Pirates Morning Report: All Star Break, Part Two

By vet4golfing51 on July 19, 2024

The Pirate broadcast booth, some on social media, and the written media are just downright giddy over the Pirates 4 game winning streak and getting to .500 at the All Star break. Derek Shelton says that the Pirates are playing better. The cold hard facts do not show that. Beginning today the reality check will begin. The Pirates are going on a 24 game stretch where they play 6 games at home, 6 games on the road, 6 games at home and 6 games on the road. They will play 3 games each against 2 of the best teams in the National League, the Phillies at home and the Dodgers on the road. The other 18 games are going to be against teams that currently have better records than the Pirates. The Pirates' home and road record is pretty much the same. There are 12 games before the trade deadline. Six at home against the Phillies and the Cardinals. Then they go on the road to face the Diamondbacks and the Astros. Losing something like 9 out of 12 is a distinct possibility with the team that they now have assembled. Shelton said recently that they are looking to add a bat. He did not say that there would be a player attached to that bat. Ben Cherrington said earlier that he felt the Pirates were going to fix their offensive issues from within the organization. The bottom line on all of this is, as usual, the Pirates will not be major players at the trade deadline. It will be a big surprise to me if they even make one trade. What is life if not to have some fun. Here is simply what I would do if I ran the Pirates.

Gone are Jack Suwinski and Jared Triolo to be replaced by Ji Hwan Bae and Liover Peguero. There are three blue chip names that are most likely on the trade block. Two of them for sure and the other one a definite maybe. Taking them in the order of most desirable for the Pirates. At the top of the list is Vladimir Guerrero Jr. His current OPS+ is 130 and that is after getting off to a very slow start. He would add a whole new dynamic to this team. He is under team control until 2025 and this guy stays on the field. The last 3 years he has played between 156 and 161 games. Next at a very close 2nd is A's closer Mason Miller. This would bolster the bullpen which right now sits at 22nd in baseball. Finally, another Oakland A Brent Rooker. The problem with him is that he is basically a DH. McCutchen has not exactly been chop liver at that position, but to think that he can play the field on a regular basis may be stretching things a bit. When Rooker has been out in the field he has been horrible. The Pirates do seem to get along with a mediocre right fielder and there is no question his bat is elite. If I ran the Pirates, I would make sure that I got two out of three. If this team is going to make the playoffs they need some huge upgrades in certain areas. You are not making the playoffs with the worst centerfielder and a bottom third right fielder. This trade deadline is tricky to say the least. There are only about 6 teams that are definitely sellers. The Blue Jays are not one of those teams. They are a borderline team, and they may not be in the selling mode. Getting the other 2 Oakland players would be just fine. It would take some bold strokes to pull this off, so it is unlikely to happen. Which is the same thing you can say about this organization making the playoffs this year, very unlikely. The next 12 games and the Pirate activity at the trade deadline may change my mind.