Why Can’t the Pirates Lineup Just Make Sense

4-10-22 – By Gary Morgan – @garymo2007 on Twitter

Believe it or not, I don’t expect to agree with every move made by the Pirates. I certainly don’t expect to agree with every move Derek Shelton makes, but is it too much to ask that the lineup at least make some semblance of sense?

Because Shelton seemingly has to change the lineup every day, it stands to reason he’s going to bingo card his way into creating one everyone hates at some point, but perhaps at some point, conventional wisdom needs to win out over the allure of the analytics gods.

Daniel Vogelbach is not a leadoff hitter.

I don’t want to see it anymore personally. The Cardinals announcers seem to almost feel bad for us, and by us I mean we the fans. They offer solutions side by side with condolences.

I don’t have to start screaming about how terrible a player he is, its easy to see on this roster, he’s not the biggest issue, but at leadoff, he’s not in the best position to help. I’ve heard all the arguments of course, he sees a bunch of pitches, he walks a lot, his OBP is good. OK, but he’s slow, and it sets up bases clogging situations like we saw yesterday where it took 3 singles and a sac fly to score a run.

So he gets credit for getting on base of course, but c’mon, it can’t take three straight base hits and a sac fly to score a run.

2-4 are good. Reynolds, Hayes and Yoshi, hey, that works for me, and it seems it’s being left alone for the most part. As it should. Set those three up to actually drive someone in.

I’m kinda tired of the Shelton doesn’t have anyone argument that essentially says we can’t really criticize his lineups because the talent isn’t there. OK, but before my wife and I got established in our lives nobody told me it’s cool that dinner sucked tonight dad, we know you don’t have the resources yet.

I’ll admit he doesn’t have a perfect fit, but at least put some speed up there. I understand you’re all tired of Kevin Newman and Cole Tucker but if they’re going to play anyway, screw it at least they won’t clog the bases. Hell put Hoy Park up there.

Put Vogelbach in the other spot that continuously makes no sense the 5 spot. We’ve now seen Josh VanMeter and Kevin Newman there which from a run production standpoint makes no sense.

I could get into who should be here versus who’s here now but I don’t even think it needs to be that deep of a conversation to suggest these lineups just don’t make sense.

I guess I’m getting tired of trying to take a bunch of parts and try to win by being cute. Just do what actually looks right for once.

Here’s what I’d do with the given parts and pieces.

  1. Ben Gamel LF
  2. Bryan Reynolds CF
  3. Ke’Bryan Hayes 3B
  4. Yoshi Tsutsugo DH
  5. Michael Chavis 1B
  6. Diego Castillo 2B
  7. Roberto Perez C
  8. Kevin Newman SS
  9. Cole Tucker RF

Is it great? Oh hell no, but it makes more sense. It works in more potential for scoring runs at the top.

I’m painfully aware I’m shuffling the lineup for a minimal improvement or at least the potential for it, but I just can’t take laughing at my team from the first pitch because they think they have to put a 270 lb man in the leadoff spot. I’m not even saying he’s worthless, but Daniel Vogelbach isn’t a leadoff hitter and it’s been the early on running gag across the league and overt poster child for ineptitude.

We have enough reasons to be embarrassed, how about one less unforced error huh Shelty?

Offensive Struggles Continue in Pirates 6-2 Loss to Cardinals

On Opening Day against the St. Louis Cardinals, the Pittsburgh Pirates couldn’t muster a run in the 9-0 loss, so the fact the club scored here of course is an improvement, but the offense still has a ways to go.

Things started off great for Pittsburgh in this one, forcing starter Miles Mikolas to pitch 41 times in the first inning and getting three hits in a row that resulted in Daniel Vogelbach scoring the first run of the 2022 season on a Yoshi Tsutsugo sacrifice fly. The downside? The Pirates had the bases loaded twice in the inning and could only get the one run out of it, immediately losing their lead in the bottom of the first inning on a Nolan Arenado double to score Dylan Carlson.

Mitch Keller, who has had tons of hype around him for years and even more this offseason with his uptick in velocity, struggled out of the gate and worked out of multiple jams, but the Pirates offense did him no favors and he would eventually lose a 2-1 Pirates lead in the bottom of the third on an Arenado single and Paul DeJong two-run home run.

Keller’s final line, 4 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 4 Ks, left a lot to be desired from the 26 year old pitcher who may be on his last strike if he can’t tap into the top-100 prospect talent he showcased just a few years ago.

The Cardinals would add two more runs after taking the 4-2 lead by way of a Corey Dickerson RBI single and another Arenado RBI double off of Roansy Contreras, who made his 2022 debut after being called up Friday due to Duane Underwood Jr’s Opening Day injury that placed him on the 10-day IL.

Despite yet another loss to begin the season, there were some bright spots here. For starters, Ke’Bryan Hayes is healthy as ever after exiting Thursday’s contest for precautionary measures and he showcased his 70-million dollar contract worth by reaching base three times with a single, double and a walk to his credit while also making some fine defensive plays as usual. On his single, he had an exit velocity of 110 mph, something worth noting when fans want to see his offense continuously improve.

Yoshi Tsutsugo also played well again, continuing his success from Thursday by starting the season with another multi-hit contest and a .571 average through the first two games. Even in his at-bats that didn’t result in hits, Tsutsugo has done a phenomenal job making good contact and it is a welcome sign this early in the season to see him hit the baseball well. Tsutsugo is also the only Pirate on the team right now with an RBI as he was the beneficiary of both Pirates runs in this contest.

