The Mets are showing interest in acquiring Starling Marte, per MLB Network’s Jon Heyman. Marte, who owns a career slash line of .287/.341/.452 across 8 seasons, is currently under contract with the Pirates for $11.5MM in 2020 with an exceedingly affordable club option for $12.5MM in 2021.
New Pirates GM Ben Cherington has barely had time to take his coat off, but given the executive’s stated preference to steer an organization through a ground-up rebuilding effort, resolving the future of his 31-year-old face of the franchise is likely high up on Cherington’s to-do list. That said, Marte’s contract, position, and production puts him among the Pirates’ most valuable trade chips. Therefore, Cherington is unlikely to execute a trade without a full organizational plan in place. The Pirates may prefer to tab a field manager before moving any of their key player. On the other hand, Cherington was said to have free rein when it comes to roster construction.
In theory, it makes sense to move Marte now while two years of team control remain (though the Pirates are particularly and understandably sensitive to the plight of their fanbase, who has seen more than their share of homegrown superstars leave town over the years). Still, the hiring of Cherington may point toward another Pittsburgh teardown, and a Marte trade is probably Cherington’s best, first opportunity to put his stamp on the organization. Cherington could aim to restock the farm with a handpicked package of prospects deemed as good fits for his development program.
If indeed Cherington does make Marte available, the Mets are an obvious fit. Given the dearth of centerfield options on the free agent market, it would be unsurprising for the Cubs, Reds, Padres, Diamondbacks, Phillies or Rangers to check on the price of a Marte acquisition as well. The potential demand bodes well for the Pirates, who are unlikely to emerge as contenders before Marte’s contract runs out. The NL Central may not have a consensus favorite at the moment, but the Reds continue to push for contention, and the Cardinals, Brewers, and Cubs are also good best to land on the competitive end of the talent spectrum.
Nearly 62 percent of MLBTR readers recently suggested the Pirates would be better off trading 2019 breakout star Josh Bell, and given Bell’s youth relative to Marte, let’s assume most of you feel the same about him. If nothing else, we can probably agree that the Pirates should at least explore trading Marte. So where should Cherington look to procure the best package of prospects? This, of course, takes into consideration the urgency of the acquiring team as well as the value of their farm systems – as well as, potentially, the likelihood of consummating a deal. Understanding that I’ve certainly left a prime contender or two off this list, in your estimation, who should Cherington call first? We know the Mets are interested, but is there a better fit beyond New York?
To get yourself in a Pittsburgh state of mind before casting your vote, check out the Pirates’ Offseason Outlook from MLBTR’s Steve Adams.
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While I don’t want the giants to trade for Marte. I’m sure they’re too afraid to make another trade with the pirates after that McCutchen trade. Paws off our prospects, Pittsburgh.
Umm,please check the Whole History of Trades between SF & Pitt,I’ll take the SF Side by Far!
Img–Not sure which ones you are talking about.
He’s talking about “All the Trades between SF and Pitt!” And Taking the SF Side by The Far Side(greatest comic strip ever)!
I need to work on my faux use of overcapitalization.
Dinger-Zaidi is smart enough not to trade good prospects for older players while the Giants retool over the next couple of years.
Do they even have all that many good prospects?
I agree that Zaidi is a shrewd one; it’s doubtful that he’ll make such a high-risk move during this offseason.
Yes we have good prospects
I chose mets, but whoever chose the rangers….. thank you…..
Your Welcome, thanks for C Sam Huff, LHP Joe Palumbo & SS Osleivis Basabe.
*cough*
no.
Not saying that wouldn’t be the package, but I wouldn’t do it if I was the rangers.
Johnny, please phrase that as if Dwayne Johnson was singing it.
What can I say except you’re welcome, for as many prospects as we can get. We can’t afford to pay, Marte, you’re welcome, cause we are the pirates and we are always “in debt”…
Mets should stay Away! I am tired as a Mets fan of seeing these comments about players having a down year but they will get better; why?
