If the Pittsburgh Pirates could take back one trade from last season’s deadline, it might be that involving Bailey Falter. In a move that no one had on their bingo card, general manager Ben Cherington dispatched left-handed starter Falter to the Kansas City Royals for left-handed reliever Evan Sisk and big High-A first baseman Callan Moss.
Would the Pirates Take Back the Bailey Falter Trade?
Ostensibly, a principal reason for dealing Falter, David Bednar, and Ke’Bryan Hayes at the deadline was to free up room for the Pirates to spend money in the offseason and acquire some offense. In Hayes’ case, it was to unload a large contract that wasn’t working. In the case of Bednar and Falter, it was to avoid big raises in their arbitration year.
Explaining the decision to trade Falter, Cherington told Colin Beazley of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, “As we looked forward towards 2026, it was really looking toward, ‘OK, what starting pitchers in the organization have the best chance to be part of that rotation in 2026, and how do we give those guys the best chance to be ready for that?’ As we look towards that period of time in August, September, [we’re] really trying to set up guys towards going into 2026. We felt the combination of the players we got back and the opportunity it opened up for others made sense.” It was revealed in that same article that Falter would have been a non-tender candidate if retained.
WHAT A PLAY BY BAILEY FALTER ? pic.twitter.com/i1RGIiNC0R
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) September 18, 2024
In 2025, Falter was 7-5 with a 3.73 ERA, 4.91 FIP, 1.182 WHIP, and 115 ERA+ for the Pirates in 22 starts. For his Pirates career, since being acquired from the Philadelphia Phillies in a 2023 deadline deal, he was 17-16 with a 4.32 ERA, 4.74 FIP, 1.260 WHIP, and 98 ERA+. He proved to be a serviceable back-end starter with Pittsburgh.
Let’s look at what happened subsequent to the trade of Falter.
After the Trade
That Falter didn’t fare well in a small sample size with the Royals is irrelevant to this analysis. Surprisingly, the Royals tendered him, signing him to a $3.6 million deal for the coming season. Like Falter, Sisk is 28 years old. (Eerily, they were born a day apart.) In 12-1/3 innings for the Pirates last season, Sisk gave up six runs, all earned, on 11 hits and five walks while striking out 14. Moss, a 22-year-old right-handed hitter, hit .339/.432/.571 in 30 games with the Pirates’ High-A team in Greensboro. He’s not listed among the Pirates’ top 30 prospects.
As planned, Cherington used the savings from last year’s trades to buy some offense. Pitcher Mike Burrows was surrendered in a three-team deal that brought Brandon Lowe, Jake Mangum, and Mason Montgomery to Pittsburgh. In doing so, they took over Lowe’s $11.5 million salary for 2026. During Christmas week, they agreed to a two-year, $29 million deal with Ryan O’Hearn. The Pirates continue to be connected to more free agent hitters, according to the rumor mill.
If Not Falter, Who?
The rumor mill also has the Pirates looking to sign a veteran starter. Their young pitching depth is the envy of baseball. However, it would be rare for all their young starters to have instant success. With Burrows and Johan Oviedo both gone in trades, an experienced back-end starter on a reasonable one-year deal would be a good fit. The local media has suggested a reunion with a former Pirate like Tyler Anderson or Jose Quintana, both left-handed pitchers. Another former Pirate left-hander, Martín Pérez, has been suggested on these pages.
Let’s compare Falter with these suggested reunion candidates and other free agent pitchers whom one would think would accept an inexpensive one-year contract. All figures are from 2025 except for Falter’s salary, which represents his 2026 salary.
| Player | Record | ERA | FIP | WHIP | ERA+ | Salary |
| Bailey Falter | 7-7 | 4.45 | 4.94 | 1.285 | 96 | $3.6 million |
| Tyler Anderson | 2-8 | 4.56 | 5.60 | 1.408 | 94 | $13 million |
| Walker Buehler | 10-7 | 4.93 | 5.66 | 1.516 | 84 | $18.05 million |
| Griffin Canning | 7-3 | 3.77 | 4.04 | 1.376 | 107 | $4.25 million |
| Patrick Corbin | 7-11 | 4.40 | 4.25 | 1.365 | 83 | $1.1 million |
| Nestor Cortes | 2-4 | 6.29 | 8.29 | 1.631 | 69 | $7.6 million |
| Martín Pérez | 1-6 | 3.54 | 4.24 | 1.107 | 119 | $3.5 million |
| Jose Quintana | 11-7 | 3.96 | 4.81 | 1.291 | 105 | $2 million |
It’s unknown what kind of contract these free agents are pursuing. In light of their salary histories and 2025 performances, however, Falter at $3.6 million doesn’t look like a bad deal at all.
The Last Word
Meanwhile, with left-handed relievers Gregory Soto and Montgomery in the fold, Sisk, who has two options remaining, faces long odds to make the team out of spring training. Moss, despite his performance in 2025, is a lottery ticket. In light of the returns Cherington got for Burrows and Oviedo, it looks like he sold low on Falter. The Pirates would be better off with Falter as that veteran insurance policy in the rotation instead of signing one of the above free agents and having Sisk and Moss in their system.
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