There seems to be a lot more at play when it comes to the Pittsburgh Pirates' continued struggles. They are 17-34 on the year and fired their former manager, Derek Shelton, after a disastrous 12-26 start. The Buccos have played slightly better baseball under Don Kelly, but even then they have a sub-.500 mark under his guidance. Will it ever get better for this perennial AL Central doormat?
Well, from a statistical standpoint, their pitching staff is not too shabby. Their records on the year are not indicative of that, but everyone outside of Carmen Mlodzinski has well over a 100 ERA+. This includes ace pitcher of the staff Paul Skenes, who has a 2.44 ERA, but only a 3-5 record in 10 starts. Eventually, the bats will wake up and Pittsburgh will finally get out of its own way. That may be a while...
This is because I fully expect the Pirates will once again be sellers at the trade deadline. No, they are not trading Skenes. He is simply too valuable to the franchise, especially when it comes to his chump change of a contract. I would argue that the most likely candidate to be traded by the Pirates happens to be a pitcher. With how well Dennis Santana has pitched in relief, it might as well be him.
Santana has a blistering 1.77 ERA in 21 appearances over the course of 20.1 innings with five saves.
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Why Dennis Santana could be the ultimate trade piece for the Pirates
Santana has bounced around the league ever since he debuted with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2018. While he is every bit the relief pitcher, it is kind of stunning that the Pirates still have a great deal of team control at an incredibly team-friendly price. He is only making $1.4 million this season during his penultimate year of arbitration eligibility. Thus, he will not be hitting MLB free agency until 2027.
Santana is still on the good side of 30 and until team control for two more years. After struggling throughout most of his MLB career, Santana has found himself with the Pirates since coming over midway last year. To date, he has played for five MLB teams: Dodgers, Texas Rangers, New York Mets, New York Yankees and now Pittsburgh. His best run has been in Pittsburgh, but he could be moving.
Besides, I think he may be open to joining a contending team's bullpen for the final third of the season. Pittsburgh could be better next year, or even potentially turn it around this year. I would not count on that happening. Regardless, he is the exact type of relief pitcher that a team in dire need of some juice there could want. He would look really good pitching for my Atlanta Braves, to be honest.
Until that time comes, Pittsburgh needs to see what kind of market manifests for guys like Santana.