The rebuilding Pirates had a fairly similar offseason to the one they had a year ago. The trade chatter for Bryan Reynolds continued, but nothing came to fruition. In the end, it was another winter of bringing aboard veterans on short-term deals to fill out the young and inexperienced roster. Those vets will hopefully make the team a bit better, mentor the youngsters and perhaps turn into trade chips by midseason. The most notable of those new additions is actually a familiar face, with the Bucs bringing back a franchise icon who’s been away for a few years.
Major League Signings
- LHP Rich Hill: one-year, $8MM
- 1B Carlos Santana: one-year, $6.725MM
- OF Andrew McCutchen: one-year, $5MM
- C Austin Hedges: one-year, $5MM
- RHP Vince Velasquez: one-year, $3.15MM
- LHP Jarlín García: one-year, $2.5MM plus $3.25MM club option for 2024
2023 spending: $30.375MM
Total spending: $30.375MM
Option Decisions
- None
Trades and Claims
- Claimed RHP Beau Sulser off waivers from Orioles (later outrighted and signed in KBO)
- Claimed C Ali Sánchez off waivers from Tigers (later lost via waivers to Diamondbacks)
- Claimed OF Ryan Vilade off waivers from Rockies
- Acquired 1B Ji-Man Choi from Rays for RHP Jack Hartman
- Acquired RHP Dauri Moreta from Reds for IF Kevin Newman
- Claimed 1B Lewin Díaz off waivers from Marlins (later lost via waivers to Orioles)
- Acquired LHP Inmer Lobo from Red Sox for IF Hoy Park
- Selected LHP Jose Hernandez from Dodgers in Rule 5 draft
- Acquired OF Connor Joe from Rockies for RHP Nick Garcia
- Acquired RHP Scott Randall from Diamondbacks for Diego Castillo
- Traded RHP Bryse Wilson to Brewers for cash considerations
- Acquired OF Chavez Young from Blue Jays for Zach Thompson
Notable Minor League Signees
- Tyler Heineman, Kevin Plawecki, Tyler Chatwood, Drew Maggi, Rob Zastryzny, Caleb Smith, Chris Owings, Ángel Perdomo, Daniel Zamora
Extensions
- None
Notable Losses
- Roberto Pérez, Ben Gamel, Newman, Park, Castillo, Wilson, Junior Fernández, Miguel Yajure, Nick Mears, Manny Bañuelos, Blake Sabol
Though it was a fairly modest offseason for the Bucs when comparing them to other clubs, this was on the aggressive side when compared to their own recent offseasons. The club only spent $16MM last offseason and $7.25MM in the previous two combined. Though their $30.375MM this winter isn’t exactly a spending spree compared to win-now clubs like the Mets or Padres, it was technically more than they themselves have spent in quite some time.
Among the players brought in to bolster the roster, the one that Pittsburgh fans are surely the most excited about is Andrew McCutchen. The 36-year-old spent the best years of his career as a Pirate, having been drafted by them in 2005 and playing for the big league club from 2009 to 2017. That tenure included winning 2013 NL MVP, five All-Star selections and playoff berths in three straight years from 2013-2015, their only postseason trips in the last 30 years.
Though many of the club’s acquisitions will be viewed as future trade candidates, it seems McCutchen won’t be in the same bucket. Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported last month that the idea is for McCutchen to stay in Pittsburgh for the rest of his career. It’s possible that a situation arises where a World Series contender wants him and gives the team a call, but Mackey’s reporting indicates that a trade will only come to fruition if Cutch wants to take the opportunity to get a ring.
The other new faces will be a different story. The past two seasons have seen the Pirates add a veteran arm to their starting rotation and flip them at the deadline for prospects. It was Tyler Anderson in 2021 and José Quintana last year. For 2023, both Rich Hill and Vince Velasquez have been signed to one-year deals and each could potentially follow the same path as Anderson and Quintana. Hill is about to turn 43 years old but still made 26 starts last year with a 4.27 ERA. Velasquez has occasionally seemed on the verge of establishing himself as a solid major league starter, but he’s also faltered and been moved to the bullpen on multiple occasions.
