Day before deadline, fans wait for Pirates to make some sort of move

The MLB trade deadline is quickly approaching, Tuesday at 6 p.m., and the Pirates have yet to make a big move, making Pirates anxious.

Last month, owner Bob Nutting said during a news conference that the Pirates could make a deal well before the deadline.

“I’m not at all sure that we won’t have opportunities well in advance of the deadline,” Nutting said to the Post-Gazette’s Noah Hiles. “I think we should be prepared to move early. I think we should be prepared to take advantage of opportunities when they arise. I know Ben has that flexibility to look across a broader range of alternatives, options but also a timeline of when it makes sense to strike.”

That obviously hasn’t happened.

Speaking to the Fan Morning Show on Monday, former Pirates second baseman Neil Walker says the pitching staff is good enough for the playoffs, but the offense is not a playoff-caliber team.

Pirates General Manager Ben Cherington spoke on his radio show Sunday, saying they Pirates have had chances to make a deal, but nothing has gotten done.

“I think we’ve had opportunities the last several days where we could have done something, offers or a price we could have said yes to and we chose not to,” Cherington said on 93.7 The Fan and the Pirates Radio Network. “There have also been things that we pursued and made offers on and we’ve gotten a no from other team.”

Of course, we don’t know the specifics of those proposed trades, but what has Pirates fans clamoring for a deal is that the team is doing relatively well.

As Fan Morning Show host Adam Crowley points out, the Pirates will, at most, be three games out of a playoff spot.

There are no guarantees the Pirates next season or the season after that will be this close.

At some point, Cherington needs to make a gamble and be willing to depart with some of his prized prospects in an effort to get players that can help this team NOW.

For teams like the Pirates, they need to take advantage of “windows” or opportunities to make a run when they have them.

2025 should be worried about in 2025. The window is open…now. Paul Skenes is pitching in 2024 and the rest of the pitching staff is doing pretty well too!