The Pittsburgh Pirates are in full rebuild mode, to no one's surprise, and while they are in the midst of a lengthy losing streak, it only strengthens what many knew for awhile, this team would look much different after the trade deadline than it did before. The Pirates have had numerous players emerge as trade candidates at the trade deadline, ranging from Jacob Stallings to Richard Rodriguez, but one player has been consistent all season at the plate and defensively, and that's 2B/utility man Adam Frazier. At the time of writing, Frazier currently sits with a .324/.386/.458 slash line while also being near the top in the league in both hits and doubles. While Frazier has been sensational for the Pirates, his age and contract don't fit what many believe to be the timeline the Pirates are on to contend once again, as he is currently 29 years old and under team control through 2022. Frazier is easily the Pirates best trade piece, but what parties could be interested in acquiring Frazier, virtually bolstering their team's batting average and acquiring a player who will get on base very often? Well, here are some realistic trade ideas for Frazier and the Pittsburgh Pirates. Pirates Trade Adam Frazier to A's for C Kyle McCann(No. 16), RHP Miguel Romero(No. 24) and OF Michael Guldberg(No. 28) This trade is more for quantity rather than quality, but the Athletics should be a team to watch in the Frazier sweepstakes. Jed Lowrie and Elvis Andrus currently man the middle infield for the A's, and while both aren't having amazing seasons, their defense has kept them as starters for now. Where the Athletics need help is the corner outfield spots, an area where Frazier has played a ton over his career, 155 career starts in the outfield, with Stephen Piscotty struggling from the plate and defensively this season. The Athletics making this move would be huge towards their aspirations of winning the AL West without having to give up any top level prospects. For the Pirates, the return is solid, getting a bat first catcher in Kyle McCann(AA), which would help with the potential of a Jacob Stallings trade or bolstering the farm system at the catcher spot behind him. They also acquire Miguel Romero, a right handed pitcher who could make an immediate impact as he is waiting on a call-up. He has only seen 12.2 IP with a scary 9+ ERA, but Romero has a career 4.50 ERA in the minors and has developed a changeup to his arsenal, making him much more lethal on the bump. The final piece is another project in the outfield in the form of Michael Guldberg, a 21-year old OF who never hit below .355 in his collegiate time at Georgia Tech and is currently hitting .286 at A+ Lansing. He is scouted to be able to play all three outfield spots and is considered an old school player, being compared to Chris Taylor at times with plenty of time to develop. Pirates Trade Adam Frazier to the Bronx for OF Estevan Florial(No. 10) and C Antonio Gomez(No. 21) The New York Yankees have been a rollercoaster this season, dealing with a pitching staff that hasn't been consistent outside of Gerrit Cole and along with that, the injury to Luke Voit has forced star 2B DJ Lemahieu to move around the infield. Those are concerning for the Yankees, but the biggest concern so far has been their left-handed hitting, due to the fact that they virtually don't have any. On Sunday, the Yankees lineup featured eight right-handed hitters, with OF Brett Gardner being the exception. Gardner is usually a decent hitter on the left side, but this season his average is well below average as he is hitting .218. That just won't get it done for the Yankees, who are currently in fourth place in the AL East after being considered the best team in the division, maybe even the league, before the season began. Enter Frazier, who would become a notable left-handed bat in the lineup for the Yankees, giving them a versatile player who is hitting the baseball well unlike most of the lineup and his $4.3 million salary is virtually pennies on the dollar for the Bronx Bombers. The Yankees have a solid farm system, one GM Ben Cherington already dug into with the Jameson Taillon trade in the offseason. This time, Cherington takes a stab at OF Estavan Florial, the Yankees 10th ranked prospect who could make an immediate impact for the Pirates and option Ka'ai Tom and give the Buccos an outfield of Florial, Reynolds and Polanco. Florial is a 23-year old lefty hitter with some serious pop and defensive ability with his athleticism and speed. In 2021 so far, Florial has one hit as a Major League player and a .202 average in the minors, but he is a career .268/.348/.437 for the Yankees in the minors. His power and speed could help the Pirates in both areas a ton and give the Pirates another young outfielder to test the waters with. The Pirates also acquire catcher Antonio Gomez here, who is the number 21 ranked prospect for the Yankees. Currently in rookie ball, the 19-year old has plenty of time to develop, with his main strengths being arm strength and power, and a fun development about him, he speaks fluent English and Spanish, making communication with pitchers that much better. Gomez would be a project, but one worth taking a shot at. As for the Yankees, Frazier could or could not improve the Yankees offense, but its also a shot worth taking for a team that desperately needs to compete in the AL. Bucs Deal Frazier to White Sox for Top-Ranked Prospect Jared Kelly
Now I won't lie to you here, I have seen this deal on multiple forums and articles, and boy oh boy do I love the idea of this. White Sox 2B Nick Madrigal is now out for the season for Chicago, leaving them scrambling for a new option at the position. Frazier fits in perfectly here for the White Sox, who currently lead the AL Central and have fully cemented themselves as a prime candidate to compete in October for the AL crown. Danny Mendick is currently the White Sox option at 2B, with the option of Yoan Moncada moving to second an option as well, but I am sure the White Sox would rather keep him at 3B. Frazier is the best replacement option for the White Sox right now, making it clear they could have interest in acquiring him at the trade deadline, and with the Yankees and other teams interested, this ups the price significantly. Enter top prospect Jared Kelly. Kelly is the top prospect for the White Sox, but behind him are four other right-handed pitchers that are currently in the top-10 in Chicago's farm system, so moving on from their top prospect could be dicey, but with their window being very much alive, it's a risk I think the White Sox could take, A 2020 second round pick for the White Sox, Kelly possesses all the tools to be a solid pitcher at the big league level, and at age 19, he has so much time to harness those tools and become a solid starter. Kelly possessed arguably the best changeup in the 2020 draft and has some solid command with his fastball, pounding the strike zone consistently and with some power due to his 6-foot-3 frame. This is a one-for-one deal, but one that helps both teams. I would think Kelly easily emerges as a top-10 prospect in the Pirates system and grows through the system quickly, with an ETA at 2023, where he would only be 21-years old. Frazier of course fills a noticeable hole in the White Sox lineup as they move towards their quest of a World Series crown in October. Whether the Pirates decide to trade or hang on to Frazier, the decision will benefit them in very different ways, but trading him affects them more for the future while retaining him helps a team with no shot at the postseason for a couple years. Expect Frazier to be dealt before the deadline or the upcoming offseason and expect Cherington to capitalize on his value at the right time, which is now.
