Padres receive pitcher Hunter Stratton from Pirates in trade
Credit: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The San Diego Padres and Pittsburgh Pirates have agreed to a deal to send reliever Hunter Stratton to San Diego in exchange for right-handed pitcher Andrew Moore.
After the shock and awe of the 2026 trade deadline, the Padres front office still has a few tricks up its sleeve. Following a series of moves bolstering the Padres’ starting rotation, General Manager AJ Preller wasn’t quite done.
While the move may seem like something of an afterthought, there’s more potential than first looks would tell.
Hunter Stratton, originally drafted by the Pirates in 2017, made his MLB debut in .23. Since then, bounced between the Bucs and the Atlanta Braves organization, never quite finding his footing. It’s true, at one point, Stratton was on the Pirates’ opening day roster. However, after a season-ending injury in 2024, he had to put everything on hold. After recovery, Stratton made his best attempt to return to the majors following the massive setback. While he hasn’t seen a whole lot of play since his injury, he still has plenty of time.
He’s a career 1.0 WAR, 3.88 ERA pitcher with 62 total games to his name. He’s got a pretty solid four-pitch mix, with his fastball sitting in the high 90’s. Sliders to put away lefties, cutters on righties. He’s not afraid to pound the zone and generate some swing and miss with a putaway fastball. Stratton appears to be a potential future project for someone like Ruben Niebla to come around and develop. It may take some more time, but thankfully the righty has plenty of it. Stratton is a free agent in 2031.
Not too long ago, the Padres shipped reliever Ron Marinaccio to Pittsburgh in exchange for international signing bonus pool considerations. The amount was valued at around $500,000.
The 2026 trade deadline was not without its shocking moments, as is usually the case. With that, the Friars have the rest of the season cut out for them. The Padres play division rival the Arizona Diamondbacks this week in a do-or-die series to determine the standings going into the final stretch of the season.
