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Pittsburgh Pirates: Ben Cherington's Top 3 Trades Thus Far
Ben Cherington has made plenty of trades during his time in Pittsburgh, but these 3 trades have stood out among all others. Here are Cherington's top 3 trades thus far with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
No. 3 - Joe Musgrove Trade
One of Ben Cherington's first, but best trades was a 3-way trade with the San Diego Padres and New York Mets. The Pittsburgh Pirates traded Joe Musgrove, one of their best starting pitchers to the Padres in exchange for David Bednar, Hudson Head, Drake Fellows, and Omar Cruz. The New York Mets traded Endy Rodriguez to the Pirates to acquire pitcher, Joey Lucchesi from the Padres.
At first this seemed like bad deal for the Pirates because Cherington traded away one of their best starting pitchers to make this all happen. However, Rodriguez is now considered one of the best prospects in Major League Baseball, while Bednar is one of the top closers in the game.
Rodriguez's first season in the Pirate system was very good. He slashed .294/.380/.512 and had 15 home runs in Low-A. In his second season, he moved up three levels and slashed a combined .323/.407/.590 and had 25 home runs. This year he started out slow with Triple-A Indy, but has been on a tear as of late. He is on a 10 game hitting streak batting .372 with two doubles, a triple, and four walks.
Bednar was named an All-Star in 2022 with the Pittsburgh Pirates and finshed with a 2.61 ERA. He also finshed with 19 saves during that year. 2023 may be his best season yet, becasue now he has pieces around him to help his work load. So far, he has a 1.78 ERA with already 14 saves. The most impressive thing about Bednar this season is that he has only allowed one walk in 25.1 innings pitched. Pirates fans have to give Cherington a lot of credit with the addition to Bednar. He has been a great find.
With Bednar and Rodriguez in this trade, it definitely qualifies to be in the top 3 trades made by Cherington during his time as general manager with the Pittsburgh Pirates. This trade is looking more and more promising as the days go by, but we still need to see if Rodriguez can be an above average player on the major league level. The reason why this is number 3 on the list is becasue they had to still trade away one of their best players to do it.
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.
No. 1 - Adam Frazier Trade
The best trade Ben Cherington has made during his time in Pittsburgh was dealing Adam Frazier and cash to the San Diego Padres in exchange for Jack Suwinski, ucupita Marcano, and Michell Miliano in July 2021.
Tucupita Marcano was the headliner in this trade. He was one of the top prospects in the Padres system at the time. He was only 21 years old when the trade happened, but was already in Triple-A with San Diego. He also saw action with the big league team. He was immediately put on Indianapolis' roster but struggled during his time here slashing just .230/.325/.279 in 45 games.
In 2022, he saw action on the big league team at the age of 22 where he continued to struggle. In 49 games in Pittsburgh he slashed .206/.256/.306 and looked like he was not ready for the big leagues. During the off-season he changed his approach and stance at the plate and has shown great imporvement. in 2023, he started the season in Triple-A where he played in just 11 games slashing .422/.458/.689 with a home run, a triple, and seven doubles before getting called up to Pittsburgh.
With Oneil Cruz going down with a fractured ankle, Marcano has stepped up and has taken the starting shortstop position. So far this season he is slashing .260/.311/.439 with three home runs, a triple, and 11 doubles in 47 games. He has played very well defensively and with his improvement at the plate, he looks like he is viable major league player.
Jack Suwinski was another piece in this deal that has been huge for the organization. The Pirates have been missing a power bat in their lineup for quite sometime. Suwinski has filled that void so far in his short time here.
In 2022, Suwinski made his major league debut with the Pirates and finshed his rookie season tied with the most homeruns among all qualified rookies in the NL with 19 in just 106 games. He did have his struggles however. He struckout 114 times and slashed .202/.298/.411 with an OPS of .709.
In his second year with Pittsburgh, he has been one of the best hitters in the National League. In 55 games this season, he is slashing .244/.354/.517 with 13 home runs and eight doubles. He has walked 30 times this season which equates to a 14.6% walk rate. That is a 3.6% incease from last season. His strikeout % is still very high though. He is striking out 32% of the time this season, but if he can continue to show power and plate discipline, then it won't be as much of an issue. His OPS is currently at .871 and is the 17th highest in all of baseball.
With Marcano and Suwinski in this trade, it ranks as the best trade Ben Cherington has made as GM for the Pittsburgh Pirates. These three trades have been major impacts to the big league team and that is what you are looking for when it comes to rebuilding and making the franchise better for the future. The Pittsburgh Pirates are currently in first place in their division and have a lot of young talent in the wings. Maybe Cherington can make a few more deals that can top these trades in the future.
Next. Rising Pitching Prospects. 3 Pirate Pitching Prospects Trending Toward Top 100 Status. dark