EXPLOSIVE: Are the Pittsburgh Pirates Ready to OVERPAY for Nick Castellanos

EXPLOSIVE: Are the Pittsburgh Pirates Ready to OVERPAY for Nick Castellanos

The Pirates are linked to three very different trade targets this off seasonason. Nick Castianos, Brandon Laauo, and Steven Quan. One is expensive, one is risky, and one might be the perfect fit. Stick around because I’m going to tell you which one makes sense for the Bucks and which ones don’t. You are Locked on Pirates, your daily Pittsburgh Pirates podcast, part of the Locked On Network, your team every day. Welcome back everybody to Locked On Pirates, your daily podcast for all things Pittsburgh Pirates. I’m Gary Morgan, former editor at steelcitypirates.com, covering this team since 2019 and a lifelong fan who’s seen it all. Shout out to all my everydayers. You guys make this show what it is. And don’t forget, the Everyday Club launches this December. So stay tuned for details. I believe it’s next week actually, and I should have a lot more of those details as this week closes up. Here’s what we’re doing today. Segment one, Nick Castanos, big bat, big price tag. Segment two, Brandon Laauo, power upside, injury risk. And segment three, Steven Quan, elite defense and contact. But is that enough? Today’s episode is brought to you by FanDuel if you want to be right in the middle of the action this season. Visit fan.com and place your NFL live bets all season long. So, segment one. First up, Nick Castanos. John Haymon reports that the Pirates have interest in the Phillies outfielder. Castianos is a 13-year veteran with nearly 1700 games under his belt. Career slashline of 272, 321, 464, OPS of 785, 250 home runs, and over 900 RBI. He had some monster years. Remember 2021 with the Reds? 309 average, 34 bombs, silver slugger, all-star. Even in 2023 with Philly, he hit 29 homers, and drove in 106 runs. But here’s the problem. 2025 wasn’t great. 250 average, 694 OPS, 17 homers, and defensively, well, yikes. worst qualified right fielder in baseball, minus1 defensive runs saved, minus 12 outs above average. Combine that with a $20 million salary for 2026, and you’re asking the Pirates to pay big money and give up talent for a guy who might be a DH at this point. So, I mean, I don’t want to give away the lead here, but my verdict is probably this is a big bat, big risk for a team that values flexibility. And this feels a little bit like a square peg in a round hole to me. I I like Nick Castian. I think he has a lot of energy that this team probably needs and an unwillingness to accept losing. uh hates it, actively hates it, wears it on his face, wears it in the locker room, wears it in the media, can’t get away from it. Not afraid to admit that he’s part of what causes a losing effort, but definitely hates losing to the point where, you know, he can be hard to handle sometimes. I’ve I’ve heard that he’s become a little unpopular in that room. um mostly because of his own playing time requirements and uh wishes and also you know he feels like he’s done something for Philly and they didn’t necessarily have his back when things weren’t going right. So I get why the situation has run its course there and Philly does need to make some changes for sure. They they they definitely faltered down the down the stretch there. I think a lot of that had to do with pitching injuries but Nick Castianos hadn’t been playing consistently for them. Now, here’s where we as Pirates fans, and I think you’re going to have to do this with all three segments today, and really every time we’re discussing a trade rumor or a free agent that they could potentially sign, it’s a lot easier to point out warts than it is to point out what you already don’t have. We talked about how bad Nick Castiano’s season was last year, and defensively, yes, he’s terrible, and he’s been atrocious out there for a while. We’ve known this, but 17 home runs and almost 700 ops out of an outfielder for this team or a DH, it’s really hard to say that’s not an upgrade. If you could get that done, and I don’t think you’d want it to cost 20 million. So, I mean, if you can get the Philly uh the Phillies to eat like even 5 million, make it just something a little bit more reasonable. And depending on what their prospect ask would be, I here’s the thing. Philly probably would love to get rid of his salary. So, I would imagine that there’s going to be a little bit of flexibility there as far as what they’re asking for versus what they, you know, think that they could get. I think Nic Castianis is probably a tough move. That’s a lot of salary to ingest for really anybody. A good team’s not going to take him because he just struggled last year. and why do they want to pay $20 million to a guy that they’re not sure is a starter for them? Pirates might be a team that is willing to take that shot because again, if you can add that kind of power to this lineup, I’m not sure