The Pirates are busy pursuing bullpen help, reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. A source told Rosenthal that almost every club is looking for players in that department, but the Bucs are more aggressive than most.
It’s an understandable pursuit for Pittsburgh. The team has been rebuilding for many years but is running a tough competition this year. The results so far are quite encouraging, as they are 33-29 and currently have a Wild Card spot.
That’s due in part to a resurgent offense, something MLBTR’s Leo Morgenstern talked about earlier this week. When they take turns, they have a strong team to cover Paul Skenes, Braxton Ashcraft, Mitch Keller, Jared Jones again Bubba Chandler. The initial depth is strong enough that Carmen Mlodzinski he came out, he was very disappointed.
However, the auxiliary troops are a relative weak point. The Pittsburgh Steelers have a combined earned run average of 4.32, which ranks them 19th out of 30 clubs in the league. Their 23.8% strikeout rate is respectable, ranking them 11th, but their 11.2% walk rate is better than seven other clubs and their 39.5% groundball rate puts them ahead of only six teams.
Dennis Santana he was one of the club’s best pitchers last year, with a 2.18 ERA. He was probably lucky to have that number, as he had a .211 batting average on balls in play and an 80.7% slugging percentage. His 3.21 FIP and 3.68 SIERA suggested some regression but his ERA has reached 5.47 this year. Gregory Soto he’s held the role of closer and has a 2.86 ERA on the year but has gotten some help with a .194 BABIP and just 3.6% of his fly balls clearing the fence. Evan Sisk again Wilber Dotel had ERAs under 1.00. Despite solid base numbers, they’ve gotten lucky and can’t keep ERAs that good. On the other side of the spectrum, Mason Montgomery again John RamÃrez they had ERAs close to 5.00 despite better fitness.
It’s not a bad team but all of their contenders are generally looking for bullpen help before the trade deadline. For the Pirates, as they exchange energy and play well, it is not at all surprising that a lot of attention is being paid to them.
It may be difficult to pull off a significant deal in the short term, however. The trade deadline is still almost two months away, falling on August 3 this year. A number of teams in the American League are struggling but none of them are buried in the top since the bad results are widespread. The Athletics currently hold the last Wild Card spot despite a 30-31 record. The Angels are at the bottom with a 24-39 record but only seven games back of the A’s. The National League is a bit stronger but, again, very few teams can see themselves outside of it. The Giants and Rockies are the only NL teams more than six games out of the playoffs.
Even if there are teams that consider themselves primed, they may not want to make a trade just yet. Clubs in a buyer’s position tend to be more aggressive as the deadline approaches, so a team in a seller’s position may hold back and try to put together a strange bid later in the season.
Most of the resources in this game can be considered tradeable, so it’s probably pointless to wonder who the Bucs are looking at right now. That being said, perhaps the most obvious free trade candidate yet Antonio Senzatela. He’s 31 years old, playing for a rebuilding Rockies club and an upcoming free agent. His contract has a $14MM club option but it’s hard to see that being picked up. He has already been linked to the Padres in trade rumors.
A starter for most of his career, Senzatela missed most of 2023 and 2024 due to Tommy John surgery and struggled in 2025. He moved to the bullpen last year and finished the season with a 6.65 ERA. This year, he has a 1.30 ERA in 34 2/3 innings of relief. His four-seamer velocity increased to 97.3 miles per hour after 94.9 mph last year. His 20% strikeout rate isn’t strong but he only walks 7.7% of the batters he faces and is striking out at a 43.5% clip.
His .209 BABIP and 89% strikeout rate help him, but his 3.30 FIP and 3.86 SIERA indicate that he can get good results even with neutral luck. He also pitched more than two innings in an outing, and his 34 2/3 innings came in 17 games. Of course, that’s just one of many releases that could hit the market in the coming months. Individual and team performances will rock the field in the next few weeks.
Photo courtesy of Charles LeClaire, Imagn Images