The bullpen saw one similar addition in Jarlín García. He’s been with the Giants the past three years, posting solid results. From 2020 to 2022, he made 135 appearances with a 2.84 ERA, 22.5% strikeout rate, 7.0% walk rate and 40.5% ground ball rate. He’s probably not quite as good as that ERA would indicate, given his .246 BABIP in that time, but he still registered a 3.90 FIP and 3.76 SIERA. Nonetheless, the Giants non-tendered him instead of paying him a projected $2.4MM arbitration salary, and the Pirates swooped in to give him $2.5MM. Like Hill and Velasquez, he could find himself on the trade block this summer if he’s pitching well, though the Bucs have a club option for 2024 and could keep him around for another season.
The other new face for the bullpen will be Jose Hernandez, but like all Rule 5 picks, he’ll have to justify his roster spot or else be put on waivers and then offered back to his original club. The 25-year-old split last year between High-A and Double-A in the Dodgers’ system, posting a 3.32 ERA in 59 2/3 innings with a 27.8% strikeout rate but a 10.1% walk rate.
On the position player side of things, in addition to McCutchen, the club brought in Ji-Man Choi, Carlos Santana and Austin Hedges. Choi is in his final arbitration year and will be a free agent at season’s end, while Santana and Hedges both signed one-year deals. Catcher and first base were both quite unsettled for the club last year, as Roberto Pérez went down with an early injury and the Yoshi Tsutsugo gamble didn’t pay off.
Hedges doesn’t hit much but has long been considered one of the best defensive catchers in the league, while Santana and Choi give the club a couple of fairly steady veterans for their first base and designated hitter slots. Like the pitching acquisitions, any of these names could be on the move in the summer if the club wants to make room for younger players. The same could be said for veterans on minor league deals like Kevin Plawecki, Tyler Chatwood or Tyler Heineman, should they crack the roster at some point.
Unsurprisingly, it seems it will be another season about the potential young core for the rebuilding Pirates. Hill and Velasquez are fine additions, but the main focus in the rotation will be on more controllable players. Both Mitch Keller and JT Brubaker showed some encouraging results last year and can be controlled through the 2025 season. Roansy Contreras and Luis Ortiz have also had some exciting results and have yet to reach a year of service time, meaning they’re not slated to reach free agency until after 2028 at the earliest. There are also yet-to-debut prospects like Quinn Priester, Mike Burrows, Jared Jones, Kyle Nicolas, among others. The bullpen will be led by David Bednar, who seems to have established himself as a lock-down closer and isn’t slated for free agency until after the 2026 campaign.
Hedges should be a fine steward of those young arms, but he will also likely be tasked with ushering in young catching prospects like Endy Rodriguez and Henry Davis. McCutchen, Santana and Choi will join a position player mix of youngsters who are still developing, such as Oneil Cruz, Ke’Bryan Hayes, Ji Hwan Bae, Jack Suwinski, Rodolfo Castro and Calvin Mitchell. That group will be looking to cement themselves before another wave of prospects arrives, one that includes Termarr Johnson, Nick Gonzales, Jared Triolo and Liover Peguero. Recent acquisition Connor Joe can jump into that mix as well.
The 2023 season, and perhaps beyond, will help the club examine key questions about that group of young players. Cruz has elite tools,, but can he cut down his strikeouts and prove himself a viable shortstop? Hayes is an elite defender at third, but can he take a step forward at the plate? Which of Rodriguez or Davis will step up as the catcher of the future? Could it be both, in a time-share setting? Can any of the others emerge as true everyday options, or are they more role players?
Hovering over all of this is the great unanswered Bryan Reynolds question. He’s hit 74 home runs over the past four seasons and cemented himself as an above-average outfielder in the major leagues. He’s now down to three years of club control, seeming to put the club in a position where they have to make a move one way or another. They could certainly return to contention in that timeframe, but it would be wise to figure out a way to better align him with their future window of contention. That means either giving him an extension that keeps him around longer or trading him for younger and more controllable players.
