The Pirates’ last seven games served as a bit of a proving ground, in my opinion, to emerge from last place in the division and overtake teams like St. Louis, Chicago, and Cincinnati. Things were looking up after taking three of four from the Reds over the weekend, but the weekday series against the Cubs was a different story. Chicago swept the Buccos, posting 41 runs over three games, and stealing a game on Wednesday where the Pirates led 10-3 after six innings.
The end of this season will be a bit all over the place, just like this homestand was
I’d like the team to finish over .500, or at least improve on last year’s 76-win total. It’s certainly doable, seeing that the team needs to finish the year 14-15 to match that mark.
But I don’t believe that’s the most important part of this closing stretch of games.
Seeing guys like Billy Cook, Liover Peguero, Nick Yorke, Henry Davis, and Jack Suwinski at the major league level remains a priority. Davis is already up, and I hope we see more of him, even after Joey Bart returns from injury. As I wrote weeks ago, the worst-case scenario for the end of this season is not only losing, but not knowing anything more about the aforementioned prospects and how they can help in 2025. Two things can be the case: this was an awful series against the Cubs, and there are still other objectives beyond wins and losses.
Pitching struggles, unless your name is Skenes
41 runs. Forty-one. To a Cubs team that isn’t setting the world on fire offensively, ranking below-average in OPS, batting average, and other offensive metrics. Adding fuel to the fire, those runs were scored in games started by guys that I’d argue are the Pirates’ top three starters, Mitch Keller, Jared Jones, and Paul Skenes. What started as a four-inning start on Monday that required Rowdy Tellez to pitch, ended up with a taxed bullpen that blew a seven-run lead in the final innings on Wednesday.
Paul Skenes didn’t have his best stuff Wednesday afternoon, conceding three runs over just five innings, but giving the Pirates a chance to win. Frankly, I was ready to write about how Skenes got a much-deserved win in the series finale, making up for one of those games earlier in the year where he got little-to-no run support. Well, he was staked with 10 runs by the Pirates offense, and it still wasn’t enough. The bullpen’s struggles let things get away, culminating with another blown save by David Bednar.
Derek Shelton should take some accountability
Accountability is a big word, one that we’ve discussed here previously on Steel City Pirates. Before I say what I’m about to, I want to make one thing clear: I think that the Pirates can win with Derek Shelton. I’m not “out” on him, nor do I think, as many other fans do, that the Pirates should fire him.
With that said, Shelton needs to take some level of responsibility for his decisions and the execution when those decisions are made. Oftentimes, we’ve seen him say things like “we have to execute better there” or “we have to make a better pitch”. Those things may be true, but to see a manager rarely admit to making a mistake or wrong decision is something that needs to change.
The odd timing of Oneil Cruz in center field
If you’d have told me on Sunday that Oneil Cruz would be moved to center field, and still wouldn’t be the biggest talking point of this article, I wouldn’t have believed it. Yet, here we are.
I’m not a fan of moving Cruz during the season, but moving him off of shortstop was a move that I saw as imminent this offseason. There are more questions than answers right now, and it’s a decision that I’m not betting on succeeding. Ultimately time will tell, but I’d expect some growing pains in the final games of 2024.
The Pirates will look to avoid being swept by the Cubs against the veteran, soft-tossing Kyle Hendricks, who is in the twilight of his career but still somehow can get the best of the Bucs.
Jameson Taillon and Justin Steele both entered this series with poor career marks against the Pirates, redeeming themselves with strong starts in their outings. On the other hand, Hendricks has consistently had success versus Pittsburgh, compiling a 3.81 ERA over 170 innings – though, he struggled in his last outing on May 17th allowing 8 runs (7 earned) off 11 hits through just 4.2 innings.
Hendricks enters today with a 3-10 record and a 6.33 ERA as he has been struggling through statistically his worst professional season where he spent time relegated to the bullpen for the first time in his career. He’s never been one to blow batters away with his stuff, preferring precision over power, but he’s just been wholly ineffective in his 11th MLB season.
He works mostly with his high-80s sinker/4-seam, a low-80s change and a loopy low-70s curve. Only the curve has generated plus results with an oBA of .189 and oSLG of .297 but each of the other pitches have been HAMMERED!
While hitters have had his number from both sides of the plate, he has notably struggled more against left-handed hitters – who have a .882 OPS against him – as well as performing worse away from Wrigley (7.16 ERA in 55.1 innings) than at home (5.32 in 45.2 innings).
