It's long been known that the Pittsburgh Pirates would be open for business at the July 31 trade deadline. With that crucial date inching closer, rumors are beginning to swirl about many players who currently reside on the MLB's most willing seller's roster.
One team that has commonly been connected to Pittsburgh as a trading partner is the division-rival Chicago Cubs. Starting pitcher Mitch Keller has long been rumored to be the apple of Chicago's eye, with third baseman Ke'Bryan Hayes being connected to the Cubs recently, as well as relievers like David Bednar and Dennis Santana potentially making sense for Chicago's Northsiders.
With the Cubs being linked as an early trade destination for so many Pirates' trade chips, we've seen other teams join the fray as the rumor mill begins to swirl. That's led one prominent Cubs blog to put out the idea that it's all an elaborate conspiracy theory between the two division rivals' front offices.
Chicago Cubs blog floats idea that the NL Central division leaders are colluding with the Pirates to drive up trade values
Put your tin foil hats on and get ready. The crux of their argument is that Pirates general manager Ben Cherington is leaking these rumors to pump up trade values ahead of the deadline and that Cubs president of baseball operations, Jed Hoyer, is a willing participant in the ruse.
The premise is this: Cherington and Hoyer both came up together in the Boston Red Sox organization and likely talk often, given their years of working together. During those conversations, names of Pirates players naturally come up as Hoyer does his due diligence, which Cherington then leaks to the press in order to start a bidding war.
It's a hysterical proposition, but not one that can be completely dismissed out of hand. Cherington, after all, might be out of a job if he doesn't ace the trade deadline.
While these connections might cause you to raise your eyebrows, there's a far more likely scenario going on. These players all solve needs for the Cubs, and as a division rival they get to see them often. Not only that, around baseball, certain teams develop better trading relationships with some over others, and the fact that Cherington and Hoyer worked together in the past could only help build that bridge.
Consider this, players like Keller, Hayes, Bednar, and Santana all represent upgrades for Chicago. Their starting rotation has suffered injuries to the likes of Justin Steele and former Pirate Jameson Taillon, while ranking 18th in the majors with a 4.15 ERA. Their top prospect, Matt Shaw, has struggled mightily at third base this season with a .203/.283/.287 line, and their other internal options leave much to be desired. Lastly, nearly every contender looks to beef up their bullpen for the stretch run.
As for Pittsburgh's side of things, the Cubs have one of the better farm systems in the league, and one that's stocked with near-MLB-ready hitters who have their paths to the majors blocked by the Cubs' incumbent stars.
When you consider the fact that these two clubs naturally line up well to make a deal and add in the fact that their respective leaders have a prior working relationship, it seems pretty clear that there is no nefarious conspiracy going on, even if it would be fun to believe it to be true.
