How Far Will the Pirates Go in Their Sell-Off?
The Pittsburgh Pirates have a ton of tradeable assets at this year's deadline. Let's check out who could be on the move.
For those unaware, few fanbases have it worse than the ones that faithfully follow the Pittsburgh Pirates. This organization has not won the NL Central since all the way back in 1992, and 2025 is clearly not going to be the year they change that.
Unfortunately, the Pirates have finished fourth or fifth in their division every year since 2016. This is a team that refuses to hand out large contracts to players; instead opting to develop them internally only to trade them once they’re about to get too expensive. Basically, they’re the Rays, but they don’t do it the “right way.”
As the trade deadline nears, the Pirates are 46-62, which is 18.5 games back from the top spot in the Central. While you should never say never, this is an insurmountable gap, and it’s paramount that Pittsburgh does the right thing with any and all of their assets that have even a shred of trade value.
Let’s take a closer look at the situation over in Pittsburgh and determine which pieces they should aim to trade at the looming deadline.
The Pirates Should Have an Active Deadline
As is usually the case with teams out of contention at the trade deadline, the Pirates need to trade every single player on an expiring contract in the next 24 or so hours.
Last year, the Pirates were in a spot where they felt like a playoff push could be in the cards. They were 55-52 at the trade deadline. So instead of cleaning house, they opted to bring more talent in than they sent out. Here’s a look at the names they brought in to try and shore up their run, and how they performed last year:
- OF Bryan De La Cruz (-1.1 fWAR in 44 games with PIT)
- UTIL Isiah Kiner-Falefa (0.0 fWAR in 50 games with PIT in ’24)
- UTIL Nick Yorke (-0.1 fWAR in 11 games)
- UTIL Billy Cook (0.3 fWAR in 16 games)
- LHP Jalen Beeks (0.3 fWAR in 30 games)
- LHP Josh Walker (did not appear in an MLB game)
Obviously things did not turn out the way they were intended. Now the Pirates find themselves back at the bottom with players that can and should be moved in an effort to get things turned around. They’ve already got one of baseball’s best pitchers in Paul Skenes on their staff, so if they’d like to make the next handful of years with him memorable in a positive way, it’d be in their best interest to put a successful team around him as soon as possible.
In his typical “say a lot of words that only amount to a little” speak, general manager Ben Cherington said that he’d like to use this year’s deadline to piece together a competitive team for next year. This may result in the Pirates holding on to some of their controllable assets, but you never really do know with this team.
With Skenes on hand, alongside a returning Jared Jones and uber-prospect Bubba Chandler knocking down the door, there’s at least some hope that a turnaround is imminent. However, it all starts with how the team acts in the next 24-36 hours.
Rental Players Are Good as Gone: Who’s on the Block?
Andrew Heaney
Signed to a single-year pact this past offseason, Heaney has shown glimpses of promise over the course of the year, but his 4.79 ERA and 5.19 FIP are far less than inspiring. At this point in his career, he’s a cheap but experienced left-handed starter that can eat innings and put together the occasional seven shutout-inning start. With such a large emphasis being placed on teams’ need for starting pitching around the league, Pittsburgh shouldn’t have a problem moving Heaney.
According to Jon Heyman of the New York Post, the Yankees are a team interested in Heaney.
Caleb Ferguson
Ferguson may not get as much time in the rumor mill as some of his teammates do, but he’s quietly been a solid arm for the Pirates this year. The left-hander has made it into 45 games and posted a 3.74 ERA and 3.14 FIP across 43.1 innings of work. While his strikeout numbers have dipped from where he typically sits, Ferguson has also brought his walk and home run rates way down. Similarly to Heaney above, any team in need of cheap relief-pitching help would be happy to add a Caleb Ferguson to their ‘pen.
Isiah Kiner-Falefa
The 2025 season has not been kind to Kiner-Falefa, as he’s seen some regression on both sides of the ball. The utilityman extraordinaire is hitting .265 with a home run, 26 RBI and a 77 wRC+, but his OPS is down to .637. Typically a solid defender, IKF is in the 23rd percentile in Outs Above Average and 21st in Arm Strength. The Pirates have used him primarily as a shortstop this year, but he’s been able to play a competent defense all around the infield and outfield in his career. He’d fit on a contender’s bench as a player you can insert anywhere on the diamond for good-but-not-great defense, and you may be surprised at how many teams will be interested in a player like this.
Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette recently shared that the San Francisco Giants were one of the teams that had reached out to the Pirates on IKF.
Tommy Pham
Few players change hands at the trade deadline quite like Pham does, and this year should be no different than what we’ve seen in each of the previous three. He’s a fiery veteran who’s been in the league forever and has actually swung a decent bat this year. The 37-year-old has four home runs and 29 RBI with a .273 average, .721 OPS, and 100 wRC+ in 77 games. While he hasn’t hit lefties very well, Pham has a 110 wRC+ against right-handed pitching. Similarly to IKF, he’s going to have suitors, even if his numbers don’t blow you away.
