At last year’s All-Star break, the Pirates were 44-45 and just 2½ games behind the first-place Cubs in the N.L. Central.
Then not only the proverbial wheels, but everything else, fell off. The Cubs swept the Pirates at Wrigley Field coming out of the break, part of a 4-25 (!) run that put the Bucs well out of contention. They didn’t really make any deadline deals — the only major one involved Corey Dickerson’s departure. Francisco Cervelli, a solid catcher in Pittsburgh for several years, was released in August, but looking at the list below, the only other significant player gone from Pittsburgh is Starling Marte.