A Pirates-Marlins trade that brings Jazz Chisholm to Pittsburgh

The term conservative buyers is something that could apply to the 2024 Pittsburgh Pirates more than any other team. If you don't understand what I mean by this term, let me explain.

The Pirates are on the fence of competing or not right now. They have the young core that they will be competitive in the next three or five years, but it's questionable as to whether they will be able to compete this year. The idea of conservatively buying means that Pittsburgh could look to trade for young, controllable players that are being shopped by the selling teams, rather than aggressively going after the 3-month rental players.

ESPN Senior Writer David Schoenfield recognized this same idea and recommended the Pirates to pursue a deal for the Miami Marlins' OF/2B Jazz Chisholm Jr.

"But this is an organization that needs to take some chances, otherwise they're going to be stuck in the mud forever. They rank last in the majors in OPS from center field, so making a run at Chisholm and solving the hole there makes sense," Schoenfield wrote.

A Pirates-Marlins trade to send Jazz Chisholm to Pittsburgh

A return for Chisholm would be quite a large one. Still, with this three-prospect return, the Marlins may ask for another top-30 prospect, but that's still up in the air based on the market for the young lefty. Either way, this deal sends three top 15 Pirates prospects to Miami.

Harrington, Pittsburgh's fourth-ranked prospect, has been impressive in his professional career. In 2024, he holds an ERA under 3.00 through 10 starts. He's walked just seven hitters while striking out 51 in just over 50 innings pitched. He's a top-five prospect in the Pirates organization for a reason.

Jebb, Pittsburgh's sixth-ranked prospect, finds himself a bit blocked up the middle in Pittsburgh. Realistically, the Pirates will play a combination of two of Oneil Cruz, Nick Gonzales and Termarr Johnson up the middle for their foreseeable future. That leaves the 22-year-old Jebb, who has struggled this year, without a place in the Pirates future infield.

Kennedy, Pittsburgh's 13th-ranked prospect, is exactly what the Marlins would want. He's the type of young, developable prospect that a rebuilding team like Miami would be looking for. The 19-year-old has shown quite a good bit of promise in his young professional career, striking out 123 hitters in just over 100 career innings.

The addition of Chisholm would put the Pirates in a position to win for the next few seasons. The 26-year-old is under contract for the next two seasons following this year. Pittsburgh has shown the ability to pitch with their three-headed monster of Jared Jones, Paul Skenes and Mitch Keller, but their offense has lagged behind. Adding an electric bat like Chisholm would move the needle for the up-and-coming Pirates team.