Been to a few Ranger games visiting TX on biz, Nice Place!
Just sign Kevin Pillar for money and not give up anything
GM don’t make calls……sign of weakness………he should only answer calls..
Great point. Feel free to interpret the question as: who should Cherington hope calls him?
Brad Pitt initiated every phone call when him and Jonah Hill GM’ed the A’s.
Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill might actually be better real life GMs for the Pirates vs what they have been getting prior to Cherrington! haha
You have a point, but knowing DePodesta’s record, maybe Hill/Depodesta were better suited as assistants to their superiors
Why so much hate for Huntington? Pirates where hopeless for 20 years before him. He got them into the playoffs. Sounds like a good pick to me if BVW doesn’t work out.
Andre-because half these posters are idiots who have no knowledge of what they are saying so they act smart and come down on anyone who has had a couple of bad years.
But he never called Rick Dalton!
Marte for Bader trade sounds like an interesting starting point for both teams.
Bader might be a starting point, but it would take a lot more than that to get Marte.
That doesn’t make a whole lot of sense for the Pirates. They need pitching and can replace Marte in house. There has been talk of moving Newman to CF to clear SS for Cole Tucker. Any trade with the Pirates has to start with pitching.
Where did you hear that? I’ve never read that anywhere. And I follow pretty closely. Reynolds would most likely move to CF.
You are wrong to some degree. Pirates have repeatedly stated they need catching. I see a catcher being their “center” of trade talks compared to pitching. There will probably be a pitcher included in these talks, but it will be with a catcher to make the deal happen.
Would you be willing to give up 3B Gorman +C Knizner & OF Arozarena? Otherwise why would it make sense to trade within the division.
Does a trade within the division really matter when the team trading the player is going to be lucky to win 60 games next season? lol. I really don’t think the Pirates should be taking anything other than the best possible return into account at this stage in their rebuild
India, T. Stevenson and Iglesias from the Reds…
I would absolutely argue that trading Marte within the division would be a smarter move for the Pirates than trading him outside the division if the packages are similar. The Pirates are not going to be a contender until Marte is no longer a significant contributor at the major league level and you would weaken another team’s future outlook by taking good prospects from them. Why would you not want the weakened team to be one in your division?
Good point Stan.
Living in St. Louis, a common theme among fans is that they should trade Bader while they can still get something for him. He’s a gold glove caliber center fielder, but he’s also an automatic out. His speed only plays on the bases if a pitcher is dumb enough to walk him or he lucks into an infield hit. I could see Bader being included in a trade for Marte, but he would be a secondary piece at best.
That’s not entirely fair. I think your comment should read “…if a pitcher is dumb enough to walk him or throw him a fastball.” He can still hit the hard stuff if that’s all he has to worry about. Doesn’t make him a good hitter by any means, but it’s not like he’s a pitcher at the plate.
True. But this isn’t little league where guys haven’t developed off-speed pitches yet. He hovered around the Mendoza line all year. Starting Marte trade discussions with Bader is nonsense. Sorry, but it’s true. And there are a few NL pitchers that can hit fastballs about as well as Bader too…just sayin.
Fowler-I have no problem with you using my name as long as you realize that the real line is 215 and not the stupid 200 line only used because it is easier to remember.
HAHA! Deal! If people can remember that Khris Davis hit .247 all those years in a row, they can remember that the real Mendoza Line is .215!
Why on earth would your first call be to the Mets and their depleted farm system? Look at who are the truly desperate teams right now who need an impact position player the most: the Reds and the Padres. Both also have farm depth that the Mets, Giants, and Phillies do not. I’d way rather trade with the Reds/Padres, though the Mets have shown an inclination to do incredibly stupid things. White Sox are a solid third place option here.
Spoken like a true Phillies fan, the 4th place Phillies. Stupid things…like signing Harper. LOL.