how you pass it up. I’d prefer him to be a left-hander. I’d prefer him to be able to field, but he can’t do those things. You want to talk about what a guy can’t do? I think these are going to be really short segments because everybody has issues. Nobody’s a perfect fit unless you’re willing to pay a perfect fit fee. And even if it is a perfect fit, like I think there was a report that recently came out that Eugene Suarez and the Pirates were an absolute perfect match in free agency here. Well, there’s there’s people that love to put these things out there just to kind of drum up pressure on people, but I I can honestly say that I don’t disagree. I think it makes a lot of sense to pursue Eugene Suarez. Pirates need a third baseman. Pirates need power. Eugene Suarez has both of those things. He’s probably going to come in in the right price range, somewhere in the 15 to$17 million range. probably looking at a two-year contract. Something in the 35 to $39 million range. It could be done. That’s in the Pirates supposed willingness to spend area. So, that’s possible. But he got warts, too. The defense isn’t always great. It’s spotty. He doesn’t do anything but hit for power. So, I mean, if he’s not hitting home runs, he’s not hitting. And his batting average will suffer. He doesn’t exactly draw walks to counterbalance it. So there’s warts. He’s not a perfect player. Does he make them better? Probably. And I think that’s the kind of decision-making that we should really be hoping they make. I see far too often, you know, uh when you start naming off guys they could get, the first reaction is usually like, “Well, he’s not that good. They need blah blah blah blah blah.” No doubt. No doubt. You’re right. But there is no one player that they could if you told me they had a bead on somehow show Otani coming here like they the the Dodgers um got into the Iawaska and just decided hey let’s trade show Otani to the Pirates for a pack of lucky strikes and you know maybe like a uh maybe maybe we’ll see if we can get a Mike Burroughs back that should be plenty for show and we’ll eat most of his salary, too. That’s not going to fix this team. It would help. It’d be wonderful. It would make them better, but it’s not going to fix this team. I mean, that’s a DH and a and a pitcher. That’s what you get. Two great players, two great spots filled by one guy in this mythological world in which they could have a player like that and not pay him. That doesn’t fix everything. So, don’t turn your nose up at everybody that they talk to. And the last thing I want to say before I I I kind of move into the next segment and we wrap up Nick Castiano’s here, you have to understand what your team is when you’re talking about building around what’s here. There’s some of you that think they should probably just cut loose of guys like O’Neal Cruz and and he wasn’t good enough. He He’s never going to be good enough. He I think it’s early to be making those decisions. I think it’s wasteful and silly to expect a team like the Pirates to throw away somebody that hit 20 home runs when they desperately need power, even if he did an awful lot of other things terribly. You’ve got to let this stuff develop. If you’re going to be a team that’s going to develop mostly everything, well, you better have some patience. Even Nick Gonzalez is a guy that I think a lot of you have grown impatient with very quickly. He’s had three partial seasons now. You can say you add them all up and it’s one season and here’s what he did and I get it. But he has gotten progressively better in each of those instances. And it wasn’t really his fault that he it took him that long. He he’s had a lot of injuries. You hope for a really strong, solid, healthy season from Nick Gonzalez so you can really get an idea. Is the power going to grow? Is the bat going to come along? Is he going to plant himself in the middle of the lineup or is he just going to be a bit roll? Is he going to get a little better at second base? There’s a lot of things like that that you have to see. So, when we’re starting to talk through these rumors, it it is noticed by me that they’re they’re going after a lot of guys with second base capability. The only thing I can put back on it is maybe they need a left-handed infielder like they did with Adam Frasier last year, which I also didn’t understand as a signing. I like Nick Castianos. I’d take Nick Castianis as long as the price was right. I’d try to get the Phillies to eat about five million of it, but I think he answers a question for this team. They need a big bat. They need somebody with power. I have no problem with bringing him in. I don’t even care if they bring him in. Planning on using him in the outfield and he winds up being the DH. It’s the last year of Nick Castanos. Who cares? But what if the Pirates could add power without paying 20 million? There’s a name out there who hit 31 home runs