That has put Reynolds in trade rumors for quite some time, though the club has reportedly set a sky-high asking price. The fact that no deal has come together suggests that they are willing to stick to it. The extension talks didn’t seem to gain much traction this offseason either, as the player and the club were reportedly about $50MM apart in those discussions. That led to Reynolds requesting a trade, though that apparently did nothing to nudge the front office any closer to striking a deal. Reynolds recently stated that he’s still open to an extension, as long as it’s a fair deal, but there’s been nothing to suggest anything is particularly close on that front. The two sides could well revisit those talks later this spring, but a $50MM gap is a particularly large chasm to bridge for a club with the Pirates’ annual payroll levels.
Perhaps the upcoming campaign will dictate how the club proceeds. If the Pirates can have a season similar to the Orioles last year and suddenly seem like the rebuild is over, maybe they decide to plunk down some money and keep Reynolds around. Then again, by that point, the asking price may be even higher. Conversely, if they have a year like the 2022 Royals where there’s not as much development as hoped, perhaps they’ll choose a different path and more earnestly look to move Reynolds as one of the final pieces of business in their current rebuilding effort. There’s lots of exciting young talent in the system and reasons to feel good about the future, but still many questions to be answered.
How would you grade the Pirates’ offseason? (Link to poll)
In conjunction with this post, Darragh McDonald held a Pirates-centric live chat on Feb. 23. Click here to read the transcript.
…and cue all the big market blow hards with their “expertise” on how to run small market teams.
If the padres can do it, so can the pirates.
Lol
Absolutely. Once the Steelers and Penguins leave the city.
I feel Cherington did pretty well this offseason.
They got the young talent up or near-ready, added a lot of good lockeroom veterans to help show them how to be pros.
Forget on-field play, Cruz, Hayes, Roansey etc will have an elite cast of personalities like Carlos Santana, Rich Hill, & Andrew McCutchen to learn from.
A guy like O’Neil Cruz will absolutely benefit from having McCutchen around to help him deal with issues like a professional.
(reports of him having a temper tantrum and pouting his way thru the first few months for not making the big league roster)
While it is understandable he’d be upset when he clearly won a job out of spring training, it’s worth having some veteran support to ensure that doesn’t become a normal reaction when things go wrong
Obviously as a Pirates fan, A+++++++++++++
As another Pirate fan, my grade is D
Not giving Reynolds a long term contract was my reason. Big deal Nuttimg agreed to spend more money but on who exactly?
Players whose ages are closer to the end of their careers than entering their prime
Granted they have a group of young players who might contribute more this season but that’s not a guarantee.
No one knows how Endy or Davis will handle batting against major league pitching
How would signing Reynolds to an extension make the 2023 team better? He’s still here. Fact is, this team is better than it has been the last 3 years. yes the Pirates signed older players, but they are all still very useful major league players. Fans wanna focus on Hill’s age but wont acknowledge the fact he still gets hitters out. Who did you want the Pirates to sign, Correa or Turner? That would never happen no matter who owns the Pirates.
signing Reynolds would be a positive sign that ownership is serious about contending
Hard to believe this needed explained
Can’t sign Reynolds when he won’t even negotiate. They weren’t going to get him to sign for 6 75 but it was a starting point.
If they’re expecting anything out of Velasquez I can tell you from watching him with the White Sox the last 2 years he’s toast.
You mean like how José Contrares was toast before the Bucs signed him?
Nothing like reading prophecies from Yankee fans
@Unclemike1526 Pirates need to get new pitching coaches if they can’t do better than Chicago. Vince still has enough stuff.
