After one of the most eventful weeks in recent Pirates history, the club limps home from Denver, Colorado. The Pirates followed up an impressive sweep in San Francisco with an underwhelming series defeat at the hands of the MLB-worst Rockies.
Pittsburgh kicks off a seven-game homestand with a three-game set against the middling San Francisco Giants. After being swept in the aforementioned series by the Pirates, the Giants hit the ground running in the Big Apple. They won a series from a New York Mets team mired in a pennant race.
Though San Francisco is 9 games back in the NL West and 6 games back of a Wild Card spot, the team has slid backward after the All-Star break. A 2-10 mark gave the front office little hope for a playoff push. Closer Camilo Doval was shipped out to the New York Yankees in exchange for four minor league prospects, a move that served as a bit of a ‘white flag’ on the 2025 season.
As for the Pirates, they’re looking to continue the hot hitting they enjoyed in the Mile High City, but also for the pitching to round into form. With the loss of starter Bailey Falter and closer David Bednar, there should be more innings available for youngsters like Braxton Ashcraft, Kyle Nicolas, and Thomas Harrington (though the latter was just sent down to Indianapolis).
Pirates: Offseason trade acquisition Spencer Horwitz turned in one of the best games of his career on Sunday at Coors Field. He racked up a season-high 6 RBIs on 3 hits, including a pair of long balls. Manager Don Kelly’s insertion of him in the leadoff spot has given the offense a much-needed shot in the arm.
Giants: Fellow infielder and trade piece Rafael Devers hasn’t shown out since his move from the Boston Red Sox, hitting just .233 since the trade. However, a 3-for-4 game on Sunday afternoon against the Mets might just snap him out of that cold spell. He mashed a 3-run home run in the game and drove in 4 total runs.
Pirates: Oneil Cruz enjoyed a 2-hit, 4-RBI night on Friday against the Rockies, but has still struggled over his last five games. He’s just 2 for his last 23 at the plate (.087 average), with 10 strikeouts. In the recent series against the Giants, Cruz was just 1-for-12 and struck out six times.
Giants: Five-time Gold Glove third baseman Matt Chapman has hit a rough patch at the plate. In his last six games, Chapman is hitting just 5-for-21 (.238 average), while occupying the valuable cleanup spot in San Francisco’s lineup.
Pirates: RHP Justin Lawrence (60-day, elbow), LHP Tim Mayza (60-day, lat), C Endy Rodriguez (60-day, elbow)
Giants: RHP Landon Roupp (15-day, elbow), LHP Erik Miller (15-day, elbow)
Notes
The Pirates have not won a home series against San Francisco since April 2019. The winning pitchers for the Bucs in that series were Jordan Lyles and Jameson Taillon.
Pittsburgh continues to own an impressive 31-25 home record, while the Giants own an above-average 28-30 record on the road.
This’ll be a prove-in series for the Pirates offense. Facing off against three veteran starters in Verlander, Webb, and Ray, they’ll have their work cut out for them.
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After previously losing just three times this season when scoring 5+ runs in a game, the Pirates have nearly doubled that total this weekend following two games in which they blew late leads in each.
The offense has piled on 21 runs against one of the worst teams in baseball but, thus far, has zero wins to show for it. They’ll try to keep the offense rolling today though as they face another scuffling starter in Colorado’s Bradley Blalock.
A 32nd round pick by the Boston Red Sox in 2019, Blalock even making it the MLB is surprising given both his draft position and numbers he posted along the way – a 4.59 ERA and 1.41 WHIP across 294 minor league innings – but his major league line has, unsurprisingly, not been great.
His 4.36 K/9 mark is the lowest among any pitcher with at least 30 innings pitched on the year while only rotation-mate, Antonio Senzatela, has a higher batting average against than Blalock’s .341 mark.
Over eight starts with the Rockies this year, Blalock has thrown 33 innings, allowed 26 runs off 47 hits, 7 walks, 2 hit batters and just 16 strikeouts.
But much of that damage came in a single blowout appearance on May 10th (12 runs through 3.2 innings) leading to his demotion afterwards but he’s been much better since his return to Colorado.
After being sent down and recalled, Bradley Blalock has been effective. He was Julys pitching standout #Rockiespic.twitter.com/BHY2s1VXji
— Blake Street Banter ⚾🌮 (@blakestbanter) August 2, 2025
Blalock features a mid-90s 4-seamer as his main offering while using a mid-80s slider and high-80s cutter against righties and pivoting to high-80s splitter and low-80s curve as his main secondaries versus lefties.
Some may point to Blalock’s recent success as a sign that he is turning a corner; however, two of three games have been away from Coors and the lone home start saw him allow 2 runs off 8 hits and a walk with no strikeouts over 5.2 innings with just 44 of 73 pitches going for strikes with opposing batters making contact on 30 of 34 swings and average exit velocity of nearly 97 MPH on batted balls in play.
His splitter has been his best pitch with 8.9 inches of horizontal movement arm-side resulting in an xwOBA of .179 – but in that home start, he only threw 4 splitters and wasn’t able place any of them for strikes.
The pitch is effectively neutralized due to the high altitude at home, forcing him to rely on his fastball and curve when facing lefties, against which they are batting .378 and .500 while slugging .649 and .688, respectively.
Righties should also be looking for the 4-seam fastball up in the zone (.364 batting average and .591 slugging) and the slider low and away (.333 BA and .500 SLG).
Look for Blalock to attack the zone with the fastballs and be ready to attack them. The offense has been aggressive the first two games but need to keep the foot on the gas if they want to salvage this series out west before returning home this week.