Heath Hembree, Anthony Banda and David Bednar did good jobs in relief, combining for 2.1 IP, 0 ER, 3 Ks and 0 BB. Banda and Hembree are not likely to be longterm fits in the bullpen, but Bednar is the likely candidate for most eighth and ninth innings moving forward.

Tomorrow’s game is another afternoon contest with the probable pitchers being Bryse Wilson facing off against Steven Matz. Wilson will look to get off to a good start to 2022 after a 2021 that saw him post a 5.35 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP after being acquired from the Atlanta Braves in the Richard Rodriguez deal.

Roansy Contreras Gets the Call Up

4-9-22 – By Gary Morgan – @garymo2007 on Twitter

Well, it’s earlier than anyone would have assumed, but Roansy Contreras is getting the call up to the big club following the injury to Duane Underwood Jr.

He’s going to be in the bullpen, at least to start, and no, it’s not a big deal or a mistake.

First, he’s just as stretched out as anyone is so it’s not like it means he’d typically throw 5 or 6 innings and now he can only go 1 or 2. It also doesn’t mean he won’t be a starter moving forward, plenty of top prospects have throughout the years like Walker Buehler or even David Price if you want to go back a ways.

Now, things could change of course, but I’d bet Roansy is good for about 100-120 innings this year max this season, and let’s just be blunt, that’s not a full season of starts. If everything goes right someone is healthy really soon and he goes back down to really get a crack at stretching out.

Maybe Brubaker get’s another turn or two and the team decides it’s time to make a switch. Either way, just about everyone is stretched out to right around the same level at this point, if anything Contreras is probably a bit behind.

Now, why would the Pirates call up their top pitching prospect to fill a bullpen hole?

This answer is easier than you’d like at this point of the season, he’s the only member of the 40-man who is healthy and available. I highly doubt calling him up was their first choice.

They could have just left the pitching staff at 13 and brought up an extra position player, but they are staring down the barrel at 16 games in 16 days and that wouldn’t be prudent.

Look, it ‘s not the pageantry you dream of where they hype their stud coming up and taking his place in the rotation, but be really honest with yourself, this is what’s happening all around the league with top pitching prospects.

I get why it’s not as much fun, but I see it this way, it’s a couple innings at the beginning of the game or it’s a couple innings during a game.

Either way, I sincerely doubt this is the last time we’ll have a call up for this young fella, and when he comes up next time, he’ll get all the pomp and circumstance he’s supposed to get.

If you want to be mad at the Pirates, hell who doesn’t, be mad about the fact that out of all the moves they’ve made they let themselves get into a position where they only had one more healthy pitcher on the 40-man. That’s the stupid part, not the utilization of a young arm.

Adonis Medina who the Pirates just picked up was designated for assignment and ultimately dealt to the Mets for cash. Given the situation the Pirates clearly had to know one injury and they’d be in this situation. I’m sure they didn’t expect it on opening day but if it can happen, it will.

If I’m the Pirates, I’d have preferred to cut the cord on someone else like Alford, or dare I say, Chavis, Park, VanMeter, whatever. Give a spot to someone like Beau Sulser instead.

Don’t like those options? Well, you’re watching the alternative.

Here’s where I am. Congrats Roansy! Welcome back to the show, and the next step in your journey to becoming a top shelf starting pitcher in MLB, even if that’s not where you start.

Pirates Manage Zero Runs As Cardinals Dominate

4-8-22 By Craig W. Toth (aka @BucsBasement on Twitter)

Every time my number is called to do the game recap for our site, I start to experience the same emotions I imagine a candidate running for office must feel; as they prepare for an impending victory or concession speech. Just before the game starts, in my mind, two separate storylines are intertwined; the first ending with the Jolly Roger being raised, while the other results in something that happened 101 times during the 2021 MLB Season for your Pittsburgh Pirates.

Even on a day like yesterday-Opening Day-when I can barely contain my excitement, mental drafts of a Pirates victory or loss battle for supreme dominance over the duration of a 9 inning contest, until one ultimately prevails.

In the Pirates matchup with the Cardinals from St. Louis, it was JT Brubaker’s familiar struggle in surrendering the long ball-this time to Tyler O’Neill to make it 4-0 Cards-that steered the narrative of the early storyline; along with another premature injury to Pittsburgh’s young superstar third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes. Last season Brubaker allowed 28 homers in 124.1 innings, good for a rate of 2.05 HR/9-5th worst in the league. And, as you all probably remember, Hayes exited the second game of last season with a wrist injury; not appearing in a Pirates uniform until 2 months later on June 3rd.

In the end the Cardinals tacked on a few insurance runs, and the Pirates failed to muster any consistent offense as they fell to the Redbirds 9-0 to open the 2022 MLB Season.

