Trade Rumors Link Pirates To Top Relievers On The Market

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For too long, Pittsburgh Pirates fans have stood by and watched the club cut ties with players who went on to greener pastures, including right-hander Gerrit Cole, former National Leeague MVP Andrew McCutchen and relievers David Bednar and Clay Holmes.

But this year, it's a different story, with Pittsburgh exceeding all expectations to date. That has general manager Ben Cherington in an unfamiliar position: a trade deadline buyer rather than seller.

So what should Cherington be looking for on the trade market? FanSided's Robert Murray believes Pittsburgh's list begins with the back end of the bullpen.

"If they want someone on an expiring contract, Aroldis Chapman makes a ton of sense," Murray said during a Reddit AMA. Antonio Senzatela and Pete Fairbanks could make sense too."

Chapman is perhaps the best reliever on the market. The Cuban left-hander posted a career-worst 4.46 ERA in 2022 with the New York Yankees, then spent two years bouncing from the Kansas City Royals to the Texas Rangers to the Pirates. But in 2025, Chapman resurrected his career in Boston, posting a career-best 1.17 ERA with 32 saves.

This season, Chapman has been almost as good, posting a 2.08 ERA and 14 saves. And the eight-time All-Star is no stranger to Pittsburgh. He made 68 appearances for the Pirates in 2024 and had a pedestrian 3.79 ERA with 14 saves.

The 38-year-old Chapman is enjoying a career renaissance that should end with induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. The two-time World Series champion is 10th all-time with 381 saves.

Fairbanks, 32, is in his first season with the Miami Marlins and has an unsightly 6.65 ERA with 11 saves in 25 appearances. But he recorded at least 23 saves in each of the last three seasons with a pair of sub-3.00 ERA campaigns.

Senzatela, 31, has spent his entire 10-year MLB career with the Colorado Rockies. This season, he's 7-0 with three saves a 2.23 ERA in 22 appearances.

As for the Pirates, they enter play Wednesday in fourth place in the National League Central, 10 games behind the first-place Milwaukee Brewers. But they're just 2.5 games back in the NL Wild Card standings.

FanGraphs gives the Pirates a 33.1% chance of returning to the playoffs for the first time since 2015.

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