I will be making ten trade proposals and will give my opinions on wether or not I would accept them if I ran both teams. Here’s 1-2.

1. Pirates get: Zach Britton. Orioles get: Kevin Correia, Robbie Grossman and $1 million

Analysis: This trade would allow the pirates to get a 23 year old left handed pitcher who is MLB ready or close to that and has lots of potential. He was rated the 28th best prospect prior to the 2011 by BA but struggled during the season for the Orioles. The Orioles would get a pitcher who would give another option for their rotation and a likely top 100 prospect for their farm system that lacks top outfield prospects. If I were the pirates I would do this because we get a potentially good left handed pitcher and give up what we have in excess; that being outfielders and mediocre pitchers. Grossman is a good prospect, but outfielders are not as big a need as left handed starting pitching for the pirates. We also would save $ 2 mil by getting rid of Correia. If I ran the Orioles I would also do this trade. It would be hard to part with Britton, but I would because Correia would likely put up similar if not better numbers than Britton if they both started for the Orioles in 2012 and would cost them a reasonable $2 Million. They would also be getting a good high floor prospect in Grossman which would give them a good prospect in a position where they lack much talent.

Conclusion: The pirates would get the most talented and valuable player in the deal in Britton and fill their need for a quality left hander who will be with the pirates sooner rather than later. The Orioles on the other hand get a mediocre pitcher to help their rotation and a quality prospect.

2. Pirates get: Henry Owens and Jose Iglesias. Red Sox get: Joel Hanrahan

Analysis: This trade would net the pirates a 21 year old short stop with amazing defensive talent who has not hit at all yet but has bat speed and quick wrists to hit decently in the future. He was rated the 52nd best prospect by BA going into 2011 but put up a pitiful .554 ops in AAA this past season. His value has dropped a lot and this gives us a good opportunity to grab and hope he bounces back. We would also get Henry Owens who is a talented lefty who was selected 36th overall in the 2011 and has a fastball that sits in the mid 90’s. At this point Owens is likely a better prospect than Iglesias. The Red Sox would get a top ten closer in my opinion. He will likely cost them only a total $9-12 mil over the next two years. If I ran the Pirates I would do this deal because an elite closer is not necessary for a team like the Pirates and we need to continue to look towards the future. We would get two good prospects to help our farm system. They both have high upside and could be great players but have relatively low floors. I ran the Red Sox I would do this deal because after committing so much money to free agency without great success they would be smart to not overpay a closer and risk wasting another $50 mil. They would give up good prospects but not top prospects and get very good closer. They also would probably like to get value out of Iglesias if they don’t think he can bounce back.

Conclusion: The pirates would get two talented prospects and give up Hanrahan who is a luxury for the pirates. The Red Sox would get a talented closer for a reasonable salary over next two years for two prospects.