News and Notes:

  • The biggest story of the day was Ke’Bryan Hayes’ 8 year/$70 million contract extension, BUT then he got hurt. Currently Hayes is day to day with a forearm spasm. Luckily, it sounds like he avoided any major injury as he isn’t feeling any pain.
  • Wil Crowe might have found a permanent place in the bullpen. Over two innings he struck out 3 and walked two, while not allowing a single hit or run.
  • The Pirates left 17 runners on base and were 0-5 with RISP. In 2021 this was a constant struggle for Pittsburgh as they combined to bat .220 as a team with RISP, good for an overall 72 OPS+.
  • Duane Underwood, Jr. left the game with a tight hamstring. Obviously it’s not the shoulder inflammation that ended his season last year, but it definitely looked uncomfortable as he tossed a couple of pitches in front of Shelton to see if he could stay in.
  • We got shut out. Pitching kinda bad, hitting kinda bad and fielding kinda bad. Could be a kinda long season.

Today is the obligatory off-day for Pittsburgh following the opener. The Pirates and Cardinals will be back at it again tomorrow-Saturday April 9th-from St. Louis in the second of a four game series; with Mitch Keller toeing the rubber against Miles Mikolas.

Pirates Lock Up Hayes With Record Setting Contract Extension

4-7-22 – By Gary Morgan – @garymo2007 on Twitter

On opening day no less, the Pittsburgh Pirates finalized a deal with Ke’Bryan Hayes. An extension worth 70 million dollars over 8 years with a club option for a 9th.

Ke’Bryan wasn’t the most highly touted prospect in the system when he made his debut for the second half of 2020 but he burst on the scene hitting like Ted Williams. 2021 he’d spend most of injured or at least not at 100%.

The Pirates first approached Ke’ about extending after the 2020 season and perhaps coming off such a stellar stretch Hayes and his camp decided to turn down the offer. Following 2021 the Pirates wisely approached again and after some massaging the two sides came together.

This is the biggest contract the Pirates have signed anyone to since Jason Kendall got his back in the day.

Hayes isn’t without risk, there is some question as to how his bat will progress, but an AAV of 9 million for a player who’s glove alone is probably worth 2.5-3 WAR every season is a steal.

More than anything, the Pirates have finally done something everyone following this rebuild has begged for, provided a foothold.

The foundation is taking shape, and we aren’t just going to watch it errode for the next wave of players.

Clearly Reynolds is the next big ticket, but this is a great start and don’t be surprised if this is something Bryan needed to see to clinch his own mind.

Happy opening day Pittsburgh, you have your third baseman of the future, and present.

More to come as we learn more.

Pittsburgh Pirates Opening Day 2022

4-7-22 – By Gary Morgan – @garymo2007 on Twitter

It’s opening day in MLB and seeing as how we didn’t feel confident we were going to get this before June or July about a month ago, it feels good knowing we’ll see 162 games.

Oh I didn’t miss the Pirates roster before writing some semblance of feeling good about any aspect of this season. At the end of the day despite all the warts of the league and this team I still love baseball, and this day will always be special to me.

The en vogue thing to do today is to get out in front of how terrible this team will be. Far worse than last year even. We can even make some outlandish claims like they only have 3 or 4 MLB players on the roster.

Listen, you do you, if planning for the worst season ever and hoping for better is your method of protecting yourself, have at it. If believing there was some 10 million dollar guy out there that would drastically affect things is your thing, cool, I won’t argue that.

I tend to look at this entire event as one big story.

I thought I understood the plan in 2020, and I think where they are right now is right about where I expected.

I can say that while simultaneously saying I completely get why this sucks for fans. Fans who don’t ingest all the minor league goings on are just never going to see anything other than a poor MLB roster. And I’ll be blunt, they shouldn’t.

This is an MLB city, and anyone expecting fans who watch the Penguins and Steelers have at least .500 records for the best part of 2 decades to float on over to watch the Pirates when the other two are on break, to a team that likely is already 10 games under .500 by the time the Penguins are done mind you, isn’t just silly it’s unrealistic. Don’t expect them to care about the cap vs no cap stuff either. They aren’t blind, they know teams in cities of similar size are doing things differently and having success.

Oh the Pirates can try to sell the future all they want. Bloggers and journalists can tout what’s coming til they’re blue in the face. At the end of the day, they’re (we’re) selling to seagulls. The people reading/listening/caring about all this stuff, those folks are already here. In fact they’re largely already just as into it as those covering it.

At some point the Pittsburgh Pirates have to be about the Pittsburgh Pirates.

It’s one thing for me to say, hey, this is what I expected for 2022. I certainly did, but that doesn’t mean I’m all about it. Certainly doesn’t mean I thought they should just leave it be and just be bad another season.

Of course many of these guys are young, and many of them have ceilings they haven’t reached, but man, it’s a bit unhinged to think all of them, or a majority even will do so. I do think that people are leaning a bit too far into the rookie or first year numbers of some guys as though improvement isn’t possible, but again, only a fool would expect a normal fan to look at a guy who won 5 or 6 games and had a high 5’s ERA as an opening day starter, and think they should see his potential. If that’s your 4th starter, ok, maybe potential is enough, but opening day, man you want to see something you really trust.

That’s really where the Pirates err more than any other single place. They guarantee themselves that when this finally does start taking shape, those regular fans won’t be around to see it. That’s not an indictment of the fans, it’s a criticism of the team not seeing the damage they do to their own efforts. Those fans will check back in mid season when and if the team really improves. If they’re good in 2023, most regular fans won’t watch until mid 2023. So on and so on.

Even if by some chance this team overachieves this year, this roster isn’t built to last. With what’s coming and who’s almost assured to be going the fans who did find their way back home to check out the “freak show” would be almost immediately met with the realization a bunch of those scrappy overachievers won’t be back next year.