Ummm,.. the Phillies aren’t paying a former player a million a year years after he retired. Stupid Mutts ….
most MLB teams are paying deferred money to players. the Orioles are paying Chris Davis for the next 22 years. Max Sherzer has a $210 million contract but instead of paying him 30 million for the 7 years of the contract the Nats will pay him 15 mil for the next 14 years. the Braves are still paying Bruce Sutter 1.2 mil a year until 2021,.he’s been retired for decades. deferred money is paid in all sports,it’s actually a wise financial move.
No – they’re paying a current player $300mm to be slightly above average. That’s way worse. The Phillies are way less successful than the Mets as a franchise and are a worse team right now, too.
Do you know how much money the Phillies have made in ticket sales and jerseys alone since they’ve signed Harper? They reinvigorated an entire fan base. Harper was solid last year. Hes in his prime and plays great defense in addition to being a clutch hitter. For 24 or 25mil per season, he is worth the investment.
You’re a fool, Mutsie.
I have no doubt that the Harper signing has rejuvinated the Phillies fan base and helped make the owners a nice little profit. But there was a time in mid-August when Julio Teheran had a higher WAR than him (according to baseball reference.) He played well at the end of the season after the Phillies were already eliminated to mask that he was really not all that great last year. For the money he’s making, he should be playing @ MVP level and helping his team actually contend. His 1st year in Philadelphia was anything but that. But glad the owner made some money off of higher attendence.
Conforto was a better player in 2019 and costs a heck of a lot less. Jersey sales don’t win championships – the Phillies finished only ahead of the torn down Marlins in the division and the Harper-less Nationals won the World Series.
The Mets have enough to raid. You just grab from the top of the system. Not the middle. Marte isn’t going to cost elite prospects in the game. Same deal w the Phils. Both teams have enough prospects to get Marte. Really any team should have enough in the way of prospects to make it happen. As long as they’re willing to put those guys on the table.
I would argue that Marte wouldnt cost elite prospects. I’m not saying he is worth multiple elite prospects, but he is definitely worth one elite prospect. Center fielders of his caliber dont grow on trees. He’s an excellent fielder, and a very good hitter. Besides, the quantity over quality approach that Huntington used has led the Pirates to mediocrity. Hopefully, Cherington will not use that approach because he doesnt have to. It’s not like the Pirates farm system is terrible. As a whole, its middle of the pack and they have 3 guys in the top 100. Trade Marte and get one elite prospect in return (which, in my opinion, he is worth) and a couple of high ceiling, low floor fillers and the Pirates would be sitting pretty. Then, you hope that Bell continues to hit well and trade him for a similar package, with the possibility of a better package depending on how well he improves his defense at first. If Polanco comes back and is healthy, he nets another decent package. Kela could get a couple of decent arms if he stays out of trouble. A HUGE if here, but if Archer bounces back he could get a decent package from a desperate contender at the trade deadline. Basically, Cherington came into a really good spot. The Pirates have a couple of great trade pieces along with some pretty good trade pieces where quality over quantity should be his #1 goal.
Good prospects, sure, but he’s probably not bringing back anyone elite. He’s a 3 WAR OF – that’s good but that’s far from meriting an elite return.
I am thinking the Pirates should call up the Blue Jays. They have what the Pirates need, catcher! Do your homework before you name Reds/Padres as legit contenders. Both of those clubs have a decent stacked positions players, but not a single catcher that the Pirates will drool over. A catcher will be the center piece of any trade talks. Blue Jays seem like a logical place to start (maybe because I still hold these Jose Bautista and Reese McGuire trades personal). If not the Blue Jays, there are other catchers worth going after than Reds or Padres catching prospects.
I agree with you but I hope it doesn’t happen. Trading McGuire to dump salary, then trading back for him with one of their best trade pieces would really sting. Essentially, they would have just given Marte to the Jays for nothing in return. Yuck…
But Blue Jays have a decent farm system even if McGuire or Jansen is included in any trade. I can see a (in verge or at) AAA pitcher and double A (max) 3B/1B behind one of the catching duo to make the Pirates consider the trade.
