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Email a copy of 'Offseason Outlook: Pittsburgh Pirates' to a friend
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cardfan2011
If only Cutch kept the dreadlocks…
joew
Pirates really don’t “need’ to do much to be competitive except perform to the low end of expectations… and maybe plug some pitching holes and depth.
At first you have Bell, Jaso and Freese. late august I would say release Jaso to make it easier to keep S-Rod. but he seemed to come around in september.
Second you got J-Hay, Frasier and Hanson. the rookies made some mistakes but Frasier did pretty well over all
Short you got Mercer and Frasier/Hanson again.
Third there is Kang who after slumping for a bit came around nicely and Freese.
OF: Marte, Polanco and Cutch. as long as Cutch bounces back some … along with Frasier, Bell and maybe Meadows late in the season…
Cather Cervelli Stewart and Diaz and Hopfully they can keep fryer around to for depth or even ahead of diaz if stewart has trouble coming back.
Starters you got Cole, Taillon Kuhl, Braut for the top 4 and then Glasnow Kingham Cumpton and MAYBE Locke (long shot, id say it would depend on his arb estimate) fighting for that last spot.
The Pen, Hughes Bastardo Rivero Watson
After arbitration the pirates pay roll is already not that far from where it was to start this season and that is with out Liriano and Niese. People will complain anyway..
so really some Pen help, a veteran starter who could maybe provide some depth and stability and hopefully S-Rod to plug some gaps like he does. I don’t know what is available for the pen.. but starter.. Nova of course.. he had some good games here and also Eddie who also did well here, i like both of them. I know it probably would be popular.. but i also like the idea of bringing Ryan back on a similar contract but letting him know he is the long reliever and low on the pecking order for starters.. of course that could change in april. Ryan wasn’t very good most of the time.. but really.. who was that list is short.
Robertowannabe
Better pencil in Hutchison in the Rotation to at least start the year. He is what they got to rid themselves of Liriano. You are right though. If Cole was not hurt and he and Liriano and McCutchen all performed at least as expected, they would have hosted the wild card game again at least. :Cole had 12 more wins last year and Liriano had 6 more. With 78 wins, they should have at least expected to have 90 with those three performing. They did not so they were out.
chesteraarthur
That’s not how wins work
bucknerforhall
who the hell is J-Hay ?
b/c I read that as Jason Heyward.
Steve Adams
Also the nickname of Josh Harrison.
Deke
How do Pirates fans feel about Vogelsong? Do they want him back? What about trading Cutch? I feel like he’s the face of the franchise and while I would love him on my team, I would feel sad if he left Pittsburgh. I think there are so few players who play for the same team their entire career it’s nice to see that happen.
joew
Vogelsong would be nice to have back as long as he is comfortable with pen duty being low on the chart for a starter.. and of course on the cheap.
Trading cutch isn’t going to happen unless someone way overpays. Maybe around the deadline if he turns around and meadows is tearing it up.
Robertowannabe
Ditto on what you said about Cutch. I would add that could keep Cutch for the whole year if they are doing well again and they add Meadows to strengthen the roster mid year and makes them better next October. They struggle, and the bidding begins in July. They don’t the bidding begins after the season. He most likely will never see 2018 in a Pirates uniform. Not because of cheapness but because Meadows will take the OF job and they will get pieces back in a trade.
willi
Mc Cutenchen value is low now, Bucs need to wait until July and sell him high to an contender, although there is change that the Mc Cutenchen we saw last year is the Real thing and he started his decline. If so Bucs are stuck with him and his contact .
Dookie Howser, MD
Its going to get crazy up in Pittsburgh with MC Cutenchen working the ones and twos in the back, keeping the party going
Kayrall
It took every ounce of my body to read this comment with a smiling turd staring back at me and NOT laugh out loud in my office.
PirateWAR
Hahahaha omg
Phillies2017
^^ This comment >>>
adshadbolt
Teams for cutch: Washington, astros, Seattle, Oakland although I doubt they would spend the money, San Fran could use him but doesn’t have the prospects Texas is always looking for outfielders, dodgers because their the dodgers. But realistically 3 teams Washington, Houston, and Seattle
cardfan2011
I keep hearing Cardinals as another option, cuz they’re looking for a CF, but I highly doubt the Bucs trade him to a division rival. Besides I don’t think they could make an offer that the Pirates would like
joew
interesting thought the dodgers.. Puig, Jose Tabata.. cash and/or dodgers paying for some of Puig for McCutchen….
dodgers rid them selves of Puig…. i was kinda just joking about Tabata.. just some depth player is fine… and a bit of cash to even the contracts or dodgers pay a couple million until Puig hits arb.
I dont’ think i really would want Puig though
bucsfan
The Pirates would demand at least Deleon or Urias, if not both. The Pirates will not/cannot be the exception when it comes to teams overpaying for talent. If the Rays can demand 2 of the Pirates top 3 prospects for archer (meadows and Glasnow) then the Bucs have to ask for the moon
joew
But isn’t that what they’re doing if they ask for Jose Tabata back?! haha (joking of course)
And i agree with you.
connorreed
That’s an insane comparison. De Leon headlining is a realistic demand. But him and Urias or even Urias alone for McCutchen is much more absurd than Glasnow/Meadows for Archer.
A 27 year old pitcher with five years (two options) at $7.8 million a year is much different than a 30 year old with two years (one option) at $14.4 million a year.
