Pirates: Despite steering towards no direction as a team the past few years, the Pirates were never willing to give up and start a rebuild. With a new general manager in tow, they now have an identity, a team that's in need of a rebuild.

Their biggest trade chip and the player that can net them the largest return is Starling Marte. Last season, Marte slashed .295/.342/.502 with a career-high OPS of .845 while posting career-high numbers in HR (23), RBIs (82) and SB (25). In his career, he's slashed .287/.341/.452 with 108 HR, 420 RBIs, 1047 hits and 239 stolen bases with a success rate of 75.6 percent.

Marte is set to make $11.5 million this year and comes with a team option for next season valued at $12.5 million.

With Marte most likely heading out of Pittsburgh this offseason, here's where he could go and what the Pirates could get in return for him.

Toronto Blue Jays

Jays get: Marte and RP Kyle Crick

Pirates get: C Gabriel Moreno, OF Anthony Alford and two minor league players

The Jays and Pirates are ideal trade partners to some capacity as the Pirates GM is Ben Cherington who came over from the Blue Jays front office. The trade would be Marte and relief pitcher Kyle Crick heading north of the border for eighth-ranked prospect Gabriel Moreno, Anthony Alford who's ranked 20 and two minor league players.

The Jays are in need of a CF and Marte would fit perfectly at center in Rogers Centre. If he were to land with the Jays, he would bat leadoff or second with his ability to hit for both contact and power as well as his speed. The Jays would also get Crick who can be used as an arm in the bullpen and is someone that the Pirates would be happy to get rid of due to run-ins with the Pirates coaching staff.

In 2019, he posted a 4.96 E.R.A with 61 strikeouts.

Moreno could be the Pirates' future catcher once he reaches the big leagues. In his minor league career, he has slashed .264/.339/.468 with 172 hits over 63 strikeouts. Alford has struggled in his taste of the big leagues as he's appeared in 33 games over three seasons and has slashed an awful .145/.203/.218 but maybe a change of scenery and a clear path to playing time could help him improve and he's under control until 2024.

The two minor league players the Pirates would get would be raw but come with an upside. So perhaps young minor leaguers who were just recently drafted or signed through the international free-agent market are useful.

Arizona Diamondbacks

Diamondbacks get: Marte

Pirates get: P Matt Tabor and INF Andy Young

With the Diamondbacks' recent signings, it seems like they're heading into the contending direction and getting Marte would make that clear. They would give up tenth-ranked prospect Matt Tabor and twenty-third-ranked prospect Andy Young to get Marte.

The Diamondbacks just recently signed Kole Calhoun which seemed to solidify their outfield but the Diamondbacks can move some players around thanks to versatility from one of their players, specifically Ketel Marte (no relation).

If the Diamondbacks were to get Starling, Ketel could move to second where he played 83 games last season to accommodate Starling.

In 2019, Tabor struck out 101 batters compared to 79 hits given up and posted an E.R.A. of 2.93 while Young hit 29 HR with a slash line of .271/.368/.535. Young is a versatile infielder but the Pirates look set for the future on the right side so he would be the Pirates second baseman of the future assuming he can beat out current second baseman Adam Frazier for the job.

New York Mets

Mets get: Marte

Pirates get: P Dedniel Nunez, OF Alexander Ramirez and a minor league player

Of any team, Marte has been heavily linked to the Mets and he even said it would be "a great opportunity" to play in New York.

In order for Marte to play in the big apple, the Mets will have to give up Dedniel Nunez (14), Alexander Ramirez (19) and a minor leaguer.

If Marte were to play in Queens, he wouldn't be guaranteed to play center as it's currently occupied by Brandon Nimmo but perhaps Nimmo could slide over to left which would make Marte the captain of the outfield and J.D. Davis sliding to a bench role. If Marte was traded to the Mets, it would be smart for new Mets manager Carlos Beltran to bat Marte leadoff as with his high average plus his good speed, he would get on base a lot and can steal second at any time needed which would allow hitting machine Jeff McNeil to bring him home.

In the minors in 2019, Nunez struck out 94 batters compared to 73 hits given up and is known as a strike thrower.

