안전놀이터The Pittsburgh Pirates traded Ji-Man Choi and Rich Hill to the San Diego Padres at this year’s trade deadline. In return, they received Estuar Sueiro, Jackson Wolf, and Alfonso Rivas.
However, fansite Lumberjack Nation claimed Pittsburgh got a bargain in the trade.
The site wrote on Feb. 2, “This swap deal is a great deal for Pittsburgh in the near future. In the long run, it could be a huge win for the Pirates.” Pittsburgh didn’t lose anything.
The site notes that “Hill was a veteran fifth starter and Choi was a platoon first baseman. They will be free agents after this season. Sure, they both had their upsides and provided something of value to Pittsburgh, but Hill is not an All-Star starter and Choi missed a significant portion of the year. The three players Pittsburgh acquired could help them in the long run.”
Of outfielder Suero, the site said, “He has plus speed and has the potential to stay in center field long term. He’s already shown a decent feel for the position. He’s striking out a lot, but that’s a minor issue considering he’s only 17 years old.”
As for Sidearmer Wolfe, “He had a 3.95 ERA, 3.93 FIP, and 1.12 WHIP in Double-A this year. His fastball only sits in the 80-90 mph range, but he has good command and an above-average slider and curveball. His fourth pitch is a changeup.”
As for Rivas, “He’s not a terrible bench first baseman. He has a .411 on-base percentage and an above-average OPS this season. He’s graded out as an above-average defensive first baseman throughout his career. He’s not a long-term, permanent solution for the Pirates at first base, but he’s fine as a bench first baseman.”
“Choi and Hill are both minus 0.9 in bWAR. Rivas is the only member of the Pirates’ package to play in the majors, but his bWAR of minus 0.1 is better than the sum of Choi and Hill.”