This whole phenomenon gets boiled down to name calling like “bandwagoners” or whatever but in reality the team creates it by never prioritizing giving the fans something to watch.

Say the name Mitch Keller at a bar with a bunch of people who aren’t invested like you are and what reaction will you get? Head case! He’s a bust! Another guy this team oversold! He doesn’t belong on an MLB roster! They didn’t see what he did this Spring. They don’t know he changed his delivery. Probably heard something about the velocity but who cares he’s a head case right?

You can get mad about that I guess, or maybe you could just understand where they’re coming from. He quite literally hasn’t done anything at the MLB level, in games that matter. I can say he looks better, but even I have to admit, Spring is Spring, and I’d rather just embrace that he looks improved than pretend it’s a nailed on fact he’s turned the corner.

At some point the responsibility for supporting the team isn’t on fans, it’s on the Pittsburgh Pirates.

They could have started Oneil Cruz in MLB, he has zero track record in MLB beyond 2 games, but fans would have probably been excited to see the physical freak who can hit the ball a mile take aim at the Clemente Wall. And I don’t mean the prospect wonks, I mean regular, split attention fans. In fact their record could be exactly the same as it will be with or without him and regular fans would have a better perception of the team just from seeing highlights of he and Reynolds crushing balls on the evening news. And I’m a guy who can and has made an argument he isn’t ready defensively.

They could have gone and got a real starting pitcher who’s actually done well for the past couple years and tossed him in the middle of this rotation instead of Quintana. Again, it probably doesn’t change the record all that much, really doesn’t change the underlying effort the team is working on, but to regular fans, you know, the people who buy tickets, it might have put some butts in seats.

They could extend someone, anyone, but especially their best player Bryan Reynolds. Again, it wouldn’t effect the record, but at least it would be a foot down. A signal to regular fans that the foundation is starting to set.

To those fans, watching the Pirates is like trying to fill a damaged bucket with a colander. Eventually I guess you’ll get the job done, but man it’s a lot more work than plugging holes as you go. If you never stop the leaks, the situation feels hopeless.

Again, I get where we are, and I’ll enjoy this season in my own way. I’ll continue to be fair in my evaluation and criticize when warranted. One thing I won’t do is expect that people paying attention out of the corner of their eye while watching the NFL draft and sitting outside PPG Paints Arena’s big screen to watch the Penguins make another run, to take this team seriously.

That’s on the Pirates and quite honestly they shouldn’t expect it until they treat those fans in the same fashion. New bars and hot dog stands are nice, but the park wasn’t and isn’t the problem, the roster, and communication is.

As I sit here, I can honestly say this team is building something and I think we’ll all like it when it comes together. Just don’t expect everyone to put in the effort to pull together the archeologist level dig you do so they can see it and furthermore, don’t expect your word to be enough to convince them.

Excitement is there to be had, but this team actively chose not to take any of the options at hand. Excusing that is not my job, even if I understand it, and it’s not yours either.

Now all that said, I’m ready to sit down and watch a real ballgame. I love it, even when it’s not good baseball in my own way, for my own reasons. One day soon I hope there are a lot more people around me doing the same, hopefully we won’t have to dig to find reasons to care by then.

Play Ball!

ITBB 2022 Pittsburgh Pirates Season Preview

4-6-22 – By Gary Morgan and Craig W. Toth – @garymo2007 & @bucsbasement on Twitter

Well here we are ready to set sail on another Pittsburgh Pirates baseball season and our third here at Inside the Bucs Basement.

As has become tradition, Craig and I wanted to hammer this one together so here goes. Oh, and I guess we should do some kind of grading system. How about the boring old A-F Scale and we’ll toss in a + or – to signify if we think it’s improved from 2021 or gotten worse.

The Pitching Staff

The Starters: JT Brubaker, Mitch Keller, Jose Quintana, Zach Thompson, Bryse Wilson

Gary: (C+) I’ll get us rolling here because unlike most, I see this as a potential bright spot on this club. And yes, before I get too far along here, I know that’s not a popular take. Something to me is different this season and it’s all about upside. Everyone not named Jose raise your hand, I’m looking at you. Backed by Roansy Contreras, Miguel Yajure, Cody Bolton, Max Kranick and members of the bullpen we’ll touch on in a bit here, I like the chances that 3 of them look better than most expected. We often get locked into believing what guys were last year, they must remain, but the reality is kids get better, and if this team has any hope of this whole thing working, well, let’s just say showing they can improve what they have would be a good fist step. Mitch Keller has a real chance to finally reach what his pedigree dictates he should.

Craig: (W for What If and Waiting) Each of these pitchers come with their own distinct question marks, which always leads me to wonder What If. What if Mitch Keller’s development over the off-season is real and the increased velocity, coupled with what appears to be a new found confidence is real? What if JT Brubaker can be more like the pitcher we all saw in the first couple of months in 2021, rather than the home run surrendering one that followed? What if Bryse Wilson just needed a change of scenery to become the potential ace-or at least middle of the rotation arm-Atlanta always envisioned him to be? What if Zach Thompson unlocked something when he arrived in Miami, after years of never really putting it together in the White Sox Farm System? What if Jose Quintana can recapture even some of his luster from 2012 to about 2017 in order to become a decent trade chip at the deadline?