Controllable Relievers
David Bednar
One of the most well known and obvious trade chips on this team, Bednar is under team control through the end of next year through arbitration and should bring the Pirates back a valuable asset or two at the deadline. The Tigers, Phillies, Rangers, and Blue Jays are some of the teams that have reportedly been eyeballing him as the deadline inches closer and closer. Bednar, 30, battled back from an early-season demotion this year and now has 17 saves in 42 games while posting a 2.37 ERA and sparkling 1.96 FIP. His strikeout rate is at a career-high and he’s also brought his walks down to career-lows. He’s good as gone.
Dennis Santana
As great as Bednar has been this year, Santana has a real case for being the Pirates’ best reliever. After struggling to find a permanent home for years, Santana settled in nicely on the Pirates after coming over from the Yankees via waivers in June of last season. Since coming over to Pittsburgh, he’s got a 1.91 ERA and 2.45 FIP across 84 outings and 89.2 innings. Santana is much more of a groundball pitcher than a strikeout one, and he’s also done an excellent job at limiting hits, home runs, and walks. For months now he’s been a lowkey pitcher who will bring back a larger package than you’d expect at the deadline.
The Money Pittsburgh Wants to Shed
Mitch Keller
All sorts of pitcher-hungry teams like the Cubs, Yankees, Red Sox, Mets, and others have reached out to the Pirates on Keller, who’s under contract through the 2028 campaign. The right-hander has been a solid innings eater on some bad Pirates teams over the years, but there’s value in being available and that’s where a lot of Keller’s lies. This year, he’s got a 3.69 ERA and 3.44 FIP through a league-leading 22 starts, which would both be career bests for him if the season ended today. He’s got a ton of control and any acquiring team would get his durability at a respect price tag too, so it wouldn’t be shocking to see him moved.
It’s worth noting that sources told Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that the Pirates are comfortable holding on to Keller if no teams come forward and blow them away.
Ke’Bryan Hayes
Hayes, also under control for multiple years (through 2029), has just $36 million left on his contract, but he hasn’t met expectations in Pittsburgh. Per multiple recent reports, the Pirates are motivated to shed his salary to use that money elsewhere. However, he’s been atrocious at this season offensively, to the point where it’s worth wondering how much trade value he really has. Still, that hasn’t stopped teams from reaching out. At the end of June, MLB insider Francys Romero shared that the Tigers, Yankees, and Cubs had touched base with the Pirates on Hayes’ availability. Since then, the Yankees acquired Ryan McMahon and the Cubs had Matt Shaw go on a heater, so the list of fits for Hayes is starting to shrink.
Bryan Reynolds
A limited no-trade clause will affect Reynolds’ trade status a bit, but to this point only the Kansas City Royals have really been connected to him in the rumor mill. Reynolds is able to block a trade to the Yankees, Mets, Blue Jays, Padres, Giants, and Dodgers. Under contract through 2030, Reynolds isn’t the most expensive player on the roster by AAV, but he’s locked up for the longest. At 30 years old, the switch-hitter has 10 home runs and 51 RBI this season but his average has dipped down to .232 and his 81 wRC+ puts him 19% below league-average at the dish. Plus, he reportedly wants to stay put. He’s expensive and underperforming, but Reynolds at least deserved a mention here as a possible Pirates trade chip if they chose to go that route.
Be Active, But Not Foolish
The Pirates need to find ways to turn rentals into future assets and shed salary in any creative ways they can. However, that doesn’t mean they need to harm themselves down the line by entertaining trade chatter on center fielder Oneil Cruz and staff ace Paul Skenes.
Pittsburgh has reportedly been willing to listen to teams’ offers on Cruz, but he’s such a crucial part of this team’s future, and it’d be insane to move him for anything less than an unprecedented haul.
At times, Cruz’s transition to full-time center fielder has looked rough, but he’s currently in the 81st percentile in OAA, 90th in Arm Value, and 100th in Arm Strength. Now that he looks the part as a solid defensive center fielder, he has become one of the most valuable all-around players out there in baseball. He hits the ball harder than the vast majority of the league and has 17 home runs with a 102 wRC+ and 34 stolen bases, which leads the majors.
Cruz isn’t slated to hit the open market until 2029, so when you pair his electric performance with cheap control tied to his name, it’d be insane to move him. He’s the offensive counterpart to Skenes and should be the Pirates’ face of the lineup for years to come. Don’t move him.
Then there’s Skenes himself. The 23-year-old ace is under control through 2029 and is easily the best pitcher in the National League right now. Skenes has a 1.83 ERA and 2.34 FIP through 22 starts this year, and even though there’s a great chance he’ll finish his season with more losses than wins, we’re looking at a true one-of-a-kind talent. To date, there’s been no indication that the Pirates have even let teams interested in Skenes get more than a sentence out while asking about his availability, but it’d be nuts to trade him now.
The Pirates are obviously going to have troubles capitalizing on Skenes’ prime, as they’re still a ways away from fielding a truly competitive team. Unless another organization is offering a trade package that’s never been heard of before, there’s no sense in even listening. He’s already shown that he’s got what it takes to be a Cy Young contender for the next decade-plus, so the conversations right now should be more about how much money the Pirates have to pay him to spend the rest of his career in Pittsburgh rather than how much they could get for him in a trade.
Like I said, be active, but don’t be foolish.
Written by
Eric Treuden (troy-din) has covered baseball for years for multiple different outlets including FanSided, Yardbarker, and Wisconsin Sports Heroics. He recently was the editor for Jays…