MLBTR is launching a new series for front-end subscribers! Over the next few weeks, we will work team-by-team and check the deadline outlook for each club as the trade season approaches. Some teams are easily classified as buyers and sellers, but many still find themselves on the bubble, and their game is very important over the next four to six weeks.
Even for teams that are clearly entering the buying and selling mode, there are nuances. Where are these organizations from a salary perspective? Will buyers fully integrate in 2025 or will they only open a window of long-term competition? Are sellers committed to rebuilding for years, or are they likely focused on mobile rentals only while hanging on controllable players outside of the season? Leaders of baseball action may be sitting in popular seats, and if so, how will this affect their deadline decisions?
We will begin this series, focusing on teams that are already in the standings, providing marginal competitors with more time to articulate their plans. We will play with the Pirates, who lost their seventh consecutive season.
Record: 29-45 (playoff probability is 0.2%)
Selling mode
The coming free agent: Andrew Heaney,,,,, Isiah Kiner-Falefa,,,,, Caleb Ferguson,,,,, Tim Mayza,,,,, Tommy Pham,,,,, Adam Frazier,,,,, Andrew McCutchen
It is unlikely that the Pirates trade McCarken. He has signed a series of one year deals and has made it clear that he wants to retire in Pittsburgh. Unless he changes his mind and wants to compete for the championship, he will stick with it. They’ll listen to any other upcoming free agent, but they might be hard to give Pham, Frazier, or Mayza a lot of rewards. The first two performed poorly in 2025 (particularly PHAM), and Mayza was at 60-day IL due to the LAT strain. He hasn’t pitched since late April and hasn’t been particularly close to the return.
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