Pirates GM Reveals Reasoning Behind Surprising Pitcher Trade

PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates made a surprising move at the trade deadline, sending one of their best starting pitchers out.

The Pirates traded left-handed pitcher Bailey Falter to the Kansas City Royals for two prospects in left-handed relief pitcher Evan Sisk and first baseman Callan Moss.

Falter had a strong season with the Pirates in 2025, with a 7-5 record over 22 starts, a 3.73 ERA over 113.1 innings pitched, 70 strikeouts to 39 walks, a .232 opposing batting average and a 1.18 WHIP.

This included his incredible month of May, where he had a 3-0 record in six starts, a 0.76 ERA over 35.2 innings pitched, 19 strikeouts to 13 walks, a .147 opposing batting average and a 0.84 WHIP.

He re-signed this season for $2.2 million and has three more years of arbitration before he hits free agency ahead of the 2029 season.

Falter was the only starting pitcher the Pirates traded, keeping right-handed pitchers in All-Star Paul Skenes, veteran Mitch Keller and rookie Mike Burrows. They also kept left-handed pitcher Andrew Heaney, who is on an expiring contract.

Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said that they were thinking of trading a starting pitcher, giving a spot in the rotation to one of their younger starters, plus the return of right-handed starting pitcher Johan Oviedo from Tommy John surgery.

Cherington also said that they liked the players they got for Falter and once they knew that they were trading him, they decided to keep Heaney instead.

"We liked the players we got for Bailey and as we looked forward towards 2026, it was really looking toward, 'ok, what starting pitchers in the organization have the best chance to be part of that rotation in 2026, and how do we give those guys the best chance to be ready for that?," Cherington said.

"As you know, we've got a lot of other guys. I mentioned Oviedo. There are others. Obviously Michael Burrows already getting starts. So as we look towards that period of time in August, September, really trying set up guys towards going into 2026. We felt the combination of the players we got back and the opportunity it opened up for others made sense."

Sisk is a 28-year old, who pitched in five games for the Royals this season, but has spent the rest of his career in the minor leagues. He is currently with Triple-A Indianapolis, but Cherington sees Sisk as a major league pitcher in the future.

"This is a left-hand pitcher who we’ve been on for a while," Cherington said. "We think he’s a major league pitcher."

Moss is a 21-year old, who has played all season at High-A, now with Greensboro following the trade.

He slashed .270/.372/.418 for an OPS of .790 over 92 games with High-A Quad City before heading to Greensboro.

MLB Pipeline doesn't have Moss in the Pirates top 30 prospects list, even with the re-ranking following the trade deadline.