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Notes and observations about Major League Baseball as the All-Star Game approaches:
n It's starting to look like the Pittsburgh Pirates could be sellers rather than buyers at the season's July 30 trade deadline.
Barring something like a 5-1 resurgence on their six-game road trip that starts Tuesday night in Milwaukee with a three-game series against the National League Central Division Brewers and winds up with a three-game weekend set against the woeful Chicago White Sox leading up to the All-Star break, the Pirates are substantially out of the running for the NL Central lead and only on the fringe of securing a Wild Card playoff berth.
It's a long season and a lot can happen, but unless they get back into the thick of things in the next two or three weeks, it makes little sense for the Pirates to mortgage their future by trading off top prospects for a rental bat or two to bolster their offense this season.
n If the Pirates do acquire a bat before the trade deadline, ex-Pirates catcher Elias Diaz, who has blossomed at the age of 33 with the Colorado Rockies and is batting over .300 this season, could be a strong candidate.
n The Atlanta Braves, St. Louis Cardinals and San Diego Padres are currently occupying the three NL Wild Card spots, and complicating matters for the Pirates in their Wild Card chase is the fact that the New York Mets, San Francisco Giants and Arizona Diamondbacks are all currently ahead of them in the Wild Card standings as well.
n With left-hander Bailey Falter and right-hander Jared Jones currently on the Injured List, the Pirates' starting rotation is significantly weakened, and their task to pass the teams ahead of them becomes more formidable. Couple that with the fact that the Pirates must limit innings for rookies Jones and phenomenal All-Star Paul Skenes in the second half of the season, and another obstacle is added.
n The Pirates' starting pitching was a big question mark entering the season but has since evolved into the team's biggest strength. The Pirates' offense was expected to be decent entering this season but produced three runs or less in almost half -- 43 -- of the team's first 88 games, and the Bucs have won only eight of those games. The bullpen has been up-and-down, with 17 blown saves.
n A silver lining for the Pirates is that young right-hander Luis Ortiz has electric stuff and is showing signs of developing into a top-notch starting pitcher. Ortiz, who has primarily been used in long relief this season, shined in his first two starts, limiting the Cincinnati Reds to a run in six innings and shutting out the Mets during another six-inning stint. Sent to the minors last season to work things out, Ortiz has bounced back with a vengeance this season and could be a significant long-term asset in the Pirates' starting rotation.
n With several players struggling, the Pirates' trade options are limited, but right-handed reliever Colin Holderman and left-handed reliever Aroldis Chapman appear to be the most marketable pieces on the club's current big-league roster.
n The Brewers strengthened their pitching rotation recently with the under-the-radar acquisition of veteran right-hander Aaron Civale, who gave up two or less runs in three of his last four starts with the Tampa Bay Rays. Civale matched Skenes pitch-for-pitch through five innings in the Rays' 3-1 win over the Pirates June 23 at PNC Park, allowing just one run and three hits.
n After enduring a miserable season last year and a slow start this season, the Cardinals are looking more like the perennial playoff team they've been for most of the past two decades. The recent return to the lineup of their star catcher Willson Contreras, who had missed over a month with a fractured left forearm, will be an essential boon to the Cardinals' offense.
n The most competitive race in baseball exists in the American League East, where both the New York Yankees and Baltimore Orioles have 55 wins or more and are set for a three-game showdown that should draw sellout crowds to Camden Yards this entire upcoming weekend.
John Hartsock can be reached at jhartsock@altoonamirror.com