What should the Pirates do?
The Pirates will not be catching the Cubs barring a collapse of epic proportions, although, if a team knows how to collapse, it’s the Cubs. They probably aren’t better than the Mets or the Cardinals at this point because of how bad their pitching has been.
The Pirates have one of the best systems in the game and I think they should eventually go into a development mode the rest of the year. Keep Taillon up and add Chad Kuhl and Tyler Glasnow to the rotation and see what you have. Promote Josh Bell to play first and see what you have in him.
They have enough pieces that they could sell and get some good value for. Mark Melancon and Neftali Feliz are pending free agents and they are not about to spend big money on a closer. With the amount of contending teams that need help out of the bullpen, they should be able to get some good value for both. If a team wants Jon Niese or another starter not named Cole or Taillon, the Pirates should entertain it.
On offense, they could flip David Freese, John Jaso, Sean Rodriguez and Matt Joyce. Contenders looking for offensive help would certainly target those guys to help either on the bench or be part of a platoon.
Next: Padres Trade Deadline Overview
The Pirates have been a great story over the past few seasons, however, I don’t think they have the arms or the health to be a part of it this year. Reload and look towards 2017.