Pirates Young Starter Surprisingly Floated As ‘Unpopular’ Trade Candidate

The Pittsburgh Pirates have one of the best young cores in baseball.

Pittsburgh didn’t make the playoffs in 2024, but its time is coming. The Pirates are loaded with exciting, young talent and it was on full display in 2024. All-Star starter Paul Skenes clearly was the most talked about pitcher for the Pirates, but he isn’t the only one who had success.

Fellow young starter Jared Jones also shined for the Pirates. He made 22 starts for Pittsburgh and logged a 4.14 ERA and a 132-to-39 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 121 2/3 innings pitched in his rookie season. Keeping Jones and Skenes together in the rotation for years to come could give Pittsburgh a fantastic one-two punch that also is cost-controlled.

While this is the case, Bleacher Report’s Zachary Rymer put together a list of “unpopular” trade ideas for each team and mentioned Jones as a trade option.

“Pittsburgh Pirates: They should trade Jared Jones,” Rymer said. “This isn’t quite the same as suggesting the Pirates should trade Paul Skenes, but it’s close. Along with Mitch Keller, the two are meant to be fixtures in Pittsburgh’s rotation for a long time.

“The problem, of course, is that the Pirates badly need offense. They’ve finished 13th or lower among (National League) teams in runs five years in a row. Imminent help isn’t coming from the farm, and you can pretty much rule out the Bucs buying bats in free agency. The trade market is, therefore, pretty much their only hope of adding an impact hitter or two. And even sans Jones, the future of Pittsburgh’s rotation would still look bright. The club’s farm system is rich with upper-level pitching.”

It would be great for the Pirates to add some offense this winter, but it would be shocking if they were to do so by trading Jones. Pittsburgh is in a good spot and is building something special. The Pirates don’t necessarily need to trade Jones in order to take the next step forward although Rumer’s reasoning is solid.

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