Bucs bats will need to watch for the curve and be ready for the hanging “heat” from Hendricks. Don’t let him complete the sweep. Get on his pitches early today and get a win before hitting the road.
The Pirates finally pulled the trigger and fired someone. Granted, it was not anyone in the Pirates coaching staff or the front office – but the Director of International Scouting, Junior Vizcaino – who had been in the role since replacing Rene Gayo, famously associated with the Miguel Sano saga, in 2017. The team also parted ways with Luis Silverio who operated as their Senior Advisor of Latin American Operations.
Sources: The Pittsburgh Pirates have dismissed Junior Vizcaino as Director of International Scouting
Vizcaino replaced Rene Gayó in 2017.
Luis Silverio, Senior Advisor of Latin American Operations was also dismissed.
Development of talent has been a big issue but evaluating that talent is first and foremost – and considering the amount of resources reportedly committed to international markets, specifically in Latin America – one would think the results would be more apparent.
The international market is rife with success stories: Juan Soto, Ronald Acuña Jr., Julio Rodriguez, Fernando Tatis Jr. and others among the All Star players signed through this process. While the Pirates had some success with international players in the previous administration – namely, Starling Marte – the organization at-large has mostly failed to land any meaningful players from this process.
In Vizcaino’s first signing period included a number of players either exceedingly far away from the MLB down in the minors or out of baseball entirely. The lone exception? Ji-hwan Bae, whom the Pirates only signed because of the Braves contract scandal and who has largely failed to live up to expectations. And Luis Peralta, who isn’t doing anything for the Pirates because he was dealt to the Rockies at the trade deadline for relief lefty, Jalen Beeks. Peralta debuted on August 24th for Colorado and has pitched 2.2 scoreless innings as of this writing.
End of list.
That’s it. None of the remaining 72 players signed that year have managed to break through with the Pirates or any other MLB club, and are all Rule 5 eligible this offseason.
In year 5 of this rebuild, the team needs to do a better job evaluating talent and providing said talent with all of the opportunities for success. If they’re going to continue falling short in these fields, it’s going to be a LONG time before we see Buctober baseball again.
Ya know, its the end of August, the weather is warm some days and cooler on others, football is right around the corner, and with September comes questions regarding your favorite baseball team about what you’ve watched over the summer and how things could change going into the next season.
That is the case for about 12-13 teams right now, as the playoffs seem like a distant fantasy land that can’t be obtained, and with rosters expanding next week, you begin to see new faces emerge as possible contributors for next season and beyond.
At the time of writing, Pittsburgh is 62-68 and eight games back of the final wild card spot, currently occupied by the Braves. So, the Pirates are by no means “mathematically eliminated”, but they have a massive hill to climb, and it would take the Pirates overtaking six teams to make a postseason berth happen, so highly unlikely, but we’ve seen crazier things.
Part of the reason the Pirates are in the position they are is because they haven’t gotten what they expected from some of their acquisitions this past offseason and well, truthfully, some of what was already here.
It made me wonder though, could any of the acquisitions the Pirates made before the season began return to Pittsburgh in 2025?
Some of you may read the rest of this and immediately see a name and say “hell no”, but hear me out on what I have to say about each player, where they’d fit in the mold next season, what could be available, or well, not available, elsewhere and how it will effect the Pirates decision-making, and so much more.
Let’s get to it, shall we?
Aroldis Chapman
This is the player that sparked this question for me in the first place.
Amidst the turmoil we’ve seen with the bullpen over the past month, it seems as if Aroldis Chapman was always separated from it, and in some ways, he has been, but let us not forget he was a massive problem when the season began also.
Chapman’s monthly splits are something to marvel, because you probably wouldn’t believe me, but outside of his putrid April, where he had a 7.71 ERA, Chapman’s ERA by month has never eclipsed 4.00, and since June, it hasn’t been higher than 2.79.
Consider also that in August, Chapman has been one of the best relievers in baseball, posting a 0.90 ERA in 10 appearances this month and on top of that, a 0.60 ERA since the Pirates came back after the All-Star break.
The last time Chapman allowed an earned run you ask? August 2 against the Diamondbacks. Before that? July 13 versus the Chicago White Sox, so its safe to say that Chapman has been as reliable as anyone in the bullpen for a large portion of the season.
So, do you bring him back in 2025?
