Pirates Trade: Bucs, Orioles Swap Prospects

The Pittsburgh Pirates and Baltimore Orioles have swapped prospects, with right-handed pitcher Patrick Reilly headed to the Orioles for outfielder Billy Cook.

Reilly becomes the third Pirates’ selection from the 2023 draft to get dealt on Tuesday. He was drafted out of Vanderbilt last year.

The right-hander has spent the season with High-A Greensboro and has pitched well across 19 starts. Reilly is 5-4 with a 3.38 ERA and has racked up 108 strikeouts against 41 walks in 88 innings.

Baseball America had Reilly as the Pirates’ eighth-best prospect.

In Cook the Pirates essentially get a replacement for Charles McAdoo but in the upper-levels of the minor leagues. The Pirates traded McAdoo to the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for infielder/outfielder Isiah Kiner-Falefa.

Cook, 25, was drafted by the Orioles in the 1oth round of the 2021 draft and has played four seasons in the Orioles’ organization. For his minor-league career, the right-handed hitting Cook has slashed .249/.327/.452 with 62 doubles, 12 triples, 57 home runs, 228 RBIs and 81 stolen bases in 347 games.

Cook reached Triple-A for the first time this season and has been performing well. Across 70 games with the Orioles’ top affiliate, Cook carries a .279/.372/.485 batting line with 15 doubles, three triples, 11 home runs, 43 RBIs and 12 steals.

He was not listed as one of the Orioles’ top 30 prospects by Baseball America but was No. 28 on MLB Pipeline’s.

In addition to the prospect swap and the Kiner-Falefa trade with Toronto, the Pirates made three other trades. The Pirates acquired outfielder Bryan De La Cruz from the Marlins. They also traded left-handed starter Martín Pérez to the San Diego Padres for a pitching prospect. General manager Ben Cherington began his eventful day by acquiring left-handed reliever Josh Walker from the Mets.