Pittsburgh Pirates Trade Rumors: Who Isn’t Available?

Pittsburgh Pirates trade rumors are flying fast less than one week before baseball’s Winter Meetings.

The Pittsburgh Pirates knew they had to put some work in this off-season. Now, with the Winter Meetings less than one week away, the rumor mill is starting to heat up.

First, we had Ken Rosenthal’s report late last night that the club would not hesitate to deal starting second baseman Josh Harrison.

[perfectpullquote align=”full” cite=”Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal” link=”http://www.foxsports.com/mlb/story/josh-harrison-pirates-trade-zack-greinke-diamondbacks-dodgers-twins-notes-112816″ color=”” class=”” size=””]The Pirates tried to re-sign free-agent infielder Sean Rodriguez with the idea of trading Harrison and reallocating dollars to other players, according to major-league sources.[/perfectpullquote]

Many might claim that the Harrison contract was a rare extension blunder on the part of Pirates’ GM Neal Huntington, and there is some truth to that. Harrison has put up 1.8 and 1.7 WAR seasons in 2015 and 2016, respectively, against salaries of $3,050,000 million and $5,250,000. While those salaries may not be considered much of an overpay – especially in light of Harrison’s defensive contributions – the next two guaranteed years may be at $18 million combined.

The debate over Harrison’s contract will wait for another day, but it was obviously surprising to see that the Pittsburgh Pirates may be willing to cut bait on Harrison so quickly into his extension.

Another Surprise Awaits

However, as far as surprises go, it was interesting to see Antonio Bastardo‘s name being bandied about as a potential trade chip.

https://twitter.com/BiertempfelTrib/status/803604341009498112

Going into the 2017 season, many had noted that the Pittsburgh Pirates could enter the season with three prominent left-handed relievers in Bastardo, Tony Watson and Felipe Rivero. Having three left-handers would give manager Clint Hurdle a unique look that many clubs would not have. With the New York Mets picking up a yet-undisclosed amount of Bastardo’s $6.7 million salary ,it is surprising to see the Pirates potentially shift course so dramatically.

Then again, with Watson and Rivero in tow – despite Watson’s own trade rumors – Bastardo could be relegated to a left-handed specialist role. In that light, a salary north of $4 million (factoring the Mets’ contributions conservatively) would seem to be a bit of a reach for such a reliever. The Pittsburgh Pirates could pull off a classic baseball trade, swapping a southpaw to a team in need for a right-handed reliever back.

As the calendar flips over to December, it is clear that the Pittsburgh Pirates’ off-season waters may run deeper than many expected.