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The Other Chris Archer Trades

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Pirates right-hander Chris Archer has been among the most prominent major leaguers in the news this week. Archer just underwent thoracic outlet syndrome surgery, meaning he won’t pitch until at least 2021. It also means his tenure could be done in Pittsburgh, which will have to decide between an $11MM club option and a $250K buyout next winter.

Archer’s surgery came as the latest disastrous development during his time with the Pirates, who made an ill-fated trade with the Rays to acquire him in July 2018. For the sake of Pirates fans, who have witnessed Archer struggle mightily in their favorite team’s uniform and have seen two of the players their club gave up flourish as Rays, we’re not going to recap that trade for the umpteenth time. But we are going to look back at other trades involving Archer. Long before he became a Pirate, Archer was part of a couple other notable deals.

First off, Archer entered the pros as a 17-year-old and a fifth-round pick of the Indians in 2006. Archer struggled to prevent runs as part of the Indians’ system through 2008, and after that season, the club traded him, righty Jeff Stevens and lefty John Gaub to the Cubs for infielder/outfielder Mark DeRosa. Cleveland didn’t get a full season out of DeRosa, whom the team flipped to the Cardinals in June 2009 after he batted a solid .270/.342/.457 in 314 plate appearances and 71 games as an Indian.

What of the Cubs’ return for DeRosa? Stevens combined for 37 1/3 innings of 6.27 ERA ball as a Cub from 2009-11. Gaub made even less of an impact in Chicago, with which he threw the only 2 2/3 innings of his career in 2011. Archer never appeared in the majors with the organization, but he turned around his fortunes as a Cubs minor leaguer and began cracking top 100 prospects lists as a member of the franchise. Still, that wasn’t enough for the Cubs to keep him.

After the 2010 season, when Archer topped out as Baseball America’s 27th-best prospect, the Cubs dealt him to the Rays in a blockbuster. Along with Archer, the Cubs surrendered shortstop prospect Hak-Ju Lee, catcher Robinson Chirinos, and outfielders Sam Fuld and Brandon Guyer for righty Matt Garza, outfielder Fernando Perez and lefty Zac Rosscup.

The Cubs got nothing from Perez, who never appeared in the majors with them, and very little from Rosscup (he posted a 5.32 ERA over 47 1/3 frames and parts of four seasons in their uniform). On the other hand, Garza was effective in Chicago from 2011-13. Though the team failed to push for the playoffs during that stretch, Garza turned in 372 2/3 innings of 3.45 ERA pitching with 8.6 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9. However, as a non-contender in July 2013, Chicago sent Garza – a soon-to-be free agent – to Texas for third baseman Mike Olt and the righty trio of Carl Edwards Jr., Justin Grimm and Neil Ramirez.

As for the Rays’ return, Lee never made it to MLB, even though he was a highly regarded prospect in his younger days. He’s now playing with the Samsung Lions of the Korea Baseball Organization. Chirinos has evolved into a fine offensive catcher, though he only took 60 plate appearances with the Rays in 2011 before they traded him to the Rangers two years later. Fuld played from 2011-13 in Tampa Bay, where he batted .230/.301/.326 in 653 attempts. Guyer appeared with the Rays in parts of four seasons from ’11-15 and slashed .255/.341/.396 over 978 PA.

While none of Lee, Chirinos, Fuld or Guyer offered especially valuable production as Rays, Archer thrived. He piled up 177 starts and amassed 1,063 innings of 3.69 ERA/3.48 FIP ball with 9.7 K/9 and 2.94 BB/9 as part of the team from 2011-18, during which he earned two All-Star nods and signed the six-year, $25.5MM extension he’s still playing under.

Many have been tough on Archer on account of what has been a rough run in Pittsburgh, but he’s the same player who once made the Rays look like geniuses for adding him. That makes his recent fall from grace all the more surprising, and it’s anyone’s guess whether a rebound will be in store in the wake of TOS surgery.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

A Bad Trade Gets Even Worse

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Neither the Pirates nor their long-suffering fans needed more unfortunate news Wednesday, but they received some centering on one of the team’s most prominent players. The club announced that right-hander Chris Archer underwent the dreaded thoracic outlet syndrome surgery on Tuesday, meaning he won’t play in 2020 if there is a season.

