5 former Pirates the team could reunite with at the 2024 MLB Trade Deadline

The MLB Trade Deadline is one of the most exciting times of the season. This year, it is on July 30. Many teams have had early indications of whether they will be sellers or buyers at the deadline. The Pirates are one of those teams that are close to .500 and could be looking to load up the team for a second-half playoff push.

Some players on the trade market are former Pirates. With the Pirates on the verge of being buyers on the deadline, let's take a look at five former players that could return to Pittsburgh.

Josh Bell, First Base

One of the Pirates' biggest needs is first base. Connor Joe has exceeded expectations, but in order for him to remain productive, he needs a guy to platoon with. One player who could replace Rowdy Tellez as Joe's platoon option is Josh Bell, the Pirates' All-Star in 2019. Bell returning to Pittsburgh makes a ton of sense, and could be a realistic outcome.

The Miami Marlins currently have a record of 21-41 and have already begun selling their team. They unloaded Luis Arraez, and there is heavy speculation that Jesus Luzardo, Tanner Scott, and Josh Bell will all follow suit.

With the Marlins shopping Bell, the Pirates could acquire their former All-Star. Bell would be a major upgrade over Tellez. This season, Bell has a batting average of .255 with six home runs and 30 runs batted in. He also has an OPS of .715, which includes an on-base percentage of .324 and a slugging percentage of .391. His wRC+ is at 105, and his strikeout percentage is at 19%.

Bell's offense has been better as of late, but he has been lacking his well-known power. His Statcast metrics are not great, but his hot streak indicates that he will continue to improve. Over the last 15 games, Bell has a .333 batting average with an OPS of .821 (.354 on-base percentage, .467 slugging percentage).

Josh Bell is a significant improvement over Rowdy Tellez and can keep the much needed platoon with Connor Joe. The Marlins will be trying to get rid of Bell, so Ben Cherington should attempt to reunite with the slugger.

Starling Marte, Outfield

Another area of reinforcement on the Pirates' active roster is the outfield. The only two primary outfielders on the Pirates who have been serviceable are Bryan Reynolds and Edward Olivares. Jack Suwinski and Michael A. Taylor have played very poorly to this point, which has been a factor in the Pirates' failure to score runs. One former Pirate who could solve the outfield issue is Starling Marte.

The New York Mets have also gotten off to a sluggish start this season, which might result in them selling. Marte has this year and next year left on his contract, so not only would this improve the 2024 roster, but it would also give the Pirates an option for the outfield in 2025.

With the Mets uncertain of their plans for the trade deadline, Marte could be on the trade block. This season, Marte has a batting average of .276 with six home runs and 25 runs batted in. He also has an OPS of .740, which includes an on-base percentage of .326 and a slugging percentage of .414. His wRC+ is a solid 116, and his strikeout percentage is 21.5%.

Statcast metrics indicate that Marte could have better numbers this season. His expected batting average is at .299, which is in the 94th percentile, and his expected slugging percentage is at .454, which is in the 72nd percentile. His average exit velocity is a strong 90.7 miles per hour, which ranks in the 74th percentile.

Starling Marte was a big name on the Pirates a few years ago. As the Pirates look to return to the playoffs, a Marte reunion could help get Pittsburgh in.

Carlos Santana, First Base

Carlos Santana is a very interesting candidate for this situation. Ben Cherington decided to sign Rowdy Tellez instead of Santana this offseason and that decision has not worked out for the Pirates. It is not too late to get Santana to Pittsburgh, as he is on a one-year deal, and the Minnesota Twins are playing good baseball but barely holding onto a Wild Card spot.

The Twins may not really be interested in selling this trade deadline, but they also are not interested in becoming one of the big-time buyers either. Santana will be a free agent after the season, making him an ideal trade candidate. They also have a key player returning from injury in third baseman Royce Lewis, so trading Santana would allow them to slide Jose Miranda over to first base to keep his bat in the lineup.

Santana has been around average offensively this season, but also has a very impressive glove at first base. His offense is better than Tellez's, and his defense is better than that of any first baseman on the Pirates. Through 56 games, Santana has a .217 batting average with nine home runs and 24 runs batted in. He also has an OPS of .693, which includes an on-base percentage of .302 and a slugging percentage of .392. His wRC+ is average at 99 and his strikeout percentage is solid at 16.5%.

Statcast metrics show that he should be better statistically, but not by a wide margin. His expected batting average is .240 and his expected slugging percentage is .404. Both are solid and would make him much better if he could produce that.

Rowdy Tellez has not been good for the Pirates and Santana would easily replace him. Not only would he replace him, but he would help put more runs on the board and prevent runs with his spectacular defense. It may be tough to get Minnesota to trade him, but it is not unrealistic.

Enyel De Los Santos, Right-Handed Pitcher

Similar to Santana, Enyel De Los Santos is a solid player on a team that is on the verge of being a buyer or a seller. Although San Diego will typically improve their team at the deadline when they are floating around .500, flipping a guy like De Los Santos is not out of the ordinary. De Los Santos was a member of the Pirates during the second half of 2021.

The Pirates' bullpen has not been as good as expected, which makes adding a reliever more likely. Injuries prevented the bullpen from reaching its full potential, but now they have had to work with who they had.

De Los Santos is in the middle of the Padres bullpen and has been used in mainly low leverage roles. In 27 appearances, De Los Santos has a 1-2 record with an earned run average of 3.33 in 24.1 innings pitched and has struck out 29 batters. Opponents are batting .237 against him and his WHIP is at 1.19.

He has been a solid pitcher all around this year. Statcast metrics back that statement up. His expected opponent batting average is at .214, which is over .020 points lower than it actually is. He also has a whiff rate of 33% and that is solid for an average of all of his pitches.

Enyel De Los Santos was not a Pirate for very long, but the Pirates could improve their roster with a reunion with the right-handed reliever.