Dunlap: The Pirates' Best Move Is Probably No Move
It's OK to do nothing.
Really, it is. It's OK --- in this instance --- to stand and watch many around you do something while you just stand idly by.
Such is the case with the 2016 Pittsburgh Pirates as baseball's non-waiver trade deadline approaches August 1.
Are they sellers?
Are they buyers?
Are they mired somewhere in between, in some abyss of indecision or, more to the point, some unidentifiable portion of the buyer/seller vortex?
All fair questions and ones that general manager Neal Huntington was hired to answer and gets paid handsomely to figure out.
Want my advice? Well you're going to get it anyway. Here goes: Do nothing externally.
Yep, there's no real reason to make any trade. The Pirates' best chance at grabbing a Wild Card spot --- because, let's be honest, they aren't catching the Cubs --- is to promote from within, hope the young kids perform at an optimum level and go from there.
If they don't push you to a Wild Card berth, at least those guys got experience in meaningful baseball games that will help shape them for the future.
Some talk about some pipe dream of landing a middle-of-the-rotation starter from another club, of maneuvering some deal to ship some prospects (or even Major League guys) off for a guy who is going to come in and make an immediate impact.
Sorry, that just doesn't look like it is feasible in this current climate where a guy like Drew Pomeranz draws a big-time prospect in a trade. It simply boils down to the chance to get better being too high of a cost, particularly because the Pirates are fighting for an opportunity to play in that one-game Wild Card and seem to be very, very distant from having a chance to chase down the Cubs atop the NL Central.
But this is the silly season.
The one in which, when you listen to the radio or speak to your friends at a bar, you will hear all about some prospective trades the Pirates should make.
I got news for you --- most are of the "all-our-bad-guys-for-all-their-good-guys" variety in the minds of fans and the true asking price of any difference-maker the Bucs could acquire would set the franchise back.
Now, if you've ever read anything I have written or listened to our Fan Morning Show, you'd quickly understand I'm the last guy to give this franchise a free pass.
All I want is for the Pirates to win; and in the throes of that, all I want is for them to make the best decisions. That said, I also call it as I see it --- every single time.
So call up Tyler Glasnow.
Call up Josh Bell.
Bring up Chad Kuhl and let him pitch.
Put a ton of trust in Jameson Taillon in the stretch run.
Heck, if you have to, put Steven Brault in a big league uniform again.
These young gentlemen aren't just the future of the Pirates; they are, in some respects, the now. They also represent internal options that, in my estimation at least, make far more sense than making just about any realistic trade to be had.
Colin Dunlap is a featured columnist at CBSPittsburgh.com. He can also be heard weekdays from 5:40 a.m. to 10 a.m. on Sports Radio 93-7 "The Fan." You can e-mail him at colin.dunlap@cbsradio.com. Check out his bio here.
