Following an offseason of speculation and rumors, the Pittsburgh Pirates finally cashed center fielder Starling Marte in as a trade chip earlier this week. New GM Ben Cherington sent Marte to the Diamondbacks for righty Brennan Malone and infielder Liover Peguero, two very highly regarded prospects, plus $250,000 in international bonus pool money.

"We're excited about adding two young players of this caliber and the opportunity we'll have to help them continue to grow," said Cherington. "In addition, we now have a greater ability to acquire impact type talent in this year's international free agent market. We have a foundation of talent in Pittsburgh and in our system that we feel will be a key part of our success. We also know that we need more of it if we are going to realistically be able to compete deep into September and October."

The Pirates wiped the slate clean earlier this offseason -- in addition to hiring Cherington, they also hired a new manager (Derek Shelton) and a new team president (Travis Williams) -- and the Marte trade was Cherington's first significant move in what will surely be a multi-year rebuild. Pittsburgh lost 93 games in 2019 and FanGraphs projections peg them as a bottom-10 team in 2020.

It stands to reason Cherington will continue moving veterans for prospects, though he doesn't have much left to sell. Chris Archer is coming off the worst season of his career and Gregory Polanco had an injury-marred 2019. Nominal closer Keone Kela was at the center of some clubhouse discord late in the season. Their value is down across the board and the Pirates don't want to sell low.

Trading Marte was the most pressing item on Cherington's agenda. Marte has two years of team control remaining and his trade value would only decrease the closer he got to free agency. Trading him now was the best way to maximize the return. Trading Marte was not the only item on Cherington's agenda, however. Here are three things the Pirates must do following the Marte trade.

1. Spend a little money

MLB: Chicago Cubs at Pittsburgh Pirates
Bob Nutting's team hasn't had a payroll this low in nearly a decade. USATSI

According to Cot's Baseball Contracts, the Pirates have a little more than $55 million on the books in 2020, and that includes Felipe Vazquez's $5.75 salary. Vazquez is facing multiple felonies in Florida and Pennsylvania for sex crimes involving a minor. He is on the restricted list and will not be paid. Pittsburgh's payroll is even lower than it seems.

A sub-$55 million payroll in the year 2020 is shameful. A payroll that low is inviting the MLBPA to file a grievance. It was only two years ago that the union filed a grievance against the Pirates (and three other teams) for a lack of spending. Pittsburgh's projected payroll that year was $86 million. Now it might be under $50 million once you subtract out Vazquez.

Archer ($9 million), Polanco ($8.6 million), and Josh Bell ($4.8 million) are the only Pirates slated to make more than $4 million in 2020. I would think -- and hope -- the Pirates plan to spend a little more money before Opening Day. They don't have to do something crazy and hand out large, irresponsible contracts. The free-agent market has mostly been picked clean anyway.

The Pirates could, however, give out a few one-year contracts to stopgap free agents who a) would help the team be respectable, and b) could be trade chips come July. An outfielder to replace Marte, a catcher, and a reliever seem like easy enough spots to spend a little cash and get the payroll up to (gasp!) $60 million or so. Some possible targets:

  • C Jonathan Lucroy: Investing in a veteran catcher is never a bad idea for a rebuilding team.
  • C Russell Martin: See Lucroy's comment. Could help that Martin played with the Pirates previously.
  • RHP Collin McHugh: Coming off an elbow injury, but he could start or relieve, and he's been great at both at times.
  • OF Yasiel Puig: Hey, if you're going to be bad, you might as well at least be fun. This might be a hangup though.

Others like Trevor Cahill, Jhoulys Chacin, Cameron Maybin, and Domingo Santana could be possible targets. Ditto reclamation projects like Aaron Sanchez (shoulder surgery), Taijuan Walker (Tommy John surgery), and Matt Harvey (gestures at everything). There are still some viable big leaguers sitting in free agency.

Should the Pirates spend money just to spend money? Well, yes. Ticket prices are not going to come down despite the low payroll, and saving money this year to spend in future years is one of those things that sounds reasonable but doesn't really happen. In all likelihood the money the Pirates don't spend this year will get pocketed by ownership.

