Two Guys Talking Trades – With Joe Boyd and Justin Verno 5-31-21

Joe Boyd – Now that we have one of these trade talks under our belts, it’s time to move on to the next potential trade piece, and that’s Richard Rodriguez.  RichRod is the quintessential dominant closer, at least in 2021.  The only issue?  There are not many games for him to close out.  So he would serve the Pirates best by being a trade piece.  He has been phenomenal this season, and if we look at Baseball Savant, we can see that he’s in the 100th percentile for eXpected Batting Average, eXpected ERA, and in the 99th percentile for walk rate. Those are some pretty amazing numbers!  There’s something else that’s equally exciting about RichRod and that’s that he is controllable beyond this season. If the Pirates are to trade RichRod, the return will be higher considering the fact that it will not be a two month rental. In fact, he is arbitration eligible through the 2023 season. 

Justin Verno – This is likely to be one of the harder trades to evaluate and predict, so it’s no surprise it might be the most fun to delve into. And if anyone is to hurl insults our way over predicting a closer’s return, I am okay with that. 

JB – When trying to determine RichRod’s value, I want to take a similar approach to how we analyzed Frazier’s value in the first segment, but I also want to look at some historical trades involving controllable relievers from the recent past. So let’s start with the surplus value.

Rodriguez has been a force this season and has already produced 0.9 WAR from the reliever spot. That projects to about a 3.0 WAR pace. He has already blown past his ZiPS projection for 2021 (0.4 WAR), so that is not even a reasonable lower bound number. I think a comfortable range from Rodriguez would be 1.4 – 3.0 WAR. So with that range, I think it’s fair to put RichRod at a total 2021 WAR of 2.3, and since he is controllable for the 2022 and 2023 seasons, we tap ZiPS future projections for his future WAR.  And the last portion of the equation is estimated arbitration numbers for the 2022 and 2023 seasons. Based again on The Point of Pittsburgh, those estimates come out to about $3.17M for 2022 and $4.13M for 2023.  Add that to his salary for 2021, and his total estimated salary is $9M.

Remember how I did not want to mess with Frazier’s projection, and that I would leave it up to the professionals for the future projections? Well, here I’m going to take a bit of creative freedom and give RichRod a bit of a bump.  I think a fair expectation, taking into account age, would be a bump to 1.0 WAR in 2022 and 0.9 WAR in 2023.  This bump will add a bit to his arbitration numbers, so we’ll bump those up slightly, as well: 

Now that we have put Rodriguez’s Surplus Value in a realistic range, $9M-$14.6M, let’s take a look at some similar trades for relievers. 

In my attempts to see what kind of value a controllable reliever typically nets, I found this interesting article from Baseball America from 2019. Gone are the days of the major hauls of the Andrew Miller or Aroldis Chapman deals, but an interesting comp did arise from the article. In 2018, the Astros traded RHP Jorge Alcala (#8 in HOU System, 40 FV) and CF Gilberto Celestino (#20 in HOU System, 40 + FV) for Ryan Pressley. Pressley had 3.5 years of control remaining.  Another trade that you may be familiar with, Keone Kela (2.5 years of control) to Pittsburgh for Taylor Hearn (#7 in PIT System, 45 FV) and 3B/1B Sherten Apostel (#16 in PIT System, 40 FV) to Texas.  One final comparison, Mychel Givens (1.5 years of control) to COL for 1B Nevin (40 FV) & 2B Vavra (45 FV). 

When you look at these prospect packages, you will note that we are not seeing top of the farm prospects any longer. In fact, the market for relievers has come down quite a bit, but it is still reasonable and to be expected to receive two top 20 prospects from a system. The value in the Pressly deal is about $5.0M, the prospects shipped out of Pittsburgh for Kela are valued around $6M, and the prospects sent from Colorado totaled a value of $8M.

JV- Those trade examples are a good reason why a lot of Bucco fans will get upset, as they are expecting a Chapman or Miller-esque return. 

A few things to keep in mind on RichRod:

He’s not LH.

He isn’t that flame throwing, high heat guy.

These two things matter for GMs.  I’m not saying RichRod won’t bring a good return, he will, but I do want to express the belief that BC isn’t getting multiple top 100 guys here. That said, two trades I’d to throw into the bender to contemplate:

At the 2018 deadline, the Indians traded Fransico Mejia (an overall Top 25 prospect at the time) for Brad Hand and Adam Cimber. Hand had 2.5 years of control with an option at the time and he’s a LHR. While Cimber isn’t bad, the deal was about Hand for Mejia. Hand is not a flame throwing reliever, relying instead on movement not velocity. Sound familiar? 

The other is a trade most Bucco fans remember well… Tony Watson to the Dodgers for pitchers Angel German and Oneil Cruz. 

One of these trades was under the radar, and now looks phenomenal! The other was for a top prospect. I can’t stress enough that the closer market is a hard market to predict. We also have a really wide range of values to look at. If we use $10 million per win and the bump in projections, we get a surplus of $18 million. Use $8 million without the bump it’s as low as $8 million.

With all that said, I have the same surplus values for RichRod at $9 to $15 million. May I suggest we build two different packages each? One for sticking to the aforementioned $9 to $15 million return and one for if the market is one of the “man, that is bonkers” kind of return?

JB – That’ll work for me.  Let’s start with the realistic option.

Realistic Trade Partner: Chicago White Sox

When you look at the White Sox, they are a team that one could consider a blueprint for the Pirates.  They have been bad for a while, accumulating talent, and now they are ready to push to open that window of contention.  They are fun, they have a roster of young, exciting players.  If they added a player like Rodriguez to the bullpen, they could provide a stabilizing force, a strong veteran, and even leadership.  And as mentioned previously, this is a leader for beyond 2021, so there is plenty to like from their perspective.  This could be a low cost, high reward for Chicago. And for Pittsburgh, they continue to add young talent to a revamped farm that could pay dividends in the future, when they are ready to push to open their own window of contention.

Benyamin Bailey — RF — ETA: 2024 — 40+ FV ($4M)

Bailey is a behemoth (6’4 215 lbs) that walked more than he struck out in 2019 and has a high potential for power.   He’s 19, so at that age and that size, he has corner outfielder (or DH) projections at the major league level.  Fangraphs calls him a high variance player, and that’s exactly the player I would target in a deal such as this.  The Pirates have revamped their player development for a reason, and it is to bring players along and develop them to be major pieces at the big league level.  Not saying they will all hit, but again, if we swell the farm with talent that is anticipated to reach the majors at the same time, you have not only an insurance policy if some prospects fail, but a nice problem to have if they do not. 