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I was working my ass off this whole week covering the trade deadline. Its very hard to not just pivot entirely to the reactionary side of things. You’re just trying your best to keep up with it, cover it, and yes, move on from it onto the next thing.
So eventually I got sick of being mad about the returns, or who they didn’t deal, and I started thinking to myself, might there be something better to be mad at? I really think there is, the way they’ve handled prospects.
And I don’t mean that they’ve had a ton who absolutely deserved MLB time and effort, but as with everything the Pirates contradictions are many on this front.
Let’s talk through some of my thoughts here, because what really got me going was the decision to keep these rentals on the roster and push off the playing time for prospects and young players yet again.
The best place to start is a guy like Liover Peguero.
I guess I could have typed it all out, but look at this. Called to the Bigs for the first time in 2021, and here we are 4 years later, he’s had 2,539 minor league plate appearances with a .742 OPS. Not great, certainly not perfect. Absolutely not a lock to be an MLB mainstay, that’s not the argument I’m making.
No, I’m just saying, that’s about 2.5 times more than enough to know what he’s going to learn in the minors. 253 major league plate appearances resulting in a .653 OPS. Again, not great, but what you should learn from his MiLB time is he probably has at least a .700 OPS bat in him, you know, if you let him play.
For most of 2023 while Oneil Cruz was injured, Tucapita Marcano, Chris Owings and Alika Williams got the playing time.
OK, I mean, the team traded for Alika Williams, he could play the position and he was coming off a good stretch in Tampa’s system. Tucapita was a prospect Cherington had tried to get twice before finally landing him, of course he wanted to see him. Liover got 213 plate appearances that year in the majors, a decent look, more than either of the other two.
The team moved on from Marcano, and Williams although he’s still in the system, and all of 2024 went by with Peguero taking 10 MLB plate appearances. This is the year they moved Cruz to CF, and acquired Isiah Kiner-Falefa to be the short stop.
IKF has been fine here, but this team has desperately lacked power, OPS in general.
That’s a lot, I get it. You can make a perfectly good excuse why Peguero hasn’t really been given a chance up here but this is the story with a lot of guys.
This is a player that has nothing left to learn in AAA, you’ve run the clock on him to the point he has no more options after this year, and you’ve left yourself all of 54 games to see what he is before you have to decide if this guy is at the very least part of your 26-man or he’s being DFA’d.
In those 54 games, now you also have to somehow keep a veteran Kiner-Falefa busy too, so clearly all 54 aren’t going to Peguero, even as they transition to bouncing him around the diamond.
Think about it, how are you to make an educated decision on this guy?
The Pirates love blocking up these positions with rentals, or for some reason, the guys who were roughly in the same spot as Peguero that this team acquires, well they too get priority. This might make sense if Peguero was say, Huntington’s last deal, but it wasn’t, it was Cherington’s first.
This is one player.
Cherington picks and chooses winners and losers.
Jared Triolo is a premium defender, but again, this team’s biggest issue has been offense, or lack thereof. Since 2023 Jared has been handed 821 MLB plate appearances, good for an OPS of .637.
I can’t promise you Peguero would be better.
But this entire conversation has not been to talk about one hard done by player. No, I’m trying to understand why you’d acquire a 29 year old “blocked” prospect and then keep a rental on top of Peguero?
This doesn’t mention Nick Yorke, Billy Cook, Ronny Simon, Malcom Nunez, not SS candidates, but certainly guys you could consider for 3B.
Again, not all, or even any of these guys have some right to get a chance, but we sure as hell should get a chance to see them play.
You sell the fans that you’ve acquired this talent, close to the league. You go out of your way to describe to us that you have to take risks. You have to get players who haven’t had opportunity yet, but might turn into something when you give it to them.
And yet, rarely do they actually do what I just repeated directly from their mouths.
Next year, in an effort to “try” they’ll sign more rentals if history is our guide, and they too will prevent us from getting eyes on any of these players. And they’ll be right, in a way, the rental will probably be more prepared for MLB, probably have more consistent at bats. What they could provide, well, you’ll have a good long record of evidence, so you won’t be shocked by what they get done.
See, it seems like a great plan, because at the time, you’re telling yourself this is my baseline, I’ll simply move them when one of my prospects shows me it’s time.
Here’s where it breaks down, this team never trusts a prospect until they’ve done it up here. Most don’t, honestly, but the difference here is, they simply don’t want to ever try it.
By the time they do, it’s desperation time, not unlike where we are with Peguero.
Again, maybe that’s on Peguero, he never fully pushed for an opportunity that made it overwhelming, but Nick Gonzales did last year while Jared Triolo ate up 2B opportunities.
There’s always going to be an element of picking and choosing, and you’re always going to like certain players better than others, but you do this entire endeavor a disservice when you can’t bring yourself to try these players.
Let’s say, Peguero takes full advantage of these 50 some games. Will that be enough to be SURE he’s a guy you should start with in 2026?
Let’s lower the threshold, let’s say at the very least he has proven himself at least capable of being an MLB player. Next step on this club if he were to have options is to have him play AGAIN in AAA so he can get regular playing time. Because that’s never an option in MLB right?
So you’re stuck in a box. No answer that will come this year will satisfy anyone that he’s the answer, if they keep him he has to make the team in 2026, or DFA him. Someone else will pick him up and then he’s essentially Alexander Canario.
Which begs another question, how do other teams do it? I mean, is it just that we draft or develop especially bad, or do the Pirates just have an aversion to the hard work they need to do?
If you ask me, this comes from the Pirates putting more stock in trying to reach adequacy prematurely, to show faux progress over the good of the effort itself. We should be 2 solid years into Peguero. We should know what he is entirely, but instead, we needed to see throngs of 1 year deals, flipped or worse, retained for little to no gain.