last season and some insiders say he’s an ideal fit for Pittsburgh. We’ll talk about him next. NFL Sundays move fast. One big play and suddenly everything feels different. That’s what makes live betting with FanDuel so exciting. You’re not just watching the game, you’re reacting to it in real time. With FanDuel, you can place bets as the action unfolds. Every drive, every momentum swing, every highlight moment. Live betting is best when the game starts to shift, a receiver gets hot, a defense tightens up, or the momentum flips after a turnover, FanDuel lets you jump into the moment. For instance, I think this weekend the Steelers and Ravens have an overunder set at like 43 and a half. And the way the Steelers have been scoring, that seems unlikely unless Baltimore scores all of those. So just hey, think about it. You can bet next touchdown scores, drive results, totals, and more. It keeps you locked in every snap. Live spreads and money lines adjust instantly. Player props update as guys heat up. So, if you want to be right in the middle of the action this season, visit fan.com and place your NFL bets all season long. FanDuel, the game moves fast, so you can too. Hey, welcome back to Locked On Pirates. Before we dig in, quick shout out to my everydayers. you keep this show going and thanks to you, Locked on Pirates ranks among the top MLB team podcasts on the network. Now, let’s talk Brandon Laauo and the Rays second baseman who might bring the left-handed power this lineup desperately needs. Ken Rosenthal and Katie Woo say the Pirates are an ideal fit for Lao. And offensively, yeah, he fits. career OPS of 807, 157 home runs in 745 games. Last season, 31 home runs, 83 RBI, all-star nod. For context, the Pirates home run leader was O’Neal Cruz with 20. Lao would instantly upgrade this lineup and he is a lefty. Perfect for PNC Park short porch and right. How many times have you heard that? Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. The Pirates have a need for left-handed power because of the Clemente wall, which nobody ever takes advantage of. Isn’t that great? Here’s the catch though with this guy. Injuries, back issues in 2022, fractured kneecap in 2023, oblique strain in 2024. Even last year, 134 games was his second highest total ever. And defensively, he was near the bottom. Minus 10 runs prevented minus3 outs above average. So you’re trading for power. You’re gambling on health and ignoring defense. Verdict. Well, if healthy, Lao changes the lineup. But health is the gamble. And here we are again talking about a guy who overtly openly stinks defensively. you would definitely not be helping your infield defense at all. I think you would probably be looking at another guy who winds up either being tried in a corner outfield spot or at the DH. So, I mean, not a perfect fit. Again, the 31 home runs is interesting. I would note that Brandon Laauo played in a minor league ballpark as his home last year. It does matter. I mean, there was a lot of balls flying out of Tarpon Stadium down there. Um, I don’t know. I I The Pirates have liked this guy for a couple years, and I I know for a fact they tried about two years ago to really go after him. Didn’t work. Um, the Rays wanted too much at the time. He’s very affordable this year. It’s the last year of his contract. You don’t have any kind of a long hold up where you’re, you know, you’re stuck with anything left over. It’s just a direct swap. I’d imagine the Rays probably take a lower level player in return for him. I think he’ll get moved. I don’t think there’s even a doubt that he’ll get moved, but he’ll get moved for probably a guy that’s a little bit further away. That’s that tends to be the way the Rays work anyway. You know, they’re always restocking the coffers, which is why they have players like this available just about every year because that’s how it is with with Tampa. They they expire. They get to the point where they start costing money, they move him out. Well, Brandon Law is not much different. They extended him as a youngster and now here he is in the last year, the club option year of his extension and, you know, they’ve picked it up, but they’re they’re going to try to move him and they will. Uh, the Pirates, this is a team that we’ve dealt with before, you know, and we’ve been burned by Tampa before. I think I think most teams in the league have tasted the sweet burn that is trading with the Tampa Bay Rays. They they tend to win these trades. And there’s a reason they do. They’re they’re usually trading a commodity not unlike Brandon Laauo that they knew how to use because they knew how they wanted to use them and they they would avoid his shortcomings in certain ways and and mask it in others and deal with it when they needed to. and they got what they needed out of them when they needed to get it out of them. And other teams, let’s just say, don’t have that mechanism. They