I know what you’re saying about Endy, but the Pirates quite literally haven’t had a player perform this good in the minor leagues in their recent history. FanGraphs’ minor league statistcs date back to 2006. Since then, Rodriguez has the highest wRC+, wOBA, and OPS among Pirates minor leaguers who had at least 500 plate appearances throughout their minor league careers. His wRC+ has gone from 140 at Bradenton, to 151 at Greensboro, 199 at Altoona, and 203 at Indy. He also batted nearly .400 with an OPS over 1.200 after the ASG break, and a wRC+ that would fit right in line with early-2000s Barry Bonds.
Davis, I think he just needs to stay healthy, but I don’t think his injuries are because he is injury prone. The guy got hit by 20 pitches in 255 plate appearances. That’s an unheard of pace. Since intergration, that’s happned once in Major League history (20+ HBP, <300 PA). I'm not too worried about Reynolds right now. I hope a deal gets done, and I'm gonna stay optimistic about it. Both sides want to get something done.
I have a soft spot for Bucs backers because we are in the same situation pretty much.
They did the best they could with their payroll limitations, unlike other teams that did nothing.
The Pirates spent 18 million to sign for 2023 only Rich Hill, Carlos Santana and Vince Velazquez.
I would have used the money instead to extend David Bednar.
There’s absolutely no reason to extend Bednar. He looks to be a nice back end bullpen arm, but certainly no star worthy of an extension. Especially considering his back problems from last year and he looks like he put on about 20 pounds in the offseason. He’s quite beefy,
Closers have an expiration date. All of them except Rivera and Hoffman. No way I extend Bednar. Love the hometown story but facts is facts.
A friend told me he looked like he lost weight. But yeah extending anyone with back issues is risky.
Pirates need to trade Bednar at some point. Teams will give up quality prospects for closer setup guys. Good teams can find develop relievers every year. For a Pittsburgh market team this is a must if they want to compete.
If not Bednar, then Roansy.
Extend anyone who will sign a fair extension. Trade everyone who won’t. Roansy arm durability worries me more than the average pitcher but for the right price sure.
Cruz would be target #1. Anyone that shows anything should be considered. Pirates made out fantastic doing this a decade or so ago. Braves Astros are doing this and anything they do should be copied. Pirates should start doing extensions again.
Why extend any pitchers that are already under team control for four years and are currently making peanuts relative to what an extension would cost. The risk vastly outweighs the reward for either of those two right now.
Bednar won’t be eligible for free agency for another 4 years
I hope that Roansy has a breakout season, that the fans enjoy the Citch reunion, and that Hedges helps the young staff as their elite catching prospects mature. Maybe Termarr will be the next Altuve except without cheating.
Termarr is nothing like Altuve, more comparable to Robinson Cano, without the PED’s…hopefully.
And the Jarlin Garcia signing was very solid.
First off the reasonable takes on the Bucs offseason from a Cubs fan is appreciated Manny. I like the Garcia signing too but think the rule 5 pick Jose Hernandez could be the steal of the offseason though. Really hoping the fact that pretty much every bullpen arm on the roster having options allows the team to shuffle through guys all year to keep his spot safe and not have to give him back to the Dodgers.
Where does Rich Hill go at trade deadline?
That will determine which potential playoff needs pitching
Only a Yankee fan would ask such a ridiculous question
I’m not a Yankee fan but I notice “TheMan” (yeah, right) has a hard time getting through a thread without a childish knock on the Yankees or it’s fans. Pathetic.
I took the moniker provided by this site, Utah. The one I wanted was already taken
Speaking of pathetic, have you looked in the mirror lately?
Stan- Hospice?
To whatever team that gives up the most prospects.
You gotta love how the Pirates are asking the world for Bryan Reynolds but they don’t want to pay him what he’s worth.
The GM knows his value, the owner doesn’t. Cherington can only offer what Nutting allows.
No reason to pay a corner outfielder that you retain his rights until 31 years old what he’s worth. Extensions are to lock players up for significantly less than they would receive as free agents.
Don’t be shocked wihen the PIrates are this year’s version of last years Orioles. Cherington’s prospects are finally at the big league level and Huntington’s failures are gone. This could easily be a team that hovers around .500 in a weak division.
