For the first time in a long time the Pittsburgh Pirates were buying at the MLB trade deadline instead of selling. The Pirates addressed the biggest issue the team was facing by adding to their struggling bullpen.
The biggest move the Pirates made was trading for reliever Luke Weaver from the New York Mets. This move by Pittsburgh should end up being a no doubt home run of a deal. The Pirates got one of the best relievers in baseball and finally add a legitimate star to their bullpen. It was also
a very team friendly deal for the Buccos as they only gave up shortstop prospect Sammy Stafura who was with High-A Greensboro for most of the season.
New York is also handling a bulk of the finances on this deal, sending cash considerations back as a part of the trade package. The Mets are paying Weaver $2 million the remainder of this season and $6 million next season.
Weaver has allowed just one earned run over his last 33 innings and holds a 1.84 ERA and 0.82 WHIP with 45 strikeouts. The 32-year-old star reliever was certainly the headliner in this particular trade deadline as he’s been one of the best bullpen pitchers in baseball, but the Pirates were not done on the market with Weaver.
Pittsburgh went out and traded for another righty-reliever in Lake Bachar from the Miami Marlins. In return the Marlins got three prospects in return; Brandon Bidois, Hyung Seung Lee and Brian Sanchez were all included in the deal to acquire Bachar. Although his last month of work has not been spectacular, Bachar overall this season has been very steady and consistent for the Marlins. On the season Bachar has a respectable 3.84 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 61 strikeouts and just 21 walks. Overall he looks to be another strong arm in the Pirates’ relief core that has been completely overhauled over the last couple of days.
Bachar utilizes a four-seam fastball, slider, sweeper, curveball, split finger, and sinker, throwing his fastball the most out of his six pitch mix. He has a 1-2 record with the Marlins this season.
At the near end of the deadline period Pittsburgh added one more pitcher on Monday night when they traded for righty reliever Kirby Yates from the Los Angeles Angels. In return the Angels got prospect pitcher Kyle Robinson.
Despite his age at 39-years-old, Yates has been a solid reliever for the Angels this season. He was signed by Los Angeles this offseason for $5 million, and although he started his season on the IL he did end up contributing meaningful innings to the Angels before the trade. On the year Yates has a 3.95 ERA, 36 strikeouts, 1.17 WHIP and three saves in six opportunities. He can provide a veteran presence to this group that really has not had that kind of leader to this point in the season.
Outside of Monday the Pirates also traded for reliever Camilo Doval last Saturday from the New York Yankees. Doval has since made his debut with the club, where after just five pitches against the Cincinnati Reds he gave up a home run. Although his debut was shaky, he did show up big in his second outing against the Milwaukee Brewers on Monday night, getting a strikeout and allowing no hits or runs in an inning pitched against the Brew Crew.
Overall I’d give the Pirates a B- grade on the moves they made at the deadline. Their biggest priority was fixing the bullpen that ranks 16th in the majors in K-BB percentage, 17th in fWAR and 22nd in ERA. Weaver is undoubtedly the marquee player in this group, but the additions of Bachar and Yates should help improve this unit as well. Doval is more of a wild card addition, because he clearly has great stuff, he’s just been wildly inconsistent since his 2023 All-Star season. That being said the additions of these pitchers should be very beneficial as the Pirates make a push for their first postseason appearance in 11 seasons. I think Pittsburgh should’ve looked to add another right handed bat as the Pirates offense has been struggling as of late, but hopefully with some key players coming back from injury soon that won’t be an issue.
FanDuel Sportsbook projects that the Pirates have +10000 odds to win the World Series. Safe to say it’s gonna be a long shot to see them competing for a championship this season. However, the Pirates are still firmly in the mix for making the playoffs as they sit just 3.5 games back from a Wild Card berth. Easier said than done as it won’t be easy to make up those games, but this is the team’s best shot since the last time they were in the postseason.
Since the moves they made at the trade deadline, FanDuel now has the Pirates at +390 odds to make the postseason. Again, this is the best shot the Pirates have had since 2015, and management and ownership recognized that by being active on the trade market instead of deciding to abandon ship as the Pirates sit at a sub .500 record.
The Pirates have taken control of their own destiny. All of 2026 has been a change in approach from the organization as they have not been swayed by finances in how they build this team. They were active in free-agency and on the trade market in the offseason, they built a competitive ball club and now they are choosing to continue to be active and aggressive by further bolstering their team in an effort to make the playoffs. Time will tell if these moves will pay off, but for now they certainly look good on paper as the Pirates remain alive in the race for the postseason.