It’s not just the training, it’s the opportunity, or lack thereof when the training has been done, when nothing is left but to actually see what the hell they can do in the majors. Long ago, when the team tore down that was a time to sign some free agents, reasonable ones, free agents for 2 or 3 years at strategic positions. They’d make for more valuable trades when you do move them, providing you allowed a a youngster to actually do such a horrible thing, I mean lord forbid you pay a guy who isn’t starting because one of the 37 prospects you deal for shows promise.
No matter what subject you look at covering this baseball team, the problem is always fear.
Afraid to play young talent
Because if they struggle, they might drop in rankings, or lose value in a potential trade, or embarrass someone you paid money for on the open market
Because starting their clock means having a plan about how to use the player and not miss their prime years because you either took too long, or went too early and couldn’t adjust
Because fans don’t see rookie players as trying, and this team can’t for the life of them understand that means they’d rather you bring in a real free agent you don’t plan to have beaten out, whereas a guy like Tommy Pham sends them begging for a rookie.
Because analytics are never going to tell you a rookie, a normal rookie, not Paul Skenes, is going to be ready. Major league talent takes major league playing time to become a major league player. At some point you always have to pay the price, and the price is growing pains on the field of play.
This team is afraid of just about every risk, and there is none bigger aside from spending money of course than prospect development. At the end of the day it takes guts to trust your scouts, your development team, your player, to come to the major leagues and continue to learn. And that’s what it is, continuing the learning process, not the end of the race, just an indication you’ve finished the qualifying round successfully, you still have a long way to go to win.
I say this from the perspective of what a team should be thinking, not you. You as a fan have every right to get frustrated way too early with a kid. You have every right to irrationally call for DFAs for guys who were top 100 prospects not 3 months ago but have struggled in a couple outings.
Teams don’t have that luxury. Well, teams that have to get their talent from development can’t anyway. The Dodgers can wait for a prospect that makes it undoubtable. The Pirates, well they have to be smarter than that. They have to realize that the .650 OPS they can get now has a chance to grow into .700 or .740, or if the prospect actually has what it takes, something north of .800 and an MLB regular. Do this early, you might have 4 maybe even 5 years of control left of an actual MLB player, affordably. Do it late and you might have 2 or 3 years you want before ultimately deciding he’s too old to invest in. Do it the way the Pirates do, and most of the time you’ll wind up with a feckless and used car lot feeling AAA level.
These are the things that tell me what really needs to change here on the baseball ops side. Sure, they don’t make great decisions all the time, but they make enough good ones on talent that they should be finding more nuggets in their sifting. Instead, this team stops sifting as soon as they don’t see a 2 ounce piece.
Because of that, their fans go to be hungry, year after year.
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After a long night for both teams last night, the Pirates will look to have a successful and more one-sided affair tonight if they can get to the Rockies starter, lefty Austin Gomber.
Gomber, who made his debut against the Pirates on June 2, 2018, was famously part of the ill-fated trade which sent Nolan Arenado from the Rockies to the St. Louis Cardinals ahead of the 2021 season.
Entering play today, Gomber has a 6.28 ERA through 38.2 innings this season. The 31-year old southpaw missed two months of play due to left shoulder soreness but in his short sample size, the results haven’t been good.
With a career-low strikeout rate (12.3%), career-highs in both oBA (.321) and WHIP (1.66), he might be yearning to go back on the Injured List at this point.
The strikeout rate, in particular, would be the 4th lowest mark in MLB and the opponent batting average would be the 4th highest – both behind yesterday’s starter, Senzatela, and tomorrow’s projected starter, Bradley Blalock (more on that tomorrow) as he is another Rockies arm who doesn’t miss bats and relies on weak contact for success.
Unfortunately for him, with the vast terrain of Coors Field, those balls tend to find grass as he has a 7.52 ERA through 20.1 frames at home compared to a slightly more serviceable 4.91 ERA over 18.1 innings on the road – and much of that damage at home has come via the small ball.
Gomber throws a high-80s fastball and mid-70s knuckle-curve with a slider and changeup both in the low-80s. He works up in the zone with the fastball while driving both the curve and slider down and in against right handed hitters while using the changeup down and away in these situations.
Righties have been having the most success against his fastball (.365 BA and .673 SLG) and curve (.333 BA and .469 SLG) so look for those hanging curves or elevated heaters over the meat of the plate.
BAL – Tyler O'Neill 2-run HR (6)
📏 Distance: 433 ft 💨 EV: 113.6 mph 📐 LA: 26° ⚾️ 90.1 mph four-seam fastball (COL – LHP Austin Gomber) 🏟️ Would be out in 30/30 MLB parks
Lefties have mostly been seeing a slider/fastball combo with the occasional curve but will want to focus on the fastball as opposing lefties have 5 hits in 12 plate appearances against Gomber’s fastball with some pretty solid results for the hitters.
Like yesterday, this is a beatable opposing starter and a winnable game. Look to attack heat and be ready to hit as Gomber doesn’t walk a lot of batters and DEFINITELY doesn’t miss bats so get barrel to the ball and hit some bombs!
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Heading into Denver on a hot streak, the Pirates have won 8 of their last 9 games and are facing one of the only teams with a worse record than them in the Colorado Rockies, who will send out the seriously struggling starter, Antonio Senzatela.
Senzatela is arguably the worst starting pitcher in baseball this season as he leads MLB in hits allowed (152) and losses (14). Among pitchers with at least 100 innings, Senzatela has the lowest K rate (11.3%) with both the highest WHIP (1.84) and ERA (6.68), and has had more starts where he’s allowed 6 or more runs (5) than he has posted a shutout performance of just 4 innings or more (4).
