The Pirates started their trade deadline Friday, sending Daniel Vogelbach to the Mets for right-handed reliever Colin Holderman.
Pittsburgh is expected to be sellers come Aug. 2's trade deadline, and this won't be the only trade Ben Cherington makes over the next couple of weeks. There was, however, speculation that Vogelbach wasn't a clear candidate to be traded given his performance and presence in the clubhouse. And it turns out the Pirates weren't actively trying to ship him to a contender.
"He would have been someone we could have easily kept, so there was sort of a line we had to clear," Cherington said. "We had some conversations with a handful of teams over the last few weeks. Then it intensified with the Mets over the last two days, really, since the All-Star Game. It got to the point where they were willing to offer Holderman, and he was somebody that compelled us to do the deal."
Holderman, 26, comes to the Pirates with his rookie status still intact, and he's pitched very well in his first big-league campaign. He's posted a 2.04 ERA and 1.02 WHIP with 18 strikeouts to seven walks in 17 2/3 innings over 15 appearances.
Holderman primarily throws a sinker that averages nearly 96 mph, and complements it with a slider, cutter and changeup. He made the transition from starter to reliever last season in the minor leagues, and underwent Tommy John surgery prior to the 2018 season. In Holderman, the Pirates could have a potential leverage arm in their bullpen for years to come.
"We think he has that kind of ability," Cherington said. "We’ll get to know him better. He’s obviously pitching effectively for a playoff contender already this year. He’s got really good stuff. He’s a pitcher who has the ability to get ground balls and strikeouts. Some guys can do one or the other; he has the ability to do both. That’s nice to have."
What really makes Holderman valuable to the Pirates is the amount of control the club has going forward. With his rookie status still intact, he won't be eligible for salary arbitration until 2024 (as a Super 2 player) at the earliest, and he still has three minor-league options remaining.
Of course, Vogelbach's departure weakens a Pirates lineup that ranks 28th in Major League Baseball runs scored and OPS. Vogelbach's .769 OPS and 117 OPS+ trails only Bryan Reynolds on the Pirates. He's especially dangerous against right-handed pitching where he ranks 17th in all of baseball with a 149 wRC+ and 18th with an .896 OPS.
Reynolds is currently nursing an oblique injury, and the departure of Vogelbach leaves the Pirates with Ben Gamel and Ke'Bryan Hayes leading the way offensively. Either way, the Pirates need more options than Yoshi Tsutsugo to fill in at DH.
"Between now and the deadline, let’s see what happens," Cherington said. "If we don’t add anybody else position player-wise -- which certainly we’re open to doing -- but if we don’t, obviously, we have a number of position players in the system already that we think would benefit from major-league at-bats. Maybe it’s an opportunity to spread some of those around."
