So ... have the Pittsburgh Pirates upset their fan base?

Duh.

The recent trades of starting pitcher Gerrit Cole — a former No. 1 overall draft pick who won 19 games a couple of years ago and is only 27 years old — and franchise cornerstone Andrew McCutchen have baseball fans around here up in arms.

It only took a couple of days for a circulating online petition — calling for Major League Baseball to force Bob Nutting to sell the team — to attain 28,000 signatures.

A fan boycott of Opening Day is being organized and baseball fans throughout the tri-state area are threatening to stay away from PNC Park in droves.

But those baseball fans are, indeed, baseball fans.

Most of them are going to enjoy a night out at the ballpark somewhere.

So who stands to benefit from this?

The Butler BlueSox, Washington Wild Things and Altoona Curve come to mind.

All three offer a different level of baseball to the public.

The Curve are a Class AA minor league team and are part of the Pirate organization. It’s doubtful fans will hold that against them and they already have a dedicated, loyal fan base in that region.

The same can be said for the Wild Things, an independent minor league franchise in the Frontier League. They are comprised of players either released from affiliated minor league clubs or players trying to impress big league clubs enough to get signed.

The guess here is the Wild Things’ attendance will go up as the Pirates’ attendance goes down.

Most baseball fans around here know about the BlueSox and what the Prospect League is all about. The league is one of many throughout the country that give college players a place to play in June, July and early August.

The BlueSox are coming off the best season in franchise history. They have a popular, homegrown field manager in Cody Herald and the ownership group is entirely local as well.

Fans anywhere — of any team at any level — love a winner and will gather to watch that winner play.

Just look at the Butler boys basketball team as an example. As the Golden Tornado built momentum on the court last year — and so far this year — more and more people show up at their games.

That happened for the BlueSox last summer. Add to the mix the increasing number of disgruntled Pirate fans and the BlueSox could set an attendance record in 2018.

Prospect League players are likeable and genuinely appreciate the support they get from the community. They befriend the people who watch them play.

A lower level of baseball than the majors? Of course.

But it’s entertaining baseball, nonetheless.

And it’s a baseball organization that is trying to gain fans and win now — not lose fans while, perhaps, trying to win later.

John Enrietto is sports editor of the Butler Eagle