Bryan Ramos — 3B — ETA: 2023 — 40 FV ($2M) 

According the FanGraphs, many scouts believe he possesses the feel/ability to hit and he is also the most advanced infield defender of the teenagers in Chicago’s system.  There is a chance he could stick at third or move to a corner outfield or even first base.  He’s another high variance bat with a long runway.  

Matthew Thompson — RHP — ETA: 2024 — 40 FV ($1M)

I’ll be honest here, this is my favorite piece of the trade, but Fangraphs is certainly lower on Thompson than I am and lower than MLB Pipeline. According to Pipeline, Thompson is the most athletic player in the system, and sits 92-94 mph.  Fangraphs says he can oscillate between that range and 90-92.  Both sites agree that he has the frame to develop and there is still time and hope that he can fulfill his potential and consistently bring the heat.  

Bonkers Trade Partner: Cleveland Baseball Club

If we’re going to do an off-the-wall trade that we weren’t expecting, I would have to assume it’s a team pushing for a pennant and also happens to have a deep farm.  In this case, my two options here are the NY Yankees and the Cleveland Baseball Club.  I’m going to say that NY doesn’t pick up the phone after Ben’s last deal netted multiple promising prospects.  So here, we will go with Cleveland.  I believe that this is a scenario of history repeating itself.  The last deal where Cleveland shipped a top prospect for relief helped turned out rather well for them, and this one looks eerily similar.  

The deal will take some additional input from the Pirates, but the deal is RP Richard Rodriguez and RP Clay Holmes for:

Bo Naylor — C — ETA: 2023 — 50 FV ($28M)

Naylor comes from the prep catcher pool which, historically, has not produced many MLB players.  But Naylor could be an exception.  He has maintained his athleticism and power during his development and looks like he could stick behind the plate.  Fangraphs gives him a 40 hit tool, so he’ll need that power and to stick behind the plate to make the deal worth it, but if he does, the deal would look really nice for Cherington.

Now, I do not expect Clevend to do an almost identical trade as the one a few years ago that saw them ship out Francisco Mejia, but Justin wanted an off-the-wall deal, so I had to oblige.  Nonetheless, I think the White Sox prospect package is more realistic and also just as enticing for a rebuilding club.  I love the athleticism and power combination of that group and would love to see the Pirates Player Dev go to work on those young players. 

JV-So, here we are again with no rumors of a specific team discussing a deal with the Buccos. The great news here is there’s no shortage of teams that could use an upgrade, and it wouldn’t surprise me if a team looks to add RichRod as the setup/fireman as well. There will be phone calls here, for sure. It took me the better portion of my day building my favorite packages, so you can imagine my dismay when Joe went with one of my trade teams, the White Sox. I even considered still using the White Sox and using different pieces (Jared Kelley in this case) but after further consideration, I’ve decided to go with the San Fran Giants. (Using the White Sox now would be tainted. Thanks a lot, Joe.)

Realistic trade partner: San Francisco Giants

I can’t think of a single “insider” that had the Giants pegged as a playoff contender, yet here they are right in the thick of it. Giants are no strangers to going “all in” and it would surprise me if they get aggressive here as their closer, Jake McGee, doesn’t have the prettiest slash line. His ERA is 4.58 and while the WHIP is a solid 1.12 and his FIP of 3.90 suggest a little bad luck, they don’t suggest he’s had terrible luck. The return:

Patrick Bailey –C– ETA 2022 FV 45+($8M)

At one point last year, a lot of insiders had Bailey going to the Pirates 7th overall in the MLB draft.  He’s a solid receiver with a solid glove and a switch hitter. His bat will carry some power and if he can develop that bat a little, he has star potential. But, we aren’t there yet.  I imagine Cherington and staff did a lot of work on Bailey and could be very comfortable adding him.

P.J. Wilson –CF– ETA 2023 FV 40 ($2M)

Fangraphs describes him as a “tools over feel” kid. The tools are there, but he needs a lot of development. With a lot of speed and a HUGE arm, both a current 70 on the scale, he’s certainly an athlete. If his bat develops, this is a great add. 

Bonkers trade partner: Toronto Blue Jays

The Jays invested a lot over the last year or so, they are young and fun, and they are in the chase. Dolis has not been good; his ERA and his FIP are over 5. In short, they need an upgrade. Can Cherington get the big time overpay from the system he might know best?

Gabriel Moreno –C– ETA 2022 FV 50 ($28M)

I know, another C. I promise this isn’t purposeful, but just the way it trended. Moreno is about as rounded a prospect as you can find. He may not have an elite trait, but he does everything well. He throws well, fields well, hits well enough, and has a little pop. One bonus here is he doesn’t strike out a lot. I like Moreno a lot and if the Pirates GM can rob his old team, this is a guy I’d love to add 

We keep saying that we aren’t TRYING to project catchers, yet we both keep targeting catchers. If anything, that shows that the Bucs need to add catchers to the system. Outside of Endy Rodriguez, there aren’t many. Maybe Geovanny Planchart develops? Or, Deon Srafford finds what they originally liked about him? All in all, the cabinet is bare.

One other thing that popped into my head is there’s a little more daylight in the packages here than with Frazier, specifically in the realistic trade. I have a 45+ in front and you have a 40, but my second piece is a leser piece. My 45+ is a little older and perhaps closer to the bigs. What are your thoughts on that?

JB – I tried to model the trade to look like those reliever trades that I mentioned at the top, and I don’t think that RichRod will command the top of his value range due to a lack of track record.  I would love to be wrong, however.  I also think that my targets are further down the line and provide the opportunity to develop.  I mentioned in the piece on Frazier that those prospects that’re nearing their prospect ceiling have already had the work of their respective team’s player dev and those teams are ready to reap the benefits.  I think that the Pirates have had a clear plan to target players further away and hope that that variance will break their way.  I would expect to see the plan evolve as we approach that window of 2024/2025, but for now I am going after higher variance, younger players that have the chance to pop like a Peguero or Head.  

I like the idea of San Francisco dealing from a position of strength, but we’ve seen those pesky NL West teams hoard their catching prospects, so I am cautiously optimistic that we could pry him loose. 

JV-That’s why I went with Bailey. Ricardo Genoves is an option there as well, but Cherington doesn’t have to move RichRod, he can wait until the offseason. I think he uses that to get that 45 or a 45+.  

I’m thinking of Jacob Stallings next? And with him we can start with IF the Bucs should even move him?

