Two guys Talkin’ Trades – Spare Parts

7-22-23 – By Justin Verno & Corey Shrader – @JV_PITT and @CoreyShrader on Twitter

Justin Verno- Ok, so Corey and I spent the first two episodes looking at a few spots we feel the Bucs might look to upgrade. In this edition, we change up gears. 

In the offseason the Bucs added some free agents to fill some holes. Thing is, only one of those free agents had any control. And ironically, he didn’t make it out of spring training as Jarlin Garcia hasn’t even gripped a ball since his injury.

Corey Shrader- This particular roster is in a tricky spot. There are a lot of players that need playing time to truly find out what they can do. Situations like this could very well mean that trading some of them would make sense if you can find a suitable partner that has either the playing time availability or a need for a specific skill-set.

JV-  And a lot has changed since we started doing these. We went from proposing to add some talent to the fact that Ben Cherington will likely be looking at selling off some spare parts. I don’t mean that as an insult, but the Pirates have a few rentals they will probably look at moving. They also may have a depth piece or two we could take a look at in this piece.

CS- You’re right – we could see them make moves very similar to last year’s deadline. Moving some “spare parts” to add either depth to the farm or shore up some thin MLB areas of need by finding a team that has “spare parts” of their own.

JV-  Corey, I think we might be touching on a few more names in this one that we normally do. Might this best be done rapid fire style? 

CS- Let’s fire away!

The Rentals

Carlos Santana–1B/DH SV $2M

Good glove. Got some bang in the bat. Good add to the locker room. I think he’ll be a name we hear.

CS- To the  Baltimore Orioles

Trace Bright – P – ETA: 2026 FV 35+ 

Bright was drafted in 2022. He is a big righty with a good fastball. Currently having success at A+, but as a Power 5 NCAA pitcher, his true measure of talent should come in the upper minors. It is a tricky fit to find a home for Santana, but Baltimore could use his profile for when/if O’Hearn’s hot streak ends.

JV- To the Houston Astros 

Spencer Arrighetti- SRIP– ETA:2025 FV 40($1M)

Decent FB. Decent slider. Decent CB. Good K rates. Decent flier taken. (rest needs a decent amount of work) Making quick work of AA and AAA so this is a hard get. But could Houston be in the “all in phase” as their system isn’t what it used to be?

Ji-Man Chio–1B/DH  SV 0

This is a wild card type ad. But he’s done it in the play-offs, a team could comme calling for that alone. 

CS- To the Philadelphia Phillies

Francisco Morales – P ETA: 2023/24 FV 35+

The Phils could use a 1B help & have been scrambling since the Hoskins. Choi could prove an attractive add. I think someone like Morales is worth a dart throw. He has absolutely nuclear stuff but very enigmatic control. Well worth trying to “fix” him, you could just land the next out of nowhere uber-reliever. 

JV-To the Houston Astros (why not?)

Forrest Whitely–MIRP- ETA:2023 FV 40($1M)

Former can’t miss starting pitching prospect. Who missed. TINSTAAPP. Time to let the kid get a fresh start.

Rich Hill-LHSP-SV $1.5M

We see a LHSP rental moved every deadline. As reliable as a Rolex. Rich isn’t rewriting the record books(aside from his age) but he’s a reliable starter that gives a team innings, a chance to win most of his outings  and know-how. One major consideration here? The Bucs need  guys to eat innings, so they will have to figure that out before accepting an offer on Hill. 

CS- To the Toronto Blue Jays

Lazaro Estrada – P ETA 2025 FV:35+

The Jays have a need for some pitching depth. While Hill isn’t the flashiest option, he would certainly provide them experienced depth at the position. Estrada is a little old for the level, but he is dominating the way you’d like to see. I can’t quite get a sense of how he fits into the Jays system, but feels like the kind of piece they would feel comfortable moving for some MLB level help.

JV- To the LA Dodgers-

LAD gets Austin Hedges-C and Rich HIll-LHSP

(you see where I’m going with this?)

Jake Pilarski-SIRP-ETA:2023 FV 45($4M)

If you buy into the rumors that David Bednar could be on the trade block (let’s save that for another day), this is a guy to have your eye on. A typical late inning “stuff” guy. Only two pitches and he doesn’t have the best control of those two pitches. But his FB and SL(both have a 70 grade) are the real deal when he finds the plate. 

Jose Ramos–RF- ETA:2025  FV 40+($4M)

The Bucs need to keep adding OF that can hit until one pans out. Ramos and his bat have developed. Kid has some pop for sure. Ramos has some major warts, including swing and miss issues, and I’m talking pitches in the zone. But the power is worth taking a gamble on. 

This is a hefty package for Hill and Hedges, but since both Ramos and Pilarski have some red flags and LHSP always gets an overpay at the deadline, the Dodgers just might take the bait. 

CS – I could definitely see a team be interested in adding a veteran defensive minded catcher. I’ve got a slightly different idea when it comes to finding a partner for Hedges in particular.

To the Guardian – Austin Hedges – C

Jonthan Rodriguez, OF ETA 2024+ FV 35+

Cleveland has a recent history with Hedges who was a big hit with their pitching staff in 2022. Perhaps Cleveland thinks Hedges could be beneficial fostering their young pitching staff down the stretch as they play in an ALC race.

Rodriguez is a toolsy corner OF with a good power profile, but a limited approach and hit tool. This might be too steep of an ask given the Guardians need for offense, but he doesn’t appear to be too highly regarded in the org. The profile is worth a look for the Bucs.

Wouldn’t shock me…

Connor Joe–OF/1B–SV $25-30M

With the emergence of Josh Palacios, could Joe be on the go? A good 4th OF and 1B Joe can give a team a quality spot start or a bat off the bench. The added control would be a bonus. But would the Bucs move a guy they traded for in the off-season? Let’s see if we can make sense of it.