That question has many, many layers to it. For starters, Chapman will be 37-years old next year, and although he has been a marvel throughout his entire career, at some point you’d expect the tires will fall off for the Cuban Missile.
It hasn’t happened yet of course, and its a risk that not only the Pirates would be willing to take, seeing as Chapman has been strong this season as a back-end relief option, but on top of the age, I think you wonder financially if the Pirates can bring him back as well.
Yes, it threw me, and many of you reading, off guard when the Pirates signed Chapman to a one-year, $10.5-million contract this past offseason, but I understood it, because it filled a hole at the time and on paper, gave the Pirates one of the best back-end bullpens in baseball.
It of course hasn’t worked out that way, but ask yourself, and the team will also, are you comfortable paying nearly $11-million to a 37-year old reliever, especially if, and it likely will be, payroll is limited?
The last part of that is the crucial part, the financial aspect of all of this. If the payroll doesn’t increase, especially with the needs the Pirates have elsewhere, more on that later, it is hard to justify such a move, but the Pirates would have to find another set-up option if Chapman departs, and that of course could be internal with players like Kyle Nicolas, Colin Holderman, the return of Dauri Moreta and maybe others, so the options are there for a replacement already.
Chapman has found a way to defy everything that has come his way across his storied career as a reliever, and if the Pirates welcome him back next season, I wouldn’t at all be upset, and he’s had a more than solid 2024, and he’ll have suitors, but if the Pirates can bring Chapman back in 2025, they should.
Rowdy Tellez
Rowdy Tellez had one of the worst starts to a season one could imagine in 2024, with a DFA announcement all but awaiting for him early on.
Despite that, Tellez found a way to turn around his season especially when the calendar turned to June. In March, April and May, Tellez batted well below the Mendoza line with an OPS in the 400s at times, but when June arrived, Tellez batted .333 with an OPS of .926, and those good fortunes carried over to July, where Tellez slashed .297/.338/.578/.916 with five home runs and 14 RBIs.
He’s slowed down in August, posting a .716 OPS with just two home runs this month, and as a full sample size, the turnaround is nice and all, but this is not what the Pirates expected out of Tellez.
Tellez currently has 11 homers on the season, with only three of those coming in the second half of the season, and with the expected power output prior to the season, that isn’t at all where the Pirates want him to be.
When you consider bringing Tellez back for 2025, unlike Chapman, I think it is more about what is available in the organization and outside the organization.
The 2025 free agent class of first baseman isn’t strong, at least for what the Pirates could acquire, headlined like Pete Alonso, Paul Goldschmidt and Christian Walker as the top-three UFA. Anthony Rizzo and Rhys Hoskins have a club option and an opt-out respectively, while Wilmer Flores, Josh Bell, Carlos Santana, Joey Gallo and Tellez round out the class.
Inside the organization, you have Connor Joe, who has slowed down considerably after a hot start, the impending return of Endy Rodriguez, who still has a ton to prove at the MLB level, and lower level prospects who won’t be ready next season, and you wouldn’t like most of them anyways at this point for a team looking to contend.
So, with first base, is Tellez the most realistic option for the Pirates next season? I would argue absolutely, seeing as the price tag won’t be massive, as it wasn’t massive this season, and when considering the free agent options, I’m not sure I am picking half of those players over Tellez and the other half are unattainable financially.
There is always a scenario where the Pirates find a trade partner for a first baseman they believe in, and I am not ruling that either, but if Tellez wants to return, which I imagine he would because I do not expect his market to be massive anways, its a near no-brainer for the Pirates because, at the end of the day, you can do much, much worse than Tellez at the position.
Tellez would also give the Pirates a player they know as well as a security blanket for the position for say, Endy Rodriguez, and if Tellez was the starting first baseman, or in a platoon with Endy or Joe, I wouldn’t tell folks to be elated, but I would implore them that the situation could be way worse, so the likelihood is high that Tellez returns in 2025 in my book.
The Rest
Well, as I started writing this, Michael A. Taylor was on the roster, he no longer is, so that should tell you just about everything you need to know there right now.
Now, with the decision to move Oneil Cruz from shortstop to center field, I would not at all mind Taylor mentoring Cruz defensively at the position, but I don’t expect Taylor back in Pittsburgh next season.
Yasmani Grandal has seen success over the past month and has been a veteran presence behind the plate and helped the catching position with the Henry Davis saga this season, and now with Joey Bart on the IL, Grandal will continue to get playing time.
