Pirates and Royals: Off the trade block, ready to shake up pennant races

SAN FRANCISCO - Pittsburgh Pirates ace Gerrit Cole walked slowly into the near-empty clubhouse late Monday evening at AT&T Park, but instead of answering questions about trade rumors, he was talking about playoffs.

Kanas City Royals third baseman Mike Moustakas, who was supposed to be wearing a Boston Red Sox uniform by now, was being informed that he and the rest of his potential free-agent teammates aren’t going anywhere, after all

There are just a few precious shopping days remaining before the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline, but life is so topsy-turvy that the Pirates and Royals - ready to sell off spare parts just weeks ago - suddenly are acting like they can win this thing.

“We kept hearing everybody being mentioned in trades,’’ Pirates center fielder Andrew McCutchen, who was nearly shipped out and now is back in center field, told USA TODAY Sports. “But then it was like, “Hey, the only way to make sure none of that happens is that we’ve got to win ballgames.

“And that’s what we’ve done.”

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The Pirates, playing all season without third baseman Jung Ho Kang (stranded in South Korea with legal problems from a DUI), and 80 games without outfielder Starling Marte (busted for performance-enhancing drug use), suddenly are playing their best ball of the year. They started 26-35 but have won 13 of their last 17 games and climbed back to .500 after beating the San Francisco Giants, 10-3, Monday night. All of that talk about trading Cole, All-Star infielder Josh Harrison, or McCutchen, has vanished.

“We know it’s a business, and if you don’t play good baseball, anything can happen,’’ Pirates valuable setup man Juan Nicasio said. “But we’re playing good. And if you play good, they can’t trade anyone. We keep playing like this, we can win this division.’’

It’s no different than in Kansas City, where the Royals won consecutive pennants and a World Series in 2014-15. The Royals were prepared to break it up and start their rebuilding process early when they got off to a 10-20 start. They since went on a tear, going 41-27, and vaulting into second place, just 1 ½ games behind the Cleveland Indians. They bolstered their chances by acquiring three veteran pitchers Monday from the San Diego Padres - starter Trevor Cahill and relievers Brandon Maurer and Ryan Buchter.

“We’re in it,’’ Moustakas told the Kansas City Star. “We’re going to go out there and try to win a World Series.’’

The idea of a Royals-Pirates World Series may horrify Fox Sports executives, and perhaps it’s unrealistic to think they will both make the playoffs, but they sure are acting like they can play with the big boys. The Royals showed they’re going for it, and the Pirates at least have stayed intact.

“I’ve been through five trade deadlines now,’’ Cole says, “and it’s just one of those things that you never know what’s going to happen. We didn’t expect the moves that were made last year.’’

The Pirates, on the fringe of the wild-card race last year, traded their All-Star closer Mark Melancon to the Washington Nationals for pitchers Felipe Rivero and prospect Taylor Hearn. Melancon lasted two months in Washington, and fled to San Francisco as a free agent. Rivero has turned into a bona fide 101-mph throwing star, giving up an earned run in just four of 49 appearances this year, and would be the top reliever on the trade market if the Pirates were inclined to move him.

Then again, if the Pirates dared trade Rivero or anyone else from their nucleus, they might as well padlock their gates, infuriating a fan base who has watched their team win wild-card berths from 2013-2015, but without a division title since 1992.

The Pirates need to take a page out of the Minnesota Twins’ handbook, rewarding their players by staying alive in the AL Central race by assuming $4.75 million in salary Monday with the acquisition of Atlanta Braves veteran starter Jaime Garcia and catcher Anthony Recker. They should grab outfielder Jay Bruce or reliever Addison Reed from the New York Mets. A fifth starter. A long reliever. A bat off the bench.

“I understand the parameters we work under,’’ says Pirates manager Clint Hurdle, who’s in the final year of his contract, “but my job is maintaining the cohesiveness of the clubhouse and the dugout, and get the 25 men we have here to play the best baseball we can. That’s my job. It’s not to get involved in (front office) jobs.

“When you don’t play good baseball, you put yourself at the mercy of the game.’’

Well, the Pirates just so happen to be playing the best ball of anyone in the NL Central. They have Marte back from his drug suspension. Cole, after struggling for a month, is pitching like an ace again. Starter Jameson Taillon is yielding a 2.84 ERA in his seven starts since returning from his bout with testicular cancer. Rookie first baseman Josh Bell has 18 homers, with 18 RBI alone this month. Shortstop Jordy Mercer is hitting .313 with eight homers and 32 RBI the last two months.

And, yes, there is McCutchen, who lost his starting center field job, got it back with Marte’s drug suspension, and kept it when Marte returned. He has been the catalyst during the Pirates’ resurgence, with a major league-leading .375 batting average, .475 on-base percentage and 1.128 OPS since May 24.

“In the fashion that it happened, and the way it happened,’’ McCutchen quietly says, “it’s rewarding because of the fact the odds were against me for a while. For me to be able to bounce back, to be doing things I know I can do, it feels great.

“And for all of the people who didn’t think I could do this, or wrote me off, great. Now, they have to be the ones to live with that. I don’t.’’

The Royals made their big move Monday, and are still looking for one more starter.

It’s now time for the Pirates to do the same.

It doesn’t have to be a star,” says Cole. “Sometimes you’re looking for that validity on the bench, that back of the rotation guy, or someone in the pen.’’

The Pirates are waiting.

“We’ve got an opportunity here to do something special,” says Hurdle, who managed the 2007 Rockies from a 50-50 mark all the way to the World Series. “We feel really good about this team. I believe in them, I really do.’’

In a few days, we’ll find out if the Pirates’ front office feels the same.

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