Over his 9-year seasons exclusively with the Rockies, Senzatela has a 5.13 career ERA through 794.1 MLB innings, providing productive outings and even a strong 2020 campaign (3.44 ERA through 73.1 innings) but has failed to deliver since signing a 5-year, $50.5M deal signed in 2021.
The Rockies 2nd highest paid player (behind only fellow starter, Kyle Freeland) offers a mid-90s fastball that can touch 98 which he pairs with a mid-80s slider, low-80s curve and a high-80s changeup. Only his curve ranks as a positive pitch – and minimally at that – as his overall arsenal ranks as the worst Run Value in MLB.
Facing lefties, Senze focuses on a fastball/curve/changeup approach – none of which have a sub-.300 oBA or sub-.450 oSLG in theses situations. Meanwhile, right-handed hitters are primarily seeing his fastball/slider combo while batting .349 versus his slider and .380 against the fastball.
BAL – Cedric Mullins 3-run HR (14)
📏 Distance: 350 ft 💨 EV: 95.8 mph 📐 LA: 38° ⚾️ 95 mph four-seam fastball (COL – RHP Antonio Senzatela) 🏟️ Would be out in 19/30 MLB parks
He’ll infrequently dispatch the curve against righties, which has been effective in a small sample size as opponents are batting just .050 in these scenarios but that is over only 21 plate appearances and the batted ball average exit velocity of 92.1 MPH is still high enough to imagine this not working for him long-term.
Look to attack him early as opposing hitters are slashing .393/.431/.589 first time through the lineup. Additionally, when he gets behind in counts, he makes BIG mistakes as opponents are batting .395 when they get ahead of him compared to .306 when Senzatela takes the advantage.
BOS – Wilyer Abreu 2-run HR (18)
📏 Distance: 407 ft 💨 EV: 106.7 mph 📐 LA: 24° ⚾️ 96.3 mph four-seam fastball (COL – RHP Antonio Senzatela) 🏟️ Would be out in 23/30 MLB parks
This is a beatable starter and a winnable game and, despite the trades made, this team is still much better than what the Rockies are putting out there every night. Find pitches over the plate and put good wood on the ball to keep the winning rolling.
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The dust has settled and the anger – to a small extent, at least – has started to subside. Unexpected players were dealt and numerous rentals who were assuredly going to be sold remain with the team. So let’s break this down talking about who we lost, who we gained, who remains and where we go from here:
Who We Lost
Adam Frazier and Caleb Ferguson were both one a 1-year deal for 2025. If this team wasn’t contending – and that certainly has been the case for a while now – there was no reason for either of them to continue playing on the team, especially if they had value in a trade and could continue providing said value for a contending team.
Frazier batted .255 over 235 at-bats with the Bucs prior to being sent to Kansas City. It was unexpectedly thrust into an everyday role following the injury to Nick Gonzales in Game 1 but played decently enough and, as a supplemental piece, can contribute to a Royals team looking to contend this season.
Ferguson was a soft-contact merchant and, for as good as he was, that’s not a ton of value for another club. Sure, they can look at him as a solid lefty reliever to cover middle innings but the Mariners aren’t looking to get him in high-leverage situations and he will still be able to provide that value after posting a 3.74 ERA over 43.1 innings through 45 games with the Pirates this year.
These are both players who can impact their respective teams in small but meaningful ways.
The others who headed out – Ke’Bryan Hayes, David Bednar, and Bailey Falter – all had control beyond this season. Sure, Hayes has been among the worst hitters in MLB this season (.569 OPS) but he has continued to provide the best defense at the hot corner that can sometimes make fans overlook the appalling approach at the plate.
Bednar has been one of the faces of the franchise – not only on the main stage but locally as well, doing essentially every event he can in the community. Despite nearly being run out of town following significant struggles the last two months of 2024 and the first week of 2025, he took being optioned to Indy in stride, worked on things, came back and was locked in as he returned to the dominant closer that we all came to know over the previous few years with the team, posting a 1.70 ERA through 37 innings after returning to the club.
And Falter, while not being the ace of the rotation, has been an innings-eater who has provided solid production and the occasional elite outing; a lefty who has excelled pitching in the friendly confines of PNC Park while giving the team a chance to win every fifth game even when he doesn’t have his best stuff. The reports that he may have been a non-tender candidate this upcoming offseason when he has a 1.2 bWAR, 7-5 record and 3.73 ERA over 113.1 innings this season are suspect but also, that this is even floated at all on a very affordable arm leads to question whether the evaluations of these players can be trusted.
Who We Gained
Ok, so cut the cord because these guys are gone and, for better or worse, we have to accept that. Looking at the pieces we obtained though, it’s a bit of a mixed bag:
Cam Devanney was the return for Frazier from the Royals and he might be the most exciting acquisition right now – and that was two weeks ago(!). After hitting 18 home runs and posting a .931 OPS through 288 plate appearances with the Royals AAA affiliate, he has continued to hit since joining the Pirates top minor league club as he has 42 plate appearances with the Indianapolis Indians with a .294/.429/.382 slash line with one home run so far through his first ten games there. He’s also playing solid defense at shortstop, which is sorely an area of need for this club.
Shortstop Sammy Stafura came back from the Reds (alongside Taylor Rogers but more on that later) in exchange for Hayes and immediately became a top ten prospect for the Bucs. He currently is listed at #7 but that is before factoring in the 2025 MLB Draft signings. The 2023 2nd round pick is only 20 and was assigned to Bradenton once acquired but the biggest stand-out parts in his profile are his ability to get on-base and his skill with stealing bases. In 88 games a low-A ball this season, the 20-year old has gone 28-for-33 in stolen base chances while posting a .393 OBP.
