There are plenty of reasons why it is so critical to ensure that you create as much of a prospect pool as possible, especially as a smaller market team.
With the right kind of depth now in the system, it has freed up the Pirates to be able to trade one for a player that can make an impact at the major league level immediately, taking out the risk factor that comes with prospects.
We saw that earlier in the offseason with one of their first moves, trading Jack Hartman for Ji-Man Choi.