Plus, McCutchen struggled much more than Archer did. He posted career lows in runs, doubles, triples, stolen bases, walks, average, on-base percentage, slugging, offensive WAR, defensive WAR, and baserunning runs while hitting career highs in strikeouts and double plays. He finished the season with a -0.7 WAR compared to Archer’s 1.8 WAR.
And finally, Meadows/Glasnow does not equal Urias/De Leon. Glasnow is three years older than Urias and doesn’t have his stuff. Despite his age, Urias pitched better in the major leagues over a longer period of time than Glasnow did. Meadows is a slightly better prospect than De Leon, but the latter has ML experience and has shown flashes of high potential while Meadows struggled big time at AAA.
chesteraarthur
Archer is better, younger, cheaper, and controlled longer than McCutchen. Bad comparison.
whereslou
I know adshadbolt was talking about Oakland when he said they didn’t have the money, but it will be interesting to see what Seattle does this off season. They bought majority shares in ROOT Sports a couple years ago and I forget the money they get from the deal each year but it is huge. With NES no longer the majority owner it will no longer be run like a for profit business but a real sorts team according to the new owners. They said if there is a player they want they will go get him. They tried to make a trade at the deadline for Cozart which I did not think was a smart trade we had bigger needs than SS.
I could see them going after Cutch and hoping he turns it around. Either him or Martin could move to RF and really improve our OF. They have the money to spend they have prospects which some I would hate to see go I just wonder if they could swing a deal if there is one to be made. Another Seattle fan said he would rather see Cespedes but we don’t need a shaky OFer that has an arm that will get him out of some of his poor D and a guy who swings and misses so much. We have enough HR hitters we need an OBP guys so the HR guys can drive them in.
jimmyz
Mets and ChiSox could also use OF help and have some pitching which Pirates would obviously be looking for in return.
smrtbusnisman04a
Will the Pirates try to extend Gerrit Cole?
After a breakout 2015 campaign, There was a lot of coverage that he was disappointed about making only 530K last season. He price may have gone down after a sub par 2016 season, but The Pirates have a long history of battling Scott Boras and Boras is still soar over them non-tendering Alvarez last season.
joew
here is hoping but the combination of Cole’s poor performance (for expectations), possible injury and Boras make it unlikely. 🙁
Robertowannabe
I agree, Boros always tries to get his players to FA unless somebody offers FA type money to extend. That is usually rare with years of control left. Good news for the Pirates, several young arms still down on the farm who have the chance to be special as well.
csbeachlife
The whole Liriano trade speaks volumes about the team, ….that trade has to be the worst of many years, now they are looking for a middle of the rotations help, and they were looking for that last year so they are -2. The team is too cheap, had they had Happ from last year, this article would have never been written. . Too cheap to sign Happ, to cheap to keep Liriano, now lost Liriano and too cheap to sign NOva which maybe good anyway.
That Happ signing looks like would have save the organization, and now the is NO hope, with the pitching staff.
The Toronoto Blues jays must think the Pirates are the team that keeps on giving – example, multi top 20 Prospects, Liriano plus cash and prospects. Russel, Happ, Bautista, and now they are after Nova…..guess where Nova is going.
Robertowannabe
No one could have anticipated what Happ did this year. That was a huge overpay for Toronto and it paid off. They also hugely overpaid for Martin as well. He did hit a few HR’s this year but he struggle for average. .231 Not quite worth 15 million for that and they have $60 million to pay yet. Happ had been average at best until he finished last year with Pittsburgh. Nothing he did in the last few years would have indicated that he would have been this good this year. Do not blame the Pirates in the least for not inking that deal. Even if he had the results this year in Pittsburgh that he had in Toronto, if he tanks next year, you have another Liriano situation.again. Liriano was horrible all year for the Pirates. Kept hoping he would turn it on but never did. Nova Still is a possibility
Cim2217
I would mind a Cutch for Taijuan Walker and Edwin Diaz trade with Seattle
Cim2217
Wouldn’t *
dtwb93
Now that the Cubs are back and the Pirates have almost wasted their 5 yr window before all these guys become eligible for contracts they can’t afford. Sad Cutch had a terrible year with only a couple left. Even if he makes a comeback next year the Cubs are already here now. They better hope on someone giving too much for Cutch next year. But it won’t matter. Cards are about to start spending money and Cubs are overloaded. Pirates window might have one last year of being open.
NuckBobFutting
We’re trading Cutch. I want his salary dumped, and ill put some more money in to my ski resort
TigerFanFromIndiana
I don’t see them trading McCutchen when his value is low, I see them holding onto him. If he rebounds and plays back to normal, the Pirates are probably winning a bunch of games. To me, makes more sense to trade Harrison. On a low payroll team, he seems like a luxury where the money could be spent better elsewhere…this opinion from a non-Pirates fan
Phillies2017
If Hughes is non-tendered, that could actually be a legitimate pick-up for any team looking for BP depth
st1300b 2
Well
st1300b 2
What If:
Bucs actually go after Encarnacion who is actually a good first baseman and an elite power bat. Put Bell in rightfield which allows the team to trade Cutch for a haul including that stud righty named Syndrgarrd. Jaso adds outfield to his versatility ala Joyce and becomes a bench bat. The bucs then add Eddie V back to the back end of the rotation and Feliz is retained as a fallback for Tony.
I could live with that plan.