Pittsburgh Pirates Rumor Mill – If the Pirates were Sellers…

Welcome to the weekly Pittsburgh Pirates Rumor Mill, where we update you on all of the latest Pirates trades, signings, rumors, injury news, promotions, demotions, and the like from the past week.

Bevy of Minor Moves

The Pirates made a bunch of (seemingly) minor moves over the past week. First, Gerrit Cole was placed on the 15-day DL retroactive to June 11th, then called up Jameson Taillon to take his spot in the rotation. Taillon sure seems to be permanently in the majors now, especially with the back-end of the rotation ailing. Then, yesterday, the Pirates placed Juan Nicasio on the restricted list, optioned Rob Scahill to Triple-A, and designated Cory Luebke for assignment. They also called up Jason Rogers and Curtis Partch and selected the contract of Jorge Rondon from Indy. So there was a shakeup in the bullpen. I don’t think Partch and Rondon are the answers to the Pirates problems in middle relief, and they may need outside help to address that area. That is, if they’re buyers at the deadline…

But what if the Pirates are sellers this year?

The Pirates haven’t been sellers at the trade deadline since 2010, but with the way the team has been struggling this year, there’s a very real chance that could happen this season. And for a small market team, selling has to always be a legitimate option if the team isn’t in contention. It’s a chance to keep stocking up the farm system, which is harder to do when you’re not selling. So, if this becomes the case this year, who are some players the team can trade away?

Let’s start with the players that are free agents at the end of the season. This includes Mark Melancon, Neftali Feliz, David Freese, Sean Rodriguez, and Ryan Vogelsong. Vogelsong won’t be traded, as he’s injured and out indefinitely. However, I’d assume the Pirates would try to trade the rest of these players. Rodriguez wouldn’t fetch much, as he hasn’t been great as a bench option this season. He’s playing better than he did last year, but I don’t know how much he would help a contender. If Neftali Feliz improves, he could be attractive, but as of now, I don’t think he’d fetch much either. I do think Melancon and Freese would be attractive to a contending team. Melancon has pitched very well this season, and he has pitched well for the past few years. And Freese would be great for a team as both a starter and as a bench option. Melancon and Freese seem like the ideal candidates to be traded if the Pirates sell at the deadline.

Other players I could see being traded include John Jaso, Tony Watson, and Matt Joyce. However, I think the Pirates would like to keep Jaso until Josh Bell is ready, and they’d like to keep Watson to move to closer next year with Melancon likely gone. Matt Joyce would be a nice fourth outfield piece for someone.

Ideally, the Pirates will turn around the get back into contention by the end of July. But they certainly have to consider all options, even if that means selling.

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