North Shore Nine

The rumor mill continues to spin. As July nears, more and more players are rumored to be moving to new teams. A more recent rumbling on a smaller scale than others has been Brent Rooker of the Oakland Athletics. Rooker is a corner OF who has played much of DH this year. However, in his 66 games to date he has hit 13 home runs, has an oWAR of 1.6, and a wRC+ of 138. All but oWAR would lead the Pirates in those categories, which would make him a very useful addition to the Pirates offense.

There are two issues: one would be where to play him and two would be what it would cost to acquire him. The Pirates would need to send an OF down to get him playing time, with Jack Suwinski sadly being the easiest target. Jack has not been able to continue as he had last year, and his first send-down was not able to translate into production. As to the cost, that might be a bit harder to decipher. Rooker is on pace to put up similar numbers to what he did last season, which were very good. He is currently 29 years old and doesn’t hit arbitration until 2025 or free agency in 2028. A rough comparison to a return for this trade would be what the Pirates got for Josh Bell in 2020. As most remember, that was when the Pirates got Wil Crowe and a 19-year-old Eddy Yean in return. If that market value holds then it would be a return of Quinn Priester and a guy like Jose Garces or Alexis Torres, or another younger player from the FCL or the DSL.

If that was indeed the level of return for a player like Rooker then the Pirates should run to accept the deal. However, the market has changed in the last few years, as most controllable players have a high price tag attached to them. If the A’s, for example, wanted a prospect with more time to develop and requested a Lonnie White Jr. or a Hunter Barco, would the front office and fan base still be on board for that type of trade? Maybe or maybe not. A lot of recent reports have been very contradictory in nature. One will say the Pirates are willing to strike early and use their arsenal to get players to help now, while others report the Pirates are unwilling to move any of their top 10 prospects in trades. The Pirates do need to be smart with their trading, but the window is opening. If they can get a good player like Rooker, without moving these mystical top prospects. Then do it. Send a warning shot across the bow of the NLC and make the statement the Pirates are ready to plunder.