PITTSBURGH — The Juan Soto sweepstakes have resonated very little locally for obvious reasons. The star outfielder just turned down a nearly half-billion dollar offer from the Washington Nationals last week. So, in the context of the Pirates' penny-pinching ownership, a sign-and-trade situation in which the club gives him more per year than a larger market offered is nuts.
On paper, though, there's a serious case to be made that the Pirates could realistically have a core of Soto, Oneil Cruz and Ke'Bryan Hayes for what would amount to a bargain rate around the industry — and that such a core is worth trading practically anything else for, given the foundation it would allow the team to build around for a decade or more.
We know this principally because there are other small markets kicking the proverbial tires. Sports Illustrated's Tom Verducci reported Tuesday both Cleveland and Tampa Bay are involved in trade discussions with the Nationals, and both franchises are almost as notoriously cheap as the Pirates.
