Two weeks ago for the First Year Player Draft, the Pirates set up a counter in the left field lounge at PNC Park full of coffee, drinks and food for the front office personnel working around the clock.
The counter of snacks has returned ahead of the trade deadline.
“We might as well take advantage of it and keep working,” Ben Cherington joked with reporters over Zoom Monday afternoon. “We'll see what comes our way.”
So while the Pirates officially completed the trade that sent Adam Frazier to the Padres for minor-leaguer shortstop Tucupita Marcano, outfielder Jack Suwinski and relief pitcher Michell Miliano Monday afternoon, it surely won’t be the last trade they make ahead of Friday’s 4 p.m. deadline.
Tyler Anderson is expected to be traded, and according to Jon Heyman, a deal could happen before he makes his next scheduled start Tuesday against the Brewers. Closer Richard Rodriguez, despite a recent slump and drop in spin, is one of the top relievers on the market. And then there are a handful of other players who should draw some interest, including relievers Chris Stratton and Chasen Shreve.
It has been a very quiet trade market so far this year, with the Frazier trade being one of only three of note – the others being Nelson Cruz to the Rays and Joc Pederson to the Braves. It makes the timing a bit surprising, because the Pirates could have held off for a couple more days and theoretically improved the trade package.
However, Cherington said he felt the Pirates had obtained all the information they were going to get from the teams interested in acquiring him, so they felt it was best to make the trade now.
“[We] didn't feel like that was going to change much over the next several days, and so we decided to act on it,” Cherington said. “… That also gives us a chance to allocate some more time now toward other things, and we'll see what comes our way.”
Per Cherington, there were “three or four” teams that were interested in Frazier, and trade talks picked up after the draft. The White Sox and Mariners had been connected to Frazier, with the Mariners making a push late, but Cherington did not offer specifics.
It did create some more demand for the All-Star second baseman who the Pirates were willing to keep if they didn’t get enough in return.
“We felt like there were probably multiple deals we would have felt good about making, in terms of the threshold,” Cherington said. “We knew we were going to have to pass a threshold to consider trading Adam, since he’s a good player. We felt like we probably had more than one deal that passed that threshold, so it was just a matter of choosing one. Ultimately, we felt best about the Padres.”
The next couple days are going to be filled with conversations seeing if they can cross that talent threshold with other players.
“We're going to keep the phones on and keep working at it,” Cherington said.
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• Marcano was someone that the Pirates spent time learning about during the Joe Musgrove trade this offseason. Cherington described him as having a "well-rounded skill set" and as "a good, smart baseball player."
"He’s got a good feel to hit, a good decision-maker in the box, controls the strike zone, has always had a good ability to make contact, line-drive approach," Cherington said. "He’s grown into a little bit more power this year. He’s a versatile defender. We see him with the ability to play shortstop, second, probably move around the entire infield and outfield if needed. So that versatility is appealing. And then all the work we’ve done on him suggests that the character and work ethic and the aptitude is strong also."
Cherington praised Suwinski's work ethic and makeup. The Pirates had been tracking him since he was in high school before the 2016 draft, and they believe he is in the middle of a breakout season. He's hit 15 home runs and has a .949 OPS over 267 plate appearances this year.
"[We] feel excited about adding another potentially strong bat at the upper levels, and looking forward to getting to know Jack better."
For Miliano, the Pirates are acquiring a right-handed reliever who has struck out and walked an eye-opening amount of batters. In 30 innings pitched this year, he's fanned 59 and walked 25.
"Just liked the body, the athlete, the potential with the stuff – obviously striking out a lot of guys. We’ll work with him on the control going forward and continue trying to reduce those walks, but the stuff’s there."
Both Suwinski and Miliano are Rule 5 eligible this winter, unless the Pirates add both to the 40-man roster. That status was considered when the Pirates made the trade, but it obviously did not deter them.
"It’s a piece," Cherington said. "It’s not an overwhelming piece, but it’s a piece."
I took an in-depth dive at the trio of prospects in this week's North Shore Tavern Mound Visit.
• Cherington said that Marcano will start in Class AAA Indianapolis, Suwinski in Class AA Altoona and Miliano in Class High-A Greensboro. All three players were at the same levels in the Padres' system.
That's the plan at least for now. Once the trade deadline is over and the Pirates know which prospects they have acquired, Cherington says they'll re-examine prospect placement again.
"Obviously if we acquire guys, we've got to get them going to an affiliate just to get them going," Cherington said. "... We'll start there. I think more broadly, to answer your question, post-deadline it's something we'd revisit."
• Before opening up the call to questions, Cherington made sure to express his admiration for Frazier for what he did during his time with the Pirates.
"Obviously, a good player here. Originally drafted by the Pirates out of Mississippi State. Good job by our scouting department, our development department and obviously Adam to turn himself into a really good Major League player. He did a really good job for the Pirates. We wish him the very best in San Diego.