Pirates seem determined to be buyers despite recent slump, injuries

Before the start of the Pittsburgh Pirates weekend series against the Cincinnati Reds, general manager Ben Cherington made it clear that nothing that happened in the series was going to change his approach to the trade deadline.

The approach, in his mind, was obvious: They were going to be buyers no matter what. 

Based on Saturday's trade with the New York Yankees for struggling relief pitcher Camilo Doval, he seems to be sticking with that.

Pirates attempt to address major need, indicate they are still buyers

While Doval has had his flaws this season, especially against left-handed hitters and at Yankee Stadium, he has still been extremely effective against right-handed hitters and has had stretches of success in the Major Leagues.

He clearly fills a major need for the Pirates, especially on the heels of their 20th blown save of the season on Friday night in an 8-7 loss to the Reds.

Aside from the significance of what it might mean for the bullpen, it also sends a pretty clear message that the Pirates are not letting their recent slide prevent them from trying to add. And it would have been really easy for them to allow that to happen.

After Friday's game, they fell to 5-9 since the All-Star break, including a dismal 2-7 record in their past nine games. That has taken them from having a temporary hold on the No. 3 wild-card spot in the National League to falling to 2.5 games out going into play on Saturday, while having three teams between them and that potential playoff spot. They have also officially fallen below .500 for the time being with a 55-56 record entering play on Saturday.

Even more concerning, they are also dealing with significant injury issues that managed to get worse on Friday when Ryan O'Hearn had to leave the game in the ninth inning and is now expected to miss 6-8 weeks. 

Along with him being sidelined, the team is also missing center fielder Oneil Cruz, first baseman Spencer Horwitz and shortstop Konnor Griffin. That is now four starting position players out of the lineup. It is a testament to the offensive depth the Pirates have accumulated over the past year that they have been able to still score like one of the best offenses in baseball, but the injuries (and losses) are now mounting. 

Cruz and Horwitz should be back in the next week or two, and that will help, but it is not going to be enough.

The Pirates are clearly still trying to buy.

The question now becomes how much more they buy over the next 48 hours.

Another relief pitcher seems to be a must.

They could probably use another starting pitcher given the struggles of Paul Skenes and the recent regression of Braxton Ashcraft, not to mention the innings limit that Jared Jones will have and the inconsistency of Bubba Chandler.

They could also use another right-handed power bat to help solve their issues against left-handed pitching.

There is pressure for the Pirates to compete and get closer to the playoffs. They have at least stayed in the race through the first four months. But they are going to need quite a bit over the next two days to actually get the job done and make the playoffs.