Trade-deadline deals open opportunities for Pirates at 3rd base, starting rotation, bullpen

By dealing third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes, left-handed reliever Caleb Ferguson, closer David Bednar and lefty starter Bailey Falter at the trade deadline, the Pittsburgh Pirates created four openings in their lineup.

Pirates general manager Ben Cherington indicated one of the beneficiaries will be Jared Triolo, the 2024 NL Gold Glove utility fielder who is expected to be recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis to play third base in Friday’s game at the Colorado Rockies. Triolo is batting only .158 with a .519 OPS, six doubles, three home runs and 10 RBIs in 55 games for the Pirates while bouncing around the infield this season. He has started 13 games at shortstop, 12 at first base and 10 each at second base and third base but should get some runway at the hot corner over the final two months.

“I think once we knew that the Ke’Bryan trade was happening, we knew that that opened opportunity, at least for Triolo, and maybe others,” Cherington said. “But there was at least one really big opportunity opened up there in the infield, which we felt was an important step towards creating that opportunity.”

Cherington was noncommittal about how the Pirates would fill the spots in the starting rotation and the bullpen, especially when it comes to replacing Bednar as the closer. But it doesn’t require much imagination to figure out the most obvious candidates.

“We’re not ready to quite announce the replacement for Bailey because there’s some communication that needs to happen,” Cherington said. “There’s one in particular I think we’ll get to that next turn, and certainly others we’d like to see as we get into August.”

Falter started Tuesday at San Francisco, so his turn in the rotation is likely Monday against the Giants at PNC Park. That appears to be the perfect time to call up Bubba Chandler, the 22-year-old right-hander who is considered baseball’s top pitching prospect.

Chandler is 5-4 with a 3.58 ERA, 1.36 WHIP and 106 strikeouts against 45 walks in 88 innings over 21 starts at Triple-A Indianapolis this season. After a dominant two months, Chandler struggled with his command in June, when he had an 8.53 ERA and 2.29 WHIP and issued more walks (12) than strikeouts (11). He has improved those numbers in July, with a 4.05 ERA, 1.46 WHIP and 26 strikeouts against 12 walks.

Chandler’s long-awaited major-league debut is overdue.

“At some point, yeah, we want to see Bubba,” Cherington said. “We want to put him in the best position to be ready for that, and there are others. There may even be others on our team now, but we’ll see. I think we just need a little bit more time to answer those questions.”

Cherington mentioned right-hander Johan Oviedo, who started 32 games in 2023 but missed last season while recovering from Tommy John surgery and was sidelined for much of the first half this season with a right lat strain. Oviedo is expected to make at least one more start for Indianapolis on his rehabilitation assignment.

“Certainly, Oviedo is on the cusp,” Cherington said. “He’s up to a reasonable pitch count now in Triple-A, and he’s someone we want to see major league innings for.”

Other possibilities are righties Braxton Ashcraft and Carmen Mlodzinski, who have worked in long relief roles. Mlodzinski started nine games for the Pirates this season before moving back to the bullpen, and Ashcraft was a starting pitcher in the minors. Then again, Ashcraft could get a crack at the closer role.

Lefty Ryan Borucki could fill Ferguson’s role in the bullpen, as he rejoined the Pirates to throw a side session at Oracle Park and should be ready to be activated from a rehab assignment after being on the injured list since June 21 with low back discomfort.

Finding a closer could be another challenge, though right-hander Dennis Santana proved he could handle high-leverage situations in April. Santana is 3-2 with a 1.36 ERA, 0.82 WHIP, .173 batting average against and six saves in 46 appearances this season. He had two strikeouts to earn the save in the 3-1 win over the Giants on Tuesday.

Cherington said he will discuss that decision with manager Don Kelly.

“Donnie and I haven’t had a chance to think about or talk about that yet, in terms of specifically the ninth inning,” Cherington said. “When we started 2025, we didn’t know who the closer was. Then, obviously, David went on a tear and kind of earned that role back. So we’ll see what happens. There’s a history here of closers emerging and winning that job over time. That’s just going to have to happen again.”