4 players the Pittsburgh Pirates should acquire using their pitching talent

The Pittsburgh Pirates should try to use the copious amount of pitching talent they've built up to acquire Major League-proven hitters. The Bucs will likely have Jared Jones, Paul Skenes, and Mitch Keller penciled into three of the rotation spots for the foreseeable future. They will also have Mike Burrows return during the second half of this year after recovering from Tommy John surgery, along with Johan Oviedo, who will likely return from his own Tommy John surgery in 2025. Plus, they have Quinn Priester on the 40-man roster, who looks like he could turn into a solid #4-#5 type starter.

The minor leagues have even more talented arms. Bubba Chandler, Anthony Solometo, Thomas Harrington, and Braxton Ashcraft are all part of Double-A Altoona's roster (Harrington is on a rehab assignment but will get sent back to Altoona once he builds up). Hunter Barco is likely on the verge of joining them. Then you have a handful of high school-aged arms at A-Ball and lower, like Michael Kennedy, Jun-Seok Shim, and Zander Mueth. There are a handful of other names that aren't listed on most prospect lists that are worth watching, too.

This could become a good problem, but a problem nonetheless. While it would be unreasonable for any team to make every single one of their prospects good or expect them to all be starters, the Pirates already have three rotation spots potentially filled and will have three more starters on the 40-man roster healthy by the start of next season, and have a myriad of others that are going to be on the Pirates' Major League door. Now would be the best time for the Pirates to use some of this talent to fix the holes in the lineup.

Gavin Sheets

First base has been an issue the Pirates haven't been able to solve since Kevin Young retired. With their current pitching depth, they could find their next first baseman on the trade market. One guy who could be available is Chicago White Sox OF/1B Gavin Sheets. The Pirates should see what it would take to pry the lefty slugger from the White Sox, who will likely put everyone on their trading table come June.

After a strong first impression in 2021, Sheets struggled in both 2022 and 2023. However, Sheets looks like he's found something that's worked for him and has been great to start the 2024 season. Through 123 plate appearances, he is batting .262/.360/.449. Sheets is walking at a career-high 11.2% rate with a career-low 18.2% strikeout percentage. He's also hitting for some pop with three home runs, 11 doubles, and a .187 isolated slugging percentage. Sheets currently holds a .358 wOBA and 132 wRC+.

So why is this small sample size potentially the real Gavin Sheets and not his 82 wRC+ in 2022-2023? Well, first, Sheets has a 43.5% sweet spot rate, which means he is in the 95th percentile of hitting the optimal launch angle. His 90.1 MPH exit velo is also above average. He is swinging and missing, along with chasing outside the zone slightly less frequently than in previous seasons, but his xwOBA is .367, a massive step forward from .267 the year prior.

Sheets is a horrible defensive corner outfielder. He has 1412.1 innings in the grass with -16 defensive runs saved and -10 outs above average. But he can also play first base. This was his primary position throughout the minor leagues. Defensive metrics haven't been super kind to Sheets' work at first, but they're significantly better than in the outfield, and he's yet to play it consistently in the Majors. He has less than 400 innings at first over the course of nearly four campaigns.

One major positive is that Sheets is affordably controllable for the next handful of seasons. He doesn't become a free agent until after the 2027 campaign. That gives him the rest of this season, along with three more full seasons. If the White Sox make Sheets available in trade, the Pirates should jump on the opportunity. It solves first base for a handful of seasons and could give them their first decent 1B in quite some time.

Taylor Ward

Taylor Ward is one of the Los Angeles Angels outfielders, but the Halos might be willing to listen to any of their arbitration-eligible players. Ward is a solid corner outfield who brings some power. He's someone the Pirates should definitely look into if the Angels are willing to part with the outfielder.

Ward hit .265/.346/.449 with a 121 wRC+ in the three seasons prior to 2024. He's off to another good start as he's currently slashing .273/.307/.469 through 153 plate appearances. Ward is hitting for a good amount of power. He's already slugged seven home runs with an ISO of .196, which is currently a career-best. Ward's 21.6% strikeout rate isn't out of the ordinary for him, but his 5.6% walk rate is. The last three seasons saw Ward draw ball four in 9.8% of his plate appearances.

Ward might be taking a different approach, but it's working well. He could be even better than he already is. The slugger is above the 80th percentile of both exit velocity (91.6 MPH) and barrel rate (13.4%). He has registered a .293 xBA, .541 xSLG%, and a .377 xwOBA, all three of which are much higher than his current batting average, slugging percentage, and weighed on-base average. 

Ward typically grades out as a decent right fielder. So far this year, he has +1 defensive run saved and out above average. In his two prior seasons, he had just -2 DRS and +4 OAA between all three outfield positions. Plus, he consistently registers average to above-average arm strength numbers.

I am all aboard for the Pirates to go after Ward. The one downside is that Ward doesn't have a lot of control remaining. He becomes a free agent after the 2026 season. But he'd be worth the two-and-a-half seasons. If Ward is on the trading block during this summer, the Pirates should look into acquiring him and trade some of the arms in the system.

Bryan De La Cruz

The Miami Marlins have already sold off one of their top players, that being infielder Luis Arraez. He was traded to the San Diego Padres earlier this month. With the way the Marlins are playing this year, he'll likely not be the last fish out the door. Another notable Marlins player who might get traded is outfielder/designated hitter Bryan De La Cruz.

De La Cruz posted about league average numbers from 2021-2023 but has looked much better this season. The 27-year-old is batting .269/.315/.469 with a .345 wOBA, and 112 wRC+. De La Cruz has never been one to draw many walks, and his 6.5% BB% falls in line with his career average. So does his 25% strikeout rate. 

But he is hitting for a lot more power. He already has eight home runs in 168 plate appearances. He hit all of 19 last season in 626 trips to the plate. De La Cruz has a .205 isolated slugging percentage. He is posting a career-high launch angle of 12.8 degrees, which has helped lead to another career high in barrel rate at 13% and in the top 87th percentile. 

Barrel rate isn't the only reason De La Cruz might continue to do well or improve. His expected slugging percentage is .542, which clocks into the 96th percentile. His expected batting average is .289, while his xwOBA is .372. These are all above the 85th percentile among all qualified players.

While De La Cruz has a lot of potential with the bat, his defense hasn't been nearly as strong. He has over 550 innings at all three outfield positions throughout his career and has combined for just -6 DRS and -12 OAA. So far this year, the Marlins have split his playing time between designated hitter and left field.

Still, the bat is what you're buying into with Bryan De La Cruz, and it's a good stick. He also doesn't become a free agent until after 2027, so he has over three seasons of control left. De La Cruz is someone who could provide a lot of power for the Pirates, even if his glove isn't great.