Pirates Trade Rumors: Jon Lester update, risk worth the reward?

In this Pirates trade rumors and news bulletin, FOX Sports baseball guru Ken Rosenthal believes that now is the time for the Pittsburgh Pirates to make a splash and acquire Boston's Jon Lester prior to the trade deadline.

Per Rosenthal, the Pirates' stocked cache of prospects is reason enough to pursue Lester aggressively before Thursday's cutoff:

Baseball America ranks the Pirates' farm system as the best in baseball. And as the non-waiver trade deadline approaches, the team should at least consider putting that system to use.

 

Specifically, the Pirates should acquire Red Sox left-hander Jon Lester, a move that would give them an edge in the heated zero-sum game of the NL Central.

Making such a move would represent a huge shift in the Pirates' spending philosophy, potentially spending $4.33 million for what could be a two-month rental.

Add in, as reported by Yahoo! Sports, the reported cost of outfielder Josh Bell, and the club will have plenty to think about before pulling the trigger on a trade.

However, with the chance of making two straight playoff appearances and doing damage in a wide-open National League field, the risk could be worth the reward.

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