Years and years ago, before I was a sports writer, and before I started this site, the MLB Trade Deadline was one of my favorite sports-related events.
Even today, after running this site for 16 Pittsburgh Pirates trade deadlines, there is some magic on deadline day.
We are all, as human beings, looking for some sort of validation in our thoughts. Sports provides one of the rare special realms of objectivity. You can’t say “fake news” to the fact that the Pittsburgh Pirates are currently 55-52. You can’t dismiss the home runs the last two nights from Michael A. Taylor as occurring in an alternate reality. In a subjective world, sports provides glimpses of true objectivity.
Now, we can all debate Taylor’s season to date, or project out what to expect in the final two months of the season. Likewise, we can ask if the Pirates are contenders, or if they’ll continue to look like contenders down the stretch. That’s part of the fun of sports. It’s dipping into the objective, only to quickly return to the subjectivity that we all live within, leading to debates to the death about a game that is ultimately meaningless.
But it does have some meaning. The trade deadline, for example, gives an opportunity to validate the subjective thoughts about a team.
If you thought the Pittsburgh Pirates were a contender this year, you’d likely be looking for signs of proof. That can come from any given win, but can be just as easily dismissed by any given loss. Following a full baseball season is not for the weak at heart.
The strongest affirmation of your subjective thoughts comes when the front office of a team takes action. If a team adds at the deadline, they confirm your belief that they are contenders. At least, you know that the people in charge agree with you about the future. And you can then embrace a little easier the elation that comes when you treat a subjective belief as if it’s objective.
Today, the Pittsburgh Pirates are objectively contenders. Don’t let anyone tell you different.
If the Pirates on the field are playing like they’re contenders, and if Manager Derek Shelton is making decisions like he wants to win, and if General Manager Ben Cherington makes trades to add to this team down the stretch, and if you believe that this team can contend — well, what conflicting subjective opinion from any naysayer really matters?
The Pirates added at the trade deadline. Derek Shelton is making moves to win. And the players are playing like contenders, about to receive a boost from the trades over the last two days.
It’s objectively a good time to be a fan of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Recapping the Trade Deadline
If you’re looking for my recap of the deadline moves, I wrote about 4,000 words in a column last night breaking down the overall approach.
Williams: The Pirates Upgraded at the Trade Deadline, Without Using Money or Prospects
A rundown of the moves the Pirates made:
- Pirates Trade Two Prospects For Bryan De La Cruz
- Pirates Trade For Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Sending Charles McAdoo to Toronto
- Pirates Trade Martin Perez to the Padres
- Pirates Trade Patrick Reilly to Baltimore For Billy Cook in a Prospect-Only Deal
- Pirates Trade RHP Quinn Priester to the Red Sox For Infield Prospect Nick Yorke
- Williams: Now and Later — The Quinn Priester/Nick Yorke Trade
- Pirates Trade LHP Luis Peralta For LHP Jalen Beeks
- Pirates Trade For LHP Josh Walker
MLB Roster Moves
The Pirates made some corresponding roster moves ahead of Tuesday’s game, following all of the trade deadline additions.
New lefty reliever Jalen Beeks was added to the active roster, after being acquired on Monday.
The Pirates also purchased the contract of RHP Jake Woodford. They signed Woodford as depth at the start of June, and he’s pitched well for Indianapolis. In seven starts, Woodford had a 2.29 ERA in 35.1 innings, with a 37:5 K/BB. Martin Perez was originally scheduled to pitch on Wednesday, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Woodford get that start.
RHP Carmen Mlodzinski was placed on the 15-day injured list. RHP Daulton Jefferies was transferred to the 60-day IL, which created a roster spot for Woodford.
According to Noah Hiles of the Post-Gazette, Jared Jones threw a bullpen, going two innings and 38 pitches. This is a good sign for Jones, who could return at some point in August.
Expect more moves throughout the week as the other trade additions are added to the active roster.
Minor League Promotions
It was a busy day for promotions in the minor league system. The highlight was Thomas Harrington getting promoted to Indianapolis, which was reported by Jarrod Prugar of the Altoona Mirror.
Harrington is a guy who I’m glad the Pirates didn’t trade. I think he’s a top 100 prospect right now, and one of the best pitching prospects the Pirates have in their pitching-rich system. He lacks the elite fastball of a Bubba Chandler or a Braxton Ashcraft, but Harrington stands out for his elite ability to pitch, along with the movement and command of his pitches.
If you’re dreaming about Chandler becoming a Paul Skenes, and Ashcraft becoming a Jared Jones, then you should definitely be dreaming of Harrington becoming a Mitch Keller. He lacks a single elite pitch, but he’s got enough quality offerings, excellent control and command, and the cerebral approach to successfully use all of his pitches to get results. The Pirates are loaded with pitching talent for the foreseeable future, and Harrington moves a step closer to the group in Pittsburgh with this move.
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The Florida Complex League season ended on Monday, with the Pirates losing in the finals to the Tigers. On Tuesday, they promoted six players to Single-A Bradenton. Those players, and their 2024 FCL results:
- RHP Zander Mueth: 1.58 ERA in 51.1 IP, 56:26 K/BB
- –Mueth was the 67th overall pick in last year’s draft, taken out of the prep ranks. The highlight of his season was a six start stretch where he allowed two runs in 30 innings, pitching five innings each time out. I’ve got an article coming up over at Baseball America on Mueth’s season.
