Ben Cherington let the deadline tension build all the way to the edge, and then finally gave the Pirates the kind of bullpen upgrade they had been waiting for.
Pittsburgh is acquiring right-handed reliever Luke Weaver from the New York Mets, according to ESPN’s Jorge Castillo. Going back to New York is Sammy Stafura, the Pirates’ No. 9 prospect, who came to Pittsburgh from the Cincinnati Reds in last year’s Ke’Bryan Hayes trade.
For a while on deadline day, it looked like the Pirates might simply sit there while the market kept moving around them. Reported targets Huascar Brazobán, Brooks Raley, Jo Adell and Ward all landed elsewhere, and Pittsburgh had yet to do anything while obvious needs remained in both the bullpen and the lineup. At that point, Weaver felt less like a nice add and more like the move the front office had to make.
And it’s a real one. The 32-year-old gives manager Don Kelly a legitimate late-inning option and adds some much-needed stability to a bullpen that has repeatedly burned the Pirates. Weaver came into Monday with a 1.88 ERA in 41 appearances and is under contract through 2027.
The numbers behind the surface production are strong, too. Weaver has a 1.84 ERA in 44 innings, along with a 26.6% strikeout rate, 6.5% walk rate and 43.1% ground-ball rate.
He has also worked with a .204 batting average on balls in play and an 82.8% strand rate, which points to some possible regression. Even so, the rest of the profile holds up: a 2.82 FIP, 2.84 expected ERA, 3.09 SIERA and 3.50 xFIP all back up the idea that this is more than a lucky run.
Weaver signed a two-year, $22 million deal with the Mets in their aggressive offseason, but New York entered the deadline at 47-66, and little had gone right. Weaver has been one of the few bright spots. As Jason Mackey noted on social media: “Some highlights on Luke Weaver:
1 ER allowed in last 30 G
Righties hitting just .099 against him,
2.90 ERA over last 3 years the 5th-lowest among MLB relievers with at least 190 IP
Overall, opponents hitting .162 against him, 0.82 WHIP
In other words, he's pretty good.”
The cost was real. Stafura is a top-10 organizational prospect, and he has been on a tear at High-A this season, hitting .301 with 19 home runs and a 1.021 OPS in 47 games.
The Reds took him in the second round of the 2023 MLB Draft before he was included in the Hayes deal. Giving up that kind of talent matters, but Pittsburgh was clearly looking for impact, not a marginal bullpen piece.
The Pirates still need a right-handed bat before the deadline is over. But after letting the suspense drag on, Cherington finally made a deal that matches the urgency of the moment.
In Other News...
Pirates Just Lost A Catcher Who Briefly Forced A Bigger Question
Shawn Ross did not stay on Pittsburghs roster long, but he did enough in a brief look to make the Pirates think for a moment about what they might have found. The catcher, who also brings some defensive versatility, reached the majors with Pittsburgh recently and quickly logged a small but notable first impression before the Pirates moved on from him.
The New York Mets then claimed Ross off waivers and opened a spot by designating right-hander Joey Gerber for assignment, a roster shuffle that mostly affects the other side of the transaction. For the Pirates, the more interesting part was the fleeting possibility Ross created during his two-game debut, when a depth piece suddenly looked like someone worth watching a little longer. [Read more 🡒]
Pirates Have A Trade Deadline Edge Few Contenders Can Match
The Pirates are in a position this July that plenty of contenders would love to have: a minor league system with catching depth that goes well beyond one promising name. Several of Pittsburghs top-30 prospects at the position bring both defensive value and some offensive upside, giving the organization a rare kind of flexibility when teams start looking for help behind the plate at the trade deadline.
Catching is always a thin market, and it only gets thinner when clubs begin sorting through which teams can actually spare a player they trust. For the Pirates, that scarcity could turn their pipeline into a real advantage, since a position that is hard to find is also one that can carry extra value in trade talks. The question now is how far that leverage can go once rival front offices start making calls. [Read more 🡒]
Ben Cherington Just Raised A New Carmen Mlodzinski Deadline Question
Ben Cherington left the door open to a different kind of deadline move, one that would send a big leaguer out and bring another back in. For a Pirates club still centered on run prevention, that matters because it suggests the front office is not simply hunting for depth or future pieces, but is willing to consider swaps that could help the roster right now. Even after bringing in Camilo Doval, Cherington made clear that one move does not have to be the last one.
That broader posture is why Carmen Mlodzinski has become a name to watch. The right-hander has a live arm and major league experience, but his role in Pittsburgh has never fully settled into one lane, which makes him easy to imagine in the kind of deal Cherington is signaling is possible. If the Pirates decide they want immediate help in return, Mlodzinski fits the profile of a pitcher who could be part of that conversation. [Read more 🡒]