The Pittsburgh Pirates and New York Yankees have been working on a trade involving Gerrit Cole for weeks. Clint Frazier has been widely reported as part of those talks, but what about the other rumored pieces?
The Pittsburgh Pirates and New York Yankees have been working at a Gerrit Cole trade — off and on — for what seems like forever. Since the winter meetings, the two sides have gone through a few permutations of a potential trade. The mainstay of these talks has been Clint Frazier, who we profiled previously. but what about the other pieces?
Since the club has seemingly moved on from trying to get Gleyber Torres back in a potential deal, focus has now turned towards 3B prospect Miguel Andujar and RHP farm-hand Chance Adams. While neither have the marquee pedigree of Torres, both are quality prospects in their own right, each having desirable traits for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Here now is a quick primer on what these prospects bring to the table:
Adams
Chance Adams is the Yankee’s number two prospect, and the number 53 prospect overall, with both ratings coming from MLB Pipeline.
He throws a 65-rated fastball, a 60 slider, and a 55 changeup in addition to a 50-grade curveball.
After being drafted by the Yankees in the fifth round of the 2014 draft, Adams found himself initially working as a reliever before being moved to a starting role in 2016. While his four-seam does not carry a gaudy average MPH — his sits in the 94-95 range — it gains effectiveness through Adams’ advanced control. His slider has bite, and his changeup is coming along. His curveball is by far his worst pitch, but still grades out as average in just his third season of professional ball.
Something under-the-radar about Adams is his ability to change eye levels with his fastball. He does it well, and as we’ve stated before, changing eye levels effectively is clearly a boon for any pitcher.
The Pittsburgh Pirates likely appreciate the fact that Adams is so close to the majors, affording them the chance to put a major-league ready piece in place to replace Cole rather quickly.
One worries about how his curveball might play. There’s still some development to be done with the pitch, and the Pirates are a club that needs to utilize a curveball more often. Regardless, Adams is one of those prospects that general managers love to have in their system — those that carry a low floor with low risk.
Andujar
Getting Miguel Andujar back in a trade would be music to the Pittsburgh Pirates’ ears.
The team’s front office has clearly resigned itself to the fact that Jung Ho Kang will not be able to rejoin the team in the foreseeable future, leaving a gaping hole at third base. Sure, the club can backfill with some combination of David Freese and a rotating cast. But wouldn’t it be nice to have a young player who can man the position regularly?
Of course it would, which brings us back to Andujar. The Yankee’s fifth-best prospect and fourth-best third base prospect overall had a cup of coffee in the majors last season, totalling seven at-bats. Prior to that, he turned in the finest season of his professional career to date, slashing .317/.364/.502 to go along with a strong 14.6 percent strikeout rate. He slugged nine home runs and 13 doubles in 227 at-bats, justifying the 55 power rate that was slapped upon him. His overall hit tool rates as 50, so there is some work to be done, but Andujar’s 70-rated arm is the main draw here.
Defensively, the Pittsburgh Pirates got a lot out of their third baseman in 2017, posting the third highest Defensive Runs Saved in the NL at the position as a team with a +12 rating. Andujar’s defensive is a work in progress, despite his arm:
All of this considered, Andujar’s bat seems to be very near-ready to play at the major league level and his defense is not far behind. Should the Pittsburgh Pirates land him, he could be the team’s mainstay at third base as soon as mid-season, provided his defense continues to improve.
A quick re-tool
The main intrigue around these two prospects in particular is that they are more or less major league ready. For a Pittsburgh Pirates club that has considerable talent in other areas, grabbing pieces that can contribute sooner rather than later would go a long way towards satiating a fan base that grows more rabid by the day. If the Pirates do deal Cole, the return needs to be palpable, with tangible results. Adams and Andujar fit the bill, and their arrival could jump-start the retool that many feel the Pittsburgh Pirates need.
Photo credit – Bryan Green – Flickr Creative Commons
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