Third base has given the Pittsburgh Pirates plenty of fits this year. Former first-round pick Nick Gonzales is proving his worth. He is batting over .300 with a 67th percentile xwOBA. While he has had a fine season at the plate, his defense at the hot corner has been hard to watch at times. He already has -4 defensive runs saved and -2 outs above average in just 370.1 innings. Then you have Jared Triolo, who’s poor.540 OPS should not earn him a roster spot, but he is an outstanding third-base defender. He has +13 DRS and +11 OAA over 1168.2 innings at third. The Pirates have to find some middle ground. They’ve won plenty of games because of Gonzales’ bat, but have also lost a handful because of his defense. Because of that, the Pirates should look into what third basemen could become available in trades this summer. If the Pirates go after any position player via trade, San Francisco Giants’ infielder Casey Schmitt should be their #1 target.
Casey Schmitt Should Be the Pirates Trade Target
Power Bat in a Breakout Season
Schmitt is in the midst of an impressive breakout season. He is batting .281/.313/.537 with a .364 wOBA and 136 wRC+ over his first 246 plate appearances of the season. The infielder is hitting for plenty of power, with 15 home runs, and a .255 isolated slugging percentage on the season. His ISO ranks top 15 among qualified hitters this year. His 19.9% strikeout rate is better than average, although he rarely walks. Schmitt has drawn a free pass just 2.8% of the time.
Despite his low walk rate, his bat isn’t a complete fluke. Schmitt is in the 71st percentile for xwOBA, the 79th percentile for xBA, and the 89th percentile for xSLG%. Aside from his inability to draw a free pass, the only other critique you could make of his game is his heavy pull-side approach. He has hit just one home run this year, going to the opposite field. The rest have all been to left field. This is an approach that concerned many Pirates fans when the Bucs showed interest in Houston Astros’ third baseman Isaac Paredes, given PNC Park’s deep right field.
However, Schmitt’s power is legit. He has a 55th percentile, 89.8 MPH exit velocity, as well as an 84th percentile, 13.6%-barrel rate. Paredes was below the 30th percentile of both stats in 2025. The Giants’ Oracle Park is still the fourth least-home-run-friendly stadium for right-handed hitters, whereas the Astros’ Daikin Park is the eighth-most homer-friendly.
Schmitt Solves the Pirates’ Third Base Defense Problem
Schmitt has spent most of his 2026 season as the Giants’ designated hitter. He has also played all four infield positions, along with some innings in left field. However, the only reason he isn’t at third base is because of five-time Gold Glove winner Matt Chapman. He has graded out as a fine defensive third baseman. He has +1 DRS and +2 OAA over 521 innings since making his debut in 2023. It is his best position on the field. One could argue his defense at third could improve with consistent reps there, rather than being moved all around the field.
The Cost (Both Financially and for Prospects)
Acquiring Schmitt would mean the Pirates wouldn’t have to worry about adding a third baseman for a few years. He is under team control through arbitration for the next two seasons. On top of that, he is only making $810K this season. Even if he makes double that in arbitration during this upcoming offseason, the Pirates will still only have to pay Schmitt $1.6 million in 2027.
The prospect cost might be the most expensive part of the deal. However, there could be a wide range of prices the Giants have on Schmitt. The Pirates may have to put up a return similar to the one the Chicago Cubs made when they first acquired Isaac Paredes, or to what the New York Yankees had to surrender to acquire Jazz Chisholm Jr. at the 2024 trade deadline. However, both Paredes and Chisholm were more proven when they were traded than Schmitt is now. Jake Burger was also traded from the Chicago White Sox to the Miami Marlins in the middle of his 2023 breakout campaign, and the Marlins had to surrender far less than the Yankees did for Chisholm or the Cubs did for Paredes.
Solving third base should be the biggest thing the Pirates attempt to do at the trade deadline regarding their lineup (acquiring bullpen help should be priority number one). The Pirates have a third baseman who can hit but struggles to field, and another who can’t hit but is an outstanding defender. Schmitt brings both a solid bat and a solid glove to the hot corner for multiple seasons.
Main Photo Credits: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images