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I haven't written a Pittsburgh Pirates story in a very long time but check on Locked On Pirates, my daily podcast on the team on the Locked On Podcast Network, I have been backing what general manager Ben Cherington has done since he began his tenure in 2019.
Going into this season, the Pirates were supposed to be a 110 loss dumpster fire and at the time of writing, the Pirates are 12-11 and have a real shot of being over .500 going into the month of May and not too many people in baseball would've expected this after the Pirates faced the Cubs, Padres, Brewers and Twins in this span. The Pirates of course are not a contender, it's April, but making strides with a hot first month rather than what appeared to be a horrible season ahead after a 1-6 start makes a rebuild a ton easier for both Cherington and manager Derek Shelton. So why has this team been competitive and been able to place themselves in this position? Well, not too many people around baseball could name three players in the Pirates bullpen. Well, let me introduce you to what is arguably a top-10 bullpen in the entire league right now. Richard Rodriguez is the clear and obvious best bullpen arm the Pirates have. There were questions as if he or someone else would take over the closing role, but after facing 33 batters so far and only allowing two base runners and zero earned runs on the season, I think it is clear that Rodriguez is the closer and a top-five closer at that in all of baseball. Rodriguez is unstoppable right now and could be a major trade piece for the Buccos come trade deadline time, but another arm that hasn't give up an ER this season is Kyle Crick. Crick had a rough 2019, but surprisingly in 2020, Crick's ERA was below two in seven appearances and along with his 0.00 ERA, Crick has only allowed one hit in eight appearances with seven strikeouts and 4 walks, so he has become a solid set-up man for Rodriguez and improved a ton since his rough 2019 season. The young arms have also been solid as well and Pirates fans should definitely get familiar with David Bednar, Luis Oviedo and Duane Underwood Jr. Bednar is a Pittsburgh native with nasty stuff, Underwood Jr. has looked good as well and threw eight pitches in one inning in the win against the Royals on Monday and Oviedo is a Rule 5 pick who before this year never pitched above Single A baseball and all three have contributed to what has been a stellar start for the bullpen arms. Combining the entire bullpen together, since April 8, the Pirates bullpen currently has a 1.75 ERA, the best number in the National League and remind yourself that includes games against solid opposition in San Diego, Minnesota and Milwaukee. Now, don't let me fool you, it is still early and I doubt the bullpen could keep this impressive run up forever, but if they can even remotely stay around this form going into June and July, the Pirates could have the promise of being one of the more surprising teams in the past ten years, and a large thanks has to go to the bullpen. In the middle of a full scale rebuild, it is always noteworthy when you can add young talent, be it the First Year Player Draft or the International Signing period.
The Pittsburgh Pirates made a splash once again, signing 16 year old outfielder Shalin Polanco, further stamping their mark during the International Signing period and adding more young talent to a system that has improved over the past calendar year. Polanco obviously won't be in the majors for a good while, but his play at such a young age saw the Pirates spend some cash they haven't spent on an international player since 2010. As of now, Polanco is the number 11 international prospect in baseball according to MLB Pipeline and with an all-around skillset that features positives on both the offensive and defensive side of the baseball, Polanco should improve as he progresses through his young career. The left-hander reportedly has a very fluid swing and many project him to mostly be a power hitter as his 6 foot, 175 pound build continues to grow over time. MLB.com's overview of Polanco on the 20-80 grading scale gave him some nice figures off the bat, ranking his speed at 60 and his hitting at 55, both good numbers for a 16 year old. This means Polanco could turn out to be a solid defensive, power hitting outfielder at the big league level. But why is this good for the Pirates? What does this signing do for the team? As of right now, absolutely nothing. Polanco won't see the field for some time unless he becomes a generational prospect, but adding talent like Polanco and the pitching talent the team has acquired in trades means GM Ben Cherington is laying the blueprint for what he wants his team to look like. Since the Starling Marte trade, the Pirates have added Brennan Malone(8th), Liover Peguero(5th), Eddy Yean(7th), Nick Gonzales(1st), Carmen Mlodinski(9th) and saw the emergence of Ke'Bryan Hayes. The team is in a rebuild, but the pieces keep adding up to a team that could contend in two or three years, and honestly, this might be the best built farm system the Pirates have had since Andrew McCutchen highlighted the minor leagues a decade ago. For us Pirates fans, it is hard to be patient, but with signings like Polanco and acquiring more and more young talent, the only direction Cherington and the Buccos can go is up. |
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