Pirates Morning Report: The Trade Deadline

This article is not going to speculate on what the Pirates might do at the trade deadline. Who knows what this organization might do? Mitch Keller remains the big chip that the Pirates have to offer at the deadline. I am advocating that the Pirates clean house. They can do this without trading Mitch Keller. If they do trade Keller, then they must clean house. You would hope that the Pirates would get at least two very good bats for Keller. If that is the case, then they would be on the team. You would have to get rid of Brian Reynolds and Ke’Bryan Hayes. IKF and Tommy Pham would be rentals for some team. I feel that those four players must be traded no matter what. The other player that I feel is a must trade is David Bednar. I feel there are only four players that can’t be traded: Paul Skenes, Oneil Cruz, Nick Gonzales, and, believe it or not, Henry Davis. That leaves 22 players that could go if the price is right. I feel Hayes, IKF, Pham, Reynolds, and Bednar must go. I do not think you will get much for any of the position players. Bednar should get you at least one solid major league hitter. I expect the return for the other position players to be much like what they got for Adam Frazier. They should get very good AAA players. The biggest plus of getting rid of these players is it will free up a lot of money. Despite the fact that Keller may give you the best return, I am not totally sure he should be traded. There is no question that right now he is the No. 2 starter on the team. We will see what teams are willing to give up to acquire him. You could move out Andrew Heaney. He won’t give you that big of a return. He will finally open up the spot for Bubba Chandler if he is gone. One thing is certain: this is a crucial trade deadline for the Pirates. It is one of the most important in about a decade. By the time August 1st gets here, the Pirates better have a whole new look. If they don’t, then it will sadly be the time to dump Paul Skenes this time next year. This is Cherrington’s last hurrah. He better make it a good one.