For the better part of a decade, the Pittsburgh Pirates’ trade deadline strategy has been a fire sale dressed up in different wigs. Sell, shed salary, retool, repeat. The fans have watched it like Groundhog Day with worse weather. So when SB Nation’s Reacts poll asked Bucs Dugout faithful whether the team should buy or sell ahead of the August 3 deadline, 90% said buy — and this time, the standings actually back them up.
The Pirates entered the All-Star break at 50-47, three games over .500 at this point in the season for the first time since 2016. They sit fourth in the NL Central, but only 1.5 games out of a Wild Card berth. The Milwaukee Brewers have a grip on the division, but the rest of it is within reach. More importantly, Pittsburgh is as close to snapping the longest active postseason drought in the National League as it has been in ten years.
FanDuel Sportsbook lists the Pirates at +245 to reach the playoffs and -345 to miss them. Those are not great odds in a vacuum. They are, however, the best postseason odds this franchise has carried in a decade — a fact that tells you everything about the last ten summers along the Allegheny.
The question is what the front office targets. A high-leverage reliever tops nearly every fan wishlist. A reunion with Aroldis Chapman was floated, but the Boston Red Sox are surging and less inclined to deal a piece they might need themselves. Oakland Athletics closer Mason Miller has circulated as a dream target, though the Padres — wait, the article says Padres, which is likely a mix-up; Miller plays for the Athletics — are not in a position where they have to sell cheaply. Andrew Filliponi of 93.7 The Fan in Pittsburgh suggested the Pirates pursue left-handed starting pitching, naming Kyle Freeland of the Rockies and Jeffrey Springs of the Athletics as realistic candidates. Both Colorado and Oakland profile as deadline sellers.
What makes this year different from the usual false dawn is that the Pirates’ offense has undergone a genuine turnaround. After finishing near the bottom of the league in runs scored in recent seasons, Pittsburgh has climbed to tied for first in that category during the first half — a storyline that MLB.com called the wildest development on the roster. Paul Skenes and Braxton Ashcraft both earned All-Star nods, giving the rotation a top-end duo that makes a playoff push something more than wishful thinking.
The club has already made one modest move, acquiring former top outfield prospect Robert Hassell III from the Washington Nationals for cash considerations or a player to be named later. It is the kind of depth addition that suggests the front office is in add-mode rather than teardown-mode.
Nine out of ten fans can be wrong about plenty of things. But 50-47 with Skenes on the mound every fifth day and a lineup that finally scores? The math says buy. The odds say buy. The drought says buy. The only thing left is for the Pirates to actually do it.
Sources
- SB Nation Reacts Results: Pirates should buy at trade deadline — Yahoo Sports
- Pirates News & Transactions — MLB.com