Headlines

  • Jays Refute Report Of Deal With Brantley
  • Blue Jays To Sign George Springer
  • Angels To Sign Jose Quintana
  • Blue Jays, Kirby Yates Agree To Deal
  • Don Sutton Passes Away
  • White Sox Sign Liam Hendriks
  • Previous
  • Next
Register
Login
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Pro Football Rumors
  • Pro Hockey Rumors

MLB Trade Rumors

  • Home
  • Teams
    • AL East
      • Baltimore Orioles
      • Boston Red Sox
      • New York Yankees
      • Tampa Bay Rays
      • Toronto Blue Jays
    • AL Central
      • Chicago White Sox
      • Cleveland Indians
      • Detroit Tigers
      • Kansas City Royals
      • Minnesota Twins
    • AL West
      • Houston Astros
      • Los Angeles Angels
      • Oakland Athletics
      • Seattle Mariners
      • Texas Rangers
    • NL East
      • Atlanta Braves
      • Miami Marlins
      • New York Mets
      • Philadelphia Phillies
      • Washington Nationals
    • NL Central
      • Chicago Cubs
      • Cincinnati Reds
      • Milwaukee Brewers
      • Pittsburgh Pirates
      • St. Louis Cardinals
    • NL West
      • Arizona Diamondbacks
      • Colorado Rockies
      • Los Angeles Dodgers
      • San Diego Padres
      • San Francisco Giants
  • About
    • MLB Trade Rumors
    • Tim Dierkes
    • Writing team
    • Advertise
    • Archives
  • Contact
  • Tools
    • 2020-21 Top 50 MLB Free Agents With Predictions
    • 2020-21 MLB Free Agent Tracker
    • 2020-21 MLB Free Agent List
    • Projected Arbitration Salaries For 2021
    • 2021 MLB Arbitration Tracker
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Extension Tracker
    • Agency Database
    • Last 100 Comments
  • NBA/NFL/NHL
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors
  • App
  • Chats
Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Pirates Notes: Meadows, Prospects, Injuries

By Mark Polishuk | November 8, 2015 at 9:56pm CDT

“The Pirates are facing perhaps their most challenging offseason of the Neal Huntington Era — rivaled only by the 2012-13 offseason when jobs might have been at stake,” Travis Sawchik of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes.  Sawchik gives his take on the many big decisions faced by the Bucs this winter, and he proposes signing utilityman Steve Pearce and “a second-tier starting pitcher” such as Scott Kazmir or Ian Kennedy in free agency, dealing or non-tendering Pedro Alvarez, and trading Mark Melancon and rebuilding the bullpen with less-costly arms.  It’s possible the Pirates have already undertaken one of Sawchik’s suggestions (“bid aggressively” on Byung-Ho Park) since the Bucs haven’t been eliminated as the mystery winner of the highest posting big on the Korean first baseman.

  • One scout is excited about Pirates prospect Austin Meadows, telling Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (on Twitter) that he feels the Bucs could “not miss a beat” in the outfield if Andrew McCutchen left in free agency.  The scout believes Meadows could take over in left field with Starling Marte moved to fill McCutchen’s spot in center.
  • Meadows is one of several Pirates prospects cited by Bill West of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review as important to the club’s future if current start depart as free agents.  West thinks 2012 supplemental first-rounder Barrett Barnes, however, could be called up ahead of Meadows to fill any possible vacancies in the outfield; Barnes is almost four years older than Meadows, though his progress was slowed by injuries.  While West doesn’t address this topic in his piece, I’d think it’s also possible one of two of these minor leaguers could be trade chips as the Bucs look to bolster their Major League roster for a World Series run.  (Though probably no more than one or two, as mid-market teams like the Pirates are particularly reliant on their farm system.)
  • Ten Pirates prospects underwent Tommy John surgery in 2015, Biertempfel reports in a separate piece.  This has required in some shuffling in the club’s minor league pitching staffs, and Biertempfel figures Pittsburgh will sign one or two veteran arms to minor league deals over the winter.

MLBTR’s Zach Links also contributed to this post

Share 7 Retweet 32 Send via email0

Austin Meadows Pittsburgh Pirates

AL Central Notes: Soria, Indians, Cueto, Glass
Main
NL Notes: Stewart, Stearns, Perez, Cubs
6 comments
newest oldest

Comments

  1. Andyman516

    5 years ago

    McCutchen makes that team complete, I’d say it’d be a tough parting if they lose him in free agency. Keep him and give Meadows another year in AAA….bring him on in the event of injuries….just saying….ace in the hole so to speak….

