Pirates trades
The Pittsburgh Pirates dealt away three more veteran players for prospects before the Major League Baseball trade deadline on Tuesday, sending left-handed starting pitcher Rich Hill and first baseman Ji-Man Choi to the San Diego Padres and catcher Austin Hedges to the Texas Rangers, according to reports.
Pittsburgh received left-hander Jackson Wolf, outfielder Estuar Suero and first baseman Alfonso Rivas from San Diego, and international bonus pool money from the Rangers.
The 26-year-old Rivas has played in 127 major league games, including eight games for the Padres this year, and has a career slash line of .245//330/.323. He slashed .322/.462/.582 at Class AAA El Paso this season.
Rivas will join the big league club and may get an opportunity to start at first base immediately.
The 24-year-old Wolf, who was a fourth-round pick out of West Virginia in 2021, made his Major League debut July 22 when he gave up three earned runs in five innings against the Detroit Tigers. He had a 4.08 ERA in 18 starts at Class AA San Antonio before being called up. The Pirates will decide whether to send Wolf to Class AAA Indianapolis or insert him directly into their rotation.
The 17-year-old Suero, who is 6-foot-5, is a switch-hitter who has career slash marks of .234/.327/.371 in 82 game in the Padres’ organization.
Hill
, 43, signed a one-year, $8 million deal with the Pirates and had a 4.76 ERA and 4.45 FIP across 22 starts. At the time of the trade, Hill had thrown the second-most innings on the Bucs (119), trailing only Mitch Keller (133 2/3).
“As far as the [Trade] Deadline, you just see what happens,” Hill said on Sunday. “I’d be remiss to think that doesn’t go through our heads as players. I’ve been through this a couple times. I’ve been traded a couple times. But the same respect is you’re here providing service for the team you’re with. That’s my plan for the rest of the season. As far as anything else goes, it’s out of our control.”
With Hill gone, the Pirates will have to figure out how to cover Major League innings in August and September. Heading into the season, the Bucs had eight starters on their 40-man roster who stood to cover innings: Keller, Hill, JT Brubaker, Vince Velasquez, Roansy Contreras, Johan Oviedo, Luis Ortiz and Mike Burrows. As things stand, Hill is a Padre; Brubaker, Burrows and Velasquez have undergone season-ending surgery; Contreras is with the Rookie-level Florida Coast League Pirates; and Ortiz is struggling in Triple-A after being optioned.
The Pirates could elect to recall Ortiz, who has a 9.20 ERA in his past four starts with Indianapolis, in spite of his struggles. They could also provide the newly acquired Wolf with an extended look. As far as Contreras, he has yet to appear in games since being assigned to the FCL, though general manager Ben Cherington said on 93.7 The Fan that the team anticipates he’ll be back in games soon.
“We certainly want him to pitch this year,” Cherington said. “We believe he will pitch. Nothing’s saying he can’t be back in the big leagues, too.”
Choi, acquired from the Rays in exchange for Minor League pitcher Jack Hartman this past offseason, sustained a left Achilles injury and missed a good chunk of the season before returning in early July. Since returning, Choi has posted a .930 OPS with four home runs and a 140 wRC+ in 14 games.