Pittsburgh Pirates: Re-Analyzing Top Pitching Trade Targets

With new rumors and transactions since our last top Pirates starting pitching trade targets article was released, let's re-analyze who should be their top targets now in late-November.

Sep 11, 2023; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Tyler Glasnow (20)
Sep 11, 2023; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Tyler Glasnow (20) | Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports
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Number One
Freddy Peralta

Ken Rosenthal reported on November 9th that the Milwaukee Brewers are open to moving virtually any player on their roster. At the very least, that means that any and all veterans are on the block, potentially for a reasonable price. It would be foolish for the Pirates not to check in on at least some of them, but the one I would love the most is Freddy Peralta.

Peralta pitched to a quality 3.86 ERA, 3.85 FIP, and 1.12 WHIP in a career-high 165.2 innings. His IP total isn’t the only career best of his 2023 season. He also had a 7.9% walk rate, the first time he’s ever put up a sub-8% BB% in a season. Peralta struck out 30.9% of the batters he faced, albeit with a sub-par 1.41 HR/9.

However, Peralta could see his home run struggles diminish next season. He had just a 0.79 HR/9 from 2020-2022, along with an inflated 16% HR/FB ratio in 2023, in comparison to his ‘20-’22 HR/FB ratio of just 8.6%. The thing is, Peralta posted a career-high GB% of 41.7%, career-low FB% of 40%, and in the 78th percentile of exit velocity at 87.6 MPH.

Peralta is both young, with multiple years of control remaining. By the end of his contract, he will only be going into his age-31 season. Peralta is owed just $5,734,960 next season with two team options worth just $8 million each, with incentives reaching upwards of only $875K. Peralta may be the most expensive player on today’s list, in terms of what the Pirates would need to give up to acquire him. However, the Pirates need quality starters, and Peralta would be it.

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