While the team believes Archer will be ready to return in 2021, it’s very much up in the air whether he will pitch for the Pirates again. The club does have Archer’s rights for ’21 by way of an option worth $11MM, but it could choose to buy him out instead for a relatively paltry $250K. In light of the surgery – not to mention the money the low-budget Pirates would save (which could be all the more important for them in these uncertain economic times) and Archer’s uninspiring production in their uniform – it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Bucs cut ties with him in a few months.

It’s well known by now to everyone who closely follows the majors, but here’s yet another reminder: Archer joined Pittsburgh in a 2018 trade with the Rays that looked like one of the worst in Pirates history even before Wednesday’s developments. The Pirates and then-general manager Neal Huntington thought they were acquiring a front-end, reasonably priced starter in Archer, who was then 29 and someone who had recorded a 3.69 ERA/3.48 FIP with more than a strikeout per inning in 1,063 frames as a Ray. Since Archer got to Pittsburgh, though, his run prevention has gone in the tank. While he has struck out almost 11 batters per nine, he has also logged a less-than-stellar 4.92 ERA/4.71 FIP over 172 innings as a Pirate.

The Rays, for their part, are no doubt pleased with their end of the trade. They came away with outfielder Austin Meadows and righty Tyler Glasnow, who were promising prospects as Pirates and who have since proven their worth in the majors. The 25-year-old Meadows was a 4.0-fWAR player with 33 home runs a season ago. Glasnow missed a substantial amount of time with injuries in 2019, but the towering 26-year-old was a force during the 60 2/3 innings he did accrue, as he owned hitters with a 1.78 ERA/2.26 FIP, 11.27 K/9 against 2.08 BB/9, and a 50.4 percent groundball rate.

Now more than ever before, it appears the Pirates are going to rue making this deal. So, perhaps they’ll regard it as a sunk cost and decline Archer’s option when the time comes, especially considering new GM Ben Cherington has no connection to the trade that brought the hurler to the Steel City. As you’d expect, though, Cherington suggested Wednesday he hasn’t closed the door on retaining Archer.

“We won’t have games to evaluate, but there will be other information that we have at that time that we don’t have now,” Cherington told Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “We want to take all the time we possibly can until we have no time remaining, and then make the best decision we can at that time.”

Cherington would probably like to at least get something for Archer in a trade, but that may be impossible to ask now that he’s coming off TOS surgery. Regardless, do you think Archer is done as a Pirate?

(Poll link for app users)

Chris Archer Undergoes Thoracic Outlet Surgery

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The Pirates announced Wednesday that right-hander Chris Archer underwent surgery yesterday to relieve symptoms of thoracic outlet syndrome. The surprising, out-of-the-blue announcement rules Archer out for any games that are played in 2020. He’s expected to be ready for full competition in 2021, per the team’s press release, although his future with the club is far from certain at this point. The Pirates hold an $11MM club option ($250K buyout) over Archer for the 2021 season. The decision to undergo surgery came after “consulting with several leading vascular and orthopedic surgeons in recent weeks,” according to the Pirates.

The track record of pitchers coming back from TOS surgery, which typically involves the removal (or partial removal) of a rib in order to alleviate pressure on nerves in the shoulder/armpit area, is rather poor overall. Matt Harvey, Tyler Thornburg, Tyson Ross, Nate Karns, Matt Harrison, Carter Capps, Andrew Triggs and Kyle Zimmer are among the players to have undergone the surgery in recent years. None of that bunch has found much success upon returning. That said, recently retired righty Chris Young attributed TOS surgery to salvaging his career, and we’ve seen other success stories in Chris Carpenter, Jaime Garcia and Clayton Richard. It’s not an insurmountable hill to climb, but a TOS procedure is one of the more ominous arm operations a pitcher can undergo.

The revelation of a TOS diagnosis goes a long way toward explaining some of Archer’s recent struggles. From 2013-17, the righty pitched to a 3.60 ERA (3.45 FIP) with 9.7 K/9 against 2.9 BB/9 in a hitter-friendly American League East division. His numbers dipped a bit in 2018 but were generally serviceable. In 2019, however, Archer was lit up for a 5.19 ERA (5.02 FIP) with career-worst marks in BB/9 (4.1) and HR/9 (1.9). In retrospect, Archer’s 2019 season did end about a month early due to shoulder discomfort, and he was slowed by neck pain this spring prior to the league shutdown. However, while those symptoms are present in most TOS cases, most instances of neck/shoulder discomfort for pitchers don’t result in a TOS diagnosis.

