Perrotto: What Would It Take for Pirates to Land Outfielder?

The Pittsburgh Pirates are presumably buyers with the MLB trade deadline coming up Tuesday.

The Pirates are just two games out of the third and final National League wild-card berth despite a lackluster 53-52 record. In what was as close to a must-win game as can be in July, the Pirates edged the Arizona Diamondbacks 6-5 in 10 innings on Sunday in Phoenix.

It was difficult to determine where the Pirates stand in the market while listening to general manager Ben Cherington’s radio show on Sunday.

The Pirates might be buyers. Or they might be sellers. Then again, they might be both. Or maybe they won’t do anything, which seems to be a possibility after such outfielders as Randy Arozarena, Jesse Winker and Jazz Chisholm Jr. – all potentially good fits – were dealt to other teams in the last few days.

For the sake of this exercise, let’s assume the Pirates will try to address their No. 1 need by trading for an outfielder. Here is what it might take to land those outfielders, using the always-fun if not always accurate, trade simulator at baseballtradevalues.com

Brent Rooker

Rooker is having an outstanding year for the Oakland Athletics, hitting .296/.370/.587 with 25 home runs. A late bloomer at 29, the Athletics have three more years of contractual control of Rooker. So, they reportedly have a high price tag on him.

The trade simulator says the Pirates would have to give up two top prospects, right-hander Braxton Ashcraft and second baseman Termarr Johnson, for Rooker. Baseball America ranks Ashcraft as the Pirates’ third-best prospect and Johnson at No. 4.

The way the Pirates value prospects – perhaps overvalue them – it’s hard to imagine them parting with both players for Rooker.

Taylor Ward

Ward is also a late bloomer, still trying to gain traction in the major league at age 30 with the Los Angeles Angels, nine years after being their first-round draft. He has 16 home runs in 103 games this season but a nondescript .227/.309/.401 slash line.

The trade simulator says the Pirates would have to give up prospects Thomas Harrington, a right-handed pitcher, and Jack Brannigan, a third baseman. Both are in Baseball America’s top-10 Pirates prospects, Harrington at No. 5 and Brannigan at No. 7.

Ward won’t become a free agent until 2026 but it is hard to imagine Cherington agreeing to that deal.

Lane Thomas

Thomas is publicly being shopped by Washington Nationals GM Mike Rizzo, a rare move in today’s tightlipped baseball world. The 28-year-old Thomas is batting .253/.331/.407 with eight homers and 28 stolen bases after going deep 28 times last season.

Brannigan also comes up in the simulator’s potential trade package for Thomas with outfielder Matt Gorski. BA has Gorski rated as the Pirates’ No. 23 prospect.

The Pirates might consider doing that deal since Thomas cannot become a free agent until 2025. Yet I would not bet on it.

Bryan De La Cruz

The Pirates have been linked to De La Cruz from the Marlins after failing to land Chisholm, his former teammate. De La Cruz, 27, is hitting .245/.289/.417 with 18 homers in 105 games.

The simulator does not value De La Cruz highly. It believes an offer of two prospects, right-hander Zander Meuth and infielder Carlos Caro, could land De La Cruz. Meuth is No. 14 on BA’s list while Caro is 19 and playing in the Florida Complex League.

That’s a deal the Pirates might make because they need a power bat. What makes De La Cruz attractive to the Pirates, who are working with a limited budget, is that he has a $768,000 salary this season, doesn’t become eligible for arbitration until this upcoming winter and couldn’t become a free agent until 2027.

Tommy Pham

The Chicago White Sox are historically bad with their 27-81 record and would be willing to offload Pham, a 36-year-old journeyman with his eighth team since 2018. Pham is having a solid season with a .266/.330/.380 slash line, five homers and six stolen bases in 70 games.

The simulator says a straight-up trade of right-hander Jun-Seok Shim, the Pirates’ No. 28 prospect would land Pham. It would be interesting to see if Cherington would trade Shim, a South Korean who received a $750,000 signing bonus in 2023, for a rental player as Pham becomes a free agent again at the end of the season.

The guess here is Cherington wouldn’t do it.