DK’s Daily Shot of Pirates: A fine opening pitch

DK’s Daily Shot of Pirates: A fine opening pitch

[Music] [Applause] It’s probably not the trade anybody had anticipated. It’s probably not the trade that anybody necessarily even coveted, at least in terms of its shape. That doesn’t mean it’s a bad trade. Good morning to you. Good Friday morning. I’m Dan Kvatra of DK Pittsburgh Sports and this is Daily Shot of Pirates brought to you by the Northshore Tavern. It tends to come your way in the offseason Mondays through Thursdays, but I did promise that we would have special episodes if anything were to happen. And lo and behold, something happened. The Pirates traded Johan Oedo and two prospects, a lefty pitcher Tyler San Diego and a catcher Adonis Guzman to the Red Sox. For Joseensson Garcia, a power-hitting outfield prospect and a right-handed pitching prospect, Jesus Travaso, by every accounting, the actual exchange is Oedo for Garcia. Oedo we all know about. All kinds of promise, all kinds of competitiveness, bigbodied starter frame kind of guy. had the Tommy John surgery, made his way back, pitched pretty well once he got back. The Pirates, of course, do have one thing in excess, and that’s starting pitching. And that probably the one thing that you’d most want to have in excess, and this is why, cuz the Red Sox have been making no secret at all since the end of the season of their wish to add pitching. They’ve been in on virtually every mention of every starting pitcher available, whether it’s through free agency or trade or whatever. Thus, they were going to have a little bit more urgency and maybe do something that might not make sense for them in the longer run. Garcia is 22 years old. He’s a right-handed hitting outfielder capable of all three spots out there. Yes, including center. and he is a consensus top 100 prospect spanning all 30 systems. Number 76 per baseball America, 85 per MLB pipeline, three within Boston’s own system. Statistically, 18 home runs in 317 plate appearances in AAA this past season. Also batted 271 with a 334 on base percentage, 833 OPS. Lots of strikeouts, 102 and only 27 walks. Bit of a red flag there, but there’s obviously steady contact being made, powerful contact being made. And again, according to some of the more advanced metrics, he can go the other way on a lot of different types of pitches and against both righties and lefties. It’s intriguing. It’s necessary. Unless, of course, you think Connor Griffin is enough to carry your entire system from the hitting perspective. And given that the Red Sox thought enough of him to bring him up to the majors for seven at bats this past season, he did have his first hit and it was a double. Couple walks, five strikeouts in those seven at bats. One would think that he’s not far off. I mentioned already that he’s 22. Well, actually by next week he’ll be 23. But I’m not going to lie, when I heard about this covering the Penguins victory over the Lightning here in Tampa last night, this was up in the press box, my first reaction was, really, they got a prospect, which is to say that’s not really what they’re supposed to be doing with these pitching assets. Second thought was, whoa, top 100 prospect consensus, like everybody sees this kid as having that talent. And the third was, you know, how soon or how seriously is he being taken toward the 2026 season, which I think we all can agree is pretty important for a whole bunch of different reasons. And the worst thing that could happen in that scenario is that Ben Cherington and his long since failed regime would be getting away with kicking the can down the road. But that’s apparently not going to be the case, at least according to the team itself. a source confirming for DK Pittsburgh Sports last night that this is not necessarily the player or the end of the outfield quest. this is not the target, but the fact, and I say fact because Boston had him up, and because he’s in AAA, that he’s already close, that he’s turning 23, and that if we’re being honest, it’s not like he’s got a whole heck of a lot of hitting competition at any level, it would be at least reasonable, I think, to assume that he’s going to spend some of 2026 in Pittsburgh. I don’t see how he couldn’t, at least not based on the current circumstance, or even if Cherington’s able to get another real live major league hitter to put out there with O’Neal Cruz and Brian Reynolds. So, while I’m aware, and this is without having had two extra seconds down here to check out what anybody is saying anywhere about the trade, that people will love this because they love prospects and prospect rankings and top 100. Everybody’s going to be arousing success just because they were ever in the top 100. I am not here to criticize this trade. I like as I began the program the the bones of it. I like not giving up a starter that the Pirates themselves weren’t necessarily seeing as a lock for their top five. They mentioned Braxton Ashcraft way more often over these past couple of months. And because again, of course, the system could use some hitting to say the least. Here’s my caution to this. Garcia is homegrown. The Red Sox signed him at age 18 out of Venezuela in the 2021 season. They’ve now had their eyes and their hands on him through 1,561 played appearances spanning the Dominican Summer League all the way up to Fenway Park. There shouldn’t be