The return on the Ferguson trade was RHP Jeter Martinez and, while he has shown some control issues in the early going (89 walks through his first 149.1 professional innings), the stuff is there as he can touch 100 with a developing changeup and slider that can help him as he rises through the minor leagues provided he can get more control on his arsenal.
The biggest surprise for fans was the deal that sent David Bednar to the Yankees in return for a bundle of prospects. Reports were that Cherington wouldn’t start the conversations unless New York was including one of their better prospects, Spencer Jones, but he would not be part of this plan.
The reported centerpiece of the deal, Rafael Flores, is listed as a catcher and first baseman, ranking 8th on the Yankees top prospects, per MLB Pipeline, and was their organization’s 2024 minor league player of the year when he hits 31 doubles, 21 home runs and posted a .875 OPS through 506 plate appearances between A/AA levels.
There are some concerns about contact with a 41.7% whiff rate at AAA this season, albeit in a very small sample size. Despite that, the plate discipline is off the charts (22.4% walk rate this season) and when he does make contact, it is BIG contact with a 48% hard hit rate so he likely will factor into this team’s plans in the near future. Where exactly though is anyone’s guess.
Another part of the return for Bednar is another catcher/first baseman in Edgleen Perez – who is maybe more intriguing than Flores as he rates plus defensively behind the dish with a powerful arm and an even better approach at the plate with 68 walks to 74 strikeouts this year with the low-A Tampa Tarpons. He doesn’t have nearly the power in his swing as Flores with only 8 extra-base hits (all doubles) through 301 at-bats this season, but profiles as a solid backup catcher with plus-fielding and a knack for getting on base.
The final player in the Bednar deal is outfielder Brian Sanchez, who is 6’3 and 170 lbs so plenty of room to grow into his frame but the bat is showing up this year at low-A. Over 63 games, Sanchez slashed .281/.373/.438 with 16 doubles, 5 triples and 4 home runs through 286 plate appearances. Additionally, he is a plus-baserunner going 24-for-28 in stolen base attempts.
Bailey Falter was dealt to the Royals, the Pirates second deal with KC in less than a month, and the return has underwhelmed fans. Heading straight to Colorado to join the active roster is lefty reliever Evan Sisk.
Sisk is a 28-year old rookie who bounced around a few organizations before finally debuting this year, posting a 1.69 ERA across 5.1 innings with the Royals with 5 walks and 11 strikeouts. He’s prone to wildness, an issue which has plagued him throughout his professional career, but in small stints of relief, can provide a solid lefty option who can miss bats and get outs.
The second part of the deal involves 1B Callan Moss, an undrafted free agent signed following the 2024 MLB draft out of Seton Hall. Despite the terms of how he signed a professional baseball contract, he has provided solid production thus far with a .281/.391/.423 slash line between A/A+ ball over the past year. This season, in particular, he has done well driving in runs with 70 RBI through 393 plate appearances with High-A Quad Cities.
The final deal involved Taylor Rogers, who spent exactly one day in the Pirates organization after joining as part of the return for the Hayes deal but he was soon shipped off to his third NL Central team in as many days as he was sent to the Chicago Cubs in exchange for OF Ivan Brethowr.
Brethowr was a 7th round pick for the Cubs in 2024 out of University of California – Santa Barbara, and the early returns were a bit subpar, batting .169 through 95 plate appearances in Low-A ball last year, but rebounded a bit at High-A ball this year with a .221/.398/.312 slash line. Still not great but at least it’s an improvement – and, they managed to get something in return for someone who is on an expiring contract!
Who Is Still Here
For some reason, the biggest trade pieces coming into the season – Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Andrew Heaney and Tommy Pham – were not dealt at this year’s deadline with GM Ben Cherington because they “didn’t feel like they had to trade anybody” – which is a strange way to talk about players who have no control after this year and you are the 2nd worst team in the National League.
Kiner-Falefa hasn’t been producing lately as he slashed .224/.256/.263 with a 42 wRC+ since June 1 but, for a team in contention, he provides defensive versatility and a skillset that would play up in a more reduced role.
Heaney has also been having some struggles lately. After a very strong start to the year with a 1.72 ERA through his first 5 starts, he has posted a 6.07 ERA over 75.2 innings since then. In spite of that, teams could utilize his veteran presence, back-end rotational upside and ability to pivot to the bullpen as he did during the Texas Rangers 2023 World Series run.
Pham, somehow, has been one of the best hitters in baseball since he figured out how to see the ball. Over his last 99 plate appearances dating back to June 22, he is slashing .411/.455/.656 with 8 doubles, a triple and 4 home runs in that span. His average exit velocity is 94.1 MPH and his 206 wRC+ in that span is third behind only Kyle Stowers of the Marlins and Nick Kurtz of the Athletics.
It’s just strange that Cherington would be unable to find buyers for any of these seemingly useful pieces who will just rot on the vine that is the Pirates 2025 season.
Where We Go From Here
For starters, the cries for Cherington’s job are only going to get louder. In year 6 of a rebuild, the team has shown an inability to obtain talent via trade or free agency and development of any talent acquired via draft has been a toss-up. A team that was proclaimed to be needing to “win now” this season fired their hitting coach in the offseason, their manager in May and will likely see their GM get the pink slip in the coming months as well.
The organization appears to be rudderless, floating along while other teams rise to contention, break themselves down to the planks and then rebuild to rise again, surging with the tide while the Pirates list lazily along. And for a team and a GM who said that they can’t be risk averse and need to focus on improving in 2026, nothing he did this past week has shown any merit to those statements.
