pirates' bullpen

The Pittsburgh Pirates’ bullpen has been one of the most disappointing pens in all of baseball. David Bednar got off to a horrible start, Aroldis Chapman has seemingly lost the strike zone, and Ryan Borcuki has been out for nearly the entire season with an undetermined ETA on his return. It also doesn’t help that Dauri Moreta, who was very solid for the Pirates last year, had Tommy John surgery before the season even started.

While Bednar has been better lately and Colin Holderman has been great all year, there is a significant lack of reliable depth. Luckily, bullpens are typically one of the easiest things to fix in baseball. The market is usually deep, and there are always teams willing to listen to offers on their bullpen arms.

3 bullpen trade options for 2024 Pittsburgh Pirates

Andrew Nardi

The Miami Marlins showed they’re willing to listen to anyone and everyone when they sold Luis Arraez in early May to the San Diego Padres. While many would like to see the Pirates get closing pitcher Tanner Scott, I think the Pirates would be better off going after Andrew Nardi. A fellow left-hander in Miami’s bullpen, Nardi is younger, with a lot more contract control remaining.

After a breakout 2023 season, Nardi has followed that up with a 5.68 ERA and 1.42 WHIP in his first 19 innings of the season. But that ERA is slightly inflated by things outside Nardi’s control. There are many positives, like his 28.9% strikeout rate and 8.4% walk rate. His HR/9 went from 1.10 last year to 0.47 this year. He is in the 72nd percentile of barrel rate at 5.9%.

Miami’s defense has let Nardi down. I’m not going to sit here and lie and act like the Pirates have the best defense in the world, but compared to the Marlins’ gloves, the Pirates might as well have Gold Glovers around the diamond. Miami has -25 defensive runs saved and -18 outs above average, compared to the Pirates with +1 DRS and -11 OAA. Their poor defense has led to Nardi having a .380 batting average on balls in play.

Fielding independent and predictive stats like Nardi’s outlook. He has a 2.55 FIP and 3.51 xFIP. xERA puts him at 3.35, but SIERA is the most optimistic about Nardi moving forward at 2.99.  Plus he's been better recently, only allowing one earned run during this month. There’s definitely a strong chance that Nardi rebounds on a better defensive team given all of this.

He is only 25 and doesn’t hit arbitration until after next season. He won’t reach free agency until after the 2028 campaign. It might not be cheap to acquire Nardi, as good left-handed relievers aren’t easy to find, but it would be worth it. Nardi could be a long-term cog in the Pirates’ bullpen.