5 trade targets that would make Pittsburgh Pirates potential NL Central contenders

The Pittsburgh Pirates are in a position where they could make a splash at the trade deadline. They entered the break at .500, just 1.5 games out of a Wild Card spot, and for all intents and purposes should buy. By the end of this homestand, it’s entirely possible they will be in one of the playoff spots as they head towards the trade deadline and into August.

But the Pirates should aim higher than a Wild Card spot. They should aim for the division. The Milwaukee Brewers hardly hold a safe lead at this point, clinging to single digits. The Pirates gained three games against the Brewers from July 8 through July 14 alone. 

But in order to catch up to the Brewers and leap the St. Louis Cardinals, the Pirates need timely wins, and the best way to get timely wins is to win more often in general. The Pirates’ starting pitching staff has been great all year. Their infield and bullpen are starting to come together, but they could definitely use another bat and possibly another reliever.

These trade candidates might be able to push the Pirates over the top and help them gun for the National League Central Division title. While it would be unreasonable to expect the Pirates to get all five players mentioned here, even getting one or two could give the Bucs a huge boost heading into the second half of the year.

Taylor Ward

The Pirates need an outfielder, and one of the more underrated players on the market is Taylor Ward. The Los Angeles Angels outfielder is having a solid season, but still has a ton of untapped potential and could be a massive boost to any lineup, especially the Pirates’.

Ward has a .226/.312/.401 triple-slash on the year. He currently has a career-high 25.3% strikeout rate, but he’s still walking at a healthy 10.5% rate with an above-average .173 isolated slugging percentage. Overall, he’s been a league-average contributor, posting a .313 wOBA and 100 wRC+.

Over the last two seasons, Ward has been a solid defender. He has spent most of his time in left field with +4 defensive runs saved and +3 outs above average. Ward gets a good jump on the ball, with the 17th best feet vs average at 1.9. Ward has a strong arm that can play in the outfield corners. He is in the 68th percentile of arm strength. 

So Ward is a solid hitter with a good glove. He might be good, but how is he going to give this offense a huge boost? Well, Ward’s engine is more powerful than his car may look. Ward is in the 86th percentile of xwOBA at .356, as well as the 87th percentile of xSLG% at .486. There are 53 primary outfielders with at least 250 plate appearances in 2024. Ward has the second-largest gap between his SLG% and xSLG%, the largest gap between his wOBA and xwOBA, and the seventh-largest difference between his batting average and xBA (.246). 

Ward’s raw power is also top-of-the-line. He has the sixth-best barrel rate among outfielders with at least 250 plate appearances at 15%. That ranks in the 91st percentile of all hitters. Ward also has the 13th-best exit velocity among outfielders, clocking in at 91.3 MPH. Both are career bests for Ward.

The second reason to believe is Ward's history of productivity. From 2021 through 2023, Ward hit .265/.346/.449 with a .345 wOBA, and 121 wRC+. His isolated slugging percentage was .183 and he averaged 22 home runs every 600 plate appearances. Ward had both an above-average walk rate (9.8%) and strikeout rate (21.1%).

The third reason to believe is that the Pirates can offer Ward more lineup protection. There's no need to lie and act like the Pirates’ offense is the Murderers' Row Yankees. But they have a lot more potential than the Angels’ lineup, especially considering how much time Mike Trout has missed. Since the start of June, the Pirates, as a team, are batting .238/.300/.393 with a 93 wRC+. The Angels are batting .224/.303/.370 with an 87 wRC+. The Pirates have an 89.1 MPH exit velocity and 8.5% barrel rate. The Angels have just an 88.1 MPH exit velocity and a 7.2% barrel rate. 

Ward has mostly batted third this year, with Luis Rengifo batting second most often, and Willie Calhoun taking the most plate appearances in the cleanup spot. Miguel Sano has also seen a handful of plate appearances in the four hole. While Rengfio has done well and Calhoun has hit at an above-average level this year, Ward, batting between Bryan Reynolds and Oneil Cruz, has a lot more potential to do a whole lot more damage. 

Batting Ward between Reynolds and Cruz may also be enough to help him reach something closer to those expected numbers. Pitchers can’t pitch around Reynolds as often, because that would mean facing Ward. Pitchers would then have to bear down on Ward because they definitely wouldn’t want a man on base with Oneil Cruz at the dish.

Acquiring Ward would also get Jack Suwinski and Michael A. Taylor’s bats out of the lineup more frequently. They have arguably been the biggest black holes in the Pirates’ lineup this year, as they are the only ones with a sub-.600 OPS in at least 180 plate appearances. Putting a bat with Ward’s potential in the lineup would be a massive improvement.

Finally, Ward is under control for two more seasons through 2026. Bringing in Ward would give the Pirates an outfield option for the next two years. Given that the only guarantee to perform next year in the Pirates’ outfield is Bryan Reynolds, bringing in a guy like Ward could really solidify the lineup for a few seasons. 

With all that in mind, Ward could inject a huge boost to the Pirates’ offense. The potential is all there. A better lineup situation could help him play up and make him a better hitter. On top of that, he improves an outfield that has had its struggles this year, especially when it comes to hitting.