Way back in 2003, the Pirates didn’t trade Reggie Sanders at the July 31 deadline. After embarking on a prodigious dump-fest that saw Kenny Lofton, Randall Simon and Aramis Ramirez ALL jump on a bus for Chicago, the Bucs’ most obvious bit of trade bait—a 36-year old outfielder in the only year of his contract—was kept on the roster, where he wound up mashing the ball down the stretch as teams attempted unsuccessfully to get Sanders through waivers. By all accounts, Reggie SHOULD have been traded, but he wasn’t.

And I loved it.

The frenzy surrounding the trading deadline is a joyless season for Pirates fans. Each summer, the team’s semi-productive veterans—veterans supposedly brought in to solidify the team—are picked over like cantaloupes at Giant Eagle, with league scouts poking and sniffing and knocking on Jeromy Burnitzes, Matt Stairses, and the like, in the hope that one of them will be ripe. In return, the Pirates expect to receive talent with which to rebuild the franchise, a structure that’s been under construction longer than Route 28. And often, the building blocks are disappointing: For every Jason Bay and Freddy Sanchez, the Bucs acquire two Bobby Hills, or worse, a Jose Hernandez.

So the ’03 retention of Sanders was particularly joyful. Before Jason Bay was Jason Bay, and before Jack Wilson had his breakout Silver Slugger season, Reggie was an offensive bright spot on a particularly dim team. As he attempted to get himself traded in a deadline or waiver wire deal, Sanders seemed to slug a homer every night, towering blasts into the left field seats that screamed, “Hey scouts, take me!,” while I watched every night with delight. He was only a Buc for a year, but Reggie became one of my favorite Pirates in recent memory as he mashed 31 homers, seemingly all of them down the stretch.

But the Pirates should have traded him.

Most years, the Pirates should trade just about everyone over the age of 27. Not only are the team’s elder statesmen generally one-year mercenaries, their contracts set to expire in September, but their motivation is rarely team-oriented, with designs on opening the eyes of other clubs rather than the eyes of the developing Bucs.

And the team’s younger players, with few exceptions, should be considered as fodder as well. For the right price, just about any Buc should be available. So I’ve ranked them here for opposing scouts—taking into account the player’s skill, age, salary, asking price, etc,--so they can more easily pick over our pack of 25 active goods.

Group One: Why even bother?

Before we get started with guys who could or should be dealt, there’s a number of players who, honestly, nobody’s going to want, and nobody’s going to give us much for. So let’s knock ‘em off right quick: young, cheap and wholly unproven pitcher Tom Gorzelanny (1), barely-hitting Nate McLouth (2), and strong-armed but light-sticked Humberto Cota (3).

Group Two: We pretty much signed these guys so we could trade them, right?

If you’re a Pirate born in the supersexy, swingin’ 60s, as Jeromy Burnitz (4), Joe Randa (5), Jose Hernandez (6) and Roberto Hernandez (7) were, you should be as good as gone come August. And this year, you can throw hometown boy and star of annoying commercials, 32-year old Sean Casey (8), in that mix. But will anyone be interested? And what can we get?

Roberto Hernandez should be the easiest of this group to move: Every playoff-bound team can use more experience in the pen, even if they aren’t looking for a closer. So the potential suitors for a guy like Hernandez—one of MLB’s career saves leaders—should be plentiful. But that doesn’t mean the return on the investment will be worth much. We’re talking AA infielders here.

Casey should be equally in demand: The Angels are looking for someone who can stick, and Casey’s always been able to hit for average. They’ve got a rich farm system out there in Los Angeles of Anaheim, so unless Littlefield decides to play hardball and ask for a Jered Weaver in return (and let’s face it, he might be so dumb), Casey should move by Monday.

As for Jose Hernandez, Randa and Burnitz, it’s tough to imagine that there will be much interest in three guys struggling for ABs on a team that’s 22+ games out of first. So yeah, we might just be stuck with them.

Group Three: Take my wife. Please!

As with Randa and Burnitz, there’s a slew of Bucs—either because of poor performance or lack of even B-level talent—who aren’t going to be in much demand, but I WISH the Bucs could get rid of ‘em.

The star of this show, of course, is Kip Wells (9). The purported jewel of the Todd Ritchie to Chicago deal—a supposed blue-chip guy with blue-chip stuff—could have been Jason Michaels, hair-on-fire Eric Byrnes, or a number of other players by now, but the Bucs have watched his stock drop like a desperate gambler on tilt. You’ve seen this guy: He’s like a horrific car accident. The cards are just killing him, but he doesn’t know when to quit. He’s holding on this vague notion that his luck’s about to change, that it’s all about to turn around. But it won’t, and everyone else can see that he’s going to wind up with nothing but a Single-A pitcher for the effort. But I digress.

Damaso Marte (10), Victor Santos (11), Saloman Torres (12), and John Grabow (13) aren’t quite down the Wells road (especially since two of them are relatively new Bucs), but they’re underachieving or underwhelming at best. Truth is, ain’t nobody gonna want ‘em for more than a bag of balls.

Group Four: Worse things have happened than getting rid of you.

He’s a team guy who likes playing in Pittsburgh, he plays solid defense, and he makes me look really handsome in comparison, but the truth about Jack Wilson (14) is that his best offensive year seems to be behind him, and he’s going to be too old and too expensive by the time the young Bucs—Zach Duke, Jose Bautista and company—are ready to be a solid team. Trading him while his stock is medium-high, rather than waiting until his time has passed, not only opens up a spot in the infield for Bautista, but makes it possible for the Bucs to get something valuable in return for a solid defensive effort who plays like he wants to win. Unfortunately, trading JackJack would be pretty awful PR, and might piss off Jason Bay. So he’s likely to stay.

Group Five: Every man has a price.

I’ll be honest: I don’t want the Pirates to trade Craig Wilson (15). He’s still only 29, he’s cheap, he gets on base, is a versatile defender, and just seems like the kind of guy you’d regret losing as he mashed 40 bombs in another town. But the Bucs have been hell-bent on dealing him since spring training. And though I’d like to see him stay, the Million Dollar Man was right: Every man has his price. And for the right package—a decently proven guy who stays off the DL, a package of promising prospects—even I would let him go.

The same is true for the vast majority of the Pirates. There’s a tendency to say that a player’s too youg, or that he’s got too much potential, to trade him. But the Bucs only have 37 wins with these guys, so for the right price, I don’t see why over-performing Ian Snell (16) and promising youngsters like Matt Capps (17), Mike Gonzalez (18), Zach Duke (19), Paul Maholm (20), Jose Castillo (21) and Jose Bautista (22) can’t gp. Again, I’m not saying I WANT to see them traded, but there just not as untouchable as…

Group Six: Well, except these guys.

Freddy Sanchez (23), the NL’s most unlikely potential batting champion, is basically free, and he plays with the kind of hair-on-fire, leave it all on the field type of fervor that teams should always build around. And a solid backstop, like the Bucs have found in rookie behemoth Ronnie Paulino (24), is the kind of rock every good team needs: He can throw, he can hit for average, and that power’s going to come. And he’s a bargain.

And then there’s Jason Bay (25).

----Greg

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