    Like
    Reply
  2. tom from st pete florida

    5 years ago

    The Pirates hold the rights to Cutch until the end of the 2018 season.

    They should trade him after next season, or 2017 at the latest.
    Meadows, Bell, Hanson and Mc gwire , the catcher should all be ready by then.

    The Pirates just need to sign some decent free agent pitchers, and they will be in the thick of things again in 2016.

    Like
    Reply
  3. ronnsnow

    5 years ago

    If Elias Diaz proves he can make it in the big leagues in 2016, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Reese McGuire transition to third base. He is an exceptional athlete and Diaz was named Minor League Defensive catcher of the year in 2015. The Pirates are quite thin at third throughout the system.

    Like
    Reply
  4. A. Messa

    5 years ago

    McCutchen is the captain of the Pirates. Without him they’ll be a very mediocre team w out a superstar. Who would be their best player? Francisco Cervelli?

    Like
    Reply
    • ronnsnow

      5 years ago

      Starling Marte?

      Like
      Reply
    • firstbleed

      5 years ago

      Gerrit Cole

      Like
      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Please login to leave a reply.
Log in Register

ad: 300x250_1_MLB

    Top Stories

    Jays Refute Report Of Deal With Brantley

    Blue Jays To Sign George Springer

    Angels To Sign Jose Quintana

    Blue Jays, Kirby Yates Agree To Deal

    Don Sutton Passes Away

    White Sox Sign Liam Hendriks

    Mets Fire GM Jared Porter

    Padres Acquire Joe Musgrove In 3-Team Trade

    Nationals To Sign Jon Lester

    Phillies Sign Archie Bradley

    Recent

    Jays Refute Report Of Deal With Brantley

    Royals Sign Wade Davis To Minor League Deal

    Blue Jays Still Pursuing Michael Brantley

    Diamondbacks To Sign Chris Devenski

    Blue Jays To Sign George Springer

    Angels To Sign Jose Quintana

    Latest On George Springer, Blue Jays

    Blue Jays, Kirby Yates Agree To Deal

    Trade/FA Notes: Santander, Profar, Bart, Yates, T. Williams

    Don Sutton Passes Away

    Latest Rumors & News

    Latest Rumors & News

    • Trevor Bauer Rumors
    • Kris Bryant Rumors
    • J.T. Realmuto Rumors
    • Marcell Ozuna Rumors
    • Masahiro Tanaka Rumors
    Trade Rumors App for iOS and Android

    MLBTR Features

    MLBTR Features

    • Go Ad-Free
    • How To Set Up Notifications For Breaking News
    • 2020-21 Top 50 MLB Free Agents With Predictions
    • 2020-21 MLB Free Agent Tracker
    • 2020-21 MLB Free Agent List
    • Projected Arbitration Salaries For 2021
    • 2021 MLB Arbitration Tracker
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Extension Tracker
    • Agency Database
    • MLBTR On Twitter
    • MLBTR On Facebook
    • Team Facebook Pages
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors

    Rumors By Team

    • Angels Rumors
    • Astros Rumors
    • Athletics Rumors
    • Blue Jays Rumors
    • Braves Rumors
    • Brewers Rumors
    • Cardinals Rumors
    • Cubs Rumors
    • Diamondbacks Rumors
    • Dodgers Rumors
    • Giants Rumors
    • Indians Rumors
    • Mariners Rumors
    • Marlins Rumors
    • Mets Rumors
    • Nationals Rumors
    • Orioles Rumors
    • Padres Rumors
    • Phillies Rumors
    • Pirates Rumors
    • Rangers Rumors
    • Rays Rumors
    • Red Sox Rumors
    • Reds Rumors
    • Rockies Rumors
    • Royals Rumors
    • Tigers Rumors
    • Twins Rumors
    • White Sox Rumors
    • Yankees Rumors

    ad: 160x600_MLB

    Navigation

    • Sitemap
    • Archives
    • Feeds by Team

    MLBTR INFO

    • Advertise
    • About
    • Commenting Policy
    • Privacy Policy

    Connect

    • Contact Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS Feed

    MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

    hide arrowsFOX Sports Engage Network scroll to top
    Close

    Desktop Version | Switch To Mobile Version