He should cherish that playing time, because the likelihood of Grandal returning to this team is very low, seeing as his defense has become a massive problem and he doesn’t offer much offensively either, and Bart and Davis will likely man the position in 2025, so there is really no need for Grandal outside of security for depth at the position, which the Pirates can find elsewhere, and on top of that, those options elsewhere would be better.
If Andrew McCutchen doesn’t retire, you could pretty much pen him back as a Pirate in 2025, seeing as at this point in his career, it appears he wants to retire in Pittsburgh and continue on a yearly basis before he hangs up the cleats.
Domingo German may return, but that jury is out there, and outside of that, the trade deadline additions are signed through next season and beyond and will be here, outside of maybe Jalen Beeks.
Consider Chapman and Tellez and their impacts on this 2024 team when we enter the offseason in about a month and ask yourself if you want them back, because the team will surely consider it, and I would not at all be surprised if they return and are impactful in 2025.
The Pittsburgh Pirates hit us with massive news before yesterday’s series opener versus the Chicago Cubs, announcing Oneil Cruz would be making a permanent move from the shortstop position to center field.
Oneil Cruz will switch from shortstop to center field, Pirates manager Derek Shelton announced. pic.twitter.com/HD1XKVBeg2
Immediately, the announcement sent shockwaves through the organization, because as fans, it’s a move that many have teased as a possibility at some point, but to see it actually happen was, in all honesty, shocking.
Ben Cherington and Derek Shelton spoke on the move yesterday after Shelton broke the news to reporters.
Pirates GM Ben Cherington on why he wanted to keep Oneil Cruz at a premium position and why he thinks he can be a good defender in center field. pic.twitter.com/s0rZyLWq1D
With everything said, done and announced, it took me some time to digest everything and formulate an opinion and a reaction to the decision, and right now, the impact this has on Cruz himself and the team is very interesting to say the least.
For Cruz himself, this is a drastic change. We have seen success stories before from other players making the transition from shortstop, or the infield overall, to the outfield, most recently Fernando Tatis Jr., Jackson Merrill and Mookie Betts, who have all shown they can be successful defensively in the outfield.
Despite the success stories, Cruz is none of those players, he’s his own, unique blend of athleticism, speed and power, and a move like can have both positive and negative impacts.
Initially, there will, without a doubt, be growing pains for Cruz in center field, purely because he has to learn tracking the ball off the bat, the semantics of managed his left fielder and right fielder as far as positioning, and his decision making when throwing from the outfield to hold runners.
Those of course, are mostly mechanical, and Cruz showed a willingness to improve mechanically at shortstop, but it seemed as if the position was never going to workout for him. His -3 OAA and the number of errors was always alarming, especially when it began to cost the Pirates games at times, with many other factors at play of course, so mechanics will be the first step in the process.
The process continues with him finding comfort in the position, and although, as reported, it seems he is unhappy with the move, I am sure he’ll embrace it eventually for the betterment of team success, more on that later.
Once Cruz cruises through those barriers, the impact he can have at the position is limitless, seeing as he ranks as one of the fastest runners in baseball(87th percentile) and arm strength(99th percentile), so the tools are already there, it will just be a matter of a learning curve and implementation of what he learns at the position.
On top of all this, Cruz did play 80 innings in the outfield with AAA-Indianapolis in 2022, so he has limited experience, but its experience either way. The key word for this is patience, because Cruz won’t magically figure out the position overnight, no matter how much we all wished it worked that way.
It is going to take time, and when you have an opportunity, which you do now, to get experience for Cruz at the position in games that matter, especially before next season arrives, then you take it, but this move has more impacts across the organization as well, not just Cruz.
For starters, as far as the team construction goes, Cruz has been considered, as he should be, a pillar of what the Pirates have been trying to build over the past few years. So a move to a new position would signal that the Pirates plan on Cruz being the future of the center field position, which in many ways helps this team when you break it down.
The needs of this team have been clear for awhile, they’ve needed a strong, center fielder that can hit and be adequate enough defensively for it not to be a problem, they’ve needed someone to take over the first base position, the catcher position, and even the corner outfield, minus Reynolds, at times.
So, with a positive mindset here, let us imagine Cruz’s transition is smooth, his bat doesn’t take a negative hit offensively and he is sound, enough, defensively to work in the outfield. That would fix a ton of problems the Pirates currently have, as they’ve been searching for offensive production from the outfield from someone other than Reynolds, and Cruz should be able to do that.