As far as the waiting is concerned, this should be fairly obvious. As Gary mentioned, the Pirates have Roansy Contreras, Miguel Yajure, Cody Bolton, Max Kranick waiting in the wings in Indianapolis. Of the four, Contreras usually the most attention, however, I am also very curious to see how the once highly touted Bolton bounces back from two years without logging any innings.

Overall, my interest is peaked more than it has been for the past couple of seasons, which is better than the alternative; of simply recognizing that what the Pirates have is a rotation with little room for growth. Of course, the growth could never happen to the degree that we hope, but at minimum it would answer some questions.

The Relievers: Dillon Peters, Wil Crowe, Aaron Fletcher, Sam Howard, David Bednar, Chris Stratton, Anthony Banda, Heath Hembree, Duane Underwood Jr.

Gary: (D+) If there’s one thing I think we can safely say, it’s that we’ll see quite a bit of turnover here. I don’t think they’ll use nearly as many pitchers as they did in 2021, but it’s just reality they’ll flow through some of these. The bullpen has two former starters penciled in and should any of the 5 expected starters struggle, it’s very possible that Dillon Peters or Wil Crowe could get a shot before a call to AAA is placed. It’s also possible Roansy Contreras or any prospect really could push their way into an opportunity. No matter how you look at it change is going to happen. By the end of this season if the Pirates are as far back as many seem to think they will be you could easily see Hembree, Stratton, minimally being moved. Nick Mears and Blake Cederlind who are starting the season on the 60-day IL will also likely factor in at some point. I’ll also call right here and now that the Pirates are done messing with Bednar, he’s the closer.

Craig: (N for Not Enough) Last season the Pirates ended the year with the 27th Ranked Bullpen in all of MLB; thanks to a combined 4.55 ERA, 1.39 WHIP, 641 strikeouts to 307 BB and -.21 WPA (Win Probability Added). As I look at the current group of relievers, there doesn’t seem to be much hope for much improvement as a group. Certainly I see Bednar as an anchor, the potential of Crowe in a new role and solid veteran presence from Stratton and Hembree; still; not enough was really changed or been added over the off-season. Sure, we will see an influx/carousel of arms from Indianapolis throughout the season, which is something to look forward to; I guess I just expected more.

Luckily, I have always been of the mindset that the bullpen is the last thing that needs to be sorted out in a rebuild, so there is definitely time for some trial and error.

The Position Players

Catcher: Roberto Perez (Starter), Andrew Knapp

Gary: (C-) I mean, if Roberto stays healthy and plays 120 games I’ll be wrong with my rating, but I just don’t see it as likely he carries that kind of weight. If you were looking for a wash production wise though from Jacob Stallings to who’s next, this is as close as you could come. You all know how I feel about Michael, so you’d have really had to work hard to bring in someone who’d make me wonder why this was better, enter Andrew Knapp.

Craig: (S is for Still Missing A Legit Backup) After Stallings was traded it was nice to see Cherington go out and get a player with Perez’s pedigree to replace him. I do have to side with Gary in the concern about Roberto’s health, and ability to carry the load.

Even if Stallings was still here I would be calling for a new backup catcher: and with all due respect to Andrew Knapp, he doesn’t count.

Third Base: Ke’Bryan Hayes (Starter), Hoy Park, Michael Chavis, Diego Castillo

Gary: (B+) Folks, to be right on this rating, all we need is Ke’ to stay healthier, and considering last season the backup was Phillip Evans and a shell of Todd Frazier, the position at least has viability beyond Hayes.

Craig: (K for Keeping Ke’Bryan Healthy) Hayes has the clear cut ability to be a Gold Glove Third Baseman for years to come, but he has to stay on the field to do it. I am also not expecting the bat he showed in 2020 anymore, not that I was in first place. Although I would like him to make me eat some crow when it comes to his bat, and show us something in between what we saw in his first two seasons.

Short Stop: Kevin Newman (Starter), Diego Castillo, Hoy Park, Cole Tucker

Gary: (C+) Again, I like the backup situation better than last year. I’m not holding my breath that Kevin Newman is going to suddenly have his entire game come together, but it’s certainly not impossible and his defense shouldn’t be a question mark.

Craig: (T for Take The Bull By The Horns) I don’t care if it’s Newman, Castillo, Park, Tucker or Cruz when he comes up, but someone needs to claim shortstop as their position for the year, and hopefully in the future as well.

As Gary stated Newman’s defense is there, but it is going to be a bat that will put any player over the top.

Second Base: Cole Tucker (Probable Starter), Diego Castillo (Possible Starter), Hoy Park, Michael Chavis, Josh VanMeter

Gary: (C-) I like the potential of Castillo, love what I’ve seen from Tucker this Spring, but I’m not about to pretend Adam Frazier wasn’t an All Star last year at second base. At least to start this year I can’t say this position is improved, even again liking the depth better. Adam made the depth not matter.

Craig: (C is for Chances) This is Tucker’s last chance. It has to be. I know he got somewhat of a raw deal with the earlier than expected call-up in 2019 and the centerfield experiment in 2020, but this is the year where the excuses end.

This year is also a chance for Diego Castillo to prove what he can do, and for Cherington to get a win as far as young player acquisitions are concerned. It is far from a guarantee though.

