Tim Benz: If we're grading the Pirates at the trade deadline, give Ben Cherington a solid B-plus

Newly acquired Pittsburgh Pirate Isiah Kiner-Falefa explained his family ties to former Bucs legend Ralph Kiner back in 2022.

“It’s from my mom’s side,” Kiner-Falefa told NJ.com when he was a member of the New York Yankees. “Fourth cousin. I have all the paperwork. I tell people, but I’m brown (skinned), and they look at me like, ‘You’re lying!’ I’m Polynesian too, so they’re like, ‘No chance.’ I’ve stopped trying to convince people.”

There’s an irony there. Not simply because the Pirates just traded to get Kiner-Falefa from the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday.

As legend has it, a few months before Pirates general manager Branch Rickey dealt Kiner-Falefa’s Hall of Fame-bound cousin to the Chicago Cubs in 1953, Rickey told him, “We finished last with you; we can finish last without you.”

The 2024 Pirates may still end up finishing fourth or fifth in the three-team National League wild card standings after acquiring Kiner-Falefa and Miami Marlins outfielder Bryan De La Cruz just before Major League Baseball’s Tuesday trade deadline.

They also may have ended up finishing just out of the mix if they didn’t bother adding either of them at all.

But at least they made an attempt to get in the top three. At least they are looking to get better.

At least this constantly cost-conscious franchise voluntarily brought on De La Cruz’s arbitration-eligible status next year, the remainder of Kiner-Falefa’s $2.4 million salary this year, and his $7.5 million for next year.

I give general manager Ben Cherington a B-plus for adding De La Cruz, Kiner-Falefa and Boston Triple-A prospect Nick Yorke this week.

I give him a “B” for “better.” The organization is better today than it was when we went to bed Sunday night.

I added the “plus” because he added to the Major League club for this year. The two moves Tuesday aren’t the usual ones we get at the deadline in Pittsburgh when the general manager has to tap dance about why the trade is going to pay dividends thanks to minor leaguers who we won’t see until the 2030 season.

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We know what the Pirates are getting in Kiner-Falefa and De La Cruz. With 18 home runs, when De La Cruz arrives in Pittsburgh, he’ll show up tied for the team lead with Bryan Reynolds.

At .292, when Kiner-Falefa walks through the clubhouse door, he’ll have the highest batting average on the team.

In De La Cruz, the Pirates finally have an outfielder besides Reynolds that can provide regular power. Kiner-Falefa can play just about any infield or outfield spot decently, and can provide more offense than the likes of Jared Triolo or Ji Hwan Bae who have been tasked with doing that job at various times this year.

Also, Cherington didn’t have to give up much. All Miami got for De La Cuz were two prospects — a 20-year-old right-hander Jun-Seok Shim (No. 17 by MLB Pipeline), and a corner infielder Garret Forrester (No. 18). The return for Kiner-Falefa was a little more, 10th-rated prospect Charles McAdoo. He’s a double-A infielder/outfielder who is having a nice season.

But give me the guy hitting .292 in the majors over the guy who is hitting .269 in the Eastern League any day, despite what the Pirates prospect pimps on social media may tell you.

The only reason I wouldn’t give the Pirates an “A” is that because the return was so manageable, I wonder if they could’ve gotten away with giving up just a little bit more to get these guys earlier in the process and maybe bolster the struggling offense coming right out of (or maybe even going into) the All-Star break.

Or, if maybe Toronto’s Vlad Guerrero Jr., Oakland’s Brent Rooker or Tampa Bay’s Yandy Díaz (last year’s American League batting champ) could’ve been had for greater return but still reasonable prices, that would’ve been even better. They were all rumored to be available at various points in advance of the deadline.

I suppose Cherington thought the lineup needed the help of two bats more so than spending more for just one.

Based on the Pirates’ offensive performance, I can’t disagree.

I don’t know if the Pirates did enough. I don’t know if they acted soon enough since, of all the teams in the N.L. wild card hunt, the Pirates probably needed the most help to begin with.

But at least I know they tried.

A week ago, I wasn’t even sure they’d do that.