If the Pirates are serious about this rebuild, they should consider taking on bad contracts to get prospects. See what the D-Backs will give you to eat the $17 million they owe Yasmany Tomas, or the Red Sox and the $14 million they owe Rusney Castillo. The Giants took on Zack Cozart's $12 million salary to get 2019 first rounder Will Wilson. Cherington and the Pirates should look to do something similar.

I'm not terribly optimistic that will happen though. The next best thing the Pirates can do is sign a few free agents to one-year deals and look to flip them at the trade deadline. Like I said earlier, a $50 million or so payroll is shameful in the year 2020, and it's only a matter of time until the MLBPA either speaks out or files another grievance.

2. Approach Bell about an extension

MLB: Pittsburgh Pirates at Colorado Rockies
Is Josh Bell a trade chip or part of the long-term solution in Pittsburgh? USATSI

Bell's breakout season was a bright spot for an otherwise forgettable 2019 Pirates team. The 27-year-old authored a .277/.367/.569 batting line with 37 home runs, earning him an All-Star Game selection, and Bell did that despite a second-half slump that saw him hit only .233/.351/.429. He's establishing himself as a bonafide middle-of-the-order masher.

Bell was eligible for arbitration for the first time this offseason and he is three years away from free agency. He's also a Scott Boras client, and Boras typically takes his top clients out into free agency to maximize their earning potential. Will the Pirates win a bidding war to keep Bell long-term? History suggests almost certainly not. The largest contract in team history is still the six-year, $60 million deal they gave Jason Kendall in 2000. 2000!

Boras is not completely opposed to young players signing long-term deals -- Xander Bogaerts, Carlos Gonzalez, and Stephen Strasburg are all Boras clients who signed extensions before free agency -- and the Pirates should approach him to figure out what it'll take to retain Bell. It never hurts to ask, and it'll give the club clarity about their future. Two possible outcomes with Bell:

  • He signs a long-term extension and is part of the next great Pirates team.
  • He tests free agency and the team loses him before they're ready to contend again.

Can Cherington and the Pirates turn things around and contend before Bell reaches free agency in three years? Sure, it's possible, though I'm not sure I'd consider it likely. Keeping him the next three years without contending, then losing him to free agency, would be a disaster for the Pirates, and Cherington wouldn't let it happen. They'd trade him before that.

And that's what I'm getting at here. Reach out to Boras to discuss a long-term extension, and, if it becomes clear they won't be able to reach common ground, then start thinking about a trade. The sooner the Pirates trade Bell, the more team control he'll have, and the more they seek in return. Three years of Bell is more valuable than two years, and two years is more valuable than one year.

Freddie Freeman signed an eight-year extension worth $135 million at Bell's service time level in 2014. Kyle Seager got seven years and $100 million and Wil Myers got six years and $83 million, all the same service time level Those deals set the market for a Bell extension: $14 million to $17 million per year for 6-8 years. Can the Pirates swing that?

3. Hope for some rebounds

It's never a good thing when part of your rebuild is built on hope, but that's where the Pirates are at right now. They have to hope Archer rights the ship, hope Polanco stays healthy, and hope Kela is a model citizen so the club could maximize the trade return at the July 31 deadline. With Marte gone, it stands to reason those three players will be gone before long as well.

The Pirates also have to hope Jameson Taillon comes back well from his second career Tommy John surgery next season, and that top prospect Mitch Keller's brutal 2019 debut (7.13 ERA) was just a young kid getting roughed up in his first 48 big league innings with the juiced ball and nothing more. (I think Keller will be more than fine. He's not the first pitcher to struggle in his MLB debut.)

With Marte gone, the Pirates need the other members of their current core to turn things around so Cherington can flip them for future assets. Will Archer be part of the next contending Pirates team? Polanco? The answer is almost certainly no. They're most valuable as trade chips and they need to be better (and healthier) than they were last year to have meaningful trade value.