As the Pittsburgh Pirates enjoy a winning record at the All Star Break for the first time since 2016, all attention will soon turn to returning Buctober to PNC Park for the first time in over a decade.

Only once during the reign of general manager Ben Cherington have the Pirates “bought” at the trade deadline. That year, with the Pirates hovering right around .500 at the end of July, Cherington sent assets out to acquire infielder Isiah Kiner-Falefa from Toronto, outfielder Bryan De La Cruz from Miami, and reliever Jalen Beeks from Colorado.

Unfortunately for those Pirates, none of those additions proved pivotal. Kiner-Falefa and De La Cruz were weak offensively, the latter was a nightmare in right field, and Beeks was a middling arm at best.

Two years later, the Pirates find themselves in a similar position. Right around that .500 watermark and with a chance to try and make a serious run for the postseason, Cherington’s team is hoping to break the long-suffering playoff drought.

And unlike that 2024 team, this year’s Pirates only have one true weakness: the bullpen.

Though the relief staff did string together an incredible last few days to help sweep Milwaukee before the All Star break, the bullpen is by far the biggest reason why the Pirates have struggled to maintain a .500 or better record this season.

Had Pittsburgh rostered a bullpen that gave them an average performance all year, they likely are challenging the Brewers for the division lead. So, if the Pirates can keep pace in the wild card race, Cherington has his shopping list set.

One name that is drawing more and more interest as trade talk grows league-wide is San Diego Padres closer Mason Miller. The 27-year-old currently leads the National League with 25 saves and has stared down every opponent he has faced. Through 39.2 innings, Miller has a 0.91 ERA, 0.782 WHIP, and 5.54 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

Miller is also a hometown kid. Born and raised in Pittsburgh, Miller has talked about a homecoming before and the opportunity to pitch alongside guys like Paul Skenes and Jared Jones.

The question isn’t about whether there would be demand for Miller. It’s about whether the Padres, who acquired the lights-out closer less than a year ago, would be willing to deal him again. On deadline day last year, the Padres sent a quartet of prospects Oakland’s way to bring him to San Diego.

From a Pirates perspective, any package worthy of landing Miller likely starts with Edward Florentino and is rounded out with several other pieces as well.

Florentino, who just appeared at the Futures Game for the Pirates at 19, is one of the organization’s fastest-rising prospects within the organization, now ranked No. 2 according to MLB Pipeline. The Pirates probably have to toss in a lower-ranked prospect like Callan Moss or Murf Gray, and perhaps an arm like Hunter Barco in there as well.

That’s not based in any reporting, it’s just throwing out incomplete ideas for a trade out there. The important thing is, Miller would cost an awful lot. And if a bidding war ensues for Miller’s services, that price could get higher and higher than what the Pirates were initially expecting to spend on a new closer.

So if you’re Pittsburgh, and Miller is indeed available in a few weeks’ time, is he the guy you go out and try to get?

Miller is unbelievable, don’t get me wrong. Bringing him to the Pirates dramatically increases the status of this team, gives them a surefire closer, and makes them quite the threat if they can make it to the postseason.

But in the end, you have to ask yourself this: does Miller, for as good as he is, solve all of the bullpen’s problems? I’m not sure the answer is yes.

This isn’t about prospect hugging. The Pirates can still send all of those aforementioned names (or others) out the door. One could certainly argue that with the combination of a potential pending lockout, a historically good offense, and the playoff drought now in double digits, there’s never been a better time to fire prospects into the sun.

It’s about managing the assets you have effectively. How many arms in this bullpen do you trust right now? How many would you trust in a game in October?

In my humble opinion, the Pirates are best served using the assets they have at their disposal to acquire two formidable major-league arms as opposed to one star. Miller is obviously the better acquisition, but two reliable options makes the Pirates much better as a team. What good is having Miller if the bullpen before him gives up four runs and blows the game before he can even get in?

This is not to say I wouldn’t be ecstatic if the Pirates did land Miller, because I absolutely would be. But Pittsburgh’s best bet is bolstering the entire unit, making one you can trust from the time they take over until the game is over. Making the bullpen more top-heavy doesn’t fix the main problem.