After a torrid home stand that saw the Pittsburgh Pirates win eight of 10 games, the Bucs found themselves 27 outs away from being swept in a four-game series Thursday night.
Thanks to a complete game effort from Edinson Volquez that didn’t happen, but despite losing three of four games to the Red Birds, the Pirates have to be feeling pretty good about themselves as they head into Cincinnati for their final three-game series before the All-Star break.
Make that they have to be feeling great about where they currently sit, only 3.5 games out of first place in the National League Central and only two games out of the final NL Wild Card spot.
With that being said and the way the NL Central has become devastated by injuries, you have to wonder if Pirates’ general manager Neal Huntington may get aggressive and go “all in,” before July’s trade deadline.
As things stand now, the Pirates could be the best, and more importantly the healthiest team in the division.
The NL Central leading Milwaukee Brewers have predictably come back to earth and just got swept by one of the worst teams in baseball in the Philadelphia Phillies. The have former MVP Ryan Braun dealing with injuries all season and even though Jonathan Lucroy is having an MVP season, you have to wonder how long he can keep up the pace. The Brew Crew also have question marks in terms of their pitching staff, so they definitely have the look of a team that could keep coming back to the pack in the division.
As for the St. Louis Cardinals, they have been dealing with injuries to their pitching staff and just lost their leader in catcher Yadier Molina for 2-3 months.
The Cincinnati Reds you ask?
Well the Reds have seen former MVP Joey Votto head to the DL on a couple of occasions this season and in consecutive days just lost second baseman Brandon Phillips for 2-3 months and Thursday’s starter Homer Bailey had to leave with a knee injury.
By the looks of things, the division is there for the taking for the Pirates.
But should they mortgage any parts of their future to make a big move?
A week ago I would have said no, but even though I am still in that camp, I am starting to ride on the fence a little more.
Tampa’s David Price is the name floated out there the most and while I still don’t see the Pirates making a major move before the July 31 trade deadline, a guy like Price does make a little more sense for the Pirates now than it did just a couple of weeks ago. That is true not only in terms of adding a front line starter to the rotation, but it would also benefit the Pirates to keep an arm like Price away from their competition.
If not Price, maybe take a look at the Phillies, who could also move arms like Cliff Lee or Cole Hamels.
Yet I’m still not willing to part with much of the future to get a deal done.
If Huntington could get a deal done for outfield prospect Josh Bell and a couple mid-level prospects, which is doubtful, I pull the trigger. But I am still not giving up any of the talented arms in the system like Tyler Glasnow, Nick Kingham and plenty of others.
However the starting rotation isn’t the only area the Pirates need to improve as they need to add a reliable arm in the bullpen as well.
A more likely scenario than seeing them mortgage the future for a top of the line starter would be to target a guy like San Diego Padres’ closer Huston Street. Street would be expensive, but also wouldn’t likely cost the Bucs any of their top prospects in return.
Then there is the fact that while the Pirates’ offense has been quite good since the beginning of May, they still could use a legitimate first baseman. I hated the idea of dealing for Ike Davis and game by game it is getting more painful to watch Davis. Even though he has a solid OBP, you can’t get by with a first baseman hitting .240 with only five homers. They need production from a power position. Unfortunately for the Pirates, that guy isn’t likely to be available at the trade deadline.
There is the old adage in baseball that you acquire prospects in order to trade them. The successful franchises have made a living of doing so throughout time. But the Pirates are in a different boat.
For one we still don’t know for sure if this team is a legitimate contender. Secondly, it is hard for Huntington to add major pieces like a Price and give up assets for the future when they have next to no chance of inking him to a long-term deal and likely would have to turn around and deal him again before his deal expires in 2016. Price stands a chance to earn more than the $14 million he got this year in arbitration next season and that is something the Pirates can’t and simply won’t commit to.
So what should the Pirates do, stick to the plan or go for it?
The next 14 games will likely tell a lot about their plans for the deadline.
If they can go on a tear and find themselves sitting near the top of the division, I feel Huntington will be a bit aggressive at the deadline.
However if they don’t, I don’t foresee anything major on the horizon.
But one thing is for sure and that is the NL Central is there for the taking.
We will find out in the upcoming weeks if the Pirates decide to go for it.
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