The Pirates have released right-hander Thomas Hatch, as reflected on the MLB.com transaction log. A Korean-language report from IS Plus suggested Hatch had received interest from teams in both NPB and the KBO and is likely to sign with the Nippon-Ham Fighters in Japan. Hatch had occupied a spot on Pittsburgh’s 40-man roster. His release will drop that tally to 36.
Pittsburgh snagged Hatch off waivers from the Blue Jays in early August. The 29-year-old occupied a depth role down the stretch, logging 22 2/3 innings over 12 appearances. He posted a 4.03 ERA despite a modest 17% strikeout rate. Paired with six MLB appearances for the Jays earlier in the season, Hatch tossed 28 2/3 innings of 4.26 ERA ball — his largest big league workload to date.
Originally a third-round pick of the Cubs in 2016, Hatch landed with the Jays at the ’19 deadline in a trade that sent veteran reliever David Phelps to Chicago. The Oklahoma State product debuted in the majors the following year and saw some big league action in each of the past four seasons. He has allowed 4.96 earned runs per nine in 69 career innings.
Hatch would have been out of minor league option years going into 2024. He’d likely have had a tenuous hold on a bullpen spot in Pittsburgh and could well have found himself on outright waivers at some point over the offseason. Instead, he should lock in a guaranteed salary — quite likely one north of the $740K MLB minimum — and could position himself for other major league opportunities in future offseasons. Hatch throws in the mid 90s and owns a reasonable 4.49 ERA over parts of three Triple-A campaigns, making him an attractive target for evaluators in Japan and Korea.
Pirates making some head scratchers.
Seriously. Why did it take THIS long to get this guy off the roster?
I’d rather read this than another article on Dylan Cease or Joey Wendle…
The Melbourne Boomerangs are recruiting hard this winter I heard…The Pine Gap Koalas as well.
Survivor hatch or Battlestar Galactica hatch? Haha
I miss the good old days when only the USA teams could out develop the Pirates.
Dream- The Pirates have never been any good at developing pitchers.That has to change if they have any chance of actually competing.
There probably is no more than 10 good ones in the 60 years that I have been following them.
Develop? Maybe not. Re-construct? Different story. I’m still waiting for an in depth interview with Ray Searage. Would love to hear his views on the differences between rebuilding guys like AJ, Frankie, Hanrahan, Volquez, Melancon, Grilli etc (I’m missing a few) versus the inability to further develop young talent like Cole, Morton, Glasnow….
A case of a younger generation being a bit more resistant to the words of an older coach? Maybe he’ll write a book one day
Searage was very good at “reconstructing” pitchers.
The Pirate philosophy on young pitchers seems to have been one size fits all no matter what their skills were.
Cole was a fine pitcher with the Pirates,but he thought that he was underpaid,and did have a couple of ailments over his five years.
Morton was a good pitcher,but it seems that he was often hurt.
Glasgow benefitted from having a new good development system,but,of course,he is usually hurt too,
Sometimes just the matter of a trade enlightens these pitchers and reinforces what the Pirates may or may not have tried to teach them.
But it also takes time for almost all young pitchers to start “getting it”.
The better pitching development staffs seem to be able to minimize that time and maximize the number of good pitchers that they develop.
It always struck me that in the cases of Cole and Glasnow, coaches in Houston and TB respectively we’re able to get in their heads about continually trying to blow the ball by hitters low and on the outside corner. In Cole’s case especially, the addition of good off speed pitches made him a top pitcher
Morton’s refinement of spin pitches has been otherworldly, as well
It’s like these guys who’ve left—and that includes Taillon, at times—learned *how* to pitch by going elsewhere
To me, Searage was a guy who could spot and remediate mechanical problems
Making room for those FA SP’s that BC will be signing in…February after all the desirable ones have signed elsewhere.
A Pirates GM better learn how to dumpster dive when working for the most risk adverse Owner in MLB.
Exactly, Scott!
I have no faith that Cherington will make any significant changes to this roster next week during the Winter Meetings, and instead, sign has beens to be invited to spring training with the potential of making the major league roster.
Thus far his single roster move has been signing an outfielder to a minor league contract.
But ticket sales were announced yesterday with the time changes of home games.
Before I spend a dime on a ticket, I would want to know what I’m paying for, a concept that seems to be lost on management
What is your deal with whining about ticket sales? Most every team offers tickets about this time, months before teams are finalized.
If you don’t want to buy a ticket before you grant the GM your approval for the finalized roster is constructed, that is your right. But it’s a bit melodramatic to complain at this point.