As mentioned earlier, the biggest questions come defensively, so being optimistic again, if Cruz is middle-of-the-road defensively, you no doubt walk out of this situation happy, as a fan and the organization itself.
As far as how this impacts other needs, you have enough as a team you like in the middle infield for there not to be a massive hole at either shortstop or second base, with Isiah Kiner-Falefa and the return of Nick Gonzales solidifying those spots. You also have contributors in Jared Triolo, Ji-Hwan Bae(if you want) and Alika Williams who can help if need be for the remainder of 2024.
Even entering 2025, I think you feel confident with IKF and Gonzales up the middle defensively, and offensively, so this move, in theory, has limited the amount of what Pittsburgh has to fix, but it has also raised even more questions about Cruz’s defense that the Pirates had hoped to answer last year before his injury, but were unable to do so.
Now, the Pirates have seen a full season worth of defense from Cruz at shortstop and didn’t like what they saw, and the move to center field features excitement, questions, anxiousness and at the end of the day, curiosity, because I am curious to see how this plays out for Cruz and the team.
The move appears permanent, so it isn’t reversible, and with the potential risks and rewards, this situation won’t have a “resolution” in 2024, maybe not even fully in 2025, but watch it play out how its intended to, remain open-minded, have patience and if anything, imagine if Cruz does figure it out and become a top center fielder in baseball?
The next time Oneil Cruz enters the field of play defensively, he’ll be a center fielder, man, that’s going to take some time to get used to, but, again, the upside here is massive, and if it works out, the team, and Cruz, will benefit.
In last night’s game, steals were a HUGE part of the Cubs game plan. Tonight, a different kind of ‘Steele’ will be on display as Jared Jones makes his long-awaited return from the injured list to face 2023 Cy Young finalist and Chicago ace, Justin Steele.
Steele is following up his strong 2023 campaign, where he posted career-best marks in starts (30), innings pitched (173.1), strikeouts (176) and ERA (3.06) – with a surprisingly similar run of success as he enters play today with a 3.07 ERA through 123 innings pitched and 125 strikeouts in 21 starts.
Despite that, the win/loss record isn’t reflecting as positively as last year as he has a 4-5 record compared to 16-5 in 2023.
Two of Steele’s worst starts this season came against the Bucs as he allowed 6 runs in 4 innings against Pittsburgh on May 11th and then 5 runs (4 earned) in 5.2 innings his very next start on May 16th – both games where the Pirates prevailed so Steele will be hungry for payback.
While he did strike out 10 batters to just 3 walks in those games, he also allowed 5 home runs over those two starts but that typically isn’t an issue for the lefty as he has surrendered just 6 long-balls in his other 19 games combined this year.
Steele works mostly with his low-90s fastball (which he throws ~60% of the time) paired with a low-80s slider breaking away from righty hitters. He also throws the occasional changeup and curve but mainly will build off the fastball/slider combo.
The four seamer has gotten hit a bit more than the slider but not by a ton. That said, the slider is BY FAR the better pitch. Steele has a 33.1% K rate on the offering (compared to 21.3% with the FF) and a slugging percentage almost 200 points lower than that of the fastball. Bucs bats will want to stay on that low-velo heat to drive early and often.
Tough loss yesterday but chance to bounce back and give our other rookie sensation starter a bump in his return to the team.
This Pirates team is heading into the last full month of baseball and the schedule is much more manageable than it was a couple weeks ago.
I wanted them to make a winning season their goal, and whether they did or not that’s still in play. They don’t have room for one more losing streak. They probably don’t even have room for more than one or two series losses.
Nobody said it would be easy, it’s not supposed to be.
Let’s go!
1. Welcome Back Henry!
Not confident that he’ll be good after his call up? Well, me either.
You rarely get to place no risk bets in MLB. I mean, you sign Juan Soto, good shot you get a star player, but when it comes to prospects it’s always going to be a believe it when you see it proposition.
Just this year, Nick Gonzales went from an almost sure fire bust who couldn’t get his strikeout rate under control, and even if he did, he was defensively limited to a player some claim losing to injury tanked the season. Fans suggested trading him, others simply suggested he’d never make it.
Well, in this one season he not only made it back to the league, he showed massive improvement in his approach, swing plane, discipline and most importantly his K rate, not to mention he showed himself to be a plus defender at second base.
That doesn’t mean it’ll go down that way for Henry, it just means especially with a first round pick, he’s absolutely getting another shot at it.
