Pittsburgh Pirates Need to Start Over
The Pittsburgh Pirates need a new start. They have been one of the worst teams in baseball after the All-Star Break. Pittsburgh was embarrassed at home on Sunday afternoon against the New York Mets 13-2.
The Pirates have the second worst record in the National League at 48-63. Pittsburgh is 12 games back of the the Chicago Cubs for first place in the National League Central.
The only other team the Pittsburgh Pirates are better than in the National League at the moment is the Miami Marlins.
It looks as if Pittsburgh has given up on the season with a little bit under two months, to go in the regular season.
This franchise has no hope for the next few years. The Chicago Cubs, the St. Louis Cardinals, and the Milwaukee Brewers will be competing for a playoff spot not only this season but for the next few seasons.
The Cincinnati Reds are not an automatic win anymore and that franchise is turning the corner. Cincinnati is a year or two away from being really good again. The Reds have one of the best prospect pools in baseball.
Trading for starting pitcher Trevor Bauer at the trade deadline and giving up one of their best prospects is all you need to know about how close Cincinnati is to being a playoff team again.
The Pittsburgh Pirates have one of the worst farm systems in baseball. They need to fire General Manager Neal Hunnington at the end of the season. Pittsburgh also needs to fire Manager Clint Hurdle at the end of the season as well and head in a new direction.
They need to follow the Baltimore Orioles model right now. The Chicago Cubs and the Houston Astros did what Baltimore is currently doing also. Rebuild the team and start from scratch.
Two players the Pirates must trade this offseason to restock some of the farm system is reliever Felipe Vazquez and first baseman Josh Bell.
Both of those players still have a few years remaining with the team. Both of those players could help a contender.
The Los Angeles Dodgers tried to work out a trade with the Pittsburgh Pirates for Felipe Vazquez before the trade deadline. It didn’t work out. They could revisit the idea in the offseason.
Pittsburgh could trade him to Los Angeles for #3 prospect catcher Keibert Ruiz, #5 prospect right-handed pitcher Josiah Gary, #7 prospect shortstop Jeter Downs, and #9 prospect second baseman Michael Busch.
The Pirates could trade Josh Bell to the Colorado Rockies for #2 prospect left-handed pitcher Ryan Rolison, #4 prospect first baseman Grant Lavinge, #6 prospect shortstop/third baseman Ryan Vilade, and #21 prospect right-handed pitcher Tommy Doyle.
Another player Pittsburgh should consider trading is 30-year-old outfielder Starling Marte. He will have two more years left on his contract. It’s obvious Marte doesn’t want to be around a losing team much longer as well.
He could be a player that could fit well with the Atlanta Braves. They could trade him for #11 prospect outfielder Greyson Jenista, #13 prospect left-handed pitcher Tucker Davidson, and #18 prospect outfielder Trey Harris.
This would fix up some of the farm system problems right away. I doubt the Pittsburgh Pirates would trade anybody and try to fix it.
If the season ended right now, Pittsburgh would own the seventh pick in the 2020 MLB Draft. If they continue to lose games, they could get an ever higher pick.
A complete rebuild is essential because this city has too much of a championship pedigree. The Pittsburgh Pirates have been the laughing stock of the city.
They also had a stretch from making the playoffs from 2013-2015. This will be the fourth season Pittsburgh is going to miss the playoffs. They also moved on from outfielder Andrew McCutchen at the trade deadline last season.