I hope they prioritize catching as well in this order, Dodgers have Kiebert Ruiz, Jays have McGuire/Jansen, the Padres have Luis Campusano and the Rangers have Sam Huff. Thes teams have needs the Pirates can provide in a trade an upgrade to one of our greatest areas of need.
The Padres have plenty of catching prospects that are interesting. The Reds also have Tyler Stephenson.
I’m not sure why you’d be asking anyone to do their homework when you clearly didn’t. All of those guys are considered more well regarded than Reese McGuire.
The Pirates aren’t going anywhere next season so ready right this minute prospects shouldn’t be a requirement for them either
Luis Campusano says hello.
Padres’s Certainly have enough to get a deal done Between Luis and the pitching prospects they have. it would be easy with out getting a middle infielder as a headline piece
Pirates are not going to get an ‘elite’ type catching prospect for Marte no matter what. a good one, sure but not elite… and thats Campusano. Catcher is the most important position on the field.. if you got an elite level prospect you don’t give it up with out a VERY high price.
yeah i’m still bitter about Reese too.. the worst part of that trade was losing him.
You said it the Mets do dumb things like the Cano and Diaz trade
I’m curious as to why the Braves aren’t listed. They need an outfielder and have a deep farm.
Probably could have done with out the BoSox and added Atlanta.
I agree — I’m a Red Sox fan but even so… I really don’t see them going after/being interested in Marte. Not that he wouldn’t be a good player on the team but given the fact that they’re trying to cut payroll and that they’re attempting to trade their starting OFs no acquire another high-priced one makes it incredibly unlikely they’d be involved.
Odd ATL isn’t listed considering 1) need for a possible power bat (if Donaldson leaves, as expected), 2) his close friendship with Acuna, 3) no one significant standing in his way (Markakis down year, plus his sweetheart deal), 4) ATL’s prospect capital and desire to upgrade where possible.
Fair enough. I left them off mostly because their top prospect (Christian Pache) is a CF who made it to AAA last year and their second best prospect (Drew Waters) is an outfielder who can play some center and also reached AAA. For now, they have Inciarte/Acuna and I feel they’re more likely to grab a third option to frankenstein a 2020 centerfielder. Seems to me they love Pache, and my guess is they wouldn’t move him for two years of Marte.
That said, it’s totally fair to consider Atlanta, as he’d be an upgrade over Inciarte and Acuna could stay in a corner. I’ll ship it for sure.
Why does Marte have to play CF? Why not slide him to LF, and put Pache in CF (imo, it’s Pache time) and trade Ender w/ Greene
Marte shouldn’t be considered a cf anymore. LF and now we’re talking
Move Marte to left field. Play Acuna TEMPORARILY in center with Duvall/Markakis platooning to start the season in right field. Either Pache or Waters could replace the platoon when ready (with Acuna sliding over to right).
Braves have more than enough prospect talent to get it done, and a definite need.
Pache is the real deal. I would not be surprised at all if he ends 2020 a better MLB player than Marte
So, you leave out the Braves, seriously? They’ve got a top tier farm system and a short term need in the OF. C’mon.
Padres – right combo of prospect capital and need
Padres need a left-handed hitting outfielder. Marte is righty.
Padres need an Outfielder who can hit RH pitching.
He doesn’t have to be left handed.
Marte’s numbers against RH pitching are tremendous….even better than against LH.
baseball-reference.com/players/split.fcgi?id=marte…::none
You’re forgetting something: The Padres’ hitting philosophy. Every player who comes there forgets how to hit same-handed pitching. See Eric Hosmer and Manny Machado.
A left handed COF is probably the easiest thing to find in the game rn.
I’d say maz, but I think he has backwards splits against righties.
Starling Marte will be playing right field for the Chicago White Sox by early July!
