Bryan

De La Cruz

The Pirates probably figured they were getting a guy who would start in their outfield for a couple of years when they acquired De La Cruz at the deadline, but he’s performed poorly both offensively and defensively. They’ve also since moved Oneil Cruz to center, leaving them with just one outfield spot unspoken for going forward. As a first-time arbitration-eligible player, De La Cruz will be cheap enough that he shouldn’t be a non-tender candidate. He could be brought back to compete with Jack Suwinski, Cook and others for the right field job, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see him get sent elsewhere in a minor deal.

De La Cruz doubled in the first inning to drive in Bryan Reynolds and would later blast a solo shot in the sixth inning. It was De La Cruz’s first homer as a Pirate after being traded at the deadline and is his 19th homer overall. The veteran outfielder needs just one more bomb to set a new career-high and should have plenty of time to get it done with little more than a month remaining in the season.

De La Cruz cleared the bases with a three-run double in the fifth inning to put the Pirates up 5-0. He has a hit in eight of his last nine games. De La Cruz is 12-for-34 (.352) with six RBI in that time. He’s hitting .244 with a .681 OPS and 58 RBI on the year.

The 27-year-old slugger is hitting .245/.289/.417 with 18 homers, 51 RBI and three stolen bases in 454 plate appearances on the season. He should add some much-needed thump to the middle of the Pirates’ lineup as they push to position themselves for one of the final Wild Card berths in the National League.

Forrester was the 20th-ranked prospect in the Pirates system and was just promoted to High-A earlier in the day. The 2023 third-round pick had hit .273 in 34 games in Single-A with a nearly 16 percent walk rate. A primary first baseman in college, the Pirates moved Forrester behind the plate where he has made real strides in his ability to control the run game. Where he ultimately ends up defensively is anybody’s guess.

Shim is the Pirates 17th-ranked prospect and was the second-highest-ranked pitcher on MLB Pipeline’s Top 50 International Prospects list when the 2023 signing period opened. The 6'4" righty has a fastball that can run up near triple digits and comfortably sit in the mid-90s. He also has a solid 12-6 curve and a new, harder slider. He’s made just four starts this season, but has a 3.38 ERA and a lot of projection to dream on.

With the Marlins acquiring Kyle Stowers earlier in the day as part of the Trevor Rogers trade, it made sense for them to get rid of another corner outfielder to free up playing time for their new addition. De La Cruz has been solid in 2024, slashing .245/.289/.417 in 105 games with 18 home runs and three steals. He has just a 5.5 percent walk rate with a 26 percent strikeout rate and, unfortunately for him, he’s moving to a park that’s worse for right-handed pull power, according to Statcast’s Park Factors. This shouldn’t impact his fantasy value much but likely means Joshua Palacios will no longer be in the starting lineup for Pittsburgh.

The Pirates have been linked to De La Cruz a ton recently, so the fact that the two sides were able to push a deal across the finish line isn’t surprising. He provides Pittsburgh with an upgrade in their corner outfield spots moving forward.

Chisholm will be more expensive and rightfully so, but it’s worth wondering if another team might be able to get more from De La Cruz than the Marlins have managed to date. Chisholm does make more sense for the Pirates, since he’s a center fielder and De La Cruz definitely isn’t.

De La Cruz was a one-man wrecking crew in this one, smacking a solo homer off Mets reliever José Butto in the seventh inning for his 17th big fly of the season, and also picked up his third steal of the year as well. The 27-year-old is heating up at the perfect time to inflate his trade value for Miami as he should have some appeal for contending rosters as a versatile outfielder capable of doing damage against left-handed pitching. However, according to multiple reports, the Marlins seem unlikely to move him at the upcoming trade deadline. We’ll see if a team is willing to offer enough prospect capital to change their minds.