Pirates linked to .884 OPS Twins catcher as trade deadline target originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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The Pittsburgh Pirates are all of a sudden one of the top contenders coming out of the National League Central. They have a great ace in Paul Skenes, and some great offensive production from Oneil Cruz, Brandon Lowe, and Ryan O’Hearn.
But the Pirates need more offensive firepower this season, and there are a few positions where they could use an upgrade. While a designated hitter over Marcell Ozuna is a huge need, a sneaky important need is the catcher spot.
Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report, amid such a need at catcher, linked the Pirates to an .884 OPS catcher from the AL Central, Minnesota Twins, in Ryan Jeffers as a trade deadline target.
Pirates linked to trade for Ryan Jeffers with the Twins
“Between Joey Bart and Henry Davis, ‘Pirates catcher’ has to be one of the five least productive lineup spots in the majors this season,” Miller writes. “But Minnesota’s Ryan Jeffers is very likely to be available… Pittsburgh will improve its backstop situation.”
The Pirates are a legitimate postseason contender this season, despite residing in last place in the NL Central entering April 30th at a 16-15 record.
But one of the things this Pirates team so desperately needs to do is improve its offensive firepower. And if the team is willing to acquire talent at the trade deadline, a catcher like Jeffers would make a ton of sense.
This season through 23 games, he’s had 92 plate appearances, posting 22 hits, 15 runs scored, two doubles, one triple, three homers, 18 RBIs, 15 walks, a .293 batting average, an .884 OPS, and 0.7 bWAR.
More: Three ways Pirates’ Paul Skenes could lose NL Cy Young Award
Jeffers is in the final year of his contract, so the Twins, a team likely to be sellers at the deadline once again, would make a ton of sense as a trade target for the Pirates.
Henry Davis is hitting .161 on the season in 24 games with a .467 OPS. Joey Bart isn’t much better, sitting at a .195 average in 16 games played with a .537 OPS.
If the Pirates want to be serious postseason contenders this year, they need to explore the catcher trade market. While Adley Rutschman would be a fun name to acquire, Jeffers is much more realistic and a perfectly fine option.
Miller is predicting the Pirates will trade for a catcher, and Jeffers was one of the top options linked to Pittsburgh as a trade target for this year’s deadline.
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