One of my favorite prospect analysts (and baseball writer in general), Kiley McDaniel at FanGraphs, has returned from working for an MLB team to now coming back to the public scope. One of his first pieces since returning is a look at how smaller market teams (the Pirates in this specific article) are forced to value players.
As a consequence, lower-payroll teams are forced to, in deals like this, focus on a long-term asset or assets with a good chance to appreciate in value. Felipe Rivero’s value has gone up since the Pirates acquired him, so this doesn’t just mean prospects.