Pirates Starting Pitchers Received Trade Interest From Mets

New York eventually made a big trade with the Milwaukee Brewers for right-handed starting pitcher Freddy Peralta.

The Pirates did trade Oviedo to the Boston Red Sox, in a five-player trade with outfielder prospect Jhostynxon García profiling as the main return.

Pittsburgh is also keeping both Ashcraft and Chandler for next season, who should feature as a big part of their starting rotation for the forseeable future.

Why the Mets Had Interest in Pirates Pitchers

The Mets had huge injury issues in 2025 with their pitching staff with at least nine players that suffered season-ending injuries.

New York, who were once 21 games above .500 at 45-24 on June 12, finished the season 83-79 and missed out on the postseason.

The options the Pirates had for the Mets made sense, given that they're all young arms with potential to get even better over the next few years.

Oviedo entered his first year of arbitration this offseason, but Ashcraft and Chandler both made their MLB debut in 2025 and have six years of team control to go.

Ashcraft showed his talents out of the bullpen and then got some starts as well. He finished with a 4-4 record over 26 appearances and eight starts, a 2.71 ERA over 69.2 innings pitched, 71 strikeouts to 24 walks, a .239 opposing batting average and a 1.25 WHIP. 

Chandler is still one of the top pitching prospects in baseball and also had a strong finish to the season.

He ended his first stint with the Pirates with a 4-1 record over seven appearances and four starts, a 4.02 ERA over 31.1 innings pitched, 31 strikeouts to four walks, a .214 opposing batting average and a 0.93 WHIP.

The Pirates also needed lineup additions, especially at third base, with Mark Vientos or Brett Baty as solid options at that spot.

Pittsburgh did trade another starting pitcher in Mike Burrows to the Houston Astros, who then sent two top prospects from the Tampa Bay Rays, who parted ways with second baseman Brandon Lowe, outfielder Jake Mangum and left-handed relief pitcher Mason Montgomery by sending them to the "Steel City."

The Pirates also made a free agent signing in Ryan O'Hearn, who gives them another left-handed bat that can feature at multiple positions.

Pittsburgh was open to trading starting pitchers, but after departing with both Oviedo and Burrows, they likely didn't desire trading their other top arms, knowing they'd have to replace them.

The Pirates are also looking at additions for their pitching staff at this point of the offseason, with Spring Training soon starting.