24 fewer divisional games starting this year.
I definitely think they could be sneaky good, but 24 extra games against 2 or 3 teams worse than them and only one clearly better would help.
It would be an A if they got a Texiera haul for Reynolds (possible). He would just have a few more months than Tex but less overall value.
I gave them a B. Given that they’re not expected to compete this year, they did fill in some holes to get some stability at 1B and catcher and got Rich Hill to provide an experienced pitcher in the rotation. Again, with little expectations this year, I was surprised they did sign some players.
And many of the players they did sign are known as good clubhouse leaders. With a young and sometimes immature returning core, I think that the addition of vets to patrol the clubhouse and keep the guys rom getting too high or low emotionally is hugely important and an overlooked factor for this squad.
I dunno. I thought the kids who came up got a helluva lot of hype and for the most part, disappointed last year. Yes, it was their first go-round and surely it’s better than fielding a team of cast offs but other than Keller, all we saw were glimpses
Can anyone within the organization refine the play of Cruz and his plate discipline. It’s early, but initial reports indicate his footwork and subsequent throwing mechanics look much improved at SS
Can anyone make Hayes a more consistent hitter, or Suwinski?
Can they turn Brubaker into a reliable starter?
And what about the second wave of players ready to come up?
Yes, I agree that veteran presence is essential but with such youth, player development is crucial, as is managing and coaching
Still, it’s nice to dream. And hope
I’m not worried about Brubaker, seemed to me like he was just running out of gas towards the end of the season. Granted I don’t expect him to be a #1 or #2 type starter but I feel like he’s a pretty solid mid-rotation piece that will provide some stability to the staff.
I am just baffled by the Santana signing. How many bad years before the Pirates notice that a guy has a fork in him? They didn’t just sign him, they gave him $6MM+. I was expecting him to retire or get a minor league invite. Who exactly was bidding against them?
So you’re complaining the PIrates spent too much money? lol. Santana is a veteran presence that the team desperately needs and his whole career, he has some of the best plate discipline in the league. Something that could be very valuable for Cruz.
Santana suffered from the shift more than just about any other hitter. Watch him drink from the Fountain of Youth this season.
You watch the Seattle M’s do their little victory dance at the end of the games?
Santana came on the team and asked why they did not celebrate the victories?
That is where that came from…team building after ever win sparked by a veteran presence.
A great veteran who thanks to the shift restrictions can now be a everyday player who will be a above average bat. Any team with a need at 1b dh that missed out on the 15 20 million guys or wanted to get value would be interested.
Hey, we actually had an off-season!
I like McCutchen coming home and hope he stays in Pittsburgh to finish out his career, be it this year or next.
Like the Pirates or hate them they brought in a lot of postseason experience to help mentor the young guys. It may not make much of a difference in the win/loss column but it will make a difference to the players
Can you spare the Reds, Steve Adams? Maybe someone that does homework on small markets and understands the difference in relief work and starting work as a pitcher.
I was very interested in the comments of Bob Nutting in his interview with the PG’s Jason Mackey a couple days ago
A great deal of it was akin to what a politician would say about literally any hotpoint topic but in talking about competing now, winning and there being no excuses moving forward—that the last couple seasons were unacceptable—I got this feeling that either I completely misjudged the owner or never fully listened to him before, or someone in the inner circle pulled him aside and asked him to at least sound more disappointed and desirous of a winning franchise
In the past, if he hasn’t been aloof, he’s been willing to pass the blame on to others-even the fans and their lack of support where attendance is concerned
But this?
Yeah, it’s what any owner can say after years of losing but maybe there’s a light at the end of the tunnel
I don’t see this team competing in ‘23. Truthfully, built as is, it’s hard to see them competing in ‘24, as well
But I’ll take “competing” to be .500 as being sufficient at this point
The awful media isn’t much smarter than the awful fans. They just spam Nutting is cheap needs to sell team. Cherington can’t clearly say we are going to spend the least amount of money possible and be awful for 3 years so we can have a chance at building a legit team. But if you have any intelligence you can pick up this is what he said. Now that they have the foundation to try and compete Nutting can come out with his line of bs. The last 3 years were 100 percent acceptable. If not Cherington Shelton Williams wouldn’t be here. Wouldn’t even have been hired.