Ramirez played in his first professional season in 2019 where he appeared in 39 games and got 36 hits but is more known for his speed and defense in which scouts project him as a future centerfielder.

San Diego Padres

Padres get: Marte

Pirates get: P Ryan Weathers and C Blake Hunt

Padres general manager A.J. Preller is urging to make moves as if the Padres don't make the playoffs this year or at least don't become contenders, Preller can kiss his job goodbye. One way he can solidify his roster is acquiring Marte from the Pirates for seventh-ranked prospect Ryan Weathers and twenty-fifth ranked prospect Blake Hunt.

The Padres just got an outfielder weeks ago as they acquired Tommy Pham from the Rays but he's slated to play left field which leaves Manuel Margot as their centerfielder.

For a team that wants to be a contender and hasn't had a winning season in nine years, they can do better in the center. Marte could overtake Margot's role and be the Padres everyday centerfielder. He would also add more speed to the lineup and make it much more dynamic with players that include Pham, Tatis Jr, Machado, and Hosmer.

Weathers doesn't possess overpowering stuff but has good offspeed that can keep hitters off balance. Hunt has a career slash line of .258/.341/.384 and has the potential to be a good defensive catcher which is important. Another beneficial factor for the Pirates is that Hunt is very familiar with Weathers as they both played at the Single-A level in 2019 and the familiarity between them would be beneficial as they go through the minors on the way to the big leagues.

Philadelphia Phillies

Phillies get: Marte and RP Keone Kela

Pirates get: OF Adam Haseley, P Adonis Medina and OF Simon Muzziotti

After a disappointing 2019 campaign, the Phillies are looking to make bigger changes and be a playoff team come October 2020 which Marte could very well help them do. Along with Marte, they would also get relief pitcher Keone Kela and give up Adam Haseley, fourth-ranked prospect Adonis Medina and eleventh-ranked prospect Simon Muzziotti.

Marte could form a daunting outfield of Andrew McCutchen, himself and Bryce Harper in which in this case he would be able to reunite with McCutchen as they were both teammates in Pittsburgh. With Marte, offensively, the Phillies would be scary as Marte would only make the already potent Phillies lineup better.

Even with his clubhouse issues and being known as a bad teammate, Kela would improve a shaky Phillies bullpen. In 32 games in 2019, he pitched to a 2.12 E.R.A. with 33 strikeouts over 19 hits and an opponent average of .178.

Haseley would be Marte's immediate replacement as 2019 was his first season in the big leagues. He slashed .266/.324/.396 and is a versatile outfielder as he appeared in each outfield position multiple times. Medina has a career minor league E.R.A. of 3.60 whereas Muzziotti slashed .287/.337/.372 and got more than double the amount of hits (122) than times he struck out (60) in 2019.

San Francisco Giants

Giants get: Marte

Pirates get: OF Franklin Labour and P Trevor McDonald or SS Tyler Fitzgerald

The Giants may have the worst outfield of any major league team and even though they haven't publicly admitted it, they are probably seeking a major league caliber outfielder.

Marte could be the guy they're looking for and they would trade twenty-first-ranked prospect Franklin Labour and one of twenty-seventh-ranked prospect Trevor McDonald or thirtieth-ranked prospect Tyler Fitzgerald.

In April, the Giants acquired Kevin Pillar from the Blue Jays even though they weren't a contending team. Why? Because they badly were in need of an outfielder and since they non-tendered Pillar, they find themselves in the same situation. Centerfield is currently occupied by Mike Yastrzemski who broke out last season but he's not guaranteed to continue his success. Also, the Giants currently don't have a right fielder so the Giants acquiring Marte would slide Yastrzemski over to the right which leaves the center open for Marte.

In Labour's minor league career, he's slashed .275/.366/.441. The Pirates would be able to choose between McDonald who will be only 19 years old next season but he has a lot of developing to do even with a good arsenal that consists of four different pitches or Fitzgerald who slashed .276/.358/.395 in his first professional season and projects to be a good utility player in the future who could show some resemblance of Ben Zobrist at the major league level.
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