Sure, some of these trades may work out and some of these players could develop into something useful but if Cherington’s track record is anything to go on, I wouldn’t hold my breath.
And I bet you won’t either.
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Well, the 2025 trade deadline has come and gone, and the Pittsburgh Pirates look much different than they did just 24 hours ago.
Ke’Bryan Hayes, Bailey Falter, Caleb Ferguson, David Bednar, Adam Frazier and technically Taylor Rogers are all out of the Pirates organization, while a slew of prospects will enter the Pirates farm system throughout the next few days.
With the off day during the busy Thursday trade deadline, the Pirates are back in action this weekend in Denver, facing off with the Colorado Rockies.
Pittsburgh enters this series as winners of seven of their past eight games, including an impressive series sweep over the San Francisco Giants earlier this week. Meanwhile, Colorado, who’s season is hard to describe as anything but dreadful, is coming off of a series loss to the Cleveland Guardians, despite being winners of two of their previous three series before that.
This is the first time that the Pirates and Rockies will meet this season, with the second series coming later this month.
Welcome to August and post-trade deadline Pirates baseball everyone.
Its a wonder as to why Tommy Pham, who’s contract expires following the 2025 season, wasn’t dealt prior to the trade deadline. Nevertheless, Pham has been piping hot at the plate as of late, posting a .404/.456/.615 slash with one home run and five RBIs in his last 15 games.
Pham played in two games in the Giants series, collecting five hits in eight at-bats, tallying an RBI and a walk as well.
July has been a hot month for Pham, as evidence by his 1.043 OPS, and in a hitter’s friendly ballpark, Pham has a prime opportunity to continue his hot streak at the plate in high elevation.
There hasn’t been many bright spots in 2025 for the Rockies, but one bright spot has been the play of Jordan Beck, who’s made himself an everyday player in Colorado this season.
Beck currently has a .785 OPS on the season with 12 homers and 36 RBIs, and he’s been impressive over his last 15 games, posting a .327/.393/.491 slash with two home runs and five RBIs in that span.
Beck is also coming off of a series versus Cleveland that saw three hits and one home run in 10 at-bats, and with an .801 OPS mark in July, Beck could continue to have success at the plate with this series being in Denver despite a strong Pirates starting rotation.
Nick Gonzales has been getting plenty of action at second base this year, despite injuries getting in the way.
A .708 OPS on the season warrants intrigue, but his play as of late has not, as Gonzales has posted a .197/.258/.279 slash in his past 15 games, and he’s only recorded four RBIs in that span.
Gonzales did have hits in all three games versus the Giants, so things appear to be on the uptick, but he’ll need another solid series versus Colorado to continue an upward climb towards further developing into an above average bat.
Michael Toglia has long been a young piece that the Rockies have hoped would transform into an above-average MLB player, but in 2025, that hasn’t happened.
Toglia has a .622 OPS this year with just 11 home runs, and his play as of late hasn’t been much better, seeing Toglia post a .193/.254/.385 slash in his past 30 games.
His July numbers aren’t good either, with a .571 OPS as evidence, and although Toglia will see a left-hander in Andrew Heaney, the side he hits much better against, his struggles don’t suggest any uptick in his play at the plate anytime soon.
Pirates: Ryan Borucki(15-day IL), Chase Shugart(15-day IL), Justin Lawrence(60-day IL)
Rockies: Kris Bryant(60-day IL), Zach Agnos(15-day IL), German Marquez(15-day IL), Case Williams(60-day IL)
Notes
Pittsburgh leads the all-time series versus Colorado 122-112
Colorado has not won the season series versus Pittsburgh since 2021
Pittsburgh won their last meeting on June 16, 2024 with a score of 8-2
Notable players to play for both Pittsburgh and Colorado include Denny Neagle, Justin Morneau, Clint Barmes, Tyler Anderson and Corey Dickerson, with Connor Joe, Jacob Stallings and Nick Mears being recent members of both teams
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7-31-2025 – By Michael Castrignano – @412DoublePlay on X
After spending the past few years donning the black and gold, pitcher Bailey Falter was traded today to the Kansas City Royals for LHP Evan Sisk and 1B Callan Moss.
We have acquired 1B Callan Moss and LHP Evan Sisk from the Royals in exchange for LHP Bailey Falter. pic.twitter.com/mwUPUWE2vU
Initially acquired from the Phillies in 2023 in exchange for Rodolfo Castro, the southpaw Falter struggled at times during his time with the Bucs but overall provided a consistent presence in the rotation as he accumulated a 2.9 bWAR posting a 17-16 record and 4.32 ERA across 296 innings of work.
This season has been his best campaign to date as Falter pitched to a 3.73 ERA over 22 starts with 70 strikeouts and 39 walks across 113.1 innings of work.
While he never had overpowering stuff (his fastball averages 92), he relied on pinpoint control and a top-tier extension to find success.
While I was never Falter’s biggest fan, you can’t deny that he provided value for this team across his two years here.
Heading back to Pittsburgh:
Evan Sisk
Sisk is a 28-year old left-handed relief pitcher who throws a fastball/slider combo and – in a short major league run – has been successful with just one run allowed over 5.1 innings of work. He has had some spotty control as he has allowed 5 walks with a wild pitch and a balk to go along with 11 strikeouts in that stretch. If the Pirates can get the control issues reigned in a little bit, this is a low velocity lefty who can provide an impact out of the bullpen with years of control ahead.
