With the Pirates recent surge, they could be looking at improving their bullpen at the upcoming trade deadline.
The Pittsburgh Pirates were never able to build up any consistency during the first half of the season. Momentum was never on their side. However, things have changed throughout the last two weeks as a recent hot streak have put the Pirates in position to buy at the trade deadline as they make an effort to compete for a National League Central crown.
The Pirates are currently 48-48 on the season and are three games back in the division. When looking at some of the Pirates needs, improving the bullpen sticks out as a priority heading in to the deadline.
As per usual, we at Pirates Breakdown want to take a look at possible trade targets for the Pirates. Jason Rollison got us kicked off Friday by highlighting Philadelphia Phillies right hander Pat Neshek as a potential reliever that could make sense for the club to pursue. Today, we continue our trade target profiles with Miami Marlins reliever Dustin McGowan.
Profile and performance
At 35 years old, McGowan has been in the league for a number of years. Debuting in 2005 with the Toronto Blue Jays, McGowan has spent 10 seasons in the major leagues, missing out on playing during the 2009 and 2010 seasons and the 2012 season due to injuries.
McGowan was used as a starter during the 2007 and 2008 seasons with the Blue Jays, but he has spent most of his career as a reliever, starting just 69 of the 264 games he has appeared in. Now with the Marlins, McGowan is with his third major league team as he spent the 2015 season throwing for the Philadelphia Phillies.
Throughout the last two seasons for the Marlins, McGowan has looked as good as he has in his entire career. The veteran has appeared in 92 games in relief for Miami and holds a 2.86 ERA along with a 1.20 WHIP and 8.1 K/9 rate in 116.1 innings.
Career-to-date
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Table courtesy of Baseball Reference
The case for McGowan
- With McGowan’s past experience as a starter, he could be used as a long reliever and give the Pirates some quality innings. I know the Pirates would like to add some late inning relief, but it’s hard to ignore what McGowan has done this season. He has only allowed 16 runs on 41 hits in 49.1 innings which is pretty stellar. McGowan has also racked up the strikeouts this season, punching out 42.
- Believe it or not, McGowan is one of the best relievers the Marlins have. Amongst relievers on the team with more than 35 appearances, the veteran ranks first with a 2.92 ERA and fourth in strikeouts. McGowan has also pitched the most amount of innings as any Marlins reliever, a sign that he is as healthy as he has been in his career and that he is capable of pitching quality innings if the Pirates would want to take a shot at acquiring him.
The case against McGowan
- McGowan has always tended to walk a lot of guys. That is one of the main reasons why he has had struggles throughout most of his career. His 3.9 BB/9 rates is less than ideal and his season rate of 3.1 also isn’t great. The Pirates could really use a bullpen arm, but that tendency to walk a lot of batters does bring up a red flag.
- Like I said before, injuries have plagued McGowan throughout his career. He has missed three full seasons due to injuries and has had multiple surgeries on his right shoulder. McGowan has been healthy as of late, but the risk could be high.
What it might take
Given that the Marlins (42-51) are 14.5 games back in the National League East and 12 games back in the Wild Card race, they are in full sell mode heading in to the deadline. I’m not sure they will trade stars such as Giancarlo Stanton or Dee Gordon, but anyone in the bullpen may be up for grabs. David Phelps has already been dealt to the Seattle Mariners and I know AJ Ramos will be asked about as well.
McGowan may fly under the radar as a trade candidate. To be honest, he might be worth it. Signed to a one-year deal, McGowan may not be worth much. Well, not as much as guys like Pat Neshek and AJ Ramos would cost.
When looking at the Marlins list of top 30 prospects, they are heavy with pitching and outfielders. They have just one catcher and one second baseman in that top 30, and those two players make up five of the infield prospects on that list. There is no way the Pirates should trade a high-level prospect in a possible deal for McGowan, who would likely be a rental, but a low-level prospect like shortstop Adrian Valerio, the Pirates No. 29 ranked prospect according to MLB.com, could be enough to make a deal happen. If the Marlins would ask for more, which is possible due to McGowan’s resurgence with the club, throwing in another player such as Chris Bostick could do the trick.
Conclusions
I understand that there are better bullpen options than McGowan. In all honesty, if the Pirates could somehow work a deal for Neshek or Ramos, that would be exceptional for the team moving forward.
However, McGowan could come at a cheaper price than those two pitchers. If Miami doesn’t ask for much for the veteran righty, the Pirates should at least consider adding him along with another piece to strengthen the pen as they attempt to make a push for the postseason.
Photo credit – Flickr Creative Commons
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