Pittsburgh Pirates: Attempting to Predict the Rest of the Offseason

The Pirates acquire not one but two more pitchers

The Pirates will get another starting pitcher before the start of Spring Training, but I'm going to get a bit bold and say that not only will they get one pitcher, but two with the second one signing a much smaller deal. One will be via trade, and that will end up being Edward Cabrera, who I have gone on about multiple times this off-season. 

The Miami Marlins' Edward Cabrera is my top target. Cabrera had a 4.24 ERA, 4.43 FIP, and 1.44 WHIP. While the hard-throwing righty walked 15.2% of opponents, he also had a healthy 27.2% strikeout rate and 0.99 HR/9. Plus, with an above-average exit velocity (87.6 MPH), barrel rate (6.9%), and a ground ball rate well above 50% at 54.3%, Cabrera could see even more improvement next season.

I think the Marlins make the best fit. They need another middle infielder, and their top four relief pitchers on their depth chart are left-handed pitchers. The price, however, will not be cheap. Along with one of Nick Gonzales, Liover Peguero, or Jared Triolo, the Pirates could throw in Colin Holderman. That might be enough for them to pry Edward Cabrera from the Marlins. 

The second pitcher will be much less high-profile and might not even sign a guaranteed deal. The Pirates were recently connected to Noah Syndergaard, and I don't see him getting a Major League deal. Others like Brad Keller, Spencer Turnbull, and Matthew Boyd will also probably end up with minor league contracts. They'll be given a chance to earn a long-relief role in Spring, but a minor league contract allows the Pirates to send them to Triple-A.