Pirates Roster Shakeups Today, and the Near Future

Today we get started on returning some injured players and making decisions. Ka’ai Tom returned to the lineup yesterday as the 27th man for the double header, but the club will want to keep the rule five pick on the roster, which obviously means someone else has to go. Ildemaro Vargas was Designated for Assignment today to make room.

Chad Kuhl likely returns to the mound after his stint on the IL and rehab starts, the Pirates could have gone in a few directions here, but the easiest might have been to option Nick Mears back to AAA to make room. There are also Chase De Jong sightings in town, so it seems the Pirates at least were hedging their bet that Kuhl was ready a bit. Either one will probably create the same move for now, but if they go with De Jong, he has no options so you’d think they’d want it to be a bit more long term. This could lead to a bit of a surprise like Wil Crowe being optioned back to Indianapolis.

It should also be noted De Jong was possibly the Pirates strongest starter in Spring and he’s carried that into his AAA time. If you believe in letting guys earn a promotion regardless of roster construction, he deserves a shot. We’ll see about this before the first pitch today.

The next three returning Pirates will of course have to come with moves too. First up will be Ke’Bryan Hayes, as it sounds like the Pirates want to send Phillip Evans and Colin Moran to Indianapolis for rehab stints. Seems like everything is on track for Hayes on June 3rd, but you never know until you know.

This means 3 players have to come off the roster. The easiest path probably sees Cole Tucker optioned back to Indy for Hayes, and Will Craig either optioned or DFA’d depending on where they are with the 40-man for Evans or Moran, whichever is back first. I of course could be wrong on Craig, he’s hit the ball fairly well since being selected, but as we keep talking through the other decisions that need made, I think it’s pretty clear he’d end up on the cutting room floor at some point regardless.

The last one is the trickiest. They’re probably going to have to choose between Wilmer Difo, Ben Gamel, Ka’ai Tom, or Phil Evans himself. No matter how you look at the options, this choice comes from that group barring another injury.

If you think back, all the way to when Hayes went down, the corresponding move was to select the contract of Wilmer Difo, and he’s played just about everywhere on the field, including the mound since then. He’s provided a decent stick off the bench but keep in mind when everyone is healthy, Phillip Evans is a bench piece too. There might not be room for both. They could also see Evans as the best option for one of the corner outfield spots, in which case they’d either have to say goodbye to Tom or Gamel.

Gamel has started to hit recently, and his history says he’ll contribute a little at least. Tom has been patient at the plate since he was acquired and he’s popped two home runs to add to what could wind up being a really solid OBA tool.

I’m not anxious to continue to shuffle the outfield parts. None of what they’ve tried has really fully grasped the position by the short hairs but Evans’ bat was falling off after a hot start too so this isn’t as cut and dried as many would have assumed when he went on the IL.

Gamel isn’t a typical waiver claim, he has actual MLB experience, and still has a year of arbitration available. As he sits in the wheelhouse of the types of veterans the Pirates should be looking for this offseason, it might make sense to just find a way to keep him around.

Another way to look at it of course is to just say who cares. As we’ve discussed countless times most of these guys won’t be part of the future. That’s true of course, but they still have to field a team on the way to better times and if they had a typical AAA filled with hungry youngsters chalk full of options, this isn’t a big deal.

Instead they’ve filled the coffers with other team’s failed projects like Dustin Fowler or Anthony Alford, a few of their own like Will Craig, Kevin Kramer, James Marvel and the like. That makes movement and trial periods far less simple to make. It creates a sense of finality to every little roster transaction, and honestly it’s not ideal in any way.

Especially when we look around and realize we haven’t even seen all the players that are working their way through injury return. Jose Soriano, the Pirates rule five pick recovering form TJ surgery will need a spot, Steven Brault will return, Austin Davis is on a rehab assignment. The reality is the Pirates will be forced to cuts several players loose very soon, and to be blunt, they need to in order to make room for promotions from AA anyway.

This is part of the process, but really highlights just how poorly constructed this system was to help the big club, because this is after Cherington added almost 15 players to the Pirates top 30 prospect list.

Updates

JT Brubaker was added to the bereavement list, this can be anywhere from 3-7 days and makes temporary room for Chase De Jong who was selected to start today. Chad Kuhl has been announced as the starter tomorrow in KC and another move will be needed, back to what I said, Mears most likely.

Double Header Sweep, Pirates (20-31), Keller Blank Rockies Twice in One Day

Conviction. Command. Stuff.

Three things that make the engine go for Mitch Keller, three things that have rarely lined up for him at the same time. This afternoon, he had everything working.

The slider was on a better plane, the fastball had a deceptive but controllable tail, and more than anything, he wasn’t afraid of contact, he just pounded the zone all day and as with my notes on JT Brubaker’s performance earlier in the day, opponent noted.

Adam Frazier got the party started on the first pitch of this one, connecting to take Gomber out of the park.

The Pirates would add another in the 3rd and this one was a gift from old friend Elias Diaz.

Another add on in the 4th as Ka’ai Tom celebrates returning from the IL and his birthday.

After 5 strong from Keller the Pirates turned to Sam Howard to face his former club and he delivered a shut down 6th.

To lead off the 6th, Jacob Stallings hit his first major league triple. and Will Craig drove him in with a bloop single to right to make it 4-0.

Bednar was called upon to get the last three outs up 4-0 seeking the second shutout of the day. He would struggle, walking the first two batters he faced. A mound visit ensued and facing Elias Diaz he came back throwing strikes and he got the K. Now Hampson, strike one 97 MPH, wicked curve, and another which created a weak liner that Kevin Newman played on a hop, probably could have caught it and doubled the runner off but it was close.

2 outs and Tapia was up and Bednar got him to line out to Reynolds. Game. 4-0

More important than any one outing or plate appearance was the collective effort. Offense came from all over the lineup in both games.

As I’ve noted several times, the Rockies are bad, but you have to beat who you play.

Back at it tomorrow at 1:05 No probable pitchers have been announced but as I said in game one’s recap it’s likely to be Chad Kuhl for the Pirates.

News & Notes

  • Who says you can’t come home again? Elias Diaz on ball four wildly threw a ball to third that scored the Pirates 2nd run of the game.
  • Mitch Keller had a good outing, looked in command the entire outing until with two outs in the 5th he walked Elias Diaz and gave up a long double to Matt Adams. He regrouped and got Tapia to ground out and preserve the shutout. Nice step forward for him today, he needs to break this silly every other game thing and build on this outing.
  • Ka’ai Tom hit a line drive homerun with 109 MPH exit velocity 411 feet as a nice birthday present to himself.
  • For the Curve today Oneil Cruz hit a double. Take a look at how much shorter his swing is. That’s what they’ve been working on with him and he’s finally starting to embrace it.