Rather, much of the reason for Archer’s struggles in Pittsburgh were previously believed to have been due to the organization’s push to use a two-seamer/sinker that simply wasn’t an effective pitch for the right-hander. Archer had scrapped the two-seamer years prior, but the since-dismissed Pirates regime had a pitching philosophy that focused on incorporating sinkers into a pitcher’s repertoire. Archer finally jettisoned the pitch this past June and saw his strikeout and walk percentages immediately trend in positive directions, even though he continued to be unusually homer-prone (an issue that plagued many pitchers in last year’s juiced-ball season). The significant K-BB% gain was one of several reasons I profiled Archer as a rebound candidate back in March, but it’s now clear that there were more concerning causes for his struggles.

The generally poor track record of pitchers returning from TOS surgery presents the perennially low-spending Pirates with a particularly difficult decision this offseason. With teams losing enormous revenue amid the pandemic shutdown, it’s widely expected that free agents and arbitration-eligible players will feel the effects of those losses. Many in the game expect a depressed free-agent market and a spike in the number of non-tendered players. Archer’s club option is a net $10.75MM decision for the Pirates — a figure that represents nearly 18 percent of their would-be $60.7MM payroll in 2020. On the surface, it’s immensely hard to see owner Bob Nutting green-lighting such a commitment.

At the same time, the Pirates gave up Tyler Glasnow, Austin Meadows and prospect Shane Baz to acquire Archer in a trade that now looks to be among the most regrettable swaps in franchise history. It’d be understandable if the club sought one final bite at the apple, so to speak, in hopes of a rebound that could help salvage some value from that deal, be it in the form of a quality performance from Archer or a summer 2021 trade that recouped some prospect capital.

Ownership and the new front-office regime, headed by GM Ben Cherington, will have several months to decide, but it’s certainly plausible that Archer has pitched his final game as a Pirate.

 

Which 15 Players Should The Pirates Protect In An Expansion Draft?

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In a few weeks, we’ll be running a two-team mock expansion draft here at MLBTR – just for the fun of it!  Currently, we’re creating 15-player protected lists for each of the existing 30 teams.  You can catch up on the rules for player eligibility here.

The American League results are in!  Click here to see who’s protected and who’s available for each AL team.

So far, we’ve covered the Brewers, Reds, Cubs, Diamondbacks, Rockies, Dodgers, Padres, Giants, Rangers, Mariners, Athletics, Angels, Astros, Twins, Royals, Tigers, Indians, White Sox, Rays, Yankees, Red Sox, Blue Jays and Orioles.  The Pirates are up next.

First, we’ll remove free agents Jarrod Dyson and Keone Kela from consideration.  Chris Archer and Gregory Polanco each have an $11MM club option for 2021.  Polanco also has options for ’22 and ’23.  We’ll leave the decision on whether to protect Archer and Polanco up to you.

Ke’Bryan Hayes will make the list as a Baseball America Top 100 prospect with a 2020 ETA.  Here’s the list of eight total players we’ll protect out of the gate:

Ke’Bryan Hayes
Jameson Taillon
Adam Frazier
Joe Musgrove
Josh Bell
Kevin Newman
Bryan Reynolds
Mitch Keller

That leaves seven spots for the following 27 players.  Click here to read up on the Pirates’ contract statuses and team control.

Chris Archer
Steven Brault
Nick Burdi
Kyle Crick
Michael Feliz
Erik Gonzalez
Geoff Hartlieb
Guillermo Heredia
Clay Holmes
Sam Howard
Kevin Kramer
Chad Kuhl
Luke Maile
Jason Martin
Colin Moran
Dovydas Neverauskas
Jose Osuna
Gregory Polanco
Pablo Reyes
JT Riddle
Yacksel Rios
Richard Rodriguez
Edgar Santana
Jacob Stallings
Chris Stratton
Cole Tucker
Trevor Williams

With that, we turn it over to the MLBTR readership! In the poll below (direct link here), select exactly seven players you think the Pirates should protect in our upcoming mock expansion draft.  Click here to view the results.