Callan Moss
Moss was signed by the Royals as a non-drafted free agent in 2024 but, despite that, he has been solid in the minors. Between A/A+ the past 12 months, he has compiled a .281/.391/.423 slash line with 9 home runs, 23 doubles and 5 triples across 473 plate appearances. The 21-year old Moss has also shown solid plate discipline with 71 walks to 99 strikeouts over that span.
Happy trails, Lord Falter, and welcome to Pittsburgh to Moss and Sisk!
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The Pirates traded David Bednar to the New York Yankees today for a package of 3 prospects.
Let’s run through what they got before I start telling you what I think of it.
Pirates Get
C/1B (AAA) Rafael Flores – The Yankees number 8 prospect Rafael Flores was emerging as one of the most intriguing power-hitting prospects in the New York Yankees’ farm system. Originally undrafted, Flores signed with the Yankees in 2022 after a standout summer with the Alaska Goldpanners and has since become a breakout star. In 2024, he was named the Yankees’ Minor League Player of the Year after slashing .279/.379/.495 with 21 home runs across High-A and Double-A
His offensive profile is built around plus raw power, a pull-heavy approach, and some of the highest exit velocities among Yankees prospects
Standing 6-foot-4 and weighing 230 pounds, Flores splits time between catcher and first base. While his defense behind the plate is still a work in progress—he’s thrown out just 17% of base stealers—his footwork and hustle have drawn praise
His bat, however, is what sets him apart. In 2025, he continued to mash at Double-A Somerset, hitting .287 with 15 home runs in 87 games before a recent promotion to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. He’s only played 10 games in AAA so it’s a bit early to take much from those numbers.
Flores’ offensive game is marked by a disciplined approach and a growing ability to lift the ball with authority. He posted a 150 wRC+ in Double-A, showing he could handle advanced pitching while cutting his groundball rate and increasing his pull-side power
Scouts note that while he still has some swing-and-miss issues, particularly with pitch recognition, his ability to adjust and make better swing decisions has been encouraging
Though not yet on the Yankees’ 40-man roster, Flores is viewed as a potential middle-of-the-order bat with the versatility to contribute at catcher, first base, or designated hitter. His development mirrors that of Ben Rice, another Yankees catcher-turned-slugger.
C/1B (A) Edgleen Perez – The Yankees number 14 prospect Edgleen Perez signed out of Venezuela in 2023 for just $50,000, Perez has already emerged as arguably the best defensive catcher in the organization. Despite being listed at 5-foot-10 and 155 pounds, he plays bigger than his frame suggests, showcasing advanced receiving, blocking, and arm strength that has helped him throw out 26% of base stealers. Still, it’s an underwhelming frame as it comes to projectability.
Offensively, Perez turned heads in the 2024 Florida Complex League, slashing .283/.444/.380 with 45 walks in just 51 games—good for the second-highest walk total and third-best OBP in the league
His approach at the plate is mature beyond his years, with scouts praising his bat control and ability to work deep counts. While his power is still developing—just two home runs in 2024—his hard-hit rate and physical projection suggest 12–15 homer upside as he matures
Now ranked among the Yankees’ top 20 prospects, Perez is expected to begin 2025 at Low-A Tampa. With a projected MLB ETA of 2028, he’s a long-term play, but one with a high floor thanks to his elite glove and rapidly improving bat.
OF (A) Brian Sanchez – Unranked This is Lottery Ticketsville folks. Brian Sanchez is known for his projectable frame and raw tools. Signed out of Venezuela, the 6-foot-3 left-handed hitter has steadily climbed the ranks thanks to a combination of athleticism and offensive upside. Though still just 20 years old, Sanchez has already shown flashes of impact potential at the plate, hitting .304 with a .385 OBP and .565 slugging percentage in a brief stint with the Tampa Tarpons
Sanchez is currently ranked in the Tier 5 range of Yankees prospects—players who may not be immediate impact talents but were worth monitoring for long-term upside.
His swing is geared for loft, and he’s begun to tap into his natural power, though he has yet to hit a home run in full-season ball. Scouts note that his wiry frame could support more strength, which would help unlock more consistent extra-base production.
Defensively, Sanchez profiles as a corner outfielder with solid range and an average arm. His speed is above average, giving him some value on the bases and in the field, though his long-term role will likely hinge on how much his bat develops. If he continues to refine his approach and add strength, he could emerge as a sleeper candidate for future MLB contributions.
The Legacy
David Bednar’s legacy as a Pittsburgh Pirate is one of resilience, hometown pride, and elite performance under pressure. A native of Mars, Pennsylvania, Bednar grew up a Pirates fan and realized a childhood dream when he was traded to the team in 2021. Despite being a 35th-round draft pick by the San Diego Padres in 2016, Bednar defied the odds to become one of the most dominant closers in Major League Baseball. His arrival in Pittsburgh marked a turning point in his career, as he quickly established himself as a bullpen anchor and fan favorite.
Bednar’s tenure with the Pirates was highlighted by back-to-back All-Star selections in 2022 and 2023, and he led the National League in saves in 2023 with 39.
His powerful fastball and devastating splitter made him a nightmare for opposing hitters, and his ability to thrive in high-leverage situations earned him the nickname “The Renegade.” That moniker, inspired by the Styx song famously used by the Pittsburgh Steelers, became a rallying cry for fans whenever he took the mound at PNC Park.
His 100th career save, achieved in July 2025, was a defining moment in his Pirates legacy. Not only did it place him among the franchise’s all-time great closers—joining the likes of Roy Face and Kent Tekulve—but it also came in front of a home crowd, underscoring the emotional connection between Bednar and the city.