Did you not read my explanation?
Selling tickets for an unfinished product considering the lack of pitching depth on the team
I can’t imagine forking over my money for an unfinished product and management should be embarrassed that fans feel like they’re being duped into believing this team will be competitive this year
You seem like an intelligent person, why does this not concern you?
Do you pay for things unseen? That’s what they are asking fans to do
I pay for many things without seeing the finished product. Every time I order from Amazon, when I order food, every time I buy a ticket to a theme park, I don’t know if my favorite ride will be operational or if it has a line so long I can’t get to it, etc.
Another thing… a MLB roster is never really “set” as you seem to suggest. Trades, injuries, signings, call-ups occur for most of the season. At what point last season were the Pirates a finished product? Opening day? Was it when Henry Davis was called up? Did you demand a refund when Cruz or Vazquez went down with injuries for the year? Did you burn your remaining when Santana and Hill were traded?
I’m a Pirates fan. I’ll root for the guys wearing the black and yellow without an arbitrary litmus test.
LOL! This is the way the BB world works. Ticket commitments start probably in September, Past that, two comments:
1-I know how much they are going to spend. If you are waiting for some huge signings, you should probably move on.
2-If, like most Pirate fans, you know you will have a small payroll, then I can only assume that you will only buy tickets if you approve of their acquisitions, which is strange.
3-Just out of curiosity, how often did you go last year?
The Pirates ticket office always seemed to be full of bright-eyed, bushy-tail types that likely work on commission. Their mission isn’t to delve into the nuts and bolts of the roster or to prognosticate on wins and losses.
I dunno. Seems like a department that is completely separate from the concerns here. What do I know? They’ve been selling me ticket packages since the Three Rivers days
Everyday I check this site to see if the Pirates have signed anyone worthwhile and all I see are other teams improving their clubs.
I’m with you. I believe they will increase their payroll between 30 to 40 million. Stands at 54 now. Hopefully they do something soon
Stastica.com published the revenue and payroll figures from 2022
Their revenue was $262 million dollars and their payroll was $81 million
Sorry that I don’t buy their claims of not having available money to speak to improve the team
Well, there are 29 other teams and most of them spend more. You’ll mostly see news not about the Pirates around here.
The Pittsburgh Post Gazette reports that there’s questions surrounding whether Cherington will make any significant trades or free agent signings since it’s been very quiet from the Pirates camp
It will either be an interesting week at the Winter meetings or a disappointment to fans hoping for something different
Just about every team has already signed pitchers to minor league deals, by the time Ben gets around to it; he’ll be picking from the bottom of the barrel
Look I’m a suffering Bucco fan like the rest of us, but who are we legitimately going to get? The one delusion I’ve allowed myself is Rhys Hoskins and I’ll be annoyed when we don’t pony up for him and sign some combo of Rowdy Tellez/Dom Smith.
We weren’t going to get any of the top end, nor mid tier pitchers. We will get 1 year bounce back candidates that we can hopefully flip at the deadline, but that will be after everyone else grabs the top talent and pilfers the mid talent after missing out on the top talent.
I assume most fans are rational like you, but it is still good to hear someone that understands there isn’t going to be a huge amount of spending.
FWIW, I like Hoskins a lot for you, but mostly if you get a 2nd option year(s).
Joe- Hoskins is a mistake waiting to happen at first base.His power would not play as well in Pittsburgh.Plus he would not bat against Pirates pitching anymore.
That being said he hit the hardest ball about five years ago when I was at the Phillies stadium that I have ever seen hit in my 61 years of attending baseball games.It reached the left field seats in about three seconds,a line drive.It was against the Pirates.
Klentak and Kepler moved him to left field a few years ago.That is enough said about them.
That’s unlikely. If he comes here, it’s on a “prove it” one year contract to reestablish his value.
To borrow from Brewster’s Millions: Vote None of the Above. I don’t think Hoskins’ power plays as much at PNC, and he’d have more than his share of cringe-worthy defensive mishaps at 1B. Tellez would be marginally better defensively and marginally worse offensively. If it comes down to one of them or spending more on pitching, I’d rather have the pitching – even if they just throw numbers at the problem and hope for a couple of hits. Hoskins is not going to radically improve the offense enough to make up for the shortfall in pitching, IMO.
