1-7-24 – By Gary Morgan – @garymo2007 on X
The first thing to say about PiratesFest which took place yesterday 1/6/2024 at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center is really that is was a success. We all can nitpick, but by in large, everyone seemed to find something that got them going. My friends with kids, well, they didn’t like standing in line, but once the line was through, the players, coaches and staff made the kids feel special.
That’s really what matters most, but we know that’s also not all it is.
Let’s go over some of the news, notes and whatnot from the Pirates Mid Winter Classic.
Oneil Cruz is Healthy & Hungry
There has been this nagging worry about Oneil Cruz’ health, or ability to recover from his injury almost since it happened last April. Cruz himself joked “The only thing that I think have to prove to myself, and I did already a few months ago, was just how to slide again,” “And I did that in the Dominican during the rehab assignment down there, during games. I took that out of my check list, and I think I’m good now.”
In all seriousness though, He’s fine and the only reference to any potential slowdowns we should expect came from Ben Cherington in the Q&A when he mentioned that they planned no restrictions, but playing time to a degree must account for how he feels when he starts playing the demanding position of short stop.
And that’s really nugget number 2 here, he’s absolutely starting as and the team’s starting short stop.
On a personal note, I talked to Oneil for a moment, and he did a little jig for me to show the ankle worked. It was rehearsed, I saw him do it for 5-6 other people like it was a little routine and joke combo he had worked out.
Henry Davis is Really Working Hard Catching
Henry looks bigger, especially in his arms and shoulders. Something he would note is in an effort to increase his ability to put in the work he needs to in 2024 carrying a starter’s load behind the dish.
He was also very open with reporters about how hard he’s been working in Bradenton this Winter, specifically mentioned was the work he’s done with Quinn Priester who I’ll circle back to in the next point.
Another interesting nugget here was just how complimentary and seemingly excited Mitch Keller is about throwing to him and talked about the work they’ve put in to get on what he feels is now the same page.
The Pirates reiterated their intentions to play Henry at Catcher and insisted the Endy news came after they made this decision.
Bottom line, they think he can do this, regardless of what you think.
Very much sounded to me reading between the lines, the team thinks Jason Delay could win the starting job, and Henry seemed to allude to that possibility as well, but I don’t believe this would be a 5-2 split.
The Q&A Turned Out Great
The PR of the Q&A went poorly, but in application, it was really good. The Pirates took some pre screened questions and they chose some tough ones too, but more than that, they took live questions too, like, lots of them.
There were cheers for payroll questions, claps for comparisons to other teams spending, and even larger ranging questions about deferring money.
The representatives, Travis Williams, Ben Cherington and Derek Shelton all seemed more than comfortable no matter the subject.
Now, part of that is, you can ask whatever you want, but the truth is, they’re going to answer it however they like too. Any talk of payroll was met with the standard trappings, you know, we have to do this differently, or We’re spending more in development. They know how to answer all this stuff at this point.
They remain bullish on the belief they will compete for the division in 2024, and while I don’t see it, I have to acknowledge they’ve also said countless times they aren’t done and as Derek Shelton said best “We have to know our players better than other teams do” which is a really simplistic thing to say, but a quote that took me back because it’s really more of a GM thing to say.
Endy Playing Winter Ball, Not A Pirates Decision
The Question was basically how do you decide who can and can’t play in Winter Ball. Several journalists made a very big deal that the Pirates made a mistake allowing Endy to play but this answer really filled in some blanks I don’t believe I had heard before.
Bottom line, if you’re a native born player, they have little say in whether they can or can’t play, domestic players, it’s much more the team’s call.
Quinn Priester “Revamped How He Wants to Throw the Baseball”
This nugget came form Henry Davis while talking about his work at Pirates City in Bradenton. Quinn wasn’t available for reporters to follow up, but expect to see a different looking Priester as well this season. Physically, Quinn is bigger than I remember, especially in the legs.
Quinn is a tinkerer, always has been, probably a product of being largely self taught prior to being drafted. Some of his tweaks he’s eliminated because they haven’t helped, some he’s minimized other’s he’s taken with him. This time, he’s doing all of this under team supervision, and with a guy who just about everyone hopes is catching him for years to come.
