{"id":80939,"date":"2024-07-23T10:04:14","date_gmt":"2024-07-23T14:04:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/?p=80939"},"modified":"2024-07-23T14:58:11","modified_gmt":"2024-07-23T18:58:11","slug":"pirates-cubs-reds-possible-trades","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2024\/07\/23\/pirates-cubs-reds-possible-trades\/","title":{"rendered":"Reds and Cubs Are Sellers; Pirates Might Come Calling"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The Cincinnati Reds and Chicago Cubs will be sellers at the deadline, and the Pittsburgh Pirates might be calling. It\u2019s an unusual position for the Pirates to be in. They\u2019re in the thick of the wild card race and have a rare opportunity due to their strong starting pitching.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Cubs President Jed Hoyer made it official today: Barring a big win streak over the next week, anything the team does at the trade deadline will be to help them in future years.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Jesse Rogers (@JesseRogersESPN) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JesseRogersESPN\/status\/1815518106758021288?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">July 22, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h2>Reds and Cubs Are Sellers; Pirates Might Come Calling<\/h2>\n<p>Like the Pirates, the Cubs and Reds are in the wild-card race, too. However, both clubs have taken stock of their performance this year and decided it best to sell. The Reds have quietly let other teams know they\u2019ll be <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2024\/07\/22\/reds-sell-expiring-contracts\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">selling<\/a> in the hopes of retooling for 2025. The Cubs are increasingly pessimistic about their chances and are <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2024\/07\/22\/cubs-trade-rumors\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">open for business<\/a> as well. Expectations were high for both teams. Their managers should survive the season with their jobs, but one hopes they survive it with their sanity. The Reds were 82-80 in 2023 and thought they could improve upon that. Injuries haven\u2019t helped. Meanwhile, fiery Reds manager <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/search\/search.fcgi?pid=bellda01,bell--006dav,bell--007dav&amp;search=David+Bell&amp;utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-07-23_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">David Bell<\/a>, who has 30 career umpire ejections, looks like a heart attack waiting to happen.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/tsoez0_qxWE?si=J72-hBsPvfENKbUK\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>The Cubs lured manager <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/c\/counscr01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-07-23_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Craig Counsell<\/a> away from the Milwaukee Brewers to manage their club. It was a startling turn of events, which Counsell explained by saying he \u201cneeded and wanted a new professional challenge.\u201d Surely, he did not want to be looking up at his former club in the standings. Even under the best circumstances, Counsell always looks like he has gas. There\u2019s no telling how this season is affecting him.<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s precedent for teams in the same division making deadline deals. The Pirates did it last year when they sent <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/search\/search.fcgi?pid=santaca01,santan005car&amp;search=Carlos+Santana&amp;utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-07-23_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Carlos Santana<\/a> to the Brewers. Of course, these deals would involve players with expiring contracts. No team wants to strengthen a division rival over a long period. However, three players are on a short list that might interest Pirates general manager Ben Cherington.<\/p>\n<h3>Pitching Help<\/h3>\n<p>The Pirates could use one or two outfielders who can hit, but neither the Reds nor the Cubs have one that would fit. Relief pitching is a different story. Although not a top priority, <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2024\/06\/28\/pirates-midseason-report-card\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">the Bucs could use some bullpen help<\/a>. Their rivals might be able to accommodate.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2024\/03\/15\/drew-smyly-role-chicago-cubs\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">biggest name<\/a> in the group is Cubs left-handed veteran <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/s\/smylydr01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-07-23_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Drew Smyly<\/a>. The 35-year-old has plenty of postseason experience, including two World Series in his 11 seasons. At the close of Monday\u2019s action, he has a 2.79 ERA and 1.270 WHIP. His strikeout and walk percentages, 20.2 and 9.8, aren\u2019t as good as one might want from a reliever. However, he becomes more attractive once one dives deeper. His ERA at home is 3.10, and, on the road, it\u2019s 2.45. Getting him away from hitter-friendly Wrigley Field should improve his numbers. Furthermore, those numbers might be skewed by a disastrous start to the season. More recently, he gave up just two runs in 12 innings in June and one run in 7 2\/3 innings so far in July. Although his contract is up this year, a $10 million mutual option for 2025 might scare the Pirates away.<\/p>\n<p>The Pirates may prefer to eschew the Cubs and inquire about Reds right-hander <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/f\/farmebu01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-07-23_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Buck Farmer<\/a>. Farmer, 33, has a 2.80 ERA and 1.200 WHIP. Like Smyly, his strikeout and walk percentages (20.4 and 9.4, respectively) leave something to be desired. On the plus side, opponents are batting .218\/.311\/.358 against him. Like Smyly, Farmer pitches in a bandbox. Unlike Smyly, he has a better ERA on the road (4.02) than at home (2.15). He\u2019s pitched just 15 2\/3 innings on the road so that he might reverse this statistical anomaly with more work.<\/p>\n<h3>Welcoming Back An Old Friend<\/h3>\n<p>The Reds also have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/search\/search.fcgi?pid=wilsoju10,wilson004jus&amp;search=Justin+Wilson&amp;utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-07-23_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Justin Wilson<\/a>, 36, on an <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2024\/03\/15\/cinncinati-reds-sign-justin-wilson\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">expiring contract<\/a>. Wilson was a Pirate from 2012-14 and along with Andrew McCutchen, would be a link to Pittsburgh\u2019s last run of success. After the 2014 season, the Pirates sent Wilson to the New York Yankees for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/c\/cervefr01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-07-23_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Francisco Cervelli<\/a>. Ten years later, it won\u2019t take a major league catcher to pry Wilson from the Reds. With a 4.85 ERA and 1.423 WHIP, he doesn\u2019t look like an overly attractive option. But the Pirates might be attracted by his 25.9 percent strikeout rate, which translates to 10.4 per nine innings. Furthermore, his 3.77 FIP indicates that his inflated stats may not be entirely his fault.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/x3cLT27WZ1Q?si=Yck2Tcj8bk7a4yVM\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h3>The Last Word<\/h3>\n<p>Like last year\u2019s trade deadline, demand will exceed supply. It may take some creativity to pull off a deal. If the Pirates are looking to shore up their bullpen, the Cubs and Reds might be willing trade partners, however unusual.<\/p>\n<p>Main Photo Credits: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Cincinnati Reds and Chicago Cubs will be sellers at the deadline, and the Pittsburgh Pirates might be calling. It\u2019s an unusual position for the Pirates to be in. They\u2019re in the thick of the wild card race and have a rare opportunity due to their strong starting pitching. Cubs President Jed Hoyer made it [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5010,"featured_media":80957,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[26,1071],"tags":[610,3215,124,2238,2495,672,2095,1267],"class_list":["post-80939","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pirates","category-mlb","tag-andrew-mccutchen","tag-ben-cherington","tag-cincinnati-reds","tag-craig-counsell","tag-david-bell","tag-drew-smyly","tag-francisco-cervelli","tag-justin-wilson"],"modified_by":"Matt Graves","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80939","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5010"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=80939"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80939\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/80957"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=80939"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=80939"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=80939"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}