I feel like they could snag Jared Walsh as a 1-yr bounce back guy for practically peanuts. He’s not as exciting as Hoskins, but could be a good partner with Triolo and could consult with Sidney Crosby about post-concussion symptoms (somewhat kidding). Almost no risk there, and if you get 2021 Walsh or even something resembling that player, it’s a huge win for both him and the team. He’d get home a few times a year (he’s from the Milwaukee area) on top of getting playing time to rebuild his value. Also has some time in the grass, he could play RF in a pinch.
I have said this in other threads but since I firmly believe it, I’ll re-state. I think that the Pirates felt their “five year plan” was right on target where their young core was concerned. Not perfect yet but between maturation and some tweaking, they could compete
Then injuries took hold. Cruz was one thing, but the three starters with major surgeries was another. Oviedo was the last straw
I may be wrong but I’m betting they look at ‘24 now as a year for their core players do mature, get stronger and healthier while the combination of returning starters and maturation of young studs on the farm brings a plethora of starters by mid/late summer
I’ve always thought Nutting was much too conservative in spending but I could not fault him or the front office for wondering why they should spend on bigger contracted pitchers when their situation will likely change big time later this year
They need pitchers but I’m thinking bottom tier this off season, as they’ve done the past few seasons
And as for 1st base, here’s hoping they give Triolo and Davis a long look their in spring.
Mister-I think that losing Oviedo was one of the last straws but the other is the intense competition for starting pitchers.I doubt that BC is going to get one for close to the amount of money that they have paid over the last three years for decent pitchers.
But just look at Keller.Is he the stud after five years that the Pirates have been touting?We do not know for sure.
Hopefully Gelles can do something to improve the development of these young players..Maybe she is smart enough to know that major changes need to be done.They have many young pitchers that some have high hopes for.
Other than Skenes I doubt that there are any Spencer Striders here.If there are a dozen prospects there will be six failures and three TJ surgeries.That means three who could become decent to good ML pitchers.
I hope that I am proven wrong but Pirate fans will need to understand,probably after the Winter Meetings,that 2024 is going to be another year of rebuilding.
Agree 100% with all of your thoughts here. Interesting to me that we tend to focus on a few “young studs” at the farm level when better organizations like the Braves likely have large numbers of similar arms at every level
In this way, the player development department with the Pirates can’t share the blame alone. For a number of years, the Pirates simply didn’t use upper draft picks on pitchers for whatever reason
That said, you hope that the guys who are frequently mentioned, like Skenes,Jones, Solometo and Chandler not only pan out but avoid seriously injury
You’re right about Keller and those periods in which he gets shelled are troubling. Fastballs dead red. Breaking pitches that he has no control over….will the real Mitch stand up?
Ortiz. Priester. Young guys who the jury is still out on
Yeah, maybe I’ll think differently after meetings week but I believe they intend to tread water this year and simply wait for everything to come together at the end of summer
I’m not especially sad about this move. Out of all of the players on the team, he was the only one who consistently left my kids disappointed at their interactions with him. I get having a bad day or other things occupying your mind once or maybe twice; he was never smiling, rarely would do autographs for any kid, would ignore kids yelling for him and when he did autograph stuff, he never talked to any kid.
My kids could tell you fun stories about every pitcher in that bullpen, and none of them would include Thomas Hatch. It would be different, I guess, if he was lights out every outing, but if you’re a pretty marginal pitcher who’s on the roster because you know the GM, at least make an effort to be likable.
Pundit-Interesting take on Hatch from someone with kids who literally is putting his money where his mouth is.
I thought that he would have been gone with Bido but BC definitely has favorites.I thought that Hatch was serviceable as a good AAAA pitcher,one who would have almost become a #4 if starting for the current Pirate team.
I do think it telling though what his consistent poor attitude seems to be.While some HOF pitchers may have had that attitude it seems to point out that he is not a happy camper which I think can inhibit growth in any endeavor.
I dunno. My dad went to his grave thinking Clemente was the same way in walking by my young brother at Forbes Field on a couple occasions while saying, “I no sign autographs today”
And Stargell had his days, too, and I could relate from personal experience there
Point is, these guys are human beings. Talk to another fan and get another opinion.
That’s some good insight, sounds like a Colin Moran personality. I don’t think anyone will miss him in Pirates bullpen.
While worth reporting because that is the goal of this site, this is a nothing burger even for the Pirates.
Just a way for trolls to troll and jokes to be had.
Want bad jokes that take us back to the 1940’s? Check out the article and thread about the Pirates having the audacity to hire a woman as assistant GM. Hope some of those folks don’t have daughters