Welcome to this week's Pirates Inbox. Let's get started.

What Minor League prospects will the Pirates protect from the Rule 5 Draft? It must be hard to decide who’s worth keeping and who’s not since nobody played any games this year. Will that affect if they pick anybody in the Rule 5 Draft, too?
-- John W., Pittsburgh

Good time to dig this question out of the Inbox, because we’re a week away from the Nov. 20 deadline to protect eligible players from being selected in the Rule 5 Draft on Dec. 10 by adding them to the 40-man roster.

I got a kick out of Jonathan Mayo’s recent response to a question about whether this will be a big year for the Rule 5 Draft: “In a word: No.” And John, you touched on a big reason why: Without any games this year, there’s just less information available on the eligible prospects. So it’s going to be really difficult -- even more than it usually is -- for teams to set aside a 40-man roster spot, much less an active roster spot all season, given all that uncertainty.

It’s too early to say whether the Pirates will take anybody next month. It depends on who’s available, obviously, as well as the state of their 40-man roster. Which leads us to the prospects they might want to protect.

• These prospects face roster/Rule 5 decision

The easiest move this offseason would have been adding outfielder Jared Oliva, but injuries in late September forced their hand and made them call him up. Some of the other notable prospects who would be eligible if left unprotected are infielder Rodolfo Castro, outfielder Lolo Sanchez, utility man Kevin Kramer and pitchers Santiago Florez, Max Kranick, Travis MacGregor and Braeden Ogle.

Let’s cross Sanchez off the list, if only because he’s gone undrafted when previously eligible and struggled in his first taste of Class A Advanced ball. Florez is 20 and hasn’t pitched above Rookie-level ball, so that would be a real stretch. MacGregor is an interesting prospect, but his last pitch in an affiliated game came in 2018 as he missed all of '19 after Tommy John surgery.

Kramer might intrigue some teams and isn’t far removed from a great 2018 season in Triple-A, but consider that he was just outrighted off the roster. The left-handed Ogle isn’t currently ranked among the Pirates’ Top 30 Prospects, and it would be difficult for a team to stash him in the bullpen for a year.

That leaves Castro and Kranick, the two prospects I’d currently consider most likely to be protected.

Castro is a 21-year-old, switch-hitting infielder who popped 19 homers in 2019. The Pirates clearly like him, and teams love the kind of defensive versatility he’s shown. There were a bunch of positive reports on Kranick out of the alternate training site camp this summer, and he’s not too far from the Majors.

• 5 things to know about Bucs' farm director

This player’s not a prospect, but I also wonder if the Pirates will consider adding Rule 5-eligible right-hander Jandel Gustave to their 40-man roster to make sure they don’t lose him. He signed a Minor League deal with them earlier this year, but there is precedent for such a move. Five years ago, the Angels unexpectedly selected Deolis Guerra -- a more experienced, MLB-ready bullpen arm -- shortly after the Pirates signed him to a Minor League deal.

So, if I have to guess, I’ll say they will protect Castro and Kranick before next week’s deadline. They’d have to clear two spots, as their 40-man roster is currently full. But keep in mind Mayo’s one-word answer before you spend too much time worrying about this.

Which Pirates player do you think is the most likely to get traded this offseason?
-- Phil K., Butler, Pa.

Let me say first: It’s impossible to say with absolute certainty who will be traded. That’s especially true this offseason, when the wheeling and dealing probably won’t begin until after another group of players become free agents following the Dec. 2 non-tender deadline.

Put simply, teams will have a bunch of players to choose from on the free-agent market. That could make it difficult for sellers to create leverage, knowing that buyers have so many different options. And the Pirates aren’t offering elite players like, say, Cleveland shortstop Francisco Lindor.

But the one that stands out to me on this front, due to a combination of his upside and the market for starting pitching, is Joe Musgrove.

With Marcus Stroman and Kevin Gausman accepting qualifying offers, the top of the free-agent pool is basically just Trevor Bauer and Charlie Morton (if he decides to keep playing). Then you’re maybe looking at Masahiro Tanaka, Jake Odorizzi, Taijuan Walker and a lot of pitchers with big questions related to injuries, recent performance or age: Corey Kluber, Cole Hamels, Chris Archer, Jon Lester, et al.

Lance Lynn will be the most established starter available in a trade this offseason. So maybe nothing works out, but Musgrove will intrigue a bunch of teams for a few reasons.

First and foremost, he obviously pitched well this season, particularly in five dominant September starts after he came off the injured list. (Seriously: 2.16 ERA, 38 strikeouts and five walks in 25 innings, opponents’ slash line of .198/.245/.308.) Teams will expect him to build off that.

• Hot Stove Tracker

Musgrove, who will be 28 years old next season, also offers two years of club control at a relatively reasonable cost. MLB Trade Rumors projects that he will earn between $3.2 million and $4.4 million next year after his second trip through the arbitration process. That is a bargain for a pitcher with Musgrove’s ability, and it should make him a target for just about everyone in need of rotation help. A team in need of multiple quality starters could spend big on Bauer, for example, then part with a couple prospects for Musgrove.

We know Musgrove was nearly dealt to the Blue Jays before the Trade Deadline, so clearly the Pirates are willing to move him in the right deal. I’ve heard that teams believe they can help him turn all that athleticism -- and all those pitches -- into something more than the roughly league-average production he's put up to this point in his career. He also comes with a reputation as a young leader in the clubhouse, a fiery competitor and a good citizen in the community. There’s a lot to like with Musgrove.

Who do you think will be the Pirates' closer next year now that Keone Kela is a free agent and Nick Burdi is out for the season?
-- Tyler T.

If he’s not traded, Richard Rodríguez will play some kind of important role in the Pirates’ late-inning mix next season. The same goes for Chris Stratton. But I think it’s likely at this point that the Pirates won’t name a closer like they did with Kela this year.

Maybe that would change if they acquire a veteran reliever with late-inning experience this winter. It’s also entirely possible someone will eventually grow into the role. Burdi was on that track at the start of this past season, for instance, and some in the organization hold similar hopes for Blake Cederlind.

But for now, it’s easier to imagine the Pirates allowing manager Derek Shelton to leverage his relievers based on matchups and game situations, as opposed to assigning them specific roles and innings.