Gary’s Five Pirates Thoughts – There’s Just Not Enough There

6-16-25 – By Gary Morgan – @garymo2007 on X

Something happened this weekend, and I mean beyond the 1-3 record in the series against the Cubs in Chicago. This team played about as good as they can and still lost 3 of 4. The pitching held down a very good offense, the offense did the next to nothing they always do.

Even a league average offense splits that series, bottom line, there just isn’t enough. This isn’t some revelation I’m just coming to of course, but it was a very in your face example of what this team playing some of it’s best ball against one of the better teams and what that nets.

Lets Go!

1. A Reynolds Reset is Coming

One way or another, Bryan Reynolds and his struggling bat is going to sit for a minute. He’s struggling mightily, and yet, he’s still got to play because he’s still one of the team’s best bets to hit one out. Plus he has a track record.

He and his wife will be bringing their new son into the world very soon and this trip to the Paternity List, well, it could be the type of reset Bryan needs to really get his mojo back. And let’s be clear, this team doesn’t have enough offense to ever get their offense going until Bryan Reynolds does.

Reynolds is the type of offensive player you can pretty much set your watch by. You usually know what you’re going to get, and that includes his struggles when his wife is with child.  

It’s been turned into a joke, but his track record shows it. All 3 times he’s struggled offensively until after the kiddo arrives. Just like I can tell you most years he’s going to be mediocre in May and get hot in June, I can tell you this happens.

Even if it’s just a dumb fan take, he needs to start fresh and this time off will afford him that before we get to the All Star Game.

I like his right handed swing right now, and the thing is, you can tell he does too, it is his natural side after all, but usually, he translates what he does on one side that he gets locked in and is able to use it to help him on the other side.

I can blame Ben Cherington for a lot of things, and do, regularly, but one thing I can’t blame him for is expecting to get a lot more from Reynolds than he has. It wouldn’t have this team 5 games over .500, but Bryan being Bryan could easily make more of these 1 run losses turn into wins.

Here’s hoping Bryan’s upcoming step away from the game is also his get right moment.

2. Is “Donnie Ball” the Same as Small Ball?

I mean, I don’t think so.

It probably should based on the roster they employ, but I just don’t think the approaches I’m seeing from most of the lineup feel like a small ball approach is being used.

Far too many big swings with 2 strikes, and from guys who probably couldn’t hit one out even if they connected for me to believe it’s an overriding ethos.

I think what “Donnie Ball” really is, is a nothing is off the table approach to offense. Bunts, double steals, directional hitting, that sort of stuff, but the way this lineup approaches a simple situation like a runner on 3rd with less than 2 outs, well, it’s been puke in your mouth stuff for just about 5 years now.

The guys who seem to know what is needed in those situations, well, they pretty much approach every at bat in the same way. Isiah Kiner-Falefa is a great example, if you need a bunt he can deliver it, if you need a fly ball, he’ll get one, if you need contact of any kind because the only thing you can’t do is strike out, he’ll likely deliver that too.

Who else you got?

Adam Frazier? Maybe.

One thing, this team is the absolute worst team in baseball when it comes to hitting behind in the count. When the Pirates are behind in the count, they’re hitting .172 as a team, and yet time after time what do we see them do, yup, take strike one right down the pipe.

Ahead in the count, the Pirates are 17th, .276.

Don’t get me wrong, you aren’t always going to be able to work your way into a hitters count, that too isn’t an approach, but when the book on you is pretty clear, meaning you’re likely going to take a pitch regardless of where it’s thrown, guess what’s going to happen.

The truth is, Donnie Ball is pretty simple, pitch well, hit good enough. It’s worked for Don a lot more than it ever worked for Shelton, but there also hasn’t been some wide ranging approach change at the plate. They have pitched better, but that was already kinda starting to happen under Shelton as the bullpen started to come together.

I guess what I’m saying is, Don has gotten this team to stop killing themselves with self inflicted wounds, and that more than anything else is probably how I at this moment define Donnie Ball.

It’s enough to get from the talent what they’re capable of, it’s not enough to get runs out of a rock.

3. Let’s Do an All Time Ben Cherington Starting Lineup & Rotation

Before I start, the roster right now SHOULD be the product of every move Cherington has made since he got here. Ideally, you’d do something like this and probably come up with 75% of your answers being from the current roster, as I write this, I truly don’t know where I’ll land on all that, but my gut says if I get to 50% I’ll surprise myself. The rules are, the player played here under Ben Cherington, period. Not that he brought them here, just that he oversaw the team while they were here.

Fielders
CF – Oneil Cruz
C – Jacob Stallings
LF – Bryan Reynolds
DH – Andrew McCutchen
2B – Adam Frazier
3B – Ke’Bryan Hayes
1B – Carlos Santana
RF – Jack Suwinski
SS – Kevin Newman

Rotation
Joe Musgrove
Mitch Keller
Paul Skenes
Bailey Falter
Tyler Anderson

Some of these names are shocking, I know, but hard as I try, these are the answers I come up with. And it’s not about what these players currently are, it’s about what they were when they were here and more importantly, what they haven’t competently filled in the entire time Ben has been here.

On the rotation, it’s hard to argue any of these if you ask me. And 3 of the 5 are here right now.
On the fielders, Kevin Newman was a hard choice. He was a very good fielder and had a couple seasons where he hit better than anyone not named IKF. I also couldn’t give Cruz two spots, since I gave him CF, SS had to go to someone else.

