Tag: Trade deadline please stop

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Pirates Morning Report: Trade Deadline and Other Things

The trade deadline, everywhere you go, you read about the trade deadline. I have never understood the high interest in this, and all the speculation of what is going to happen. In the long run most of it does not happen. I do not expect to see much activity from the Pirates. Names that are mentioned are Rich Hill, Carlos Santana, Ji Man Choi, Rodolfo Castro, Tucupita Marcano, and Ji Hwan Bae. One name you do not see mentioned is Ke’Bryan Hayes who I think is the best trade chip the Pirates have. Austin Hedges may be a possibility, also. I suppose the Pirates could make a few moves, but I do not see anything earth shattering happening. I would not be that surprised if the Pirates do not make one single trade. I love seeing trades and I will be following deadline day as much as anybody, but I do not pay attention to all the pre-trade talk.

At the beginning of the season, I felt the Pirates would be playing meaningful games in August. Unless the Pirates win almost all of their games the rest of this month, that is not going to happen. This is not going to be a major analysis of the season so far, but a short version of what went wrong. Injuries played a big role in the Pirates downfall. Managements lack of motivation to replace the injured players with some quality was another factor. The surprising regression of Roansy Contreras, Luis Ortiz, Rudolfo Castro, and Ji Hwan Bae from their 2022 performances. Granted Bae’s was a small sample size but he has not come close to what he did in 10 games in 2022. After getting off to a good start, the bullpen has struggled mightily. Derek Shelton’s in game decisions have left a lot to be desired. There are other factors but the bottom line is the Pirates are back in last place in July and just playing out the string. The one good thing is management has brought the young players up and it will be fun to see what they can do. You never know there could be a few positive surprises left in this season, but I do not think it will be at the trade deadline.