I’m looking forward to what will be a significant year for the future of the Bucs.
Not expecting a winning season…or even a .500 season unless a lot of great things happen…but I believe they’ll surprise a lot of people.
Pirates are on the upside, definitely going to be a better team than the Reds, but at most this is still a 68-72 wins team. Same with the Cubs they’re probably not going to get a Wild Card spot, but better than last year’s team.
seeming to put the club in a position where they have to make a move one way or another.
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Actually, they don’t need to do anything. Not every player needs to be extended or traded. You’d like to explore an extension if you think the player is going to have prolonged success.
Reynolds will be 31 on his next contract. That’s not ancient, but it is at the point where a decline can be projected within 1-2 years. Even within 1-2 years from now, he will be a leftfielder with 26 HRs and a .280. A small extension of the control years + a 2-year extension would be nice, but hardly a necessity.
I have always been struck by how few Pirates prospects ever seem to work out. The Pirates draft good prospects but for the most part, they just fail to progress. Makes me think that something is wrong in the player development department. It’s to the point where I don’t bother getting Pirate prospects for my fantasy team because they never seem to work out.
And also at the major league level — How is it that Gerrit Cole and Joe Musgrove become top shelf starters only after leaving Pittsburgh? Something wrong there as well. Like, I am thinking Keller becomes a good pitcher in 2 years when the Dodgers or Rays trade for him.
Small market clubs need to nurture and develop young talent .but the Pirates seem incapable of it. My sympathy to Pirates fans… at least you all have a great ballpark.
You’re really sleeping on Keller if you think he’d all of a sudden become good after leaving the Pirates. He implemented a new sinker and added a ton of movement to his slider. After making the sinker a primary part of his pitch arsnel, he had a 3.20 ERA/3.67 FIP. Keller’s sinker had -8 run value, and after June 19th, his slider’s average horizontal velocity didn’t dip below 15 inches. He previously sat around 3-5 inches of vertical break.
Even if Keller can retain his gains, that still only puts him as a league-average starter, which has real value, granted, but is nothing to get too excited about. My comment on Keller was really more of a throwaway based on how it seems the Pirates have not developed an authentically GOOD starter since, well, I don’t recall. the last one! Whoever trades for Roansy Contreras.in 3 years will probably get a future Cy Contender based on how things seem to work up there. Sorry buddy.
I am a Red Sox fan and we have the same pitcher development issue — the last good one we grew was Jon Lester. But at least the Sox have been good with hitters, including Devers, Bogaerts, Betts, and several pretty decent others like Bradley, Benintendi, and Vazquez..
A guy with an ERA under 3.50 isn’t just league average. Contreras also had a good season, but his ERA is a tad high because of one blow-up start and he didn’t pitch the entire season. I’m not saying the Pirates are great at player deveopment, but the strides Keller took last year were significant. They make him far better than a league average arm. A baseball youtuber, Jolly Olive recently did a video on Keller’s breakout and really showed just how good he was in 2022. From June through the end of the year, he was silently one of the better NL pitchers.
I also think it’s a good sign when guys like Luis Ortiz and Kyle Nicolas keep improving, especially in Ortiz’s case who’s now a consensus top 100 prospect. Nicolas had a great year at Double-A, but was hindered by one bad start (third start of the year, he allowed 8 runs in two innings). The Pirates stole a guy from the Rays, Dewy Robinson, who oversaw their pitching development for 12 years.
You shouldn’t lump a current gm with a past gm. Might miss some good players for your fantasy team.
