The days of veteran leadership are over. The Pirates traded Rich Hill, Ji Man Choi, Austin Hedges, and Rodolfo Castro prior to the trade deadline. They had previously traded Carlos Santana.
- Pirates Trade Rich Hill and Ji Man Choi to the Padres
- Austin Hedges Traded to the Rangers
- Pirates Trade Rodolfo Castro to Phillies For LHP Bailey Falter
- Pirates Trade Carlos Santana to Milwaukee For Shortstop Jhonny Severino
The returns to these deals were a mix of upper level guys who could win some of the final spots on the team in 2024; two teenage hitters with plus power, and more international space.
Without the veteran presence, the young Bucs still managed a win against the Tigers after the deadline. Here’s a look at the players from the deals who could eventually join them in Pittsburgh.
UPPER LEVELS: MAJOR LEAGUERS WITH LIMITS
Bailey Falter, LHP – The Pirates added Falter for Castro, getting a lefty who could enter the rotation mix down the stretch. Falter creates deception with a long extension and angle to his pitches. His fastball/slider combo gives him the chance for two above-average to plus pitches. He’s got a chance for three average or better pitches.
Jackson Wolf, LHP – Wolf looks like a guy who could enter the development mix in the upper levels, hoping to claim one of the final rotation spots in the future. He’s 6′ 7″, but throws upper 80s/low 90s. His secondary stuff is ahead of the fastball. He could take a step forward if they could unlock his fastball velocity.
Alfonso Rivas, 1B – I feel like Rivas is the replacement candidate for first base this year. At the least, he will join the mix in Indianapolis, vying for that spot in the majors. He turns 27 in September, and he’s been hitting .332/.462/.582 with nine homers in Triple-A. This seems like a Miguel Andujar situation, where an older player is starting to hit, with the difference being Rivas is a first baseman and fills a Pirates need. He’ll get to show if this year’s offense is real.
ANALYSIS – It’s easy to compare the players returned to the players who were traded, though that’s not always an accurate approach. In this case, the Pirates traded a pending free agent first baseman and left-handed pitcher. They received a first baseman who might be able to develop into Choi-status, and two craft lefties that might be able to develop into Hill-status.
LOWEST LEVELS: ALL ABOUT DEVELOPMENT
Jhonny Severino, SS – The Pirates got Severino as the lone return for Santana, after the Brewers paid the infielder $1.23 million last January. Severino already homered in his debut with the FCL Pirates, showing off the plus power that makes the 18-year-old infielder one to follow.
Estuar Suero, OF – Suero was added as part of the Hill/Choi deal, and has a chance for plus power and plus speed. The 17-year-old needs work on his hit tool, though the power has been showing up for the 6′ 5″ switch-hitter. San Diego signed him last year for $325,000.
ANALYSIS – The Pirates landed two very young players with plus tools who would have cost them almost $1.6 million in bonuses about a year and a half ago. Nothing has changed with either player to reduce their value. At this point, the Pirates have two young players with power to develop.
INTERNATIONAL MONEY: THE CHANCE TO DEVELOP
Aside from adding two players who would have cost about $1.6 million last year, the Pirates traded Austin Hedges for international bonus pool space. There’s no word on the amount, but this will give the Pirates a chance to sign additional players prior to next January.
ANALYSIS – This is the same level of return the Pirates received for Jarrod Dyson two years ago.
OTHER ROSTER MOVES
- Ke’Bryan Hayes was activated from the injured list prior to the game, but did not start.
- Jason Delay was called up to replace Austin Hedges as the backup.
- Vinny Capra was added from Indianapolis. The shortstop was acquired from Toronto earlier this season for Tyler Heineman.
- Termarr Johnson, Nick Cimillo, and Will Matthiessen were promoted in the minors. Read more about the Pirates 2022 first rounder and all of the daily minor league moves.
QUICK PIRATES RECAP
The Pirates beat the Tigers 4-1.
Liover Peguero hit a two run homer to right, after Endy Rodriguez hit an RBI triple to deep center. There wasn’t much else that Johan Oviedo needed, with the right-hander throwing seven innings of one run ball.
David Bednar got the save for the Pirates, which is a nice thing to type after the trade deadline.
New leaders will emerge from this team over the final two months.
DAILY VIDEO RUNDOWN
Jackson Wolf doesn’t have the most electric stuff, but he’s got a lot of movement on his delivery, and a tough arm slot and pitch angle to deal with. This was his first strikeout in a spot start at the end of last month.
First @MLB strikeout for JacKson Wolf
Bailey Falter also has some deception to his delivery from the left side, as shown here by Pitching Ninja.
Bailey Falter, K'ing the Side (and sword) ⚔️ pic.twitter.com/ITsiJHWs2N
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) April 13, 2023
What really stands out is his extension, captured by Cespedes Family BBQ.
Bailey Falter the king of extension just dropping the ball into the catchers mitt pic.twitter.com/5UJGVcx6Et
— Céspedes Family BBQ (@CespedesBBQ) February 17, 2023
The next home run Alfonso Rivas hits at PNC Park will not be his first. In fact, Rivas was a Pirates destroyer all year in 2022, including this grand slam on June 22nd.
First career grand slam for Alfonso Rivas! pic.twitter.com/u7iJ18ih1e
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) June 23, 2022
Speaking of players who have experience hitting home runs at PNC Park, Liover Peguero continues to show the power to clear the right field wall.
Peggy bomb
AROUND THE SYSTEM
With very little minor league action on Monday, I recapped the Players of the Week, with Jared Jones being the standout last week.
INDIANAPOLIS
Miguel Andujar keeps hitting for Indianapolis, picking up five RBIs in their 7-5 victory. They had a bullpen game today, led by Duane Underwood Jr. and Kyle Nicolas.
ALTOONA
Altoona won on a walk off walk by outfielder Connor Scott. They also added LHP Jackson Wolf to their pitching staff with today’s trades.
GREENSBORO
Thomas Harrington was the player of the day in the system, after striking out 11 batters in seven innings of work. The right-handed pitcher was drafted with the 36th overall pick last year.
BRADENTON
The Pirates saw a few debuts from their 2023 draft class in Bradenton today, including third round pick Garret Forrester.
ROOKIE LEVELS
Michael Kennedy, last year’s 4th rounder out of the prep ranks, threw five shutout innings with eight strikeouts and no walks in the FCL. The lefty was one of the players featured in today’s Prospect Watch.
Check out all of Tuesday’s minor league action below.
Prospect Watch: Thomas Harrington Fans 11, Michael Kennedy Five Shutout
SONG OF THE DAY
I am an arms dealer
Fitting you with weapons in the form of words
And don’t really care, which side wins
Long as the room keeps singing
That’s just the business I’m inThis ain’t a scene; it’s a goddamned arms race…