First Base: Yoshi Tsutsugo (Starter), Daniel Vogelbach, Michael Chavis, Ben Gamel

Gary: (D+) I actually like this position better than last year. How could this not be an upgrade from Colin Moran, Phillip Evans, Erik Gonzalez, John Nogowski, or whomever you remember? Yoshi has power potential and I think his defense is better over there than we remember. First, he worked hard at it, and second our memories of his defense are tainted by how he looked in the outfield.

Craig: (B is For Boom or Bust) Yoshi had a few breakout weeks, while Vogelbach had one breakout season. The power potential is there, but so is the possibility of hitting below the Mendoza line as they do it.

OK Craig, let’s flip the script and have you go first on the outfielders.

Outfield Starters: Bryan Reynolds, Ben Gamel, Greg Allen

Craig: (E is for Extend Reynolds) Even if it hasn’t happened yet-and with the Pirates and Reynolds set to go to trial for his arbitration-there is no answer in the outfield outside of Reynolds.

Gamel is clearly an upgrade over the way the first part of the year went for everyone outside of Reynolds last season, but his ceiling is a fourth fielder; or a third if you can put another All-Star on Bryan’s left or right.

Gary: (C+) If you watched 2021 you already know this is better than last year. It’s not even that close and that’s while happily acknowledging on a good team two of these starters are backups at best.

Outfield Reserves: Cole Tucker, Hoy Park, Diego Castillo, Michael Chavis, Josh VanMeter

Craig: (U is for Utility) With Anthony Alford’s injury and his continuing K problem, it’s become a place for a lot of guys to play out of position.

Gary: (D) I can’t really say this is better or worse. None of these guys have a ton of experience out there, but I see they’re going to get opportunities. If they hit, I suspect we will just ignore any defensive short comings.

Next Man Up: Prospect Watch

Craig: (F is for First Wave) Oneil and Roansy lead this charge, with Yajure, Kranick and Bolton in the rear. In the outfield Travis Swaggerty will most likely get the first look, if he is healthy. Jack Suwinski, Canaan Smith-Njiba or Cal Mitchell would take over if Swaggerty’s other shoulder continues to give him problems.

Gary: (C+) This isn’t the most exciting batch we’ll see in this process, but it is the first batch. I’m not breaking news and I’m not going to be really expansive here. Let’s keep it to guys I feel are can’t miss to make it this year and stick. Oneil Cruz, Roansy Contreras, Miguel Yajure, and Travis Swaggerty.

Playing Their Last Year as a Pirate

Gary: I’ll take a crack here first, Ben Gamel, Yoshi Tsutsugo, Kevin Newman, Jose Quintana, Chris Stratton, Duane Underwood Jr., Both Perez’, Chavis or Park, maybe even both. Outside shot at Ben Gamel being extended, he’d be cheap and he’s a perfect 4th outfielder.

Craig: Jose Quintana is the only given for me, with Yoshi, Chavis, Chris Stratton and Gamel at more than 50/50. For the sake of being different, I’ll throw Tucker in the mix.

Crazy Prediction

Gary: Oh hell, Kevin Newman actually hits this year and the Pirates trade him. Instead of seeing it as making room for Oneil Cruz it’ll be met with cries that Nutting didn’t want to pay him.

Craig: Wil Crowe begin the season in the bullpen, but is called back into the rotation. He goes on to lead all starters in ERA, Innings Pitched and Wins..

Division Standings

Craig: Cardinals, Brewers, Reds, Cubs and Pirates. It’s really between St. Louis and Milwaukee for the top of the NL Central, but that’s probably a given.

Gary: I’ll go in this order, Brewers, Cards, Cubs, Reds, Pirates, but I don’t think there will be much daylight in the last three. This is a top heavy division and nobody from this division could win the East or West.

Pirates Record

Gary: Last year I predicted 63-99, I was off by a few games but in the ballpark. This year just don’t see the overt lack of depth or internal options I saw last year to fill inevitable injury voids, meaning I don’t see them rushing to the waiver wire every week to find a new shot in the dark. I’m going with 70-92 mostly because the division is weak and the depth. I also think an infusion of more talent from AAA will really change the complexion of this team.

Craig: Actually last year Gary, you optimistically predicted 72-90, and I went with 63-99 because I just couldn’t bring myself to say the Pirates would lose 100; which they ultimately did.

Even though, I don’t see another 100 loss season-those are kind of hard to come by-I don’t see a lot of room for improvement with the team as a whole. The majority of victories will come on the individual level, which isn’t really a bad thing for the future of the Pirates. Yet, for the present-2022-I am looking at 67-95 record on the year, with 5 game margin of error in either direction.

In Conclusion

Craig: I’m excited for the Pirates season to start; but, that’s not really any different than the previous 30+ years of my fandom. Sure, I don’t see them competing for much of anything outside of the new shiny bouncing lottery balls in the 2023 MLB Amateur Draft, even if it’s not the goal; still, I can’t help feeling like a little kid at the beginning of every baseball season.

All too often we talk about hope springs eternal as being the false belief for teams that really don’t have chance at being competitive during the upcoming year. For me it is the hope to attend as many MLB and MiLB games as possible, watch seven months of players performing at the highest level of their sport, make new friends along the way, get back in touch with those I may not have talked to as much over the busy winter months and enjoy conversations with each and every baseball fan I come in contact with.

All that is left to say is…play ball! Oh, and Let’s Go Bucs! Indians! Curve! Grasshoppers! Marauders!

