Pirates Boost Outfield with De La Cruz Acquisition

The Pittsburgh Pirates have made headlines by trading for outfielder Bryan De La Cruz from the Miami Marlins, as announced on Tuesday. In this deal, the Pirates are sending infielder Garret Forrester and right-handed pitcher Jun-Seok Shim to Miami.

This season, De La Cruz has been a standout, hitting 18 home runs and maintaining a .707 OPS. In 2023, he achieved 19 homers and 78 RBIs over 153 games. The 27-year-old player is under team control for three more years.

With the Pirates looking to make a push for the playoffs, they recently designated outfielder Jack Suwinski for assignment. De La Cruz is likely to take over right field, joining forces with Bryan Reynolds and Michael A. Taylor.

The Pirates weren’t done yet, as they also traded for utility man Kiner-Falefa from the Blue Jays. Kiner-Falefa has had a solid season in Toronto, boasting a .292 batting average with 115 OPS+. He has showcased his versatility, playing various positions including second base, third base, shortstop, and center field.

In exchange for Kiner-Falefa, the Pirates sent Double-A outfielder Charles McAdoo to the Blue Jays.

On the flip side, the Pirates also traded veteran starter Martin Perez to the San Diego Padres for minor league pitcher Jimenez. Perez had a promising start to the season but struggled after May, resulting in a 2-5 record with a 5.20 ERA over 16 starts.

Jimenez, an 18-year-old left-handed pitcher, signed with the Padres in June 2023 and has already shown promise with eight strikeouts in six innings in the Dominican Summer League.

These moves come as the Pirates are currently 54-52 and just two games behind in the race for the final National League Wild Card spot, aiming to end a playoff drought that has lasted since 2015.