Create your own user feedback survey

KBO Issues One-Year Suspension To Jung Ho Kang For Prior DUI Arrests

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May 26: Kang has pledged to donate his salary to charity should he sign with a KBO club, Yoo reports today.

May 25: The Korea Baseball Organization has reached a ruling regarding infielder Jung Ho Kang, who starred for the KBO’s Nexen (now Kiwoom) Heroes and spent parts of four years with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Kang, who seeks reinstatement following a trio of DUI arrests, will be suspended for one year and will also be required to perform 300 hours of community service, Jee-ho Yoo of South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency reports.

Kang, 33, faced a ban of up to three years under the KBO’s stringent policies surrounding DUIs. However, his lawyers argued that because the latest policy was implemented in 2018 and Kang’s most recent arrest came in 2016 (when he was playing with the Pirates and thus not even in the KBO), he should not face a maximum penalty.  Yoo noted last week that something along the lines of 90 games could be considered were Kang only punished for two of his DUI arrests, and the actual ban lies somewhere in between those two potential outcomes.

The suspension for Kang won’t come into effect until he signs with a club. When or if that takes place is a bit complicated given that his former team still holds his rights. Kang would either need the Heroes’ permission to sign with another team or would need the organization to reinstate him from the “voluntarily retired” list, where he was placed when he was first posted for MLB clubs back in 2014.

Kang’s most recent DUI scandal brought about a swift downfall for a player who looked every bit the part of a productive Major Leaguer. After spending seven seasons with the Heroes and peaking with an outrageous .356/.459/.739 batting line as a 27-year-old back in 2014, Kang was posted for MLB teams and landed with the Pirates on a four-year, $11MM contract. He finished third in NL Rookie of the Year voting in 2015 and was well on his way solidifying himself as a quality regular from 2015-16, batting a combined .273/.355/.483 (126 OPS+, 129 wRC+) with 36 home runs, 43 doubles, two triples, eight steals and respectable defensive marks at both third base and shortstop.

That third DUI arrest, though, prevented Kang from securing his work visa and eventually caused him to miss the entire 2017 season as well as much of the 2018 campaign. He returned to the Pirates on a one-year pact last season but turned in a ghastly .169/.222/.395. His strikeout rate exploded from 21 percent in 2015-16 to more than 32 percent last season as his defensive grades plummeted.

Kang was worth about six wins above replacement in his first two big league seasons despite only appearing in 229 games and taking 837 plate appearances. It’s easy to imagine another world where he would’ve settled in as the Pirates’ regular third baseman. Given what was an affordable contract and a seemingly productive trajectory on a losing club, he might well have even emerged as a viable trade chip for the former front office regime.

Instead, while Kang may yet be granted one more chapter in his baseball career (depending on the Heroes’ action and interest from others in the KBO), he’ll go down as a “what might’ve been” case.

Latest On MLB Teams’ Plans For Employees

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A variety of MLB teams have already revealed plans for the year for non-player employees. Some have instituted furloughs and/or pay cuts while others have committed to carry employees through the fall. Still other teams are taking things on a month-to-month basis, with several revealing their latest plans in recent days.

At least three teams have decided to continue paying employees in full through at least the end of June. The Cardinals are one such team, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports on Twitter. The Twins are also in that camp, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com tweets. And the White Sox are adjusting work hours but not take-home pay, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (via Twitter).

Elsewhere in the central divisions, there were some cuts. The Cubs are keeping their full slate of employees at full-time capacity, but are instituting some salary reductions, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reported on Twitter. And though the Pirates will not draw down their baseball operations staff, they will reduce pay in that arena while furloughing some business employees, as Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

Out west, the Giants will retain their entire full-time staff but will be trimming pay for those earning over $75K, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Part-timers have been furloughed.

The Astros have committed to maintaining full pay and benefits for full-time employees, but only through June 5th, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports. Whether some action could occur beyond that point remains to be seen. The Orioles are also still in flux, but the organization appears to be leaning towards keeping staff as usual through June, per Dan Connolly of The Athletic (via Twitter).

