If Pirates stay in contention, could Neal Huntington consider adding another arm?

Despite struggles, the Pittsburgh Pirates remain in contention in the National League Central.

With the trade deadline over a month away, it brings up the question as to what General Manager Neal Huntington could do if the Pittsburgh Pirates remained in the hunt for the division crown.

Coming in to the season, there were many questions surrounding the Pittsburgh Pirates starting rotation. While the Bucs knew they had veteran right hander Ivan Nova coming back along with a young, emerging star in Jameson Taillon, uncertainties about what version of Gerrit Cole would emerge in 2017 and the No. 4 and 5 spots in the rotation arose.

The Bucs rotation has had an up and down season. Ivan Nova has been the leader of the staff, sporting a 7-4 record along with a 2.91 ERA in 14 starts. Not to mention, he has struck out 54 batters and walked just nine in nearly 100 innings.

Right behind him is Taillon, who has put up stellar numbers this season despite missing more than a month after surgery for testicular cancer. He is back now and pitched five shutout innings in his first start back, looking as if he hadn’t skipped a beat. However, he took a step back against the Cubs Sunday, allowing four earned runs in five innings. Taillon didn’t necessarily pitch terribly, the Cubs were able to get good contact and and make things happen at the plate.

In the case of Cole, things have been up and down throughout the course of the year. After starting out slow, Cole had a nice stretch of seven starts in late April/early May when he was consistently pitching six or seven strong innings while only allowing a run or two. That stretch was followed by four consecutive starts in which Cole didn’t get past the fifth inning and allowed four or more earned runs and eight or more hits in each. In that four start span, Cole allowed five or more runs on three occasions while also allowing double-digit hit totals.

Cole is coming off an effective seven inning start against the Colorado Rockies which could translate in to a turn in momentum for the Pirates hurler.

Chad Kuhl, Trevor Williams and Tyler Glasnow have also received opportunities to start this season for the Bucs. Despite less than stellar numbers, Kuhl has been good on more than a few occasions, but has also been a bad luck loser more than once as well. Williams, despite having an ERA over five in eight starts, has also seemed to make progress while also making mistakes, something you would expect from a young pitcher. Glasgow’s struggles have lingered for a long period of time and, with the return of Taillon from the DL, was sent back down to Triple-A Indianapolis to work on things.

Now brings the question, is this enough? Believe it or not, the Pittsburgh Pirates are still contenders in the dreadful NL Central, and if they can remain close enough, would Huntington have decisions to make at the Trade Deadline at the end of July?

Don’t expect a deal for starter at deadline

I think one thing that has been learned throughout the last few years is that Huntington won’t make a deal for a top of the line starter like a Sonny Gray or Jose Quintana. Instead, Huntington has shown a different philosophy, trading for pitchers that are undervalued like J.A. Happ or Nova.

The Pirates are in a very weird situation and it will obviously be more clear as the season progresses and the trade deadline draws closer. The Bucs are currently in the middle of the spectrum regarding whether they should buy or sell. While their record represents a team that should sell on star players like Cole and Andrew McCutchen, the fact that they’re only a few games back in the divisional race says otherwise.

Regardless of the Pirates situation at the deadline, I don’t expect a deal for another starter to get done. If they’re struggling, a guy like Cole may be dealt in a trade to a team like the Houston Astros who have been linked to the right hander. If they remain in contention, Cole could stick around. Joined by Nova and Taillon, that is a quality top three when Cole is on his game, of course.

If questions surround Kuhl and Williams’ ability to be bottom of the rotation starters, the Bucs do have internal options they could turn to including Indianapolis Indians pitchers such as Steven Brault, Drew Hutchison and Tyler Eppler.

Only time will tell the type of situation the Bucs will be in at the end of July. The division is so unpredictable that the team could find themselves leading the division or sitting in the cellar once again.

And who knows, Huntington could prove us all wrong – as he has done before – and make a deal for a Happ or Nova like starter who could make an impact on the team.

While I hope to see them contending with Huntington making deals to better the team, I don’t see it happening. Regardless of whether they are in first or last in the division, I believe the Pirates are who they are and will either succeed or fail with the abundance of youth and few veteran talents they currently have in their starting rotation.