The Pittsburgh Pirates recently acquired Robert Hassell III from the Washington Nationals in exchange for cash. Hassell III once ranked as a consensus top 50 prospect in the sport and was one of the top prospects going to the Washington Nationals in the Juan Soto trade. The Pirates are not strangers to taking low-risk chances at prospects that once hailed as the best minor leaguers in the sport, so what are some recent examples of that, and how did it pan out for the Pirates?
Joey Bart
The San Francisco Giants originally drafted Joey Bart with the second overall pick of the 2018 draft. Bart steadily climbed throughout their farm system, and by 2020, he was a consensus top 50 prospect and was seen as the heir apparent to incumbent superstar backstop Buster Posey. Unfortunately, Bart could not find his footing in San Francisco, batting .219/.288/.335 with a 77 wRC+ over 162 games and 503 plate appearances from 2020 through 2023. Bart struck out over a third of the time with a 35.3% K%, hit just 11 home runs, and had a free pass rate of 6.5%.
By 2024, 2020 first-round pick Patrick Bailey had overtaken Bart on the depth chart. He was designated for assignment at the end of March, and the Pirates soon acquired him from the Giants for minor league reliever Austin Strickland. Bart’s first impression with the Pirates was strong. In 80 games and 282 plate appearances, the former second overall pick slashed .265/.337/.462 with a 121 wRC+. Bart hit a dozen home runs with an isolated slugging percentage approaching .200 at .198. He upped his walk rate to 7.8% and cut his K% to 25.9%.
Bart produced about league-average numbers in 2025, with a .696 OPS, .317 wOBA, and 101 wRC+ over 332 trips to the plate. While his power evaporated, going yard just four times, he upped his walk rate to 12%. He entered 2026 as one of the Pirates’ go-to options behind the plate, alongside Henry Davis. Still, after hitting the IL with a foot infection and the emergence of Endy Rodriguez, Bart was traded to the Atlanta Braves in mid-June for relief pitcher Hunter Stratton.
Brent Honeywell Jr.
Brent Honeywell Jr. once ranked as one of the best prospects in the league while with the Tampa Bay Rays. He entered 2018 as a consensus top 15 prospect in the league. The pitch that made him unique was his screwball. Injuries started to affect Honeywell, as he didn’t pitch in 2018 or 2019, and the minor league season was canceled in 2020 during the COVID season. Even with all that working against him, he still entered 2020 on some top 100 prospect lists.
Honeywell made his MLB debut in 2021 with the Rays, but didn’t appear in any games in 2022. He resurfaced in 2023 with the San Diego Padres, where he posted a 105 ERA+ in a multi-inning role before the White Sox claimed him off waivers. The Pirates then signed Honeywell in the 2023-2024 offseason. He spent most of the year at Triple-A Indianapolis but pitched in two innings for the Bucs in the Major Leagues. However, he was let go in mid-July and claimed off waivers by the LA Dodgers. Honeywell finished out his season on a high note, working to a 153 ERA+ in 34.1 innings. He has not appeared in MLB for another team since.
Miguel Andujar
Miguel Andujar had the most previous success prior to the Pirates giving him an opportunity. After a strong 2017 season in the minor leagues, the New York Yankees gave their top third base prospect a chance at regular playing time in the Major Leagues, and he ran away with it. Andujar slashed .297/.328/.527 with 27 home runs and 47 doubles. Overall, he had a 129 wRC+. While he didn’t play good defense at the hot corner, his strong rookie season earned him second place in Rookie of the Year voting, behind just Shohei Ohtani.
That set up Andujar as a long-term cog for the Yankees, but injuries soon derailed his promising career. 105 games from 2019 through 2022, moving to left field in that time. The Yanks then designated him for assignment in late 2022, and that’s when the Pirates picked him up. Andujar would appear in just 39 games for the Pirates while putting up roughly league-average numbers, including a .742 OPS, .315 wOBA, and 96 wRC+ over 130 plate appearances. He did hit for some power, though, with ten doubles, four home runs, and a .200 isolated slugging percentage in 130 plate appearances.
The Pirates let Andujar go after the 2023 season, and he has put up respectable numbers at the plate since with the Athletics, Cincinnati Reds, and San Diego Padres. Over the last three years, he has a .290/.327/.425 triple-slash, .326 wOBA, and 110 wRC+. He has also seen playing time between both outfield and infield corners.
Michael Chavis
Michael Chavis was the Boston Red Sox’s 2014 first-round pick. A 31-homer, .910 OPS campaign in 2017 put Chavis on top prospect rankings going into 2018. Then in 2019, Chavis became a part-time member of the Red Sox in the Major Leagues, appearing in 95 games with 382 plate appearances. He continued to show decent power with 18 home runs and a .190 ISO, but struck out 33.2% of the time with an 8.1% walk rate, leading to a slightly below-average 96 wRC+.
Chavis struggled in the shortened 2020 season, and then again over 31 games in 2021. The Red Sox then traded Chavis to the Pirates at the 2021 trade deadline. The infielder played well over 12 games to end 2021, lining him up to get another crack at MLB pitching in 2022. Chavis primarily played first base for the Pirates in 2022, but also started games at second and third base. He batted just .229/.265/.389 with a 78 wRC+. He hit 14 home runs over 426 plate appearances, but only had a 4.5% walk rate. The Pirates let Chavis go after the 2022 season.
Anthony Alford
The Toronto Blue Jays selected Anthony Alford in the third round of the 2012 draft. He ranked as a consensus top 100 prospect every season from 2016 through 2018. Despite his prospect pedigree, the Blue Jays could never seem to find a way to give him a shot. He appeared in parts of 46 contests from 2017 through 2020. The Jays designated him for assignment in August 2020, and that’s when the Pirates claimed him off waivers.
Alford hit .239/.309/.423 with a .314 wOBA and a 94 wRC+ over parts of the next three seasons. He hit for some power, with six home runs in 56 games, but also struck out at a 37% clip. The outfielder primarily took up left field for the Bucs, with most of his playing time coming in 2021. The Pirates designated him for assignment twice; once in 2021, then again in 2022. He elected free agency after the second time and has not reappeared in the Major Leagues since.
