Pirates 2024 Trade Deadline: Winners and losers from the NL Central

The 2024 MLB trade deadline has come and gone, the dust has begun to settle, and we can now begin to debate all the moves. Which teams overpaid? Which got fleeced? Which misread the market? Which did absolutely nothing to improve their rosters?

There are a myriad of ways to evaluate each team's performance at the trade deadline, taking into account team needs, positional depth, payroll restrictions, available players, and organizational goals. At the end of the day, though, context is key. A team addressing its needs at the trade deadline is one thing, but how much did that team improve (or not) relative to its closest competitors?

As the Pittsburgh Pirates set their sights on (hopefully) competing for a spot in the postseason, let's take a closer look at how their respective trade deadline moves measured up against those of their division rivals in the NL Central.

Deadline winners: Pirates, Cardinals

That's right, your Pittsburgh Pirates are in the W column. But again, it's all relative. The deals they got in trading for hitters aren't exactly knocking anyone's socks off, but they desperately needed an offensive jolt, and they got one.

Bryan De La Cruz brings raw power to the lineup while also allowing Connor Joe to move back into a platoon role at first base that suits him better than being an everyday starter in the outfield. Isiah Kiner-Falefa can play literally anywhere on the diamond, and he exponentially raises the floor of an otherwise below-average batting order.

Did the Pirates improve enough at the deadline to reach the playoffs? Potentially no. But they did improve, and for purposes of this exercise, that makes them a winner in our book.

The St. Louis Cardinals may have been the NL Central's biggest winners overall, though, after taking part in a three-team trade that filled two of their most pressing needs at a very low cost. They landed pitcher Erick Fedde, outfielder Tommy Pham, a PTBNL from the Los Angeles Dodgers, and cash. They lost Tommy Edman (who hasn't played all year due to injury) and a prospect, and the addition of Pham allowed them to trade Dylan Carlson for Tampa Bay Rays reliever Shawn Armstrong. Well played, Birds. But let's see if that helps you gain an edge on the Bucs.

Deadline losers: Cubs, Brewers, Reds

The Chicago Cubs didn’t do much of anything, which wasn't a total surprise considering that President of Baseball Operations Jed Hoyer had said earlier in the month that they would not be buyers and instead shift their focus to 2025. But while they weren't buyers, they also didn't have the true "seller" mentality that you might expect from a team in last place. The rumors that the Cubs could unload veteran starter (and former Pirate) Jameson Taillon or MVP Cody Bellinger didn't end up coming to fruition, which also isn't surprising if Hoyer wants to be competitive sooner rather than later. Not only that, adding Isaac Paredes and a couple of Yankees prospects didn't exactly blow the doors off for the future.

The first-place Milwaukee Brewers were hungry for pitching, and while they did add arms at the deadline, it's hard to imagine Frankie Montas and Aaron Civale being overly impactful for a team fighting for a division title and hoping to make a playoff run. The addition of Nick Mears gives them some bullpen depth, so there's that. None of these were bad trades for Milwaukee; they were just kind of boring. It feels like this club could've done more.

Finally, the Cincinnati Reds appeared to forget that the trade deadline was this week. They made a move to acquire outfielder Austin Slater from the San Francisco Giants in early July then proceeded to do nothing until the final minutes before the deadline, when they ... flipped Slater to the Baltimore Orioles. They also traded Lucas Sims, picked up recently-DFA'd Ty France, and sent Montas to the Brewers. The Reds sit smack in the middle of the NL Central and, based on these moves (or lack thereof), they appear content to remain there. They're set up nicely for the future, but none of those deals seemed to have helped the bigger picture either.

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