It honestly would make sense.
with three possible stars on the team ( bell, keller an reynolds) + newman and marte… seems down right stupid to tear down considering Neal was about done with this rebuild okay maybe trade marte if you get a quality near term piece but other wise supliment and make a push. if it doesnt work you have more to rebuild with.
No mention of the Jays .. Mets don’t even have the prospects in their depleted farm system to probably even trade for Marte.
Marte is gonna want, i believe, to put away that center fielders glove. Get some jell into that left fielders mitt.
I believe Cherington is going to be patient with all of their players right now. No rush trade anyone till you get a quality offer. Not a one will leave after 2020 except for Kela. He may well bring a better haul during the season. I agree that Cherington should not be calling now..I believe he will have patience.
ChiSox
Indians
I’m surprised the Indians were not on the list. The only certainty next year is CF.
Watch the D-Backs get him, they need an outfielder badly. D-Backs have a great farm system and will lure in the Pirates by offering some solid prospects.
Marte to the Mets for Dom Smith & JD Davis is my guess.
Dom Smith & Nimmo
Mets would be one of the last teams I’d call
Even if you could make some sort of argument for the Pirates to go for it, there don’t seem to be a ton of sellers this off season…they almost have to take advantage of it.
Trade Marte, Bell, Archer, Kela this winter. Trade Polanco at the deadline if he proves he’s healthy. Listen on Frazier, Williams and Crick.
Go with Hayes, Newman, Tucker, Frazier (unless you find a good offer for him) Moran and Craig in the IF. Resign Melky or someone like him, plus Reynolds in the OF and find a defense first CF (Billy Hamilton?).
Have the new Prez and GM defend $45 million payrolls and 5th place for the next few years and hope they trade for the right guys.
Archer has little value right now. He goes in the Polanco bucket.
sorry for the wall of text but its typed so i’m going with it…
The TL:DR: Trade value on what “we” would trade isn’t that high, we don’t have the farm to support a rebuild even with the trades, wait until deadline for value to build and desperate teams. Supplement until then see if it works.. if not more rebuild fodder.
Archer: you’d have to pay to trade him (see Liriano). Keep him until he (hopefully) rebounds to get at least some value.
Kela: will be lucky to grab a B type or two, try for a 1/2 year extension. if not, see who bites now or wait until deadline if you don’t like what you hear
Bell: his market is limited as he is a DH on most teams. less of a return than he should get. there is no rush with his contract. Keep until deadline to see if teams get desperate Rays maybe the exception.
Marte: IF there happens to be a bidding war there is only one team that could beat out everyone and that’s the Padres. IMO Patino and Campusano would have to headline the return, which likely wouldn’t happen. Again no rush. at the deadline he’d have only slightly lesser value.
Polanco can’t prove healthy until he plays so keep him until deadline at least.
Williams: Won’t bring enough to make it worth it, he got beat up hard last year, likely will rebound some but its a risk for other teams. with his contract worth keeping until deadline at least to let his value build.
Frazier: okay i can agree here. If someone wants him and gives a fair trade for a decently hitting gold glove candidate with lots of control.. then you can do that and run with newman/tucker/gonzales and maybe Kramer if he starts hitting again. Looking for Catching and/or Pitching in return
so you keep everyone until deadline (except maybe kela and frazier). while looking for Catcher, Pitching and Third upgrades in that order
now is the time to push while you have some control If it doesn’t work then you have more quality to do an actual rebuild because those four won’t get it done and our farm isn’t strong enough as is to support it either
the only exception i would make is if who ever you trade for.. most if not all of the talent will make their debut at the end of the year with the hopes of being on the roster out of spring of ’21. AND you get nice sized over pays in the trades.
and I consider a Push: 2/3 year signings on people like Jason Castro, a Pitchers Catcher who should improve the Pitchers a good amount. Any third basemen with more range than Moran and a bit of pop. (Moose is perfect but Todd Frazier maybe?) and someone like Teheran and/or Anderson for the mound. All fairly cheap and have some trade value to boost any rebuild if we did so at the deadline
Marlins
I’m a Mets fan but voted for the Padres because they have better prospects, which put them ahead by one. Damn.