Universal DH Should Push Pirates To Make A Change At Third Base

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As we’ve run through various National League clubs and how they might handle the likely implementation of the universal designated hitter, a common theme has been that many of the league’s better clubs have ample depth that will allow them to piece together a solid DH rotation — even if there isn’t one dedicated masher to whom those at-bats would go.

That’s not the case in Pittsburgh, where a thin roster without much offensive upside is lacking in terms of serviceable DH options. A look at the Pirates’ projected bench at Roster Resource reveals catcher Luke Maile and a series of utility types including JT Riddle, Erik Gonzalez, Jose Osuna and Guillermo Heredia. None of that quintet has been anywhere close to a league-average hitter in his career. Osuna’s career 86 wRC+ leads the pack, and he’s the only one of the bunch who has even managed a .400 slugging percentage (.439). Heredia, meanwhile, is the only one with a career OBP above .300.

However, that doesn’t mean that a universal DH spot wouldn’t give Buccos fans something to watch. The Pirates reportedly explored a possible extension for top prospect Ke’Bryan Hayes earlier this year. There’s already been some thought about a 2020 debut, and with an uncertain minor league climate at the moment, it makes sense to plug Hayes into the lineup if the MLB season is indeed able to get underway.

Hayes shouldn’t see much (or any) time at DH himself, to be clear. He’s regarded as one of the game’s premier defensive prospects, and it just so happens that at his position, third base, the Pirates are in need of an upgrade. Colin Moran turned in an astonishing -21 Defensive Runs Saved, a -8.8 Ultimate Zone Rating and -6 Outs Above Average in just 882 frames at the hot corner. Hayes, on the other hand, received a 65 (on the 20-80 scale) for his defense in MLB.com’s scouting report and a future 70 over at FanGraphs.

Moran would give the Bucs a reasonably competent bat to install at DH. He’s not a prolific slugger, but the lefty’s career 103 wRC+ against right-handers represents a markedly better option than the previously projected bench bats.

Might the Pirates have other options down on the farm? Will Craig, a 2016 first-rounder, had a down year in Triple-A. The first baseman’s right-handed bat would make a natural pairing with Moran, assuming last year’s poor showing against left-handed pitching was more an aberration than the beginning of a downward trend. If Craig is able to bounce back at the plate, perhaps the club would consider giving Josh Bell additional time at DH and playing Craig in the field. Bell rates poorly from a defensive standpoint.

Shortstop Oneil Cruz — whom many project to move to the outfield eventually — receives huge grades on his raw power but has yet to see it manifest in games. He hasn’t played above Double-A yet. Would the Pirates consider bringing him to the big leagues if there are no minor league games played? He’s already on the 40-man roster.. Cole Tucker made his MLB debut in 2019, and while the shortstop is too good a fielder to be considered a primary DH, he’s blocked up the middle by Kevin Newman and Adam Frazier at the moment. The added DH spot could help him get a few more at-bats in the big leagues.

It seems unlikely that the Bucs would go outside the organization unless it’s a very cost-efficient pickup, but even if they stick with what they have, the added DH slot should open the door for some promising youngsters to get their feet wet in the Majors.

Kevin Kramer Undergoes Hip Surgery

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Pirates utilityman Kevin Kramer will be sidelined for a lengthy stretch after undergoing surgery on his right hip, per a club announcement. MLB.com’s Adam Berry was among those to convey the news on Twitter.

The Bucs anticipate a rehabilitation timeline of four to six months, which means Kramer will almost certainly not be a part of the team’s 2020 short-season roster. He’ll get to work rehabbing in hopes of being ready for a full Spring Training next year.

The labral repair procedure was conducted “to address recent and chronic symptoms,” per the team. Kramer had not been able to train in anticipation of a resumption of play.

Kramer had been competing in camp for a bench job with the Pirates. Before the pandemic shutdown, he had appeared in 11 Spring Training contests.

A 2015 second-round draft pick, Kramer has received sporadic MLB opportunities over the past two seasons. He has struggled to a cumulative .152/.222/.165 batting line in ninety plate appearances. Kramer has had more success in the upper minors, though last year’s .260/.335/.417 output at Triple-A represented a step back after a strong 2018 showing.