- SS Yordany De Los Santos: .344/.407/.505, 5 HR, 24 SB
- –De Los Santos was aggressively pushed to Bradenton last year, and it didn’t go well at the plate. He did hit after being sent down to the FCL, but the improvements he made this year at the plate were next level. I’m looking forward to seeing what he can do in his return to Single-A, still in his age-19 season.
- SS Jhonny Severino: .291/.373/.545, 10 HR, 12 SB
- –Acquired last year at the deadline for Carlos Santana, Severino had a great season in the FCL, during his first extended time playing in the United States. The 19-year-old has power, while also showing speed and an ability to get on base.
- RHP Clevari Tejada: 4.98 ERA in 43.1 IP, 34:18 K/BB
- –The overall numbers from Tejada weren’t great, but he improved as the season went on, finishing with two earned runs in 9.2 innings in his final two games, after being moved into the rotation. The 19-year-old was signed by the Pirates in April 2023.
- RHP Greiber Mendez: 3.52 ERA in 30.2 IP, 32:17 K/BB
- –Mendez got the call to Bradenton earlier in the year as a depth option. He pitched consistently well out of the FCL bullpen in extended relief, in his first season in the U.S. after spending three years in the DSL.
- RHP Noah Takacs: 6.20 ERA in 24.2 IP, 22:14 K/BB
- –An undrafted free agent from last summer, Takacs spent his 2023 season on the injured list. He made his debut in the FCL this year, pitching as a late inning reliever, with improved strikeout numbers as the season progressed.
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Left-handed pitcher Hunter Barco was placed on the 7-day injured list in Altoona with a leg injury. He was removed from his last start in the second inning, and it’s a good sign that it wasn’t an arm injury that put him out. Barco has been one of the best development stories in the system this year. I wrote about his development for Baseball America last month.
The Pirates assigned RHP Brad Case and LHP Cy Nielson to Altoona. They sent RHP Mike Walsh from Bradenton to Greensboro. All of these moves adjust the depth for a system that was just shaken up a bit at the deadline.
In other injury news, minor league veteran RHP Chris Gau was placed on the 7-day IL for Altoona, while LHP Tyler Samaniego was transferred to the 60-day IL with an elbow injury.
Pirates Win Again
The Pirates beat the Astros 6-2, improving to 55-52 on the season. They’re now 1.5 games back in the Wild Card race, and six games back in the NL Central.
I didn’t watch the game closely, as I was busy writing up my recap of the trade deadline. The highlights from the game for me:
- Bailey Falter had a great return from the injured list, allowing two runs, one earned, in 5.1 innings. The emergence of the lefty starter this year made it possible for the Pirates to move Quinn Priester and Martin Perez.
- Michael A. Taylor hit another big home run, launching a two-run shot in the sixth inning to put the game out of reach. One of the best defensive outfielders in the game, Taylor has quietly been heating up at the plate in the month of July. He’s batting .294/.375/.618 with three homers, including homers in the last two games that led to wins over the Astros.
- The bullpen had 3.2 shutout innings from Dennis Santana, Kyle Nicolas, and Hunter Stratton. All three are on impressive runs. Santana has an 0.66 ERA in 13.2 innings this month, along with a dominant 22:3 K/BB. Nicolas has an 0.93 ERA in 9.2 innings, with a 7:7 K/BB. He’s allowed one earned run in 14.2 innings since June 23rd. This was the first game back for Stratton, who had been on the injured list since June 13th. He’s had three big blowups this year, but has largely been a reliable reliever since Opening Day.
Draft Signing Deadline
The next deadline is the MLB Draft Signing Deadline, which is Thursday, August 1st at 5:00 PM EST.
The Pirates have yet to sign first round prep hitter Konnor Griffin. He’s got a slot price of about $6.2 million, and the Pirates could sign him without losing a future draft pick. I would expect him to sign.
There are four other picks who haven’t signed. I’d expect 11th round LHP Jacob Bimbi to sign, as he’s a college senior. RHP Brian Curley, taken in the 16th round out of VCU, might be a bit more difficult as a college sophomore. Outfielder Andrew Patrick, taken out of Wright State, could also choose to return to school for his junior year. One interesting twist is that the Pirates have already signed his Wright State teammate, RHP Jake Shirk, in the 18th round.
The most difficult day three pick to sign is probably 20th round prep RHP Taylor Penn. He’s got a commitment to Western Kentucky. The Pirates can only spend $150,000 on picks in rounds 11-20 before tapping into their bonus pool. They’d likely need to create some bonus pool space with the Griffin signing to have a shot at Penn, unless Penn just wants to start his pro career.
The Draft Pick Signing Tracker is updated with all of the signings and bonus information.
Pirates Prospect Watch
Aaron Shortridge made his latest start for Indianapolis, and looks like a sleeper depth option for a Pirates team that has plenty of pitching depth. Jase Bowen homered for Altoona. Esmerlyn Valdez hit his 15th homer for Bradenton, while Javier Rivas added his ninth to give the Marauders an extra inning win. Read about all of Tuesday’s minor league action in the latest Pirates Prospect Watch:
Pirates Prospect Watch: Don’t Sleep on Aaron Shortridge For MLB Pitching Depth
