A way-too-early Pittsburgh Pirates trade target wishlist for 2024-25 offseason

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The Pittsburgh Pirates need to be active this offseason. They have a roster with a good foundation and potential, but they need to start reinforcing the right areas and filling holes. They could do this via adding free agents, but they should also consider the trade market, as it will present plenty of opportunities to add talent and improve the roster.

They definitely have a good enough farm system to make impact moves as well. They have a boatload of young pitchers they should start dealing from. Although they began to make moves in this vein (trading Patrick Reilly, Quinn Preister, and Jun-Seok Shim at the trade deadline, all for players who are now on their active Major League roster), they shouldn’t stop there.

Last week, we took a way-too-early look at some free agents the Pirates should go after. Now, we’re going to examine some potential trade targets that would be ideal for the Bucs.

3 Pirates offseason trade targets

Taylor Ward

There were plenty of rumors this past trade deadline surrounding Los Angeles Angels outfielder Taylor Ward. One of the teams that reportedly had interest was the Pirates. He has silently strung together a handful of quality campaigns, and will likely be subject to plenty of rumors once again this offseason. The Pirates should get back in on the action, especially if they commit to Bryan Reynolds at first base.

Ward is finishing off his yet another solid year and is currently batting .256/.323/.439 with a .330 wOBA and 113 wRC+ in 622 plate appearances. Ward has hit a career-high 25 home runs with a strong .191 isolated slugging percentage. His 25.4% strikeout rate is a career-worst mark. However, he is still walking at a respectable 9.5% pace.

There is plenty more under the hood that suggests Ward could be better than this. He is above the 80th percentile of both xwOBA (.353) and xSLG% (.479). Ward is hitting the ball better than ever before, with a 91.2 MPH exit velocity (82nd percentile) and 13.7% barrel rate (89th percentile). His 25.3% swing and miss rate is slightly below average, but he has only swung outside the zone 21.1% of the time.

Ward has spent his entire season in left field this year and has +1 defensive runs saved and +2 outs above average. His arm plays well in an outfield corner, as he is in the 69th percentile of arm strength and is in the 78th percentile of arm value. Ward covers 1.7 feet in his jumps, giving him one of the best reaction times among outfielders.

The Angles have a good amount of young pitching talent in their system. 14 of their top 30 prospects on MLB Pipeline are arms. Still, a good amount of that pitching talent is extremely young. Six of their 14 top pitching prospects check in at age 20 or younger. Along with not having many MLB-ready arms, they have very few young arms that have already reached the bigs. Only two of the five pitchers who have made double-digit starts for the Angels this year are 25 or younger, and one is Reid Detmers, who has an ERA over 6.00.

Ward comes with multiple years of control, and won't become a free agent until after the 2026 season. The Pirates should be all over Ward. He's exactly what they need: a good and steady hitter who provides value with the glove and who isn’t strictly a one-year rental. This would be the perfect Reynolds replacement if they commit to their incumbent star at first base.

Andrew Nardi

The Pirates have no left-handed relievers under contract for next season. While they might have a good foundation in the pen, they need to build off of that. Miami Marlins lefty Andrew Nardi could potentially be on the market, and if he is, the Pirates should see what it would cost to acquire him via trade.

Nardi’s 5.07 ERA isn’t nearly as bad as it may seem. He has struck out exactly a third of his opponents with a walk rate of 8.6%. He has been somewhat prone to home runs, however, with a 1.26 HR/9 rate. Luckily, there are plenty of underlying statistics that paint him in an outstanding light.

Nardi has a 3.33 FIP and 3.36 xFIP, but he has a sub-3.00 SIERA (2.78) and xERA (2.75). He has an above-average 7.4% barrel rate, and is above the 90th percentile of xERA, xBA (.196), and chase rate (33.3%). Nardi has induced swings and misses just over 30% of the time, with a 31.1% whiff rate. He also has a career 107 Stuff+ rating.

Nardi’s high ERA is inflated by a .325 batting average on balls in play. The Pirates’ defense isn’t otherworldly, but it’s significantly better than the Marlins' unit. The Pirates have -12 defensive runs saved, -18 outs above average, and their catchers have +2.1 framing runs. Meanwhile, the Marlins have -30 DRS, -32 OAA, and +1.1 framing runs. Plus, the Pirates’ defense will be better if Oneil Cruz continues to look this good in center field, Reynolds moves to first base, and they bring in a better defender in left.

The most difficult part of making a trade with the Marlins might be convincing them to accept pitching prospects in a return package. 11 of their top prospects on MLB Pipeline are pitchers, and they had four pitchers make double-digit starts who were age-25 or younger this season. The Marlins seemed to put a high emphasis on young position players at the deadline. Of the 15 prospects they acquired during this year's trade deadline, only a third were pitchers. Of course, their tune may change by this offseason, and the Pirates do have some young position players they could deal from, besides Termarr Johnson or Konnor Griffin.

Nardi doesn’t become a free agent until after the 2028 season. If the Pirates opt to scour the trade market for a lefty arm, then Nardi would present the best option, assuming the Marlins are willing to sell him. He has good numbers and control well beyond 2025, giving them someone who could be in the bullpen for quite some time.

Andrew Vaughn

The alternative to leaving Reynolds in left field would be to find a first baseman. Andrew Vaughn of the Chicago White Sox would present a decent option to turn to. His first two months of the year were not good. At the end of May, he was batting a meager .199/.264/.313 with a .257 wOBA and 64 wRC+. He hit just four homers in his first 220 plate appearances, with an isolated slugging of .114. Since that line of demarcation, Vaughn has turned his season around.

He is slashing .276/.321/.471 with a .340 wOBA and 121 wRC+ since the start of June. Although Vaughn hasn’t walked much and has a 6.4% BB%, he has cut his strikeout rate below 20% at 19.4%. Vaughn has hit his power stride, going yard 15 times in his last 361 plate appearances, and has a .195 isolated slugging percentage.

Vaughn’s underlying numbers are also very promising. He has made quality contact with a 90.3 MPH exit velo (70th percentile) and a 9.9% barrel rate (67th percentile). Along with making good contact, he hasn’t swung and missed very often, with a 22% whiff rate. Vaughn has an above-average .330 xwOBA (60th percentile) and xSLG% of .466 (79th percentile). Most of these numbers are career bests or near career bests for the first baseman.

Notably, Vaughn’s first base defense is not good. He has -3 defensive runs saved and -9 outs above average this season. He has some experience in the outfield, but he was even worse there, having -19 DRS and -23 OAA in less than 1,500 innings. Plus, he hasn’t played the outfield since 2022.

Even if the Pirates leave Reynolds in left field, both Vaughn and Ward should be trade targets. Ward can play the other outfield corner, while Vaughn can be the Pirates’ next first baseman. Vaughn is controlled through 2026, and the White Sox will likely be willing to listen to any and all trade proposals for their players.

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3 Pirates offseason trade targets

Taylor Ward

Andrew Nardi

Andrew Vaughn

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