The Pittsburgh Pirates had a big trade target in their sights this year for the first time in quite a while. The Pittsburgh front office was eyeing a trade for the Miami Marlins star utility man, Jazz Chisholm Jr. This trade made a ton of sense for Pittsburgh.

Chisholm is flexible defensively with the ability to play both in the outfield and on the infield dirt. The Pirates needed bats in the most desperate way imaginable at the deadline. Chisholm is also controllable for the next few seasons which made him a low-risk option. Acquiring him would have given the Pirates a few seasons before they needed to pay him, opening up a win-now window on the back of Paul Skenes.

Chisholm also puts people in the seats. He’s a tremendous star with an entertainment factor to his game that is hard to replicate and impossible to teach.

It’s almost like the Marlins star was made in a lab to be the perfect trade candidate for the 2024 Pittsburgh Pirates. But Pittsburgh wouldn’t be the team to win the bidding war for the young star.

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Unfortunately for the Pirates faithful, Chisholm landed with the New York Yankees for a package of prospects that Pittsburgh could have matched or outdone quite easily. Pittsburgh had their chance to take a shot at winning and instead, their front office sat on their hands and let the rich get richer.

In seven games since being moved to New York, the star had moved back to the infield and played a solid third base. He’s slashing .300/.364/.700 with four home runs and seven runs scored in 30 at bats with the Yankees.

Chisholm has taken the Bronx by storm, winning the fans and the media over very quickly with his flashy personality and his charismatic nature. He doesn’t fit the norm of a typical Yankee, but he doesn’t seem to care and neither do the fans.

Pittsburgh landed Chisholm’s former teammate, fellow outfielder Bryan De La Cruz as a bit of a consolation prize for missing out on the latter.

De La Cruz was a much cheaper option and he was still the controllable asset that Pittsburgh had been eyeing, but he just wasn’t the big fish that the Pirates were looking for.

In a short, 18 at-bat sample size, De La Cruz has recorded three hits, all three singles, and six strikeouts with the Pirates.