The Padres do have better prospects but there’s no need to overspend on a CF that’s on the wrong side of 30, will lose speed as he gets older and has lost a step in CF. One Top 100 plus a couple of mid-level prospects should be more than enough.
Padres will be involves but it will just be as a third team so that they can acquire more prospects #perpetualrebuild
I voted for the Blue Jays since GM BC just came from there. But my preference would be to tear up the options and sign him for 4 years plus an option or two. I think he will age well. I would trade Bell. They have Craig in AAA who doesn’t have his power but I think he can defend better.
Craig has fairly decent power and maybe better than Bell. Bell had a phenomenal year because balls were juiced. Take out 2019 season and look at 2018 season. That is where I project him to be at each year. Bell should wear another uniform 2020 as should Marte. Both have value that clubs need. Bell has been mostly rumored for DH/1B role. There are plenty of clubs out there who would take 3 years of control at affordable price. There is value you in him no matter what people say.
The Mets make too much sense here. Marte is affordable for 2 seasons and the Mets have the young prospects to get him as well. The Mets should start their package with Andres Gimenez with whom is blocked at the major league level.
> “Mets have the young prospects to get him as well.”
No, no they don’t.. not really. Any deal with out Alvarez is a non-starter and i’m told by many Mets fans that he just isn’t available.. maybe the front offices see it different than fans but their thinking makes sense.
@Joe W. So you think the Pirates would rather have a catching prospect, that not only is at least 2 years away from the majors but is not even a Top 100 MLB Prospect. Yet Gimenez is a Top 100 MLB prospect who’s major league ready now.
Hmmm, you would make a horrendous GM. The Mets would LOVE to acquire Marte without giving up any of their Top 100 prospects.
Yes, Gimenez would fall in to the middle infield and the pirates already have at the MLB level Newman at short who was 8th in batting and solid with the glove and Frazier who is no slouch with the bat and a gold glove candidate.
And the Pirates have some depth in the Prospects at the middle infield that are better.
Gimenez would be blocked here too even if Frazier is traded.
Look at the other team next time. Mets don’t have a top100 the pirates should seriously consider with out already having someone to flip them too.
Glad you are not our GM
* or a multi-team trade.
Gimenez, with Davis and Smith,
@bhambrave Haha!!! Whatever you are smoking, pass it down brother. Marte isn’t worth Davis by himself. J.D. Davis is 26 y/o, making the league minimum in 2020 and has 3 more years of control after that. Marte, yet talented is 31 y/o, going to get slower and making $11.5 million in 2020.
Like the other guy, learn more about baseball before making idiotic trade scenarios.
I’m a Braves fan. I’d like to see the Mets overpay in yet another trade.
They more you talk the less you sound like you know what you are talking about..
the only real bonus to Davis is his contract.
Why would the pirates trade marte for a downgrade that won’t be here when we need them?
I agree its a bad trade for both sides.
Wish Marte would come to the Cardinals
Odubel, 6M and Adonis Medina for Marte.
To me the White Sox makes a lot of sense.
Padres is the obvious choice because they have the best farm system. Shoot for Patino and a couple others. Bell to the Rays and get Baz back. Kela to the Dodgers for Ruiz.
Then sign a couple guys to get us through next season or two like Calhoun, Castro, maybe Alex Wood.
Then wait for Hayes, Craig, Tucker…..and hope Keller isn’t as bad as he looked last season.