don’t always know what the best thing to do is or the best way to utilize a talent. They Tampa’s great at that. They’re great at realizing that you’re three quarters of what they need and they use you for three quarters and find somebody else for the other quarter. It’s what they do. They’re great at it. making trades with them is risky because usually guys are pretty much ready to be done whenever they’re ready to move on from them. Brandon Laauo is a guy who’s already had an a very checkered past with injuries as we just went through. I would worry about it. Um I don’t care so much like if he would come in and be the starting second baseman again. I think it would hurt the the defense, but you live with it if he’s going to hit 30 home runs. I think it’s probably wishful thinking to think that he’ll replicate that season. In fact, it’s probably wishful thinking to think he’ll play 130 games again this year. I mean, he hasn’t done it much in his history. He’s had issues staying on the field, and I’m not sure the Pirates can take that risk. It would be a cheap risk. So, let’s say it took like a a low-level pitcher prospect, like uh somebody who’s probably a year or two away from from really being a factor on the major league team or even like somebody who is right now. Like say they wanted like a Kyle Nicholas. Well, I could tell you ways I think that might blow up in their face because Kyle Nicholas might be a star in Tampa or it might even turn him into a starter in Tampa. That’s another thing they like to do. and he’s got that pedigree. So, you could see it. If you could get get by with trading someone like him for Brandon Laauo, I’m down. Do it. It brings in a bat. It brings in offense. I don’t care if it’s not necessarily the best fit positionally or defensively. You need to start accumulating those bats. And while everybody can’t be the DH, like if you went and got Brandon Laauo, you probably can’t afford to go get Nick Castianos to be, you know, your right fielder because you’re not going to be able to avoid putting that inferior glove out in the field. I would think if you get one of these guys where the field is a real problem, then you’ve got to be probably pretty resolute that you’re only getting one. If you’re gonna get two of them, you you certainly have to have somebody that can handle defense, right? you you can’t have a roster half full of guys that really should be DH’s. Brian Reynolds is already kind of borderline there. Like we were talking about O’Neal Cruz, if he doesn’t take a major step in center field this year, is going to be in that same conversation. We’ve already talked about Cut not being as likely to come back this year. And this is part of why they’ve already got a ton of options for DH. Raphael Flores is even an option for that. So, it’s going to be very hard to deal for two guys who you kind of in your heart of hearts would prefer to not put in the field, right? But it’s hard to ignore what Brandon Law’s done. And he’s been a quality bat even though he hasn’t been able to be on the field. It might not be the worst thing. It’s a stab at a guy for one year. You’re not looking to keep him or nothing. I suppose you could turn around and flip him at the deadline if you wanted to, but it’s a guy that could come in and help this offense instantaneously. That’s why you have to take it seriously. So, Lao brings power and that comes at a cost, not just prospects. But what if the Pirates could add elite defense, contact hitting, and still keep the payroll in check? There’s one name that checks all those boxes. and we’ll break them down right after this. Hey, welcome back to Locked On Pirates. Before we get into our final trade target, make sure you’re following me on social media. You can find me on XGMO20007, Instagram, Locked on Pirates, Instagram, or anywhere really, Locked On Pirates, you’re going to find me. And uh let’s talk Stephen Quan, the gold glove machine who might be the perfect fit for PNC Park. If defense is your priority, this is your guy. Four straight gold gloves, 68 defensive runs saved since 2022, second only to Cabrian Hayes. He’d owned PNC Parks left field, and he’d helped cover for O’Neal Cruz in center. Offensively, he’s not a power hitter, but he’s a consistent career 281 average type guy. 351 on base percentage. He’s almost never strikes out. Last season, 272 average, 29 doubles, 11 homers, 21 steals. He’s projected to make 8.8 million in arbitration and is under control through 2027. The downside really is the limited power and I guess his speed is declining a bit but only on the base paths. It hasn’t really affected him defensively yet. Um he fits the Pirates budget way better than Castanos. Quan might not hit bombs but he solves defense and on base percentage issues at the top of the lineup. Probably the most realistic fit out of all these guys. Now, two years of Steven Quan is not going to be cheap. Pirates’s