He’s earned it too.
254 plate appearances, 28 extra base hits, 13 of which were homeruns. 23 walks vs 57 K’s, a .307 Average, .401 OBP, .555 SLG and an OPS of .956. I’ve watched him play. Not every game, but close to 10. He looks to be hitting the ball hard and not all pulled right down the 3rd base line. When he makes contact, he’s back to getting it in the air a bit more. I still think his overall stance make his margin for error smaller than they need to be, but he does seem to have fixed his biggest issue by far, catching up to velocity.
Look, there’s just nothing left to learn down there. He’s actually improved on the numbers that ultimately got him called up in the first place.
Again, not a guarantee he’ll succeed. Of course not. You can protect your feelings by full chested declaring he simply won’t make it in the Bigs, but the talent is very real, and he’s not only deserving of this chance, from what I’ve watched, he’s ready for it, and looks different enough to believe he has a good shot at feeling he can not lose his grip on a spot this time.
And don’t worry about Joey Bart or Endy Rodriguez. Couple things there, first of all, no matter what Henry does with this opportunity, it won’t erase what Joey has done. He may not enter camp with the same feeling JT Realmuto has, but he’ll know it’s his spot to lose.
And on Endy, man, Endy has some work to do on his own. He’ll be returning from not facing MLB pitching for over a year, and he still isn’t cleared to start the throwing program he’ll have to be well into before he can resume catching activities. He might not be cleared to hit right handed all that long before Spring. For his sake, don’t see him as an immediate jump right back in guy. Don’t rule him out either, but it’s not fair to expect him to be returned from the IL with the same expectation as a 10 year vet either.
Let Henry’s story be his, and his alone. Let him show you he requires a spot before you start yelling about which spot it should be. Maybe see a little more from all three before you create a sure fire logjam on the horizon that winds up being a couple ill fitting logs that jar themselves loose all by themselves.
You don’t need to decide if he was a good pick right now. This last month won’t tell you the answer anyway. It’s just one more step in a process the team has much incentive to work hard to make a success.
And for God’s sake, don’t hold him to his season numbers, he shot those into the sun already, give him a clean slate here, he could hit .600 the rest of the way and they’d still look like shit.
2. The Ke’Bryan Situation
The injury is no joke. And it’s gone on long enough that its a safe bet both sides have tried to find solutions. This isn’t the Pirates fault, or Ke’s, it’s just an injury.
Maybe some magic treatment will come along, maybe the Pirates could simply observe how he plays after rest and let go of the dream that he’s a 5-6 day a week player. Maybe he has to let that go too, and no, he isn’t there mentally right now.
The Pirates move to bring in Isiah Kiner-Falefa might wind up being brilliant, whether the team did it with an eye toward securing third base or not.
The Pirates still think there is something there with Jared Triolo, think about it, they’ve been Jack Suwinski level stubborn with him in 2024. He was a guy many of us had as a potential Rule 5 casualty and instead the Pirates motored him on up.
The flexibility both players provide could give the team some options for helping Hayes be at his best more often and if one of them overperforms or reaches their potential and it makes it easier to feel you aren’t losing anything resting Hayes, great. Hell, if Hayes performs and you can deal him, maybe it gives you room to entertain it.
The team is going to give him another chance. It’s really that simple. Yeah, partially because of the contract, but it’s got a little to do with them believing in him too.
One thing I think both sides need to stop holding onto though, he can’t just tough guy his way through this thing. This isn’t about toughness, it’s about physical limitations brought about by chronic injury.
Think about it from a pitchers standpoint. A guy has a bum knee but he’s a trooper and wants to just push through. You need him because you’re next option is Jake Woodford and you’re a GM who thinks that’s a bad option (sorry had to). He’s still a veteran pitcher and knows how to do more with less, but his 93MPH fastball being his max effort output isn’t much better than Jake would be.
At some point you have to stop respecting the toughness and realize you’re hurting the team more than helping it by gutting it out.
3. Why Waive a Player and Keep Them?
Some of you saw that Michael A. Taylor was being placed on Waivers and assumed that meant he was off the team. He could be claimed and that would take him off the team, but it also isn’t the same as being DFA’d, or Designated for Assignment.
Don’t get me wrong, this is all leading to him being released if he isn’t claimed, but the reason you see it so much around the league right now is usually about giving veteran pending free agents a shot to play in the playoffs if some playoff team might want the addition.