Padres have position players that the Pirates already have enough of at the moment. Pirates stated they want catching going forward. I think any trade will require a catcher being the “center” of trade talks. Padres don’t necessarily have what the Pirates need. Padres top prospects are IF players that play the left side of it and up the middle. Pirates have Ke’Bran (however you spell it) Hayes waiting in the wings in Triple A at 3B when Pirates are done experimenting with Colin Moran at 3B. SS and 2B is already locked up with more up the middle IF waiting in the wings. Actually follow the system of the Pirates and what has already been reported by the Pirates
Padres have the 7th ranked catching prospect and 86th overall in the Top 100 in Luis Campusano. They also have RHP depth in Patino, Balonos Baez and LHP Morejon, Weathers Cantillo. They also have SS Gabriel Arias, OF Ismael Mena, Edward Olivares. Even if the Padres don’t want to part with Gore Trammell or Abrams they still can offer a competitive trade offerwith a package built around a decent catcher.
Did you actually read what I wrote? I never suggested they trade Marte for middle infielders. I think they need to get pitchers back, which Padres have. That is by far their weakest position. Also, I know they want a catcher which is why I suggested they go after Ruiz from LA and sign Castro until Ruiz is ready. I also mentioned Hayes, Craig, and Tucker as future infielders.
More like 2027.
Marte & Crick to the White Sox for their #7 prospect RHP Jonathan Stievers, #22 SS Yolbert Sanchez, #25 C Seby Zavala & #28 LHP Bernardo Flores.
marte for 2 AA prospects, tickets to: the Bronx Zoo, A Broadway Play, and a slice of pizza
Harvey-Please limit this trade offer to the two players and two tickets.
I will take the slice of pizza.
Thank you.
The Mets farm system is bare so the Pirates would have to take on ML players like JD Davis Nimmo Dom Smith I dont see that happening plus Mets dont have the payroll room at 11.5 mil Mets will sign Ellsbury cuz he is cheap any other talk about Marte is just a smoke screen put out by the Mets
Maybe the Mets could unload Edwin Diaz on the Pirates like Seattle did to the Mets
Well, their last closer is a bit…caged up, right now, so…maybe.
Trade him to the Cubs straight up for Ian Happ.
Ian goes home and gets another chance and the Cubs get to see what Marte has in the tank and possibly attempt to extend if things go well.
a trade for Happ does make some sense, how is he at third? I seem to recall he had some defensive limitation? If hes not bad with some range it could setup the pirates to make some cheap(ish) signings it’ll make the team better and have a team that could be eyeballing the wild card if pitching rebounds. also buys time for Hayes to find his bat.. and when he does Happ can go to first or OF.
I still don’t like it cause… cubs,i love marte… and getting signings probably a bit difficult in the current situation… but it does make some sense to make a small push in 20 and a bigger push in ’21 when Taillon is hopefully healthy
Pittsburgh should call Reds mayb pry some pitching prospects from them
I’m thinking Nimmo, Dom Smith, Oswalt, Nido, Gsellman with a pitching prospect for Marte, Rodriguez, Stratton and Archer?
This unloads contracts from the Pirates and gives them 1b flexibility to move Bell if they’d like. Mets could move Archer to the bullpen.
The two teams do seem to match up.
Interesting trade but the Mets wont take on all that salary but I do like it
yeah doesn’t work from the pirates side. Doesn’t give them what they need.
I say blow up the whole team and trade all their available assets. Marte & Eric Gonzalez to the Padres for RHP Patino, LHP Cantilllo, & OF Olivares. Trade Bell to the Rangers for 3B Jung, RHP Winn, LHP Palumbo & SS Basabe. Trade Archer & Crick to Blue Jays for C McGuire & SS Orelvis Martinez. Trade Frazier & Brault to the Angels for OF/1B/LHP Walsh, RHP Pina, LHP Yan & LHP Sandoval, Trade Kela & Williams to the Dodgers for C Ruiz & LHP John Rooney. Then go out and get FA catcher Austin Romine, SP Wade Miley, & OF Cameron Maybin on 2 year contracts to fill the roster and mentor the young guys. This will give the Pirates plenty of young talent and 2-3 years to see which ones develop into core pieces worthy of building a contending team around.