Translation- 100+ losses
How so? The Pirates added at least five wins at first base alone. Combined, Pirates’ 1Bs last year had a 59 wRC+, one of the lowest marks in baseball history at the position for a team in a single season. Choi hits RHP well and Santana hits LHP well. They were also two of the most shifted on batters last year. Now they’ll get full seasons from Keller, Contreras, and Cruz, with a handful of more prospects on the horizon. The team has gotten better, not worse.
I would give them a B-. Dissapointed they didn’t sign Reynolds to an extension, but that’s about the only thing that you can knock them on. They acquired some much needed veteran help, and look better than they have in years. Can’t wait to see guys like Ortiz, Priester, Gonzales, and Rodriguez make the majors this year.
I also hope some of the promising A-level guys make some real progress this year. Such as Hudson Head
Grading the offseason is such a weird idea IMHO. Some teams are emphasizing development of guys in their minors during the offseason, but those are “moves” so they don’t get credit.
Head needs to fix his swing. He has an arm-bar, but he looked better in the second half of last year. Can’t wait to see Bubba Chandler and Anthony Solometo play a full season this year. I think they could become two very high end prospects, given a year.
Grade A. They addressed every position of weakness. Brought back a all time favorite. Tried to extend trade Reynolds. Couldn’t ask for more.
As a RS, I think they did the right thing. Too many teams make the mistake of trying to go from 60 to 90 wins in one year. I never see that work. I think a lot of the guys they brought in are place holders for prospects. They aren’t there yet, but they should be able to upgrade 1-2 positions a year for the next 2-3 years.
I’m perfectly fine how the Pirates’ approached this off-season. It’s the moves of a team who wants to end a rebuild within the next year, but like you said, they’re not trying to go from 60 wins to 90 wins in the matter of a few months. They’re the moves that say “We might not be prime contenders, but we’re not going to be push-overs for another year”. If almost everything goes right, and I mean almost everything, then they could be a sneaky contender. But that means most of the following must happen: Oneil Cruz continues to make the improvements he showed in August-September, prospects like Endy Rodriguez, Quinn Priester, Mike Burrows, Luis Ortiz, Nick Gonzales, Ji-Hwan Bae, and Colin Selby don’t fall flat on their face when they get to the big leagues, Rodolfo Castro and Jack Suwinski provide the power they did last year, and Ke’Bryan Hayes takes a massive step forward. Some of that will happen, some will not happen.
Most pirates fans want to see a 100 million dollar payroll. They don’t care about overpaying or even if there is a need to do so. They needed 2 lhp, c, 1b. They addressed every one of those with the best available options.
They can’t buy a contender in free agency even if they wanted to and you shouldn’t want your team to do this.
Look, if they are on course to accomplish what you explained back in December—kind of a mirror image of what TB and CLE do with draft, trade for prospects, develop talent, mature, prosper, retain control and eventually trade and re-load—I think most fans will accept it
You’re always going to have fans who want to believe that ownership can spend like the major markets but that’s pie in the sky and the recipe for a one-off good team followed by 20 years of dread
Most fans have no idea what they are trying to do. For the haters it’s Nutting is cheap and team will never be good. Any player that becomes good will be traded because they don’t want to pay them. Doesn’t matter though. 1.5 million fans will show up no matter what. 2.5 mil if they are a playoff team. I think most the complaining is from people who never had season tickets. With pnc size there isn’t much more attendance to be had. The people who always complain though probably won’t be convinced no matter what. Not much money to be had from them anyways.
My opinion, great off season compared to the past 5 years or so.
They filled holes with players that have had some sort of success while leaving room for them to be replaced with call ups.
Not Trading Bryan is a +/-. Plus because they know he can be key in 2024 and they have not given up on extending him. Minus because trading now might get you something that will be in the mlb in 2024 while having more control on the cheap.
they shouldn’t be in last this year baring any major disaster.
if all goes perfectly, they have a shot at .500… then again i have been saying that every off season. Maybe i should just jump on the they are horrible, bob is the worst band wagon.. maybe they’ll do better if i do haha
F
Why?