Pittsburg, PA
New Houston Astros Trade Idea Buys Low On Embattled Pittsburgh Pirates Slugger
The Houston Astros need offensive help in the outfield and will need find a value-forward option in the trade market to do so.
One such player is Pittsburgh Pirates slugger Bryan De La Cruz.
He was a deadline addition last year for the Pirates and saw a sharp decline in play after the deal was made.
Tim Kelly of Bleacher Report now has De La Cruz as the most likely Pittsburgh player to be shipped out this winter.
That leaves the Astros open to swoop in and grab a player who still has a bit of potential for a low price. A possible deal between the two teams could see Houston send prospects Zach Cole and Jackson Nezuh to the Pirates in exchange for the struggling slugger.
De La Cruz posted a disappointing .200/220/.294 slash line over the final 44 games of the 2024 season. It may seem odd to trade for a guy coming off of such a cold stretch, but just a few months ago, he was on All-Star alert and on the verge of a potential 30-plus home run campaign.
Over the first 105 games of the year as a member of the Miami Marlins, he had a much better slash line of .245/.289/.417 with 18 home runs and 51 RBI.
He was one of the few players worth watching in the Marlins lineup this past season.
The 27-year-old debuted back in 2021 and still has a lot of room to grow. If The Astros can get his development turned back around into a positive direction, they could find a serious value with him.
Going back to Jake Meyers, Mauricio Dubon and Chas McCormick alongside Kye Tucker would simply not be acceptable for Houston next season, so they will need to be proactive in upgrading the lineup.
While they don’t have a ton of trade capital in their farm system, they could combine a couple of prospects to entice a team.
Cole is kind of the opposite of De La Cruz.
He’s an incredible defensive presence who can steal bases but doesn’t have much promise at the plate.
Even if the 24-year-old gets called up next year, that isn’t the type of player the Astros need right now.
Nezuh looksed solid in his first professional campaign with a 4.19 ERA and 11.3 K/9.
He is already looking more refined than he did in college, so Houston could do a quick flip of the prospect while the value is growing.
Pittsburg, PA
Where to watch Colorado Rockies vs Pittsburgh Pirates: TV channel, start time, streaming for
What to know about MLB’s ABS robot umpire strike zone system
MLB launches ABS challenge system as players test robot umpire calls in a groundbreaking season.
Baseball is back and finding what channel your favorite team is playing on has become a little bit more confusing since MLB announced plans to produce and distribute broadcasts for nearly a third of the league.
We’re here to help. Here’s everything you need to know Thursday as the Colorado Rockies visit the Pittsburgh Pirates.
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What time is Colorado Rockies vs Pittsburgh Pirates?
First pitch between the Pittsburgh Pirates and Colorado Rockies is scheduled for (ET) on Thursday, .
How to watch Colorado Rockies vs Pittsburgh Pirates on Thursday
All times Eastern and accurate as of Thursday, May 14, 2026, at 6:32 a.m.
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Gas prices continue to sit near the $5 mark for the better part of the Pittsburgh region. Not only is it impacting people’s wallets, but it’s also hitting the bottom lines of first responders’ operations.
While gas prices are not impacting day-to-day operations, budgets are always tight, and if prices stay high, it could have some long-term impacts. First responders say they’ll still come when you call 911, so there’s no need to panic, but there is some concern behind the scenes.
“We can’t charge more for our services. The only way to weather the storm is to become more efficient,” Regional Emergency Support Quick Response Service director Mike Gallagher said.
RESQRS said gas is normally about $2,500 to $3,000 a month. From March to April, it was $5,500. The ambulance they wanted to get this year is now on hold as costs go up.
“It definitely has affected other parts of the business and how we operate,” Gallagher said over Zoom.
It’s the same for volunteer firefighters. Southern Allegheny Valley Emergency Services had its bill go from $300 to $400, up to $1,000 last month. This price spike was, of course, never anticipated when making the budget last year.
“It absolutely wasn’t. We just have to take money from other things and reprioritize,” SAVES fire chief Mike Daniher said.
Medic Rescue in Bridgewater, Beaver County, covers that county and takes patients to Wexford and Pittsburgh hospitals. They easily rack up hundreds of miles a day driving. Insurance doesn’t cover gas spikes, and fuel reimbursements are set from the prior year.
“I don’t see how it would be sustainable in the long term without some changes in financing,” Medic Rescue director of operations Bill Pasquale said.
An immediate impact for many services is putting new equipment on the back burner. While grants can be used for that, there’s no guarantee it’s accepted.
Pittsburg, PA
Pittsburgh will have afternoon storm chances on Wednesday with gusty winds and lightning
It will be stormy this afternoon, and then cooler for the rest of the work week.
Temperatures then warm up with record-setting temperatures possible early next week. It’s going to be a busy stretch of weather. Let’s get right into it.
Rain chances today are low overall. The headline is the storm chance that occurs this afternoon. Gusty winds, frequent lightning, and isolated but intense downpours are expected as a narrow line of storms develops and rolls through Western Pennsylvania. The line of storms will be intensifying as it moves from the west to the east.
Right now, it looks like the storms will roll through between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m.
By the time you see this blog, our best chance for morning rain should have come and gone. Rain totals will not be very impressive today; most will see less than 0.05 inches of rain.
That excludes rain coming from afternoon storms.
Afternoon storms could add another fifth of an inch of rain for those who see the most ‘intense’ cells sliding through their areas. Temperatures in the morning are in the 50s. We will quickly rise up to the mid-60s for temperatures this afternoon ahead of storms. Temperatures will then dip back down to the 50s for the rest of the day, with brisk winds coming in from the northwest at around 15 mph.
Thursday highs will only hit the mid-50s.
We stay cool through Friday morning. We’d have to worry about frost on Friday if it wasn’t for the cloud cover that’s expected. Friday highs will be near 70°. Saturday and Sunday highs are expected to hit the low 80s both days.
A perfect ‘storm’ of low humidity levels, plenty of sunshine, and a strengthening sun angle will allow us to potentially see record highs early next week. I have high temperatures in the 90s on both Monday and Tuesday next week.
The record high for Monday is 91°, and that is what I am forecasting for a high.
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