anything that they don’t know about him for better or worse. And when you have veteran for prospect trades like this, the way they usually happen, and there’s no confirmation that that was the case with this one yet, the team that’s looking to add the prospect will receive a list of prospects they can’t have. It’s the don’t touch list. Very clearly this one was on the touch list. Just throwing that in there. The people who would know him better than anyone invited the pirates to take him in this particular exchange when we come back. J1Q. [Music] If you’re looking for a great dining experience, look no further than Northshore Tavern. Located directly across Federal Street from PNC Park, next door to Mike’s Beer Bar, Northshore Tavern is Pittsburgh’s home for steak on a stone. Enjoy your steak finished on a hot lava stone in front of you where you ensure each piece is cooked to exactly your liking. Or try their rotating selection of entre, hot sandwiches, salads, and burgers, all while enjoying the ambiance dedicated to the great players and history of the Pittsburgh Pirates all around you. Come see why everyone’s talking about Northshore Tavern and Steak on a stone. It’s Gun Storage Check Week. Help prevent unwanted access to your firearms. No one wants their unsecured gun to be used in an accident, a suicide, or a crime. Use lock boxes, safes, and locks to secure your firearms. Learn more at gunstorage check.org. That’s gunstoch check.org. Brought to you by NSSF, the Firearm Industry Trade Association. [Music] Today’s J1Q comes from Bill in Springfield, Virginia, who says, “Hey DK, does this mean that Mitch Keller is probably not traded now outside of Paul Ske? There’s not a lot of innings eaters if Keller goes. Now, see, this is a point that I’ve been making for a few months, Bill. Even as I’d been hearing, and this was probably beginning in September, that Keller was going to go principally because they could use his $17 million toward offense and that they can compensate with other starting pitchers. Now, that sounds logical. But then, as of only about two weeks ago, I began hearing that no, Keller is not going to go. Which to me raises a couple of issues that are related to your question, Bill. One is that it’s plausible that the Pirates in looking over their rotation projections, the health of Jared Jones, and other variables would have taken the concept that you bring up to heart and said, “Hey, what’s the point in doing all this if the one thing that’s supposed to be what we do best isn’t all that reliable?” And by reliable, I’m not referring to performance anymore than you just did. I’m referring to every baseball executive everywhere and their definition of reliable when it comes to pitching. And that means, does he take the ball every fifth day? Does he get you 30 starts? Does he get you couple hundred innings, couple hundred Ks? And the reality is that once you get past Paul Skins, who’s now, you know, fully flexed out, stretched out, built up, whatever baseball term you want to apply to this, when it comes to innings, he’s got all that now. There’s no more asterisks. There’s no more saving him for anything. At least now when it comes to innings over a full 162 game schedule. He now operates at the same pace as any other pitcher in the majors, including Mitch. But let’s go past those two and let’s repeat that Jones is coming back from Tommy John. And then let’s again mention Braxton Ashcraft. They love him. He’s nowhere near stretched out. Bubba Chandler. Love him. Nowhere near stretched out. Mike Burroughs more than the other guys, but I don’t know that Burroughs is someone that you’re gonna etch in stone as being part of this rotation. I would say the same thing for Thomas Harrington, although on a lower peg. And from there, you got to presume that there’s a lefty. And I’m not about to project Hunter Barco as being that kid. Not yet. Anyway, here too. He came up late in the season, appeared in two games, pitched three innings. That’s it. That’s all he’s got. He’s 6’4 starters frame. He’s done almost nothing but start in the minors. But when you put together these models for what you’re expecting for the coming season, you can’t do that with just kids, no matter how much you might love them. So, I look at Mitch the same way I’ve always looked at Mitch. You don’t just want him here, you need him here. And yeah, to more directly answer your question, Bill, you need him that much more obviously without a big right-hander who’s got some experience to him and some pedigree in Johan Oedo. One other semi-related footnote before I sign off here for the weekend. Bear in mind the pirates didn’t spend any money here. I am not one of those people who looks at these things and says, “Aha, they are cutting payroll through this trade. Trade has zip to do with money.” You can just tell that from its constitution. But they were able to at least acquire one hitter, their first hitter, albeit a prospect, and not really touch any of what’s always the most precious asset when it comes to this organization, and that’s money. Nice start. I’ll say it again. Nice start. I appreciate the question, Bill. I appreciate everybody who listens to Daily Shot of Pirates. And it will be back for real this time on Monday. [Music]

The winter’s first major move makes for a fine opening pitch.

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