That milestone was especially meaningful given the adversity he faced, including a rough 2024 season and a demotion to Triple-A in early 2025. His return to form, capped by a perfect save streak and a June NL Reliever of the Month award, showcased his mental toughness and commitment to excellence
Beyond the stats, Bednar’s impact was deeply cultural. He embodied the grit and determination that Pittsburgh sports fans admire, and his presence in the clubhouse was a steadying force during turbulent seasons. Even as trade rumors swirled around him in 2025, Bednar remained focused and grounded, emphasizing a day-by-day mindset that resonated with teammates and fans alike
His journey from overlooked draft pick to hometown hero is a testament to perseverance and passion.
I wish him well as a Yankee, and I’ll miss him, he loved this team far more than anyone serving as an executive has shown.
What I Think
I’m underwhelmed. It’s about the right value, but the timing off. Some of these players could be good, and Flores has a real chance to be in the majors in 2026. All in all, I’d have preferred a better top prospect in the package, and frankly, the Yankees probably weren’t the best dancing partner here.
I do think Flores is a legitimate power bat, but he still needs work and this team struggles to finish the job, even when it’s been started. He’s already 24, he’ll be 25 this year and bluntly, with only 10 games in AAA, it’s likely the rest of the season he spends there seasoning. Meaning if this deal has a 2026 impact aside from losing the closer, it’s this kid. The other two are lottery tickets largely.
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7-31-2025 – By Michael Castrignano – @412DoublePlay on X
With the recent long-overdue induction of Pirates legend, Dave Parker, into Cooperstown, it makes on thing about another more modern Pirates legend and whether he will reach high enough heights to one day earn a plaque hanging among the greatest of contemporaries. And it begs the question: What is the threshold for membership in the Baseball Hall of Fame?
Is it standard numbers like runs, homers or average? Is it more modern in value like OPS+ Is it a minimum WAR or a specific peak?
For as much as fans may cheer for certain players, the Hall of Fame is expected to be the best of the best. Sure, there are some notable exceptions that can be chalked up to a number of reasons but can Andrew McCutchen find a way to make the cut once he one day hangs up his cleats?
Cutch currently sits at 49.1 bWAR, just behind another overlooked centerfielder, Bernie Williams (49.6) who has a similar case for the Hall: 2,336 hits, 125 career OPS+, a couple of gold gloves and a silver slugger – as well as some championship rings but that’s irrelevant.
But Bernie, for as good as he was surrounded by talent, he was never the best at what he did at any point in his career.
Williams’s 5-year peak from 1997-2001 saw him accrue 26.6 WAR with 5 All Star nods and 4 top-20 MVP finishes on Yankees squads which went to the World Series 4 of those 5 seasons.
Cutch’s 5-year peak of 2011-2015 saw him accrue 31.4 WAR with 5 All Star appearances, 4 top-5 MVP finishes, including taking home the trophy in 2013 – all this in spite of being surrounded by much less talent than Williams experienced. In that 5-year window, the Pirates offense combined for a paltry 97 wRC+ while Cutch had the 5th best mark among all of MLB over that stretch at 151.
All this while leading a team and city bereft of playoff baseball for 20 years to the promised land of October baseball.
Another close comparison comes from another center fielder who has a couple rings on his profile as well as a place in Cooperstown: Kirby Puckett.
Puckett led the league in hits 4 times, total bases twice and won the batting title once while finishing top 3 in MVP voting three times without taking home the trophy; however, he did play a critical role in the 1987 and 1991 World Series runs for the Twins, slashing a combined .309/.361/.536 over 109 plate appearances through 24 postseason games.
While Cutch didn’t manage to reach the Promised Land (yet!), in a small sample size, he contributed – with Pittsburgh, at least – as he posted a .321/.441/.357 slash over 34 plate appearances across 8 postseason games from 2013 through 2015.
But Cutch won an MVP – something neither Puckett nor Williams managed to achieve in their respective illustrious careers.
So what are the arguments against Cutch making the Hall? Well…there are a couple of factors.
If you’re a traditionalist, you might not like his career strikeout totals. Sure, he’s lauded for his eye at the plate but just because he knows the strike zone doesn’t mean the home plate ump agrees, and he’s been rung up 1,858 times so far in his career – ranking 20th most all-time.
He’s never had a season where he K’d over 150 times but the longevity of his career has accrued a lot of strike 3 calls and, at his current pace, he’ll likely enter the top 15 all-time by the end of this year. An additional season and he could be in the top ten and, while having a lot of strikeouts isn’t necessarily disqualifying in nature (fwiw, the all-time strikeout leader is Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson), it also isn’t the kind of red you want on your ledger.
For another reason, he just doesn’t have HoF caliber numbers – either via JAWS (which calculates a player’s 7-year peak) or by total raw numbers.
He won’t reach 3,000 hits. Or 400 home runs. Or 1,500 runs or RBI. And while he played center field during his first stint with the Bucs, he became a corner outfielder once he left and has been almost exclusively a designated hitter since returning.
His JAWS score is 43.9 is decisively below the average center fielder mark for the Hall (58.0) and, as mentioned, his total mark is not in the ballpark of many more modern members either but, through pure consistency, he has achieved a number of marks that few others have reached.
He is one of 11 players with 10+ home runs in 17+ seasons and one of 12 players in history to record 400 doubles, 300 homers, 200 stolen bases and 50 triples in his career.
And yes, these are very specific and mildly abstract markers that likely falls short but is still an impressive tally for an impressive career from number 22.
So while he certainly will earn a spot in the Pirates Hall of Fame once he hangs up his cleats, it seems a steep climb to reach the mount in Cooperstown for Cutch.
Then again, when it comes to Cutch, you never know…
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Steel City Pirates 