It takes a miniscule amount of payroll off the books, and clears 40 man spots that you’re likely to need for Rule 5 protections this winter so you can have some late season cups of coffee to hand out.
Now that MLB limits September roster expansion to 28 spots, only 2 extra, teams have had to get creative about how and when to start making moves to clear space. The timing is all about being eligible for playoff rosters should they be claimed.
It means the team at the very least is ok with moving on from the guy, but it doesn’t mean they feel like they have to if they go unclaimed.
Some of you remember this situation playing out with Gregory Polanco a few years back. That was a bit different because he was a contracted player with a track record of being on the Pirates for the better part of a decade and no matter how small a role helped bring playoff baseball back to Pittsburgh. This is just a stop gap free agent.
He knows he didn’t do what the team or he hoped, no hard feelings, it just didn’t work.
4. Where the Pirates Finish in the Central is Entirely Up to Them
Below is a list of games the Pirates have remaining against NL Central foes and their record against them so far.
6 games against the Cubs (4-3)
4 games against the Cardinals (4-5)
3 games against the Reds (7-3)
3 games against the Brewers (5-5)
That’s an overall NL Central record of 20-16.
With 16 games left against them, there’s significant room to all on their own climb out of the basement in this division. A winning record against each and every one of them is on the table. A winning record in the division is very much so in order.
There isn’t a team in this division that this team can’t compete with. Doesn’t mean they always do, but they have an opportunity to make a significant move up the pecking order in this division this year and it’s a side race I’m keeping an eye on as we finish out the season.
5. Hire for the Job You Need Filled
In a past lifetime I managed a restaurant. When you do so, you always run into hiring issues. When you really need help, nobody is applying, and when you don’t, Michelin Star chefs are walking in offering their services for 20 bucks an hour.
When this happens, you start to get desperate. Someone applies to wash dishes, you convince yourself you can teach them to cook. You know?
The Pirates tend to have a figure they’re comfortable with to fill a position and then they convince themselves that a part time player can fill a full time role, or maybe recapture a role they haven’t filled in a few years.
They talk themselves into believing their former team had the luxury of even more players to fill the role, not that the player simply wasn’t what he used to be.
What it results in is a player like Yasmani Grandal being asked to start. His body didn’t cooperate and his offensive and defensive performance fell far below the line. They got lucky with Joey Bart and suddenly were able to play Grandal in a more comfortable role. Personal catcher and part time starter.
It’s helped him turn his season around.
Since going to a more limited role with more rest he’s looked much better. He’s played 30 games since June 17th, and gotten 89 at bats in that timeframe. 5 homeruns, .236 Average, .296 OBP and a .461 SLG.
Not great, but more than passable for a backup catcher. Which is really what he always should have been.
I’m sure Henry Davis hurt their plan, and there’s no way they could have planned on Joey Bart both being here or performing like he has.
What I’m saying here is, if you have a full time need, don’t hire a platoon player. If you need a center fielder, sign a center fielder, not someone you think might be able to handle it.
For once I want them to just identify a target and acquire said target.
A rematch from earlier this season awaits the Pirates today with Mitch Keller facing off once more against former teammate, Jameson Taillon.
In his second season in Chicago, Taillon has an even 8-8 record, 3.77 ERA and 101 strikeouts in 126.2 innings pitched. That said, his career line against the Pirates is much worse as he holds a 6.19 ERA in 16 innings across 3 starts, including his May 19th outing where he lasted just 4.2 innings, allowing 3 runs off 6 hits and 2 walks with 4 strikeouts.
Taillon’s big thing has always been limiting walks dating back to his time with the Pirates, and he has continued that trend with a 5% walk rate, the 10th best rate among starting pitchers with at least 120 innings this year.
Outside of throwing strikes consistently, there isn’t a ton of green flags in Taillon’s profile. The velocity has ticked down considerably following two Tommy John surgeries as he previously touched 97-98 with the heat and now barely clips 95.
Additionally, his big curve – formerly a HUGE weapon for the 6’5 former 2nd overall pick – becomes less deceptive with less difference in velocity between the heater and breaking ball.
While JT has an eclectic arsenal of pitches – including a 4-seam/sinker combo in the low-90s, a high-80s cutter, low-80s curve and infrequent mid-80s changeup – his best pitch by results has been his sweeper, generating an oBA of just .193, woBA of .220 and whiff rate of 34.9% – all best among his offerings.
In contrast, his remaining pitches have been much