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A Pirates 2024 Deadline Swap That May Come Back to Haunt Them
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- A Pirates 2024 Deadline Swap That May Come Back to Haunt Them
Many of the Pittsburgh Pirates ' trade deadline swaps in 2024 ended in net-zeroes for both sides. Bryan De La Cruz struggled with the Pirates before being non-tendered , but the Miami Marlins have already released one of the prospects the Bucs sent, and the other has not performed exceptionally well in their system. Jalen Beeks may not have performed badly with the Bucs, but he was a rental middle relief arm. The Colorado Rockies have already moved on from Luis Peralta . Neither the trades for Billy Cook nor Nick Yorke have panned out significantly for the Baltimore Orioles or Boston Red Sox .
However, there is one past Pirates trade that currently looks like it may come back to bite them. It was one of their most significant moves of the deadline, as they acquired veteran utility infielder Isiah Kiner-Falefa from the Toronto Blue Jays . The Pirates sent the Jays' infield prospect Charles McAdoo in return.
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Pirates Trade of Charles McAdoo May Come Back to Haunt Them
A Swap to Try and Improve the MLB Roster
At the time, IKF was having a career year. He was batting .292/.338/.420 with a .331 wOBA and 117 wRC+ over his first 281 plate appearances of the year. Kiner-Falefa has never been one to draw many walks, and he only put up a 4.6% K% with the Jays in 2024. On the plus side, he only struck out 14.6% of the time. He split his season between second base and third base, where he had +5 defensive runs saved and +2 outs above average at each position. Plus, he saw some games at shortstop, where his defense graded out as slightly better than average. Plus, IKF came with control through the 2025 season.
Meanwhile, McAdoo looked like a draft steal for the Pirates. Taken in the 11th round of the 2023 draft out of San Jose State, McAdoo kicked off his pro career with a bang. He batted .320/.399/.556 with a .426 wOBA, and 163 wRC+ over 381 plate appearances between High-A Greensboro and Double-A Altoona. McAdoo's 22.3% K% may not have impressed anyone, but he offset that with a solid 10.8% walk rate. He also showed both power and baserunning prowess. The infielder went yard 15 times with a .236 isolated slugging percentage, while going 17-for-20 in stolen base attempts.
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IKF Provided Little for the Pirates
IKF did not perform as expected with the Pirates. His bat returned to earth, slashing just .256/.288/.328 with a .272 wOBA and 70 wRC+. That line looks a lot more like his .261/.311/.343 triple-slash, .289 wOBA, and 83 wRC+ he had in 2021-2023. While he still carried a solid 17.1% K%, his already low walk rate dipped even further to 3.1%. Most of IKF's time in the field was spent at shortstop, where he had +2 DRS, but -5 OAA. Eventually, the Pirates placed Kiner-Falefa on waivers at the end of August 2025, and, to add insult to injury, the Blue Jays claimed him .
McAdoo Blossoming with Blue Jays
Although McAdoo struggled after the Pirates trade in 2024, he rebounded in 2025 and 2026. He is batting .248/.330/.419 with a .343 wOBA, and 113 wRC+ between the Jays' Double-A and Triple-A teams. While his K% has increased slightly since the Pirates traded him, to 25.5%, his walk rate has remained about the same at 10.6%. McAdoo is still hitting for some power, with 17 home runs and a .171 ISO over his last 701 minor league plate appearances, and is also 41-for-50 in steal attempts.
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McAdoo's good start to 2026 has earned him a call-up to the majors . He's only appeared in two games with eight plate appearances, and already has two hits, including a home run. Although he isn't the top-rated prospect in the Jays' system, both Baseball America and MLB Pipeline rank him among their top 30 prospects. McAdoo projects as a bat-first utility infielder who can slot in at first, second, and third base. His best tool is his power.
The Pirates may not have traded a future star in McAdoo. Still, they may have traded a solid role player who can play multiple positions and hit for some power, for an infielder that provided less than 1.0 fWAR in 169 MLB games and returned to the team they originally acquired him from. McAdoo doesn't have to do much to make this trade lopsided. Becoming a solid part-time rookie will already put this in the win column for the Blue Jays and another loss for the Pirates.
Main Photo Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