probably going to have to trade something decent. And no, this is not a Mitch Keller situation. In fact, I was just talking to my buddy from Cleveland, actually, the host of Locked On Guardians about Mitch Keller. I was like, is Mitch Keller somebody that you guys would ever be interested in because he’s more of an innings eater type? He’s not really a top of the rotation arm. And and is that something that you would want in exchange for? He laughed at me. I mean, they’re not looking to bring on payroll. If they were looking to bring on payroll, they’re probably not looking to move Steven Quan, right? And I I mean, I have to I I agree with what he says. I guess you get masked by the Guardians actually putting a decent product on the field into believing that they do some things financially, but they don’t. They just don’t. So, it seems to me like you’d be looking at a prospect package. I would think you’re looking at probably more in the Thomas Harrington. Um, I don’t want to I don’t want to keep throwing Hunter Barco out there like he’s the one I don’t care about or something because I do, but he’s a really good young starting pitcher. I’d be reluctant if I’m the Pirates because he’s the only lefty that I think has a future right now near the top. So, I don’t think I would do that. But, you know, you could consider a Thomas Harrington, maybe a Johan Ovdo. Um, perhaps a Carmen Majinski. You know, there those could be your features for going out and trying to get somebody like Steven Quan. You are going to have to pay for him. He’s a good player. He just is. He’s a good player. Um, they don’t have the same feeling about him in Cleveland as I think you would expect. They’re frustrated with him. They think he hits way better in like April and May than he does at the end of the season. Um, that could be from getting tired or whatever, but he’s not been their favorite player there in uh Cleveland. And it struck me. That’s why I felt like I really needed to come here and kind of relay what was said to me because I was under the impression that he was a very popular player there and everybody was very happy with his production and whatnot, but not so much. Now, I I as a Pirate fan, I can tell you I haven’t felt like we had a true leadoff hitter probably since they tried to use Stling Marte there years and years and years and years ago. Uh that’s the last time I can truly remember feeling like I had a a leadoff hitter that I believed was meant to be a leadoff hitter. It would be really cool to implement that into this lineup, especially with with the power deficiency. I know we talked about Stephen Quan not coming with a ton of power. Does have some pop. Um it’s not like he’s completely devoid of power, but for the most part, he’s an average type hitter. I think having a guy like that at the top of your lineup would kind of make a lot of what the Pirates do have work a little harder for them. You know, I mean, if you’re if you’re more consistently getting guys with speed on base at the top of the order, and one of those guys doesn’t happen to be O’Neal Cruz, who you would kind of hope would be one of the guys helping to to move those runners around, I think your team gets a little bit better in that way. And maybe the power you do have is more strategically used in a different place. Like it’s a little bit deeper in the lineup so that that top of the order is actually setting the table as opposed to what they’ve been doing which is just really cloggers up there. They just haven’t had a lot of guys with speed and and I think the O’Neal Cruz leadoff uh experiment really needs to end. I don’t want to see that happen again this year. I think I think that his growth. I think it changed him as a hitter. It changed the way he approached at bats. There was there’s extra precedence on leadoff hitters. And this really should only apply to the first time they’re at bat. You know, the very first time they hit. Yeah, there’s going to be other times where they come up and they’re the first in the lineup, but the scheduled time it happens is the first out bat of the game. And I know this team, at least under Derek Shelton, pounded into O’Neal Cruz’s head how much more selective he needed to be as the leadoff hitter, how he needed to be a good teammate, make sure he saw pitches so that everybody else behind him got to see those pitches. And I I watched O’Neal Cruz sacrifice himself a lot to kind of make sure he was trying to do that. And I think by the time it got to mid-season and they moved him out of that spot and everything, well, in many ways, the damage is done. If you’ve ever played this game, and I’m sure a lot of you have, even if you’re talking a lower level, you don’t have to be a a pro to to have felt what I’m going to talk about here. Even just high school, even just little league to a degree, you you you tend to kind of feel like, well, baseball is is