I agree. PIT should go for a full rebuild and collect as much talent back for Archer, Marte, Polanco, Bell, etc.
Archer has negative value.
Polanco has negative value
Bell’s market is too small right now
Marte is the only one who could probably get more value than he “should” get because few on the market and lots of teams need a CF.
MAYBE trade Marte if it gets you controllable position of need. But keep the others to build value or if a contender has an unexpected NEED for one of them. Archer and Polancos value cannot get much lower so no risk in keeping them
Problem is the prospects they would get back are suspects many are hit and miss so its a gamble keep the best players and build around them rather than starting over
so the real question is Why?
Bell: three years of control
Frazier: Three years of control
Newman: five years
Reynolds: five years
Tucker: five years
Polanco: four years
Keller: five/six years (not sure on service time)
Taillon: 4 years.
Musgrove: Two years
Williams: Four years…..
ETC..
Sure some (all) the pitchers had a rough time last year, but they also had no catching and a pitching coach who no longer could work with the current crop of players.
With that many decent players Definitely seems like a better idea to make a run of it the first half. If it doesn’t work.. it doesn’t work.. they can still be traded at the deadline.
Marte trade, could make some sense if it fills positions with needed pieces. (that could also be flipped at the deadline).
AND if we blow up, and most of those players are gone… 2-3 years likely isn’t happening and we do the same thing then too.
Why? Because if articles like this were not posted what would people talk about? The poll is meaningless and none of us have a say in what is going to happen, but we bite on it and take it serious.
Trade Rosario and Dom Smith to PIT for Marte then sign Didi for 3 yrs- $45M.
I like it but Mets have no payroll room
Armed Rosario? that is a non-starter. take a look at the pirates middle infield.
Dom might get better market in the AL than the pirates. only makes sense if Bell is traded but i have serious doubts that happens.
It’s always hilarious to read the comments of fans who see the Pirates as a team willing to be raped in return for talented players. Who can blame them, given what the last two GMs have done?
I agree with your first statement regarding fans on this site.
Regarding the second I have found that most who comment on the Pirates are negative and are not knowledgeable about what they say.
Huntington had one of the best records for trades in all of baseball since 2012 but most posters tend to look at the Archer trade as being representative.
I agree with your state ment but also had some real stinkers of trades.
Walker for Niese,
Then Niese for Antonio (can’t say his last name with out getting stuck in mod queue)
Paying to dump liriano’s salary which really didn’t save much if you look at other moves.
then Antionio for Niese…
The Archer Trade was iffy until the PTBNL was Baz. Meadows was known to be good but couldn’t stay healthy he was the headline piece. Tyler looked to be going no where.. Baz a top 100 prospect. Archer someone who hasn’t done well for years…
These where bad trades from the start. (which is where you judge trades not after)
People think the Cole Trade sucked.. i think its TBD yet. But at the time of trade not the worst. If it doesn’t get better next year with a better catcher and pitching coach then the results yeah probably bad…
People thought the Cutch trade was bad at the time but praise it now for the results, even though it was iffy at the time.
One thing the Cole and Archer trades proved is that our coaching and/or catching sucked . That might be the best thing of the trades.
Walker trade fit their MO and Niese was a consistently good #4 with the Mets.His health quickly went south and he has not pitched since.Walker made $33M over he next three years which the Pirates would not have paid because he only played 60% of the time because of his back.Liriano trade was clearly a salary dump that NH had to do and two young players had to be sacrificed to save $19M.
Cole trade was a “c”,and the criticism could be that he needed to wait until the trade deadline,but that would have been a catch 22 if the Pirates were having a good year.Archer trade was not panned at the time and he is a very talented pitcher who hopefully can turn it around but I agree that Baz should never have been given up.He made that trade to have five good starters right after the Pirates had won 11 straight games.
NH certainly had his faults but trading was not one of them and most posters are absolutely clueless.I am glad that Joe W is not one of them.
The Pirates and Mets need new owners