Pirates trade Gold Glove catcher Stallings to Marlins

The Miami Marlins acquired Gold Glove catcher Jacob Stallings from the Pittsburgh Pirates for right-hander Zach Thompson, pitching prospect Kyle Nicolas, and outfield prospect Connor Scott, it was announced Monday.

Stallings is a lifetime .254/.331/.370 hitter across parts of six seasons with the Pirates, but adds tremendous value as one of the best defensive catchers in baseball. The 31-year-old won his first Gold Glove this year after leading all catchers with 21 defensive runs saved and not allowing a passed ball. Offensively, he set career highs in homers (eight), RBIs (53), and OPS+ (92) in 2021.

Stallings has another three years of arbitration eligibility remaining and projects to earn $2.6 million in 2022, per MLB Trade Rumors.

He'll boost a Marlins catching corps that ranked 25th in total production last year. Former top prospect Jorge Alfaro, the team's primary backstop in 2021, posted a 73 wRC+ the previous campaign, the fifth-worst among catchers with at least 300 plate appearances.

With Stallings in tow, Miami is trying to trade Alfaro ahead of Tuesday's non-tender deadline, Craig Mish of SportsGrid reports.

Thompson, the lone big-leaguer headed to the Pirates, made his major-league debut this past summer. The 27-year-old right-hander posted a 3.24 ERA, 3.69 FIP, and 1.21 WHIP with 66 strikeouts and only six homers allowed in 26 appearances (14 starts) for Miami.

Scott, selected 13th overall in 2018, was ranked as the Marlins' No. 23 prospect by MLB.com prior to the trade. The 22-year-old hit .276/.333/.446 with 10 homers, 46 RBIs, and 14 stolen bases across 96 games at High-A Beloit in 2021.

Nicolas, formerly Miami's No. 16 prospect, split last year between Beloit and Double-A Pensacola. The 22-year-old righty posted a 4.18 ERA and 1.30 WHIP while averaging 12.4 strikeouts per nine innings across 99 total innings between the two levels.