Gary: Well, since 2020 I’ve said 2022 would be more fun if only because we’ll finally start to see some of the fruit from this painful build process, and I see no reason to change that now. We predict a record because well, you kinda expect us to right? But it hardly matters, this year is all about getting some of that next wave up here and doing it again in 2023. I expect this team to have 10-14 guys currently on the roster not here come the end of 2023. Changes are going to start coming at us faster now, forced by talent, not money.

I’d also add, Mitch Keller is a pivotal player to watch in 2022. If he’s good, it really changes how quickly this team could start making noise, if he reverts to what he’s been, we’re right back to Priester, Burrows and the like holding the keys to elite pitching here in Pittsburgh. I still think the bats are ahead of the pitching, but if Mitch is right, it’s not as wide a gap as we currently think.

More than anything, to me, this is the fun part of these efforts. I certainly can see why it still isn’t fun for many of you, but for me, man I’ve been following some of these guys for years, and this is the beginning of what I’ve been waiting for. Let’s Go Bucs.

Pirates Break Camp With New Hope

https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-tvd2u-11ee307

As Spring Training comes to a close, we look at the Pittsburgh Pirates roster and talk surprises, promise and a lot of placeholders. We told you about Diego Castillo a while back, and now he’s an interesting major league roster addition. Who else will be joining this team soon (in addition to Oneil Cruz)? We will tell you in 30 Minutes of Pirates Talk.

Craig Toth covers the Pirates for Inside The Bucs Basement, and joins his buddy Chris at a 9-foot homemade oak bar to talk Pittsburgh Pirates Baseball. Listen. Subscribe. Share. We are “For Fans, By Fans & all Pirates Talk.” THE Pirates Fan Podcast found EVERYWHERE podcasts can be found and always at BucsInTheBasement.com!

Five Pirates Thoughts at Five

4-4-22 – By Gary Morgan – @garymo2007 on Twitter

Opening day is finally right there in our grasp, and while this offseason has been an emotional roller coaster for the entire league, let alone our local franchise, there will always be something about everyone being 0-0 that makes this event feel special.

Let’s dig in on this week’s Five Thoughts.

1. The Pirates Don’t Want to Pay Arbitration!

I’m not sure how we’ve lost our collective minds. Maybe it’s just too many people screaming the same thing to ignore, maybe it’s just overt frustration, but this team doesn’t plan on trying to win by spending 35+ million dollars.

I mean, they expect to show improvement this year, but this isn’t a franchise that thinks they’re Tampa 2.0, and have their sights set on never progressing past arb 1 on a player. Not that Tampa themselves really operate that way anymore either.

If anything, it’s kinda refreshing to see them move on from guys they absolutely would have, in the last regime, tried to hold on to in the faint hope something happens and they get something out of a guy like Colin Moran so they can trade him for some High A lottery ticket. They allowed Chad Kuhl, Steven Brault, Wilmer Difo, Colin Moran and everyone like them to leave because they truly didn’t feel they were worth keeping.

The perception is they move on from guys like this because they cost money, but in this case, I really think it’s more about having a decision forced on them. They didn’t like the chances of Steven Brault staying healthy and even if he did, being effective wasn’t a given. Chad Kuhl was identified as someone this club thought had more to offer in the pen, Chad didn’t agree, no sense in forcing a guy to stick around to be an overpaid bullpen option if the player doesn’t buy in and it’s not a given it’ll work.

Colin Moran was slow, didn’t have position flexibility despite that time you saw him play second base and was a power hitter who, well, didn’t hit for power. Wilmer Difo, and I can’t even believe I have to explain this one, is just a utility guy, this team has plenty of guys who could do that.

I’m not trying to convince you this team should make you giddy with excitement, but can we please honestly look at who they let go and understand that wasn’t about money?

You want to talk money in free agency, fine, you have the floor, but letting go of guys who just weren’t part of this build and really lacked sufficient upside to even attempt creating trade value with is the kind of business I like seeing this club do.

Now if they really want that message to sink in, let’s see them do it with some guys who haven’t forced a decision by hitting arbitration. Let’s see them finally decide Alford should go about pursuing his life’s work elsewhere. Let’s see them decide anyone not at the forced decision point is ok to cast off.

Money is always an issue in this market, but sometimes it’s not the main issue.

So I ask you, which of these 4 do you really think the Pirates should have kept? If your answer is any of them, I’d ask why? I thought we wanted them to get better, not trot the same team that failed right back out there.

2. Speaking of Progression

You should see improvement this year, marginal, but improvement. So, I guess what I don’t really get is why so many are acting like all the moves should have culminated in 2022 domination? Did you listen to the 2 or 3 hype men in the Pittsburgh fake media who just want to pump up expectations?

Did you not take any of those who try to be frank with you seriously when we told you the real signs that this is taking hold wouldn’t be visible until 2023?

You may not like it, but this thing is just about right where I thought it’d be at this point, with the exception of Jacob Stallings being dealt. When you deal players for young return, you don’t expect it to make the big league team better until some of that talent gets here.

I get it, for some of you it feels like they’ve been rebuilding since 2016, but THIS effort, just started in the off season prior to 2020, and even that was stunted by a short season.