CS- To the Minnesota Twins

Matt Canterino – P ETA:? FV: 40+

Jose Rodriguez – OF ETA: 2028 FV: 35+

Minnesota could use an offensive addition to the mix in their quest for the ALC. Joe can fit as an OF or 1b. 

The return for Pittsburgh here is risky – Canterino is out and recovering from Tommy John. He has absolute dynamite stuff though and well worth stashing for an org like Pittsburgh. Rodriguez is a pure youth stash. Rocked the DSL in 2022 & is not really carrying that over to stateside play, but he looks like a decent enough lotto ticket.

JV- To the Texas Rangers

Owen White–SP–ETA:2023-FV 45 ($6M)

To start the season, White would have been a no fly zone guy. But AAA and the MLB have been unkind. If the Rangers are willing to let him go, he still has a 5 pitch mix and reminds me, just a tad, of Joe Musgrove. (Mostly because of the pitch mix.)

Dustin Harris–1B/LF-ETA:2024  FV 40+($4M)

Dusin can play a few different spots, including 1B and that’s where I think the Bucs would look to play him. Dustin carries some good power coming in at 45 FV for game power and a 50 FV for raw.

Neither of these come close to  Joe’s SV. And while sticking to the SV is the idea of these articles, we also have to highlight the instances where the team just  won’t get that value back. Control is certainly the key, but control of a bench bat? Well, the Bucs will have to weigh the upside in deals like this.  After all, we both have an overpay on Hill, same thing applies there but in reverse.

Dealing from the depth-

JV- The Bucs have started to get some of the bigger names to PNC. Henry Davis, Nick Gonzales. Jared Triolo(kinda) and the latest, Quinn Priester, Endy Rodriguez and Liover Pegeuro.. With more names coming soon, Colin Selb and maybe even Jared Jones, it’s time to fill the holes. The best way to do that?  Deal from that area of strength. 

Corey, I think this could be fun. Pick a guy, any guy and let’s see if we can fill a hole. Anything goes here. Three teams? Bigger package? We aren’t “buying a big name” is the only rule. We aren’t fishing for a Luis Robert Jr or Jaun Soto. More seeing what we could get for some of the names that are blocked that we’ve stock piled? 

You feeling it?

CS- Great idea. There are some teams who are in a position to contend that have a similar backlog of players or significant lower minors depth, so this kind of deal could definitely be available. Who you got?

JV-My trade bait- Ji-hwan Bae- 2B/SS/OF/DH ETA–MLB

Bae certainly plateaued after a solid start to the season. And the fans  Corey, are restless when it comes to Bae. Despite some of the flaws we’ve seen there have also been splashes and moments that highlight his ability. I think Bae is a guy the Bucs can get good value for due to those attributes. His SV is not easy to lock down, If we look at the ZiPS projections for 24 and 25 they come in at 1.6 and 1.8 if we were to stretch that out the surplus value would be solid.  Likely in the 30 million range(Bae isn’t a free agent until 29). The Bucs won’t get that, but they could still get a solid return for Bae. 

To the Seattle Mariners along with Carlos Santana -1B/DH- SV $2M

The Mariners have a nice core and are still in the wild card race. With 2B and DH being needs this seems a good match. Adding Bae would give them a leadoff hitter and allow JP Crawford slide down in the order. Bae’s speed and base stealing ability should be attractive here as JP as one stolen base on the season. 

The Return

Emmerson Hancok–SP-ETA:2023- SV 45($4M)

A familiar name to these exercises. The former 1st rounder hasn’t gotten off the ground just yet, but you can never have too much pitching. The change up is his best pitch and anyone who has seen Luis Ortiz and Jared Jones this season knows the Bucs have actually done good work this year with moving that pitch along for a few guys. This is a good add with a lot of upside, but that floor is low. Still, pitching is something they should never stop adding,(TINSTAAPP)

Tyler Loclear-1B-ETA:2026–FV 40+($4M)

It looks like Ty’s game power is starting to catch up to his raw power scouting grades. 30/55 to 65/65 on the scale. His 11 HR and 14 doubles in 48 games on the year support that. (25 of his 56 hits went  for extra bases).  Ty has a short stroke, evidenced by his solid K rates(low 20%) and the fact he doesn’t pull enough. Could getting the kid pull unlock some of that raw power? 

I know this won’t seem sexy enough for some and perhaps the Buccos can get one more little piece here, but at the present Bae is still more projection than results, this feels right despite the disparity in perceived SV. Don’t get selfish Mr. Cherington, plugging a hole (1B) and adding yet another arm from a depth piece?  This is where the organization is. The kids are arriving by the bus load. Time for one more stop on the way to the park.

Take it away, Corey!

CS – Okay, so since you covered first base and it is a definite need, I will go with pitching too since you can never have enough. 

My trade bait is Liover Peguero. 

Miami Marlins get: Liover Peguero, MI/INF ETA: Now

Pittsburgh gets: Max Meyer, P ETA: 2024 or Trevor Rogers, P

Peguero could help right away to fill a 3B gap for the Fish. They have a few interesting INF options in Xavier Edwards and Jordan Groshans, so it might not be a clear fit depending on how the organization views those two. Peguero’s defensive skill set should fit the hot corner well.

Mayer and Rogers are both recovering from injury and the Marlins do have quite a bit of depth to deal from when it comes to pitching. It isn’t the cleanest fit, but it could certainly work if they view Peguero as an upgrade to the other AAA level guys mentioned above.

JV-There you have it! A little bit of everything. Check in next week as Corey and I take a look at the painful thought of selling a piece…or two. Could the Bucs listen on a centerpiece of the rotation? Could one of our own be on the move?