Pirates trade Jacob Stallings to Marlins for prospects

As the Hot Stove continued to heat up on Monday, the Pirates stunned the baseball world by trading 2021 Gold Glove catcher Jacob Stallings to the Miami Marlins, in exchange for pitching prospects Zach Thompson, Kyle Nicolas and outfielder Connor Scott.

The move was announced by Ken Rosenthal shortly before 5 p.m. and confirmed soon after by Marlins insider Craig Mish.

Thompson, 28, appeared in 26 games for the Marlins last season and finished with a record of 3-7 with a 3.24 ERA, according to Baseball-Reference. If this name sounds familiar to Pirates fans, it’s because the team actually drafted Thompson in the 48th Round of the 2011 MLB June Amateur Draft, but did not sign with them.

Nicholas was the Marlins’ No. 16 prospect, according to MLB Pipeline. He appeared in 22 games with Double-A Pensacola and tallied 136 strikeouts over 99 innings, along with a 6-4 record and a 4.18 ERA. Towards the end of last season, Nicholas earned AA South Pitcher of the Week honors for the week of August 28.

Scott was the Marlins’ No. 23 prospect and made it as far as High-A so far, with last year yielding career highs at the plate. In 96 games, Scott hit .276/.333/.446 with 41 RBI and 36 walks.

With Stallings dealt, the Pirates have no catchers remaining on the active roster.