Brubaker Electric, Pirates (19-31) Take Game 1 of the Twin Bill over Rockies 7-0

A light drizzle, and a light crowd on hand to watch a chilly late May contest at PNC today, but the Pirates delivered perhaps their most complete performance to date in game 1.

This game had a little bit of a few themes we needed to see. First, timely hitting and effective at bats to further the cause. That’s not been a given this season but today it really consistently was on display.

We’ll get into that a bit more, but first we should focus on JT Brubaker, the second theme that needed to show up was getting a solid start from the rotation and man did JT deliver that and then some. Check out these numbers… 6 innings, 4 hits, 1 BB and 5 K.

He really only ran into trouble when he loaded the bases with 1 out for Charlie Blackmon, probably the only guy you don’t want to see on the Rockies. A pop up and a fly ball later he was out of the inning unscathed.

Foot down performance, opposition noted.

Much needed.

The bats supported his effort, in fact everyone in the lineup had a hit save Difo who walked twice.

Cole Tucker got the party started.

And after they played a little more small ball to get it to 3-0 Bryan Reynolds continued to show he’s found the power stroke with a two run shot that made it 5-0, Polanco would follow with a Triple off the top of the wall.

They kept chipping away and adding on eventually building up the 7-0 lead they carried into the 7th inning where they handed the ball to Chasen Shreve to try to close out the game.

Good game for the Buccos, all around, seriously.

Next game starts around 4 and I’ll have that one too.
Mitch Keller versus Austin Gomber

News & Notes

  • The offense came to play today, and while Bryan Reynolds caps the highlight reel with his two run shot, I was more encouraged to see contact to move runners, and contact to score runs without even getting a hit. Those hits and homeruns are of course more exciting, and obviously needed sorely too, but the small ball aspects have to come to play every day. That’s how this team will score most of their runs.
  • JT Brubaker was a force today, hitting spots all over and just off the strike zone. This was a nice bounce back from a rotation and player who really needed one. He’s done well in his rookie campaign, but good fades quickly when you start stacking poor outings. Stopping the bleeding for himself and the ballclub is important no matter where you are in the standings.
  • Ben Gamel is quietly taking charge in Left Field. He’s swinging the bat well enough and playing a solid defensive game. OF carousel has been hard on the lineup and the fans in general, with the news on Swaggerty, I’d really like to see them let him stat out there and see how close they can come to feeling like he’s the starter. At least until he cools off. Tom being back today (should they choose to keep him) will have to mix in too. 1 for 2 with a walk and he moved runners over productively in his other plate appearances.
  • No starter has been announced for tomorrow night, but Chad Kuhl is in Pittsburgh and he’s on the right rest. You do the math. Interesting to see who goes for him. Could be Mears, could also be Cahill. It’s plausible it’s Tucker too.
  • Cole Tucker had a good approach at the plate today, came through with a big RBI single early on but more than that took some long at bats and took some swings that looked more like they were seeking damage than we’ve seen from him for most of his time. Probably not going to keep him up here, but good to see.
  • Gregory Polanco had it going today, 2 for 3 with a sac fly in the 6th and made a really nice play and throw on a pop up in the 6th to keep it scoreless.
  • Good to see Will Craig bounce back from “the Play”. Had a long double to right in this one and even had an opportunity to give the same play to the Rockies that he experienced last game. Everyone had a laugh over that. Nice moment.
  • With this win, the Pirates have matched their win total for 2020 and they did it in ten less games. Hey, baby steps right? More importantly it snaps a 6 game losing streak.
  • The Rockies have been shut out 9 times this season.

Filling The Immediate Hole Left By Frazier’s Absence Wouldn’t Be An Easy Task

This past off-season General Manager Ben Cherington had a decision to make, as he had two candidates for the first base job in Josh Bell and Colin; with him operating under the assumption that the designated hitter would not be in play, which turned out to be correct.. Ultimately, he found a suitor for Bell as many of us were sitting down to Christmas Eve Dinner; the Washington Nationals.

Now, as many have argued, the return for the face of the franchise may not have been enough considering the state and rank of the Washington Nationals Farm System. However, this is clearly a debate for another day; most likely in the future, once Eddie Yean has been able to pitch in more than four games for the Bradenton Marauders, and Wil Crowe has at least a full year or two in the Pirates Organization. At this point the focus is on whether or not their is a viable replacement for a player, if and when they are traded by Pittsburgh. In the case of Bell, Moran could step into the role, and vice versa; depending on which player garnered the most attention, and received the best return for Cherington and the Pirates.

As the situation currently stands with Adam Frazier and second base, Kevin Newman has shown that defensively he could make the adjustment to the other side of the bag. In previous seasons Newman has experienced struggles with the glove both at short and second; posting a -11 OAA across 2019 and 2020, to go along with -9 DRS. However, this season he leads the team with 5 OAA, while his DRS sits a 1. Unfortunately his bat hasn’t followed, as his batting average has cratered; starting at .308 in 2019, all the way down to .207 so far this season. Nevertheless, with a -.2 WAR that would hopefully improve, you would have at least a replacement level player manning the position, in Frazier’s absence.

On the other hand, the Pirates still would have to be concerned about the depth that remains at shortstop; or second if you keep Newman where he is.

Since 2019, aside from the time he was injured, Erik Gonzalez has been the one who ends up winning the battle for who sees the most time at shortstop; besides Newman that is. However, it’s not like he’s set the world on fire, as the only requirement for this role so far has only amounted to being better than Cole Tucker; which really hasn’t been that hard up to this point.

As a member of the Pirates, Gonzalez has compiled a .231 AVG, a 57 wRC+ and a 59 OPS+ at the plate; along with 17 DRS and 6 OAA in the infield. In comparison Tucker has amassed a .191 AVG, a 38 wRC+, a 54 OPS+, 2 DRS and a -3 OAA; and no this doesn’t take the Great Cole Tucker Outfield Experiment of 2020 into consideration. So realistically, the only things Tucker has on his side are age and control, if the Pirates and Cherington want to exercise those options. Meanwhile Gonzalez only has one more year of arbitration until he is a free agent; which doesn’t really matter that much because I don’t see either one as a long term, or even a short term solution to play either middle infield position on a consistent basis.