Catcher is another tough one, but Stallings was probably the best combination they’ve had of defense and the ability to chip in on offense a bit.

Jack is on there because of the two seasons he hit a bunch of homeruns. His competition is Polanco, and really that’s the list.

Can I be real? I don’t really think this lineup of players or rotation is better than what they have today. Which means in his entire tenure, even if he kept everything “good” is a .500 ish team at best.

Time to go Ben, for yet another reason.

4. Try Something!

The Pirates aren’t just going to wake up one day and hit.

OK? Can we all accept that? Sure, Oneil Cruz will get hot, Bryan Reynolds will turn things around, but as a whole, this offense isn’t exactly going to take a leap with this current set up.

What I’m going to suggest probably won’t either, but when your pitching staff gives up 9 runs in 4 games and you lose 3 of them, c’mon, you have to do something, even if it’s grasping at straws.

Step 1 – Cut Tommy Pham. Today. There’s nothing there, there’s not going to be anything there and all this is doing at this point is giving you a roster spot your coach barely wants to use, which is a lot different than having a bank of starters that require you roll them out day after day.

Step 2 – Call Up Jack Suwinski. Nope, he’s not fixed his issues. He still strikes out way too much and he’ll continue to do so up here. He also hits homeruns, and this team needs the power, like really bad. Hit him 7th or 8th, take the odd bombs he hits and do better this offseason unless he really turns it around.

I go this route because Jack and Canario would make a better platoon. Jack has a proven glove so you won’t lose much by dropping Pham, and honestly, they need the power so bad it’s time to ignore the warts and just let it play out.

How much worse can it get right?

I know some of you will prefer Cook or Yorke, or Gorski, but honestly, Jack is your best bet at the missing element, POWER.

More than anything, I’m kinda tired of the 3 guys this team uses in LF and I know for damn sure I have a better chance of getting some offense in bursts using Jack than I do using anyone currently here, least which Pham to get anything close.

Worst case scenario, you can completely wash your hands of Jack for good if it doesn’t work. The last thing I want to see is come into Spring with him as an option who just spent almost all of 2025 in the minors.

5. What Can a New GM Do to Make 2026 Different?

Realistically. I could go off here on how much more money they should spend and that’s definitely part of it.

The current payroll is at 93.6 Million. I know, probably not the number you’ve been rolling with, but it’s right. It could and probably will go down when they trade people at the deadline, and it’ll go up when they call up more guys. Every transaction causes this running tab to move in some way. Even silly things like having 5-6 guys on the 60-day IL, because the “Active” payroll, is much less than the overall payroll.

Dispute the number if you must, I won’t fight you, but at the end of the year in December when the Forbes payroll figures come out, you’ll see.

So spend more, yup. But stop with the “magic” number of 100 Million. They need and will increase this next year, some naturally by Keller and Reynolds costing more contractually. Cruz entering Arbitration along with others like Santana, Bednar, Falter, Bart, the point is before they spend a dime in free agency or absorb a contract from a trade, it’s already going to be just about where they are if not a bit higher.

I figure we’re looking at whoever the GM is having about 20-25 million to spend. That’s on top of where I already said they’d be so we’re likely looking at 30ish million in new spending.

OK, So for not wanting to deal with money, I went ahead and dealt with money.

I don’t think the team will HAVE to get a veteran pitcher. Depending on what they trade of course. If they move say, Keller, you might have to think about bringing in a vet on a 1 year deal like they’ve done just about every year. BUT, I don’t think they have to spend dollars here.

Cutch will likely come back and guess what, he’ll likely take 5 Million again because he’s a saint.

They’ll need a Left Fielder for sure and while they have options at SS, it would be wise to bring in a vet there too, even a Paul DeJong type could make sense.

Left field is where you spend the bulk of this money if you ask me.

The big names are Kyle Tucker (estimated to get upwards of 35-40 million a year) and Kyle Schwarber, who could probably command 25 per. I find it hard to believe the Phillies will let Schwarber go, and Tucker, listen, I don’t have that kind of pixie dust to talk myself into it being a possibility.

Outside of those two, it’s not impressive. Yastrzemski, Mullins, Thomas, maybe another run at Verdugo? I’m not sure any of those guys are difference makers, but they’re all 10-15 million dollar players, well within the budget, but I’m not sure they fix a whole lot either. None of those guys are homerun hitters really. Trent Grisham is a sleeper that might really help. Has power, and probably set to have his best power year in 2025. Might be able to add him and that would help.

The most effective way to go might be in a trade. Move pitching for offense, and there are some teams you could look to, many of which we’ve all been screaming about for over a year already.

The Orioles for sure, and Boston just made a gigantic move that changes their chemistry a bit so we’ll have to see how that fit evolves. Regardless, this team needs to find a date, instead of just standing in the corner of the dance hall watching all the kids have fun for once.

There is a path. There is more money. There is a decent base here, complete with the absolute hardest thing to build, pitching.

What’s left is to actually attack the problem and stop hugging guys that did something good at one point praying they will again for way less than most productive players cost.

This won’t be an easy job. It wasn’t for Cherington either to be entirely fair to him. But I do believe a different set of eyes with less allegiance to the idea it can be entirely built here is what’s required for the next step.

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