Three Teams Who’ve Yet To Win Their Division

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It is somewhat amazing that there are three National League teams – one each for the West, East, and Central – that have yet to win their division.

Make no mistake, the American League has its share of heartbreak. The Mariners have yet to return to the playoffs after their 116-win season in 2001. The Rangers are far away as ever from capturing their first World Series after the so-close-you-can-taste-it near-misses of 2010 and 2011. Fans of the Astros and Red Sox have suffered different brands of heartbreak after the legitimacy of their recent winners was called into question. 

But in the National League, the Rockies, Marlins, and Pirates have never won their respective divisions.

Granted, the Pirates were crowned champs of the National League East 9 times, including a three-peat for Jim Leyland’s clubs from 1990 to 1992 and a title-winner way back in 1979 – but since they moved to the NL Central in 1994: goose eggs. That’s a 26-year-run without a divisional crown, a mark of futility eclipsed only by the Rockies and Marlins. Colorado and Florida both entered the league in 1993, and neither has landed the top spot in their division in the 27 seasons since. 

Back in the junior circuit, every team in the AL East has won since 2010 (Tampa Bay). In the Central, the White Sox have the longest drought (11 seasons), going back to their first-place finish in 2008. Everyone in the AL West has taken their turn at the top since 2012 – except the Mariners, of course, who won the division in 2001 and 1997.

But each division in the National League has its slow-and-steady competitor, so let’s take a quick look at each.

Colorado Rockies

Of these three clubs, the Rockies’ reputation took the fewest hits over the last 27 years. The Blake Street Bombers hold a particular place in baseball lore, and there’s a general sense of “unfortunate circumstances” around the Rox because of the thin air in Colorado. The impossibility of housing a winning pitching staff at Coors Field is baseball cliche now, but that doesn’t make the challenge any less potent.

Here’s what I wrote of Colorado in their Offseason In Review post back in March: “Colorado pitching, after all, has proven one of the more frustrating team-building challenges in the major leagues. The Sisyphean task of constructing even a league-average pitching staff at Coors Field persists year-after-year. Over the course of their 27-season history, the Rockies posted a league-average or better team ERA just three times (2010, 2009, 2007). In 2010, Jim Tracy’s 83-win squad finished with an exactly-league-average ERA, but those other two seasons — 2009, 2007 — happen to be two of the only three seasons in which the Rockies won 90 games in their history.”

Adding to the task at hand for Colorado, there’s at least a possibility that ownership believes this team is better than it is. They lost 91 games last year and have exhibited zero financial flexibility. If they end up losing close to 90 games again (or the equivalent in whatever kind of season is played in 2020), then the Rockies are still probably in the decline phase, not yet having rebooted into a full-blown rebuild. Rebuilds, of course, are time-intensive when done right, and very time-intensive when rushed.

The Rockies have made the postseason a handful of times, and they won the pennant in 2007, but they’re caught in no-man’s-land now. The Dodgers have won the division 7 years running, and Walker Buehler, Cody Bellinger, and company have plenty left in the tank. The Padres’ stable of young arms makes them one of the more intriguing up-and-coming teams in the league, and the Diamondbacks continue to impress with their ability to retool on the fly. After coming within a play-in game of taking the crown from the Dodgers in 2018, the Rockies might have missed their best shot.

Miami Marlins

The Marlins entered the league at a tough time to be a member of the NL East. The Atlanta Braves held a hammerlock on the division, taking the crown every season from 1995 until 2005 (they were in the NL West before that). To their credit, the Marlins made themselves into a competitive squad pretty quick, making the playoffs as a wild card in 1997, just their fifth season of existence. The organization made its name the year after, however, in selling off the pieces of their World Series winner and cratering into a 108-loss squad. After that horrid 1998 season, it took the Marlins five more years to get back to the playoffs again, at which point it was second-verse-same-as-the-first. They didn’t sink quite so fast or quite so far the second time around, but they also haven’t recovered (no playoff appearances since 2003).