Paul Skenes Wasn’t There
This isn’t news, lots of players weren’t there, but I do think there was a bit of an expectation on the part of the public that Paul Skenes the number one overall selection last season should, and would be at the event.
It of course had some people mad, others started conspiracy theories.
I’ve been told he was asked, but had conflicting plans so it was a no go.
Now, he was mentioned, Ben Cherington said flatly “I have no idea when Paul will pitch for the Pirates, honestly, I really don’t”.
To some I’m sure this is just cover for the Super 2 designation that they’ve been told to worry about, but in this case, man this guy hasn’t thrown many pitches as a pro, and if you watched them, you can’t possibly believe he’s just a straight from college player.
They’re not going to be risky here, and I’m quite sure that’s not going to change the inevitable. We’ll hear all the same whining to start him immediately regardless of just about anything he does that looks half way passible.
This is not a risk team. It hurts them on the trade and free agency boards. It hurts them on extension negotiations. And yes, it’s hurt them with calling up prospects. That said, I can make a pretty strong argument they called up Henry Davis too early last year, but they rushed him because the part of his game that looked ready was the bat, the very part they needed most.
It turned their prized rookie into a punchline for poor defense.
I could see them rushing Skenes for similar reasons. They need Starters, and top end starters. He’s probably gonna be one, and against AA and AAA hitters, he’ll likely look like he could be one before too long. Here’s hoping they pull the right levers and push the right buttons.
The Players Sound Different
I’ve heard the faux optimism of a knowingly underwhelming team before. You all have. You’ve seen it in interviews just about every Spring since probably 2019.
You know what I mean. You hear a guy like Austin Hedges talk eloquently about his role and how he thinks he’s found something that can unlock some of that freak power he had for one season.
You hear the “star” hitter work his ass off to compliment the carnage all around him and pretend he’s confident he’ll be up with the bases loaded 47 times this season.
You hear David Bednar pretend he’s not the only guy you can count on for 3 tough outs.
Well, this year, I’ll let you experience Spring for yourself and ultimately decide for yourself when you get to hear it, all I can say is, they don’t sound the same to me.
These guys are talking about winning the division. I mean Derek Shelton did on the record, doubling down he think they may be capable of accomplishing the feat this year.
The players though, yeah. Bryan Reynolds is not a rah rah guy. Not to say he’s a poor teammate or doesn’t have his teammates backs, he’s just not the type to sell hope.
I’ve heard him try mind you. I mean, he knows his role, and he’s done the job of pushing the message, but an actor he’s not. This year, man, wait til you guys see some video (and no, unfortunately, I couldn’t) when he gets asked about the offense or lineup, he almost smiles before he catches himself. Then easily talks to the weaponry around him.
Ke’Bryan looks like he’s enjoying being asked about continuing offensive production instead of Gold Glove snub talk and questions about becoming a productive bat.
One guy that almost every player I talked to about offense brought up unsolicited was Liover Peguero and what many see as big power emerging. I must have heard him within the first 2 or 3 mentions by 5 or 6 different guys, and that usually means something.
I remember in 2022 when asked which player to look out for, Bryan quickly told the reporter, and I believe it was Dejan Kovacevic, but forgive me if I’m wrong there, Jack Suwinski. At the time, Jack was nothing more than a AA camp invite, a month later he was hitting bombs after getting called up to fill in an emergency hole in the Pirates Outfield.
So when I hear other players recognizing someone almost unanimously, it usually bodes well. I can’t express how big it would be for the Pirates if Peguero took a step. Not only would he fill second base well, he provides a competent number 2 at short. Man this could be fun offensively.
I haven’t heard nearly as much overt optimism on the mound, and that quite frankly is concerning, but unsurprising, I mean, you can see what they have. I also heard from almost every single person I asked, yes, they will add more, probably more than you’re expecting. Didn’t even seem like a question to the players, so I’ll say this, if they don’t add, I think we’ll honestly be able to say, the players were not prepared for that, these guys think winning is happening, and they have no illusions the roster is set.
More to come, I’ll probably write several smaller pieces today. All in all, a good event, it was nice to have it back, and great to see friends.
Steel City Pirates 
Good work
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Gary thank you like your podcast alot
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Thanks, always like reading through the comments you make
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