So, what are the options beyond the current Major League roster; without bothering to bring Wilmer Difo, Ildemaro Vargas or-believe it or not-Philip Evans into the conversation? Well, at AAA-Indianapolis you have the 2021 version of Kevin Kramer-as opposed to the .311 hitting 2018 incarnation-, Ethan Paul and the recently acquired TJ Rivera, who is 32 years young and hasn’t played in MLB since 2017 with the New York Mets; when he actually wasn’t too bad, as evident by his career .304 AVG, .780 OPS and 104 wRC+ across 73 games and 231 plate appearances. He is however, hitting just .154 for the Indians since he was acquired on May 19th.

Go down a little further to AA-Altoona, and you will find Rodolfo Castro; a player that I have been hopeful would be able to provide versatility in the infield, but I am not sure if I ever envisioned him as an everyday starter. Kind of like what many thought about Adam Frazier, yet here we are talking about his trade value since becoming the Pirates everyday second baseman.

During the off-season Castro had been added to the 40-man to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft; mostly due to the impression he left on the Pirates Organization at the Alternate Site in Altoona. Following this he got the invite to Spring Training, was added to the Alternate Site Roster once again and even got his first cup of coffee on April 21st against the Tigers-about a month before his 22nd birthday. Yet, when the Minor League Rosters came out Castro found himself with the Curve, where he is currently batting .247 with a .720 OPS and 2 home runs; so it seems possible he did need a little more seasoning after only reaching High A for half a season in 2019. Although I definitely am still extremely interested to see how he develops.

On the other side of the bag, for now, is the 6’7” number four prospect according to MLB Pipeline, Oneil Cruz; who just hit his third jack of the season, to go along with .239 AVG, a .735 OPS and completely average 100 wRC+. As always my main concern with Cruz is the walk rate versus the swing and miss, which current sits at 6.5% to 29.9%.

Still at some point Castro and Oneil Cruz-if he sticks at shortstop-will have the tandem of Liover Peguero and Nick Gonzales breathing down their necks of everything goes the way Cherington has it planned. Even though that plan has already hit a little speed bump, with both Peguero and Gonzales landing on the IL after hot starts to the season. The news for Peguero is more positive in the fact that he was reportedly close to returning from his May 15th placement on the 7-day IL for knee contusion; but that information came out 5 days ago. Gonzales on the other hand will not be participating in baseball activities until at least June 18th,and possibly not until July 2nd, with a broken pinkie. With these injuries holding them back, the timelines that many have envisioned of 2022 or 2023 may need pushed back slightly.

So, in essence Cherington and the Pirates have Adam Frazier becoming a free agent-if he is still here- after 2022, Erik Gonzalez set to walk at the same time, Kevin Newman on the books through 2024 and a whole bunch of question marks as to who will fill at least one void in 2023 and beyond, with the other position also needing to be addressed at some point; and this is taking into consideration that Newman turns himself into somewhat of a mix between the 2019 player offensively and 2021 with the glove.

As all of this information is compounded and ultimately taken into consideration, The Value In Trading Adam Frazier must also be examined, because I am sure it has changed a little bit since I last examined it in the November 12th article; but by how much. Sure he is having his best offensive season on record by batting .332 with an .846 OPS and a 138 wRC+, but he is also experiencing his worst at second base as he has posted a -2 OAA and -6 DRS, which makes it a little harder to just throw around that 2 Time Gold Glove Finalist storyline. Now I am sure they could still get something for Frazier, as Justin and Joe discussed earlier this week, but all of this talk and player/prospect projections has me contemplating an even crazier idea; extending the 29 year old for a couple of seasons beyond 2022.

This is not to say that I still wouldn’t trade him now if the right offer fell in Cherington’s lap, or down the road if a player emerged, a timeline sped up or a better offer came along; I just have a hard time making a trade by July 31st as the only option, with no real immediate answer, and only question marks on the horizon.

Travis Swaggerty Moved to 60-Day IL – Likely Out for Season

The Pirates outfield has been a desperate place.

Bryan Reynolds is largely on an island out there and seemingly nothing the Pirates have tried out there has been up to the task. Gregory Polanco, someone most fans have seen enough of is now someone the team simply can’t do without.

They’ve tried Ka’ai Tom, Ben Gamel, Wilmer Difo, Phillip Evans, Dustin Fowler, Anthony Alford, Adam Frazier, Hunter Owens, Troy Stokes Jr., and if I missed anyone, does it really matter?

You get the point here.

So the team has been waiting on Swaggerty to get at least a little soak time in AAA, especially since he skipped AA altogether. He was showing some power, lord knows the team needs that, and the average was still not where he or the team wanted it to be. Still, the arrow was pointed up, until he dislocated his shoulder diving back into first base.

After close to a week and multiple opinions his separation was classified as a “full dislocation”. Surgery will almost assuredly be coming but nothing has been announced at this time, regardless, this has all the makings of a lost season.

Since being drafted in 2018 he’s played 185 baseball games in the Pirates organization, all but 12 in Single A.

Those numbers aren’t likely to change this season now, and when he comes back he’ll essentially be returning from 2 full seasons lost to development.

Yeah, of course he was at the development site last year, and even if you consider it equivalent to a level of MiLB play, it wasn’t ideal.

Thing is, the Pirates absolutely have to have him make it. He doesn’t have to be the guy that leads this ballclub into the future, but he has to be part of the solution even if only defensively.

This is nobody’s fault, injury is part of the game. Nobody knew 2020 was coming, He’s not a bust, not yet, not because of this. I have questions about his potential, but none that prevent me from thinking right or wrong he will get a shot at it.

Mostly because there isn’t anything else coming beyond Jared Oliva who himself has been stunted by injury.

They’re going to head into 2021 most likely with Bryan Reynolds, and, well, that’s the list. Swaggerty’s injury means at the very least the Pirates will either shoot their shot and try to have him essentially jump AAA too so he can compete for a spot in 2022 right out of Spring, but that’s a dangerous game since the 3rd would likely be Jared Oliva. While I’d rather watch those two learn on the job than see the club pick up endless waiver claims, they’re going to need to fortify this position next season.

I was ok with their approach this season, although I did advise against it. I still understood the logic. The thought was they had these two kids in AAA who would eventually work their way into the picture if Fowler and Alford didn’t work out, instead they wound up admitting they were wrong in the first few weeks of the season and nobody else was ready.

Another thing the team could do is start looking at players who may wind up out there now instead of waiting for them to arrive before sticking them somewhere.