That said, the Marlins have begun to see the light from their decade-plus in limbo. MLBTR’s own Mark Polishuk wrapped up the Marlins offseason back in March with this: “It’s a sign of progress, however, that the scorched-earth phase of the rebuild seems to be over.  Villar, Kintzler, or other veterans on short-term deals could well end up being moved at the trade deadline, but it doesn’t seem like younger talent is on the move…Miami seems ready to find out if the young players it already has in the fold could end up being part of that next Marlins winner, and it will be intriguing to see which of the pitchers and position players take that next step in 2020.”

The current era of Marlins baseball is best known for shepherding the likes of Giancarlo Stanton, Christian Yelich, and Marcell Ozuna out of town prior to the 2018 season. But they’re also a unique entrant on this mini-list because they won not just one, but two World Series titles over this span. Derek Jeter now helms the organization, and though they don’t have that face-of-the-franchise type player soaking up their spotlight, they’ve become increasingly competitive. Heading into whichever season of baseball comes next, they’ll have a decent collection of starting pitchers to keep them in games – with a smaller host of position player prospects nearing the majors. Whether they have that franchise-changing talent in the upper ranks is unclear. Business might not yet be booming in Miami, but it’s better. 

Pittsburgh Pirates

As stated above, it’s a bit unfair for the Pirates to be lumped in with the expansion clubs from the nineties, as they do have a history of success in the major leagues. They have 9 division crowns, 7 World Series appearances, and 5 World Series banners. But that’s all ancient history.

Since moving to the NL Central in 1994, the Pirates are a firm contender for the most moribund franchise in the sport. The departure of Barry Bonds after the 1992 season put an unfortunate face on their decline – much in the way that Babe Ruth’s departure doomed Boston baseball for so long – but there has been ample time to rebound from those back-to-back game 7 losses to Atlanta in 1991 and 1992.

In the time since the Pirates’ primary distinction is claiming the title for the longest streak of losing seasons in North American sports history. Forget about division titles. The Pirates weren’t able to finish over .500 one time from 1993 to 2012.

Pittsburgh fans finally had something to cheer for in 2013 when Clint Hurdle’s club broke through with 94 wins and a wild card berth. They even won that first playoff game against the division rival Cincinnati Reds and pushed another rival – the Cardinals – to five games in the NLDS. The club followed its star outfield of Andrew McCutchen, Starling Marte, and Gregory Polanco to two more wild card berths in the following two seasons. Unfortunately, they were unable to get more than one playoff game in either of those years.

After finishing over .500 again in 2018, last season brought on a complete reset. Most of the organizations’ management turned over, and the remaining faces of those competitive clubs – Hurdle, Marte – were also sent packing. The organization is now in the hands of GM Ben Cherington, but they’re facing a complete philosophical overhaul. While they have talent, they’re not an easy club to put a timeline on returning to contention. Not until they put together a pitching staff with a more effective (and less pugilistic) philosophy. The division isn’t dominated by one team like the current AL West, but the Cardinals build a winner year after year, and the Cubs and Brewers aren’t far off in terms of their recent consistency.

Looking ahead, a shortened season in 2020 could open the window for a bizarre sort of division champ. All hope is not lost. On the whole, however, I don’t think there are a lot of pundits who would pick any of the Rockies, Marlins, or Pirates to breakthrough next season. Still, it’s bound to happen one day, right? All three teams will work to end their respective droughts, and in the meantime, thank goodness for the wild card.

(Poll link for app users.)

(Poll link for app users.)

 

When The Pirates Almost Traded Barry Bonds To The Braves

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  • Barry Bonds in a Braves uniform?  Atlanta’s failed attempt to land the superstar prior to the 1992 season has long been the subject of regret for Braves fans, though as The Athletic’s David O’Brien notes, some of the long-held beliefs about the trade may be inaccurate.  For instance, former Braves GM John Schuerholz wrote in his book “Built To Win” that then-Pirates manager Jim Leyland strongly protested the idea of trading Bonds, which led Pittsburgh to back out of the deal.  However, Leyland tells O’Brien that he “would have never had the authority to nix a trade.  That would have never happened.”  Needless to say, the concept of Bonds being added to the 1992 Braves (a team that lost the World Series to the Blue Jays in six games) is a fascinating one, not to mention the wider-ranging impact on baseball history if Bonds had re-signed with Atlanta rather than join the Giants in free agency during the 1992-93 offseason.
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