hard. It’s hard to hit. It’s hard to to run. It’s hard to catch. It’s hard to do all these things in baseball, but you have opportunities where you’re able to move the ball forward slowly. This is one of those opportunities for the Pirates. I think Stephen Quan doesn’t answer everything. I think he upgrades the defense and the outfield tremendously and they need it. They need it real bad. Again, O’Neal Cruz is a wild card. I think he’s got the talent to be great out there in center field. I don’t think that he has shown the ability to focus enough to be excellent. Stephven Quan will be excellent. Brian Reynolds is going to be Brian Reynolds. If if those are your three outfielders, you have drastically improved your defense in the outfield with Steven Quant. And you’ve changed the lineup, too. I think just the chemistry of the lineup, the way that it flows together, the way that you can lengthen the top part of it. I think I just think Guan is probably the best fit here out of everybody that I’ve heard. I would love to see the Pirates really go after it. I think they’ve got the capital to do it. I don’t think there’s capital that’s going to kill anybody. I don’t think there’s any fans that are going to really cry about it. I I shouldn’t say that because I honestly think the Spencer Horwitz steal for Luis Ortiz was was good and a lot of you are still complaining about that and acting like we don’t have a first baseman now. So maybe I’m wrong on on how you should take it or would take it. But Steven Quan to me fixes a problem. Whereas I feel like Nick Castianos and Brandon Laauo, I think they give you a solution while creating another problem. I think Steven Quan does nothing but add. And that’s really where I’d be if I’m the Pirates. And it’s funny because I’m sitting here advising that they take arguably the cheapest of these three options and really go after it. I think he’s the best of those three. I think he’s the one that fits this team the best. Does that mean I think he makes them a playoff team? No. But I think you get somebody like Steven Quan in here. Well, it takes a little bit of pressure off. Now I don’t have to just focus all my energy on making sure I get a corner outfielder because I did get a corner outfielder and he’s a good one and he solves a problem and that definitely makes this baseball team on paper better next year than it was last year. That’s a great start. That doesn’t mean you should stop looking for outfielders. I mean like you get him, you should keep looking. You should hope that you find somebody that pushes Brian Reynolds to DH. That’s what you should be doing if you really want to be as serious as you possibly can be because Steven Quan also can’t be it because you still need the power aspect of things and he’s not going to solve that. And I already told you why I wouldn’t get two of these guys. Well, if you get Steven Quan, I think you could go out and get Brandon Laauo or Nick Castanos. And the reason you could is because Steven Quan has taken a lot of the pressure off of that defense. That means Brandon Laauo could be your DH or that means Nick Castiano could be your DH. Or that means Nick Castanos can be the right fielder every once in a while so Brian Reynolds can sit and DH and that’s how you keep him fresh. It’s the only time you use Nick out there and most of the time he’s just a DH. I think there’s ways that you could work two of them out. I don’t think the two can be Nick Castanos and Brandon Laauo. Steven Quan’s my target man. That’s what I’m going after. Castianos brings power but costs a fortune and can’t field. Lao adds lefty pop but comes with injury baggage. Quan, he’s the safest play. Elite defense, solid contact, affordable. Which one would you trade for? Or should the Pirates look elsewhere? Drop your thoughts in the comments or hit me up on socials. And remember, we’re serious about Pirates baseball because somebody has to be. Let’s go Bucks.

Pittsburgh Pirates target a lineup shakeup but face tough choices—power, risk, or the perfect fit? Gary Morgan spotlights the big names linked to the Bucs: Nick Castellanos brings proven power but a hefty price and defensive woes, Brandon Lowe offers much-needed left-handed pop but carries significant injury risk, and Stephen Kwan stands out with elite defense and on-base skills at an affordable rate.

Hear insider analysis on who truly elevates the Pirates: Will Castellanos’ bat justify his contract, or will Lowe’s injury history prove too problematic? Is Kwan’s consistent defense the answer to Pittsburgh’s outfield struggles, or should the team chase more home run firepower? Gary Morgan weighs the lineup impact, discusses prospect packages, and reveals which MLB trade target fits best at PNC Park. Don’t miss critical insights on Pirates roster strategy as the team aims to move forward—who would you choose?

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