The Pirates are sitting on the periphery of a playoff spot. The division seems all but a lost cause and the hope for a wildcard is waning by the day.
The Pirates look like they should focus on selling. While the pending free agents the Pirates have don’t hold great value overall, they do have one player in particular that would bring back enormous value. I’m of course talking about Felipe Vazquez.
Vazquez has been the subject of trade rumors for now the third consecutive trade deadline with the Pirates. And for good reason. The 28-year old is wasting the prime of his career on a mediocre team that doesn’t have the chance to use him as much as they’d like because they aren’t competitive in enough games for that at present.
Sure an argument can be made that he is needed if the Pirates are to contend in 2020 and beyond, but I don’t agree. They’ve had him for three years and haven’t done much of anything with him. Would having him in 2020 be any different? Trading Vazquez, however, could be this organization’s best chance to fill the roster with talent and give this team a chance to take that next step. Having a closer like Vazquez, as good as he is, might be a luxury the Pirates just can’t afford given all these other holes on the roster that could easily be filled by bringing back an immense haul for Vazquez.
At the end of the day, if you can get 2-3 potential legit starters (a combo of pitchers and position players) for a reliever, you take that. Huntington has always found relievers out of the woodwork that have been great for the Pirates. That’s one thing he does well.
Will the Pirates receive the haul they are looking for to trade him? Probably not. I’ll guess they hold onto him for now, but they’ll listen intently I’m sure. That being said, let’s see what kind of offers could get a deal done for Vazquez.
Astros:
The Astros are chasing another pennant and could really use that final piece to inject into their young team to get them over the top. Vazquez could easily be that piece. And to nobody’s surprise, they have the pieces to make the deal.
To Astros:
Felipe Vazquez
To Pirates:
OF Kyle Tucker
RHP Corbin Martin
RHP Bryan Abreu
C Garrett Stubbs
The must-have in this deal would be Kyle Tucker. The guy looks like he’s going to be a superstar in this league. He could easily be Starling Marte’s replacement and then some. Corbin Martin is immediate help to the pitching staff and Garrett Stubbs can provide immediate help to the catching position. Abreu would be the pitching piece for later. This would be a solid deal for the Pirates from both a talent and need standpoint.
Braves:
The Braves with a legit closer like Vazquez would give the Dodgers a run for pennant favorites in the NL. Inject that young roster with that and watch them win a ton. And their system, as well, is filled with talent.
To Braves:
Felipe Vazquez
To Pirates:
OF Christian Pache
RHP Bryse Wilson
LHP Kolby Allard
C Logan Brown
This deal does include some potential help now in the way of Wilson and Allard. Allard, being a lefty, would really help this organization from a need standpoint. The big piece is Pache though. He’s projected to be up next year and he’s on a similar level to Tucker in terms of talent and potential star power. Would be a great add. Logan Brown fills the organization with an additional catching prospect. Would be a good deal for the Pirates as well.
Dodgers:
The Dodgers have really been the only team really connected to Vazquez but that doesn’t mean much since the Pirates rumors don’t leak much. But with Jansen struggling a bit, they could really use Vazquez to push a Jansen/Vazquez duo in the 8th and 9th that would cause nightmares. Dodgers have lost two straight World Series and might be desperate to make a huge move. They were connected to Vazquez for awhile now. So is it finally time that comes together?
To Dodgers:
Felipe Vazquez
To Pirates:
2B/SS Gavin Lux
C/3B Will Smith
RHP Dustin May
All three of these guys could help very soon and all of them are very talented top prospects. Gavin Lux has crushed AAA and would be the prize of this deal. He can easily be the 2B in Pittsburgh for a long time. Will Smith can fill the catching void instantly. He should certainly come in this deal. Dustin May can easily be a solid 2-3 starter at the major league level, if not more if he figures some things out. Of course, they could get Dodgers top prospect Keibert Ruiz in this deal and he’d fill the void at catcher. But he’s still at least a year away and it might be better value to get Lux instead and then ask for Will Smith on the backend of the deal. This is the best potential deal going for the Pirates in my opinion.
White Sox:
This one might be a bit puzzling since the White Sox look like sellers. But they should be a contender next year and they may do some offseason shopping this deadline. Vazquez could be on their list, and if they are worried another team will scoop him up this month, they may try for him now. They are the one non-contender I can see going after him given the need and the immense talent in their system.
To White Sox:
Felipe Vazquez
To Pirates:
RHP Dylan Cease
2B Nick Madrigal
RHP Zack Burdi
The big piece going in the deal from the Sox would be Dylan Cease. Cease was one of the players who went from the Cubs to the White Sox in that Jose Quintana deal. He’d provide immediate rotation help. Plus, trolling the Cubs with him would be fun if he winds up being amazing. Madrigal was one of the steals of the draft a couple of years ago and he has a 2020 ETA. He would be an awesome get for the Pirates in this deal given how good he is and could fill the void at 2B for a long time and soon. The other piece in the deal would be Zack Burdi, Nick Burdi’s brother. That’d be an awesome thing to see and if they both get and stay healthy, they could be dynamite in the bullpen, possibly even one of them replacing Vazquez as closer down the road. Another low-level prospect might have to go to the Pirates in this deal too.
Twins:
The Twins seem to not want to trade their top prospects, but that was before the Indians started winning a ton and catching up to them a bit. The Twins are no longer safe. They are outplaying metrics and could use another star, especially in that bullpen, to make a run in October and Octobers to come. They could be in position to do what the Indians did in a situation similar a few years prior when they got Andrew Miller.
To Twins:
Felipe Vazquez
To Pirates:
OF Alex Kirilloff
RHP Brusbar Graterol
LHP Steven Gonsalves
C Ben Rortvedt
Kirilloff is obviously the prize of this deal. The guy is from the Pittsburgh area and would be on the club at some point next year. The fans would love him. Graterol could help next year too and has excellent potential. Gonsalves is a much-needed lefty for this organization and immediate help. Rortvedt would be a catching prospect for later.
Would a Vazquez deal look exactly like any of these? I highly doubt it. GMs value different players differently than we do on the outside. But all of these potential deals would be rather nice if Vazquez would get dealt. The best one here I mentioned is the Dodgers one given the combination of immediate help, need and impact. But that Astros offer is a really good one as well.
Now I doubt Vazquez is dealt, but the Pirates would need immense value coming back to even consider moving him. I don’t think any offers like the ones I mentioned come to Huntington’s ear, but if they do, he has to very much consider it and even probably do it.
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