Pittsburgh Pirates Add Pitching in Mock Trade with AL Central Team

One team actually lines up with the Pittsburgh Pirates really well for a potential trade. The American League Central is not far off from the National League Central, both are not very good divisions. The Chicago White Sox are 9 games under .500 and are not showing much signs of improvement.

One of the White Sox's biggest holes in their lineup is at the 2nd base position. Their current second baseman is Elvis Andrus who is hitting .194 on the season. Their younger option, Romy Gonzalez is not hitting much with an average of .208.

The Pittsburgh Pirates and Chicago White Sox could matchup on a trade centered around an infield prospect and a starting pitcher.

Why not. The one strength of the Chicago White Sox team is their starting rotation. They have 5 notable starters who have all had success at the Big League level. The pitcher to target when talking about a deal headlined by either Peguero or Gonzales would be Michael Kopech.

Now obviously it would take a bit of a package deal for Kopech. Kopech is a good starter who had a pretty rough start to the season which has his ERA at 4.33. However, since the beginning of May, his ERA is under 3. This is about on par for Kopech, who looks great at times then not so much at other times.

Kopech has put together a solid career so far. His ERA between 2021 and 2022 was a 3.52. Very respectable numbers. While those numbers are great there is a different story to be had. His FIP in 2021 was under 3 while in 2023 it was over 4.

The staff has always been there with Kopech. The 27-year-old has a fastball that can reach triple digits. The issue has been staying healthy but also consistent. We saw Mitch Keller, who has always had the stuff, struggle with consistency. Could the Pittsburgh Pirates bring in Michael Kopech and make a similar adjustment? He has the stuff to be successful.