5 outfielders the Pittsburgh Pirates should monitor on the trade market

The Pittsburgh Pirates could definitely use another outfielder. Bryan Reynolds is starting to heat up, as is Edward Olivares. But Michael A. Taylor is struggling, and he is only under control through this year. Plus Jack Suwinski has greatly struggled this year and was recently optioned to Triple-A to work on things. But the Pirates have a lot of pitching talent in the system they should use to acquire talent, especially in the outfield.

It’s not June yet, but the trade market will start to heat up sooner rather than later. There will definitely be names the Pirates should look into to support their outfield depth. So, who are some players the Pirates should keep on their radar now in case they do become more available in trade talks?

5 outfielders the Pirates should monitor on the trade market

Daulton Varsho

In the 2022-2023 off-season, the Toronto Blue Jays acquired Daulton Varsho from the Arizona Diamondbacks in what has become an ill-fated trade. But the Blue Jays might be sellers at the deadline and could look to try and recoup some of their losses from acquiring Varsho. His combination between elite defense and above average power would make him someone that should be on the Pirates’ radar.

After a down year in 2023, Varsho is posting similar numbers to 2022. He is slashing .208/.296/.447 with a .325 wOBA, and 112 wRC+. He is a power hitter and has hit 20+ home runs the last two seasons. He’s on pace to do so again. Varsho has a .239 isolated slugging percentage and already has nine home runs in 179 plate appearances this season. If he has as many plate appearances as he did last year (581 to be exact), and keeps up this same pace, he will reach 29. The park factor for both Rogers Centre and PNC Park for left-handed hitters is about the same, so he wouldn’t be getting a massive downgrade. Plus he hit 20 home runs last year, and would have hit the same if he played all of his games at PNC Park last year.

Varsho hits for power, but the best part of his game is his fielding. Varsho has +13 defensive runs saved and +8 outs above average already this year. Last year, he had +29 DRS and +18 OAA. Since moving to the outfield regularly in 2022, he has the most DRS by any outfielder and it’s not even close. Varsho clocks in at +61, while Steven Kwan, the second most, has +35. The gap in OAA is slightly closer, but still a wide margin between +36 for Varsho and +25 for Jose Siri.

Varsho has been an above average hitter in two of his last three seasons and has hit at least 20 dingers in two years in a row while being on pace to do it again. Varsho doesn’t become a free agent until after the 2026 season, so he has multiple years left on his contract as well. If the Jays decide to retool and trade the assets that aren’t going to stick around long-term, this is someone the Pirates should look into.