Embarrassing Trade Deadline a Microcosm for Pirates’ Lack of Direction
The 2025 Major League Baseball trade deadline came and went on Thursday. And for the Pittsburgh Pirates, it was lackluster, to say the least.Aside from the Adam Frazier trade a couple weeks ago, the Pirates dealt five players, including Ke’Bryan Hayes, Caleb Ferguson, David Bednar, Taylor Rogers, and Bailey Falter.
General manager Ben Cherington received a total of seven prospects. However, six of them are still years away at the A ball level. The only upper level prospect Cherington obtained was Rafael Flores, a catcher/first baseman in the Bednar deal, who was the New York Yankees eighth ranked prospect.
Despite Ke’Bryan Hayes’ offensive shortcomings, he was playing a perennial, Gold Glove caliber defense at third base, and had plenty of control, on a team-friendly extension. There really wasn’t a rush to move Hayes, especially when there isn’t a clear cut option waiting in the wings.
While it’s not much of a surprise Bednar was traded, because of pay escalation this offseason, it was the makings of a disappointing return. Objectively, Flores is a good prospect, but he should not have been the headliner in the deal. The other players, Edgleen Perez and Brian Sanchez, feel like lottery ticket prospects.
Rogers, acquired as part of the Hayes trade from the Cincinnati Reds, was flipped to the Chicago Cubs for a fringe, outfield prospect in Ivan Brethowr.
Perhaps the most confounding move for the Pirates at the deadline was the decision to part ways with Bailey Falter. Owed just $2.2 million, along with three more years of club control beyond this season, Falter was dealt to the Kansas City Royals in exchange for left-handed reliever Evan Sisk and first baseman Callen Moss. For Moss, he wasn’t even ranked on MLB Pipeline’s Top 30 Royals prospects list.
In regards to trading Falter, a team source had informed the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Noah Hiles that the motivation behind moving Falter is because he was being viewed as a non-tender candidate. Given Falter’s 3.73 ERA so far in 2025, it’s simply an asinine reason.
For as pathetic as last offseason was, in an effort to significantly improve the offense, this trade deadline was just as embarrassing - making it not only the worst of any team, but by far the worst of Cherington’s tenure in Pittsburgh.
If this had been the first or second year of a full rebuild, then these types of moves would be fine, as the goal would be to stockpile the farm system. But Cherington is in his sixth year as Pirates GM, and there’s even more questions now than answers.
With the amount of trades made, they have a good amount of cash to spend this offseason to address the offense. That being said, there’s been no concrete evidence to suggest that the Pirates are capable of effectively allocating their funds, for the good of the on field product.
From top to bottom, it’s a franchise in shambles. Whether it’s the super negative vibe surrounding owner Bob Nutting, team president Travis Williams assuring the fanbase that the food concessions, particularly their soft pretzels remain top notch, or Ben Cherington’s incompetence to giving the team no real sense of direction. For Pirates’ fans, there’s the desperate need to search for light at the end of the tunnel, but when it comes to this organization, that tunnel is being blocked off by a brick wall.