Oneil Cruz is probably the top example of this. Now he still has work to do with the bat, but he also can help this club by playing a position of real need. I’m struggling to understand leaving him at SS right now, and while I understand he’s pretty good there, reality of the organizational depth chart says he’ll likely never stick there.

Clearly nobody did much to build up the position prior to Cherington arriving, he’s brought in a couple like Canaan Smith-Njigba and Hudson Head but nowhere near enough yet. I’m not silly enough to think Ben doesn’t see the issue, but the type of talent he’s acquiring tends to be young, very young. That’s great, it’s what he’s supposed to do, but you also must keep in mind that the MLB club needs to field a team too.

Before this season is out, the Pirates need to burn through the junk drawer they’ve created. Alford, Fowler, Tom, and Stokes all need decided on, for good. And if I’m them, I’m manufacturing them a bit. I’d move Cruz out there now, I’d plant Castro out there too at least most of the time and after that you have to hope Smith-Njigba and Cal Mitchell evolve.

There’s not much to be done about this year, Jared Oliva is likely the best bet when we talk about youth coming up and contributing. But next year, this can’t be the same problem, and regardless of where they are in the rebuild, they need to bring in competence. Replacement level players are fine, I’m not talking about finding a way to get a star, just someone you’re sure can handle the position for a couple years while you grow your seedlings.

It may not matter how many games they win, but it makes a difference for developing a culture. That is formed by the collective attitudes of everyone involved, and if I’m on that field, especially on the mound or outfield, I’m looking around wondering why nobody cares.

Pirates (18-31) Swept by Cubs 5-3, This One Felt Worse Than That

Symbolism and baseball go hand in hand. Maybe that’s why I’ve found some success writing about it, I’m a metaphor junkie and baseball provides ample opportunity to put that on display.

Today I’m certainly going to discuss the game as a whole but first I need to focus on something that really stuck out to me. In the bottom of the 4th, Bryan Reynolds and Gregory Polanco went back to back with solo shots, clearly an important moment but not what I took away from it.

After Reynolds put a charge into that ball he rounded the bases, walked down the stairs and barely acknowledged the waiving hands of his teammates looking to celebrate his achievement. Polanco followed with his blast and it Gregory fashion smiled as he returned to the dugout and was met with a half hearted attempt to celebrate.

He would eventually find his way to sitting next to Bryan on the bench and was clearly trying to pump up his teammate, but at least on the surface Reynolds would have none of it.

I’m not trying to make a mountain out of a molehill here, I’m not going to say Reynolds has checked out or anything silly like that, but I will say he plays the game professionally. He approaches everything he does with a seriousness that is painfully evident.

After what happened in the third (oh, I’ll get there) a proud player like that just wasn’t feeling celebrating. Not him, not Greg, not anything.

There are defining moments in a baseball season, both good and bad usually, but the utter incompetence of what Will Craig did in the third inning was the first time I saw large swaths of the team visibly embarrassed. I guess I should try to write what he did, it’s hard to do, I almost have to get a translation guide for how to translate baseball into stupidity.

With two outs, Gonzalez fielded a ground ball and threw it wide to Craig rather than just tag the base, he stood on the baseline waiting for Baez to run into the tag. Baez didn’t, instead retreating for home plate, all while the runner was coming from 3rd. Craig pursued, again instead of just going to first. Even then there was a way out of it, all he had to do is reach out and tag him, instead he panicked and tossed the ball to Perez to get the runner from 3rd out. It didn’t happen and Baez took off for the vacated 1st base bag, A bad throw later he wound up at second.

Play over.

That was possibly, the single dumbest play I’ve ever seen. I’m actually wracking my brain to come up with something that wasn’t a physical mistake, this was just plain mental.

Normally after something like that, you see a sea of hugs and pats on the shoulder. Chin Up Kid!!! Not this time. He sat alone in the dugout, head hung low, sipping water. I’m not in there, for all I know just off camera someone was telling him it was ok, maybe he even told everyone he needed a minute, point is, this type of thing takes a team that is less talented but still fighting for each other and starts to lay a foundation of almost feeling hopeless.

For the record, this wasn’t the end of the world, it’s just a bad play, but when players who really matter are clearly not enjoying the process, it should worry management. Rebuilds are tough on everyone, but this is exactly why many including myself wanted them to bring in some real free agents in the off season, because it serves nobody involved to simply let your team fight around all the non MLB talent you’ve provided.

It’s the little things that suffer. In the bottom of the 6th Frazier led off with a single and Gamel missed a hit and run sign causing Frazier to get thrown out at second. Again, unfocused, undisciplined and that’s different than bad. Bad you can accept, but unprofessional, that’s where the wheels start falling off the cart.

They don’t have a lot of talent, but the few who do are visibly getting tired of trying like hell to pick up what’s here. Frazier is tired of collecting hits and never coming around to score. Reynolds is tired of either walking or taking a hack at the one pitch he sees, and never coming around to score.

Fatigue sets in, and much like the fan base, I’d rather see anger than apathy. It’s starting to look like both are shifting together. The record isn’t important, never has been, but that doesn’t mean these guys want to lose because a quad A player can’t make a simple play. It doesn’t mean they’re ok with fighting to get on base only to watch 3 guys take an unprofessional at bat that doesn’t even threaten moving them over, let alone in.

Point is, moments like this, they aren’t just a dumb mistake as Bob Walk tried to say repeatedly, they’re wholly a slap in the face to those who have put everything they have into this game for the entirety of their adult lives.

They must do more next year to address at the very least having MLB ready options for every position. Replacement level is fine, just don’t embarrass the fans, and more importantly the few veteran players you do have, especially if you want them to one day lead this club when it matters.

Regardless of all that, the Pirates continued to battle back, Perez hit a homerun in the 7th, they threatened in the 8th but left the bases loaded.

After getting the leadoff man on in the 9th they went down in order to end the game 5-3 Cubs.

Pirates back at it tomorrow as they host the Rockies at 6:35 at PNC Park. Jon Gray versus Mitch Keller.

News & Notes

  • Three homeruns in this game, Reynolds, Polanco and Perez. All solo shots but also the only reason this game wound up interesting, unless you enjoy watching defensive abortion.
  • Tyler Anderson wasn’t helped by his defense, but he continues to give up hard contact. At the very least the rose is off his bloom at this point, needs to make some adjustments. I say this because he appears to be doing the same things he had been doing, it’s just not leading to outs the way it was early on.
  • In the 8th Difo walked, Frazier singled and Difo advanced to 3rd on a bad throw. Frazier was thrown out trying for 2nd base. The Pirates failed to score the tying run with 1 out yet again. they would go on to load the bases before Gonzalez grounded out to end the inning.
  • The Cubs scored a late insurance run off Richard Rodriguez, after bobbling the groundball Newman threw to 1st and Craig went back to 3rd for an inning ending double play, but still a run scored on the play.

Pirates Fall To Cubs For The Second Straight Night

Wil Crowe didn’t do great tonight, but overall he hasn’t looked terrible; which might not matter to some because he still came away with the L . Many Pirates fans are searching for an Ace, or the clutch hitter, to come in, step up and save the day; but, unfortunately, I have bad news for all of you…not everyone is going to fit that mold. Whenever a pitcher has a bad appearance or a batter goes 0 for 3, many hastily set them aside, just like fans are quick to react to a homer in the midst of hitless streak or a sword after giving up the lead. That’s not how this works; that’s not how any of this works.

As a life long Pirates Fan, I understand that supporters are looking for the next best thing, the player that will make a difference, and ultimately the one who will lead Pittsburgh out of obscurity, and back to meaningful baseball. Some will perform this task by themselves, and in spite of the hardships it could entail, while others fill a gap, meet expectations, and/or slot into a role that could make the team successful at some point.

Wil Crowe could eventually meet that criteria; so could Cody Ponce, or Will Craig, Cole Tucker and even JT Brubaker; and in all honesty you need bunch of role players as much, if not more, than a single ace or superstar. Believe me it doesn’t hurt, and will eventually be essential to the rebuild; like McCutchen was for the Pirates in 2013-2015. Nevertheless, that team doesn’t go anywhere without the likes of Neil Walker, Jordy Mercer, Jeff Locke, Josh Harrison and many more.

The problem with the Pirates now is that they don’t have a McCutchen-many believe Hayes could be that guy, and he eventually he could be-and they don’t have enough of the role players to make any really difference; as evident by last night’s 4-1 loss to the Cubs, and old friend Trevor Williams.

News and Notes

  • Wil Crowe was forced from the game after only 1.1 innings; while allowing 3 runs on 5 hits, with a lone strikeout and 2 walks. This was obviously Crowe’s worst start of the year thus far. He just didn’t have it last night, but I thinks it’s worth a shot to see if he more of the pitcher he was when he faced the Cubs back on May 8th, or if this is the more likely outcome.
  • Pittsburgh’s only offense on the night came from the a few unlikely sources; Ben Gamel, Kevin Newman and Eric Gonzalez, with Gonzalez driving in the Pirates only run in the bottom of the 6th.
  • Adam Frazier’s most recent hitting streak ends at 10 following an 0 for 4 night with 2 strikeouts.
  • Bryan Reynolds hasn’t looked like himself the last two games; combining to go 0 for 7 with four strikeouts and a walk. I would say he needs a day off to reset and recharge, but I don’t really want to see an outfield without him.
  • The Pirates bullpen performed well; giving up only one run over 7.2 innings. However, they can’t take too many games like this with their next off day not scheduled until Wednesday June 2nd.

Pittsburgh doesn’t have much time to regroup, as they take on Chicago for the third game of the series at 12:35 PM EST; while trying to avoid the sweep.

For the Pirates, Tyler Anderson (3-4, 4.73 ERA) is looking to bounce back from his last outing versus Atlanta. Opposing him is Kyle Hendricks (4-4, 4.74), who is searching for his first win over the Pirates this year.

The Next Wave – Unexpected Pieces

Sometimes when you’re covering a rebuilding team, your eyes glaze over a bit. At least mine do, at the end of the day, I’m a fan, a plugged in fan, a fan with resources and contacts, but a fan nonetheless.

So, what I’m saying more than anything is I sometimes look at the players everyone is talking about and dream about all of them getting to Pittsburgh together and taking control of the Pirates ship to finally steer it in the right direction.

I talk about Liover Peguero and Nick Gonzales patrolling the middle of the infield for the next playoff team and it’s too easy to forget there are other players who will get a shot first.

I call them Bridge Prospects.

These are guys who maybe don’t have the pedigree of the two guys I mentioned earlier, but the fact is they’ll be here first. It’s a long trip from Bradenton, Greensboro or even Altoona to MLB. Today I’d like to take a look at some of those players, because every once in a while, these players turn out like Adam Frazier, or Josh Harrison. In other words, the team didn’t necessarily plan on them being part of the team that gets the job done, but when given the opportunity, they grabbed it and didn’t let go.

Let’s take a look at players from Indianapolis and Altoona and name some names shall we? And I should note, this is just my evaluation, in no way is this a list of the only guys who can help. I’m also skipping right past the guys I think SHOULD help. To be clear, I’m not going to mention Nick Mears or Braeden Ogle because I fully expect them to be part of the solution, purely highlighting some guys who might be under the radar a bit.

Indianapolis Indians

Matt Eckelman (RP) – Matt was drafted in 2016 in the 21st round, and he’s done well for himself. Used as a starter in his first couple years he quickly transitioned to a bullpen role and gravitated toward the back end collecting 41 saves primarily in Altoona and Bradenton. He probably won’t wind up a closer for the Pirates, but he has a nice mix of pitches and could have a role in the late innings for the big club. At 27 years old, it’s likely that the 6’3″ 281 pound right hander will get a shot in Spring Training next season, he’s just got too many people to jump this year.

Hunter Owen (3B, Utl) – Also drafted in 2016 Hunter has some pop and a versatile glove. Primarily a Third Baseman he can also play First and some corner outfield. We saw him get a premature cup of coffee with the Pirates this season as a taxi squad call up but he was hit by a pitch on his hand really stunting any chance he had to show what he can do. Again, it was premature, but when you’re looking for utility guys who can play multiple positions he fits the profile.

Jared Oliva (OF) – Jared is a guy most of you have heard about, and some of you masochists out there who kept watching all 60 games saw a little from him last year. He was probably going to struggle to make the club out of Spring since the Pirates were fairly locked in to seeing what Dustin Fowler and Anthony Alford could do but once they were DFA’d I’m sure if he wasn’t on the IL Oliva would as we speak be patrolling CF for the Pirates. I still wouldn’t rule out seeing him this season. The Pirates desperation in the outfield so far in 2021 is only going to increase when they cut Polanco loose, so guys like Jared are going to get a good long look.

Altoona Curve

Yerry De Los Santos (RP) – The big right hander from the Dominican Republic signed with the Pirates back in 2014. Prior to the flurry of moves made by Ben Cherington this off season he was ranked as high as 29th on the Pirates top prospect list. In 74 games he’s posted an ERA of 2.88 with a WHIP of 1.25. He’s progressing nicely and the 23 year old is on track to help the big club as a power arm. The most impressive thing about Yerry is his K/BB Ratio. 44 Walks and 141 Strike outs in his career shouts control and MLB scouts love that for advancement.

Rodolfo Castro (Utl) – Rodolfo isn’t a secret anymore. He made his MLB debut earlier this season as he was on the taxi squad. It wasn’t meant to be long term, and it surely wasn’t but when Castro was assigned to AA rather than AAA I can’t have been the only one to have some questions. He showed some of his power this Spring and his versatility plays right into the types of players Ben Cherington and Derek Shelton seem to really want. I have no doubt he will advance this year, I won’t even rule out a return to MLB in 2021. On top of everything else, he’s a switch hitter adding to his versatility. He’s only 22 years old, of everyone on this list today, this is probably my top target to be a solid contributor for a while.

Cal Mitchell (OF) – Cal is on the radar, less for how great he’s been than the fact the MLB club has sent just about everyone digging into the outfield talent headed our way. He was selected in the 2nd round in 2017 and was a bit of a coup for the Pirates to get because he was fairly committed to going to college, but the pick worked and at 22 years old, he has a real shot to be a factor. The power tool is there, but he has yet to turn it into a bunch of homeruns, that said, as we just learned with Ke’Bryan Hayes, the tool is almost more important than the stats. Doubles turn into dingers in MLB and I honestly think Mitchell has a terrific shot of getting here and sticking.

Canaan Smith-Njigba (OF) – Canaan was acquired from the Yankees in the Jameson Taillon deal and I’m not going to say he was a throw in because that’s just not knowable, but it’s fair to say he was the least heralded of the group returned to Pittsburgh. He’s a lefty hitter with power and if you remember seeing him in Spring Training, he’s a physical specimen. 6’0″ 240 pounds of pure muscle, and still just 22, Canaan has a real chance to be a mainstay in the Pirates outfield by as early as mid next season. If there is a position where players could really rocket through this system it might just be in the outfield. If he continues to develop his power tool and adds it into his career .280 average he could just be a guy nobody wants to face.

That’s a short list. I could probably list 5 or 6 more, and probably have a good shot at being right, but as you look at the top prospect boards and salivate over visions of many of them getting to Pittsburgh to bring the franchise back to relevancy keep in mind, they’re going to have to go through guys like this.

These players have careers too, and MLB is chalk full of guys nobody talked about before they got here and made themselves irreplaceable.

Pirates (18-29) Lose to the Cubs 4-3, Runners in Scoring Position Remains Theme

First of all, good ballgame.

You get to the point when covering a season like this where you almost look at that as a win, not for the team of course, but personally. It’s hard to find anything useful to write about in a double digit loss, but in a 4-3 close game with chances throughout there tend to be more things worth noting.

Tonight the important takeaway is Cody Ponce. He wasn’t as impressive as Miguel Yajure has been, but much like early days Wil Crowe he shows you what there is to like. He and Crowe are actually very similar pitchers, good stuff, not great stuff, good breaking stuff so long as it’s placed, fastball that can get swing and miss with placement. Ponce will find his way back to AAA I’m quite sure and rightfully so, but he’s not someone you should skip over to race for whoever is in AA. Cody Ponce will have a role on this club, even if it winds up being a long man, Shelton really likes having more than a few of those.

This wasn’t the outcome he wanted of course but the Pirates depth of quality young starters is in a really healthy place this early in a rebuild.

The bats came to play from the jump as Adam Frazier jumped on the first offering from Jake Arrieta for a single and Ben Gamel followed up with a double to right.

Bryan Reynolds would strikeout, his first encounter with an umpire crew he would be at odds with all night. If Bryan just does what he typically does tonight the Bucs win this one, and pretty handily. That’s not an indictment of Bryan, he’d say the same I’m sure. Jacob Stallings struggled just as much after coming through in the first.

Runners in scoring position has been a problem all season for the Pirates.
And it would rear it’s ugly head one last time in the ninth. Cole Tucker led off with a double, reached third on a deep fly ball with one out. Ildemaro Vargas pinch hit and struck out, and Adam Frazier grounded out to end the game.

Turkey was on the table in the 9th, all they had to do was make contact and the speedy Tucker had a good shot to score.

Pirates drop the series opener 4-3, back at it tomorrow with

News & Notes

  • Sam Howard faced 3 batters in his outing tonight. He walked a guy and gave up a popup that fell in for a single. In the middle of his outing the dugout saw something they didn’t like and sprinted to the mound. Howard dismissed them quickly and faced his last batter before being pulled in favor of Clay Holmes. This might be nothing, but then again it might be.
  • Bryan Reynolds has been so good this season, so this certainly shouldn’t be considered more than what it is, but he struggled tonight at the plate. Going 0-4 and generally not seeing the ball well. Visibly frustrated which for him is noteworthy. Ron Culpa was the 1st base umpire tonight and he drew attention more than once for check swing calls that were at least close. Now when he called Reynolds for Strike three in the 8th inning he held up the strike sign and almost seemed to be walking toward Reynolds while holding the sign up. It was weird if innocent, and wrong if purposeful.
  • Ben Gamel showed signs of life tonight. Doubling and scoring in the first and stroking a single to center for an RBI in the 2nd. He also made a really nice play to cut off a ball and hold a base hit to a single. Really nice defense by he and Reynolds tonight.
  • Cole Tucker had his first hit of the season in the top of the 9th, a double to the wall off Craig Kimbrel
  • Cody Ponce made his season debut and after a strong 4 innings in which he gave up one run, things got away from him in the 5th and he gave up 3 runs. That would be a decisive tally
  • The Pirates rank 29th in baseball for Runners Left on base with 3.93 AVG per game. They rank last in baseball for runs per game with 3.35 runs per game average, and watching it that sounds high doesn’t it?
  • Chad Kuhl threw 3.1 innings and 63 pitches tonight for Indianapolis. The Pirates could have him throw one more game or he could stay on rotation for 5 days from now and make his start for Pittsburgh. We should know soon how they want to proceed.
  • The Pirates took quite some time today to announce the corresponding move to Cody Ponce getting the spot start. My friend Graves pointed out they could have been waiting until the last second to make sure Evans or Moran were going to need another day or were ready to make the announcements all together.
  • Will Craig is hitting, he’s making things interesting for when some guys start coming back.
    Vote on my Twitter poll on this, interesting….