3 trade targets from the Pittsburgh Pirates for the Colorado Rockies

The Pittsburgh Pirates are not a very good baseball team. In fact, as much as the Colorado Rockies need help to be a contender like they think they will be in 2022, the Pirates are many years away from contention and a far cry from what they were in the 1970s or even what they were in the early- to mid-2010s.

In the 1970s, the Pirates won two World Series (1971 and 1979) and made it to the playoffs four more times in an era where there were only four playoff teams among the 24 or 26 teams (starting in 1977). In fact, in the 1970s, they only finished below second place in the NL East once (and they finished in third place but only 2.5 games back of the NL East winners, the New York Mets, in 1973).

In the early- to mid-2010s, the Pirates made the playoffs three times. Their 2013 Wild Card berth was their first playoff berth in over two decades.

However, similarly to the Colorado Rockies, the Pirates were competitive for three years (the Rockies for two in 2017 and 2018) but in their three playoff appearances (2013-2015), they didn’t get past the NLDS even once.

The Pittsburgh Pirates aren’t in contention for some of the same mistakes made from yesteryear, which is familiar for Colorado Rockies fans.

Since then, they haven’t made the playoffs and, by repeating many of their mistakes from 1993 through 2012, the Pirates will not in playoff contention and won’t be for a few years. Sound familiar Rockies fans?

The Pirates do have a well-rated farm system (#4 in baseball, according to MLB.com) but as baseball fans know, farm systems don’t mean anything if they aren’t developed well and made into major leaguers.

With the Colorado Rockies hoping to be buyers when the lockout ends, here are three realistic trade targets from the Pittsburgh Pirates that the Rockies should examine further.