The Pirates carry an even 38-38 record into today’s game with the Rockies, and Pittsburgh sits two games out of a wild card slot in the crowded NL playoff race. Since the Buccos haven’t had a winning season since 2018 and haven’t reached the playoffs since 2015, the team is looking to end both droughts with some extra aggressiveness on the trade front.
According to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal, the Pirates “are open to trading” their Competitive Balance Round pick in the upcoming draft, as well as from their minor league system. The Pirates were slotted into CBR-A this year, so their extra choice will fall 34th overall in the draft order.
The Competitive Balance Rounds are two bonus rounds that fall, respectively, after the first and second rounds of the draft. The 15 teams that rank (as per a formula determined by the league) within the bottom 10 teams of the league in revenue or market size each receive an extra draft pick, and these are the only picks that can be traded.
Since developing prospects is an even more important part of roster-building for smaller-market teams, there is a natural benefit to just using the CBR pick to bring an extra young player into the system. However, we’ve seen several deals involving these CBR selections over the years, as clubs in a more win-now mode have used these picks as trade chips to acquire more proven talent. Of the 15 picks over the two Competitive Balance Rounds in the 2026 draft, five have been traded.
Pittsburgh could make it a sixth if an acceptable offer emerges between now and when the draft begins on July 11. Rosenthal writes that the Pirates are looking at all options on the trade front, though the shaky relief corps is the club’s obvious weak link.
Closer Gregory Soto and left-hander Evan Sisk have been pretty much the only reliable relievers in the Pirates’ pen, and Pittsburgh’s 4.46 reliever ERA ranks 20th of 30 teams. The bullpen has also thrown the ninth-most (292 2/3) innings of any relief corps in baseball, and adding more relief depth is particularly important since most of the Pirates’ young starters have yet to complete a full Major League season.
While the Pirates acquired Hunter Stratton from the Braves yesterday, a more prominent swap for a relief pitcher may not come until much closer to July 11, if the CBR-A pick does indeed become part of Pittsburgh’s trade plans. The Pirates will surely want a few more weeks to evaluate the always-volatile bullpen market, and there are only a few teams in clear-cut seller mode here on June 20. If the Bucs are going to dangle the 34th overall pick in an attempt to land a reliever, the team is probably going to target relievers with additional contractual control, so a rental like the Rockies’ Antonio Senzatela (to name one obvious trade candidate on a rebuilding team) likely isn’t a fit in such a deal.
As Rosenthal notes, we’ve seen teams include CBR picks in trades for relievers just before each of the last two drafts. However, the wide variance in the outcomes of those trades underscores the risk for the Pirates. The Rays landed Bryan Baker from the Orioles for the 37th overall pick last July and Baker has gone onto enjoy a tremendous 2026 season as Tampa’s closer. By contrast, the Royals sent the 39th pick and infield prospect Cayden Wallace to the Nationals for Hunter Harvey just prior to the 2024 draft, and Harvey then pitched only 16 1/3 innings over parts of two injury-marred seasons in Kansas City.
