Pittsburgh Pirates: Ben Cherington's Top 3 Trades Thus Far

May 26, 2023; Seattle, Washington, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates center fielder Jack Suwinski (65) hits a
May 26, 2023; Seattle, Washington, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates center fielder Jack Suwinski (65) hits a / Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports
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No. 2 - Dauri Moreta Trade

Cherington's second best trade during his time in Pittsburgh was this past offseason. Cherington traded for relief pitcher, Dauri Moreta from the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for Kevin Newman. A lot of fans were just glad that Newman was no longer on the team and didnt pay too much attention on what they got back in return. However, Moreta has been one of the best relief pitchers in baseball this season.

When doing some more research on Moreta, I noticed he was better than what his 2022 stats were showing. From July 10th to the end of the 2022 season, Moreta allowed only 2 earned runs in 16.2 innings pitched, striking out 14 batters and allowing only four walks during that span.

That has carried over to the 2023 season.

Moreta has a three pitch mix. He has a mid 90's fastball, a changeup that sits around 86mph and a slider that averages around 84mph. His slider is his strike out pitch and throws it 58.7% of the time. He has struck out 29 batters so far this season with the slider and also has a 45.9% whiff rate with that particular pitch. Oppenents batting average against his fastball is .172, his chaneup is .167, and his slider is .121 on the season. He has basicaly been untouchable coming out of the bullpen for the Pirates.

On the season, Dauri Moreta has an ERA of 1.84 in 29.1 innings pitched with 41 strikeouts and a WHIP under 1.00. He has been a dimaond in the rough for this bullpen and is one of the main reasons why this team is above .500 in June. This has been one of the best trades so far in Cherington's time as Pirate general manager.