The Pirates stand three games out of first place in the NL Central prior to Saturday’s action meaning they will most-likely become buyers prior to this year’s trade deadline.
A few names have popped up that could help the Pirate offense in the stretch run.
Josh Willingham: Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN in Minneapolis reported that the Pirates could be interested in Willingham.
Reds and Pirates two of a few teams to monitor on the Willingham trade front. Reds offered him a 2 year deal before he chose the #MNTwins.
— Darren Wolfson (@DarrenWolfson) July 22, 2014
Willingham is a career .254 hitter with 191 home runs. In 55 games this season, Willingham has posted a slash line of .213/.354/.776 with 10 home runs and 29 RBI while striking out 60 times.
He has played mostly outfield and has batted DH and would be a bench player at best with the current lineup.
Ryan Howard: There have been rumors that the Pirates could be a fit for Ryan Howard. However, Howard is owed $50M over 2015-16 and a move wouldn’t even be thought unless the Phillies ate most of the contract.
Howard is hitting .224/.377/.682 with 10 doubles, 15 home runs and 60 RBI over 97 games this season while striking out 118 times.
Seattle: There have been reports that Seattle is interested in Starling Marte for either Brad Miller or Nick Franklin and Taijuan Walker.
Both Miller and Franklin are middle infielders under the age of 25 and are Pre-Arb eligible allowing the Pirates to control either for a long period of time if the trade were to happen.
Miller is batting .204/.278/.603 in 87 games with nine doubles, eight home runs and 26 RBI while striking out 75 times. Franklin is batting .128 in 17 games with Seattle this season. In 107 games last year, Franklin batted .225/.303/.686 with 12 home runs and 45 RBI.
While things remain mostly silent for the Pirates with this group of bats, more names could arise over the next week leading up to the July 31, 4 PM trade deadline.
Stay with PSN for further updates on the Pirates and the 2014 MLB trade deadline.
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(Photo Credit: Rob Carr/Getty Images)