Be frustrated if you like but don’t try to tell me “this rebuild has failed cause it’s been 6 years”. That’s just not honest. If you want to say Nutting could make it less painful by bringing you in some toys to watch, fine, that’s a different conversation, but I’m not going to sit here seeing exactly what I thought I’d see and suddenly drum up anger cause I’m supposed to.

3. Diego Did It

Everyone screamed for Oneil Cruz to start the season like he was the only one who had a claim to it. He might have more talent than anyone else who’s close, but he’s not the most ready.

No, that distinction goes to Diego Castillo. The 24 year old utility man showed maturity and versatility this Spring to earn himself a shot on the opening day roster. He clubbed 6 homeruns and just in general looked the part the entire time.

I called this last week as a possibility in the five thoughts and tried to explain why he was more likely than Cruz, but even I didn’t really believe the Pirates would do it. He did everything the Pirates could possibly have wanted including playing outfield for the first time in his professional career and recording an assist.

Castillo is really what this year will be about. Seeing young talent make it, and try to prove they should stick. Remember Reynolds was once a rookie who barely played MiLB baseball too. This is the fun part folks and he absolutely won’t be alone.

In an interview Ben Cherington had today he admitted that the Pirates tried to re-sign Diego to another minor league deal before deciding to add him to the 40 man. According to Ben, Diego’s response respectfully was, “no Sir, I’m going to play and make a team out of Spring”. And so he did, so he did.

Derek Shelton today said of Diego Castillo, “He’s a baseball player, you put him in the field and he’s gonna go out and do it”

4. So Who Else Should Make it to MLB This Year?

Oh man, a bunch. Let’s start with very likely. Oneil Cruz, Bligh Madris, Travis Swaggerty, Miguel Yajure, Roansy Contreras, Rodolfo Castro, Cal Aldred, Blake Cederlind, Cody Bolton, Yerry De Los Santos.

And possible, Jack Suwinski, Canaan Smith-Njigba, Blake Weiman, Hunter Stratton, Beau Sulser, Max Kranick, Adonis Medina, Tucupita Marcano, and finally Ji-hwan Bae.

When I tell you you’ll like the team better at the end of the season than the beginning, these two lists are why. We aren’t even into the exciting guys yet largely.

Again, I don’t expect everyone to enjoy this stuff the way I do, I bet most of you would sign up for a time machine instead of waiting, but I love this part of a rebuild. We have no idea who out of this group will become the next guy we want extended long term, or who is going to pull a Castillo and just look like a no brainer to be part of this thing. All the evaluation and rating and waiting for these guys to get a crack finally starts to be put into practice this year and I love it with everything in my bones.

5. Is This Power Output Sustainable?

Man, my head says no way. I just can’t look at this lineup and really expect we’re going from worst to first by swapping a few guys for youngsters or retreads. That said, just like I said the team will overall improve, even if only incrementally, so too will the power.

They have some guys who can thump, they just don’t have a bunch of guys who are gonna put 30+ over the wall, yet. I still think you’ll feel like runs are possible more often than last year when you had to have a rally start at the exact right place in the lineup to even have a chance. This year I think most nights they’ll have 6-7 guys in the mix who can and have put the ball over the fence.

I’m not gonna give you some number, but I don’t think they’ll finish last this year, even if all that means is the guys who come up later in the season put on a show.

The question was is it sustainable though, and no, being first in the league for long balls isn’t in this team’s future.

But they might just surprise some people with how much pop some of the guys you think you know show this year with a new hitting instructor.

The Pirates Can’t Do the Right Thing, Even When They Do

4-3-22 – By Gary Morgan – @garymo2007 on Twitter

News broke yesterday from several outlets (I read it first from Alex Stumpf) that the Pirates offered an extension to Ke’Bryan Hayes. The offer was reportedly not up to snuff, but the two sides are continuing to talk. In other words, it wasn’t a take it or leave it offer, and it wasn’t insulting to the degree Hayes’ camp shut it down.

Hey, this is exactly what we want the Pirates to do right?

Apparently wrong.

All I saw were takes that they couldn’t get Reynolds and instead are trying to extend the “wrong guy”. Now, how the hell he became suddenly the wrong guy, we’ll put a pin in for a moment and focus on why they have to do this in some specific order according to most.

The Reynolds saga has been covered extensively, but bits and pieces at different times tend to create a crap ton of fans with partial stories.

Reynolds has been offered an extension in the past, he turned it down and it hasn’t been broached since. This happened before the 2021 season. This season according to Dejan Kovacevic, someone in the organization really screwed up to have this thing go to arbitration, but the rules the Pirates live by include a file and trial situation, they can’t present him an offer while this plays out.

He also reported they will revisit it after arbitration.

I completely understand why that sucks. I really do. What I don’t understand is why so many of you seem to think they shouldn’t be able to do both.

Furthermore, wouldn’t you rather hear them try and fail than not try? Doesn’t it give you some form of comfort that they at least plan to try to keep talent. Or try to keep it?

I guess I can see that people are tired of “try” and just wan to see “do”. That makes sense of course, and maybe 15 years ago you don’t even hear about any of this stuff.

Man, I just don’t mind seeing the friggin’ effort. Thinking back I remember the Huntington regime famously saying they were in on David Price via free agency, which made me laugh at the time. Maybe that’s all this is to most, another David Price situation.

Bottom line, as with actually putting a competitive team on the field, this team is going to have to do it, instead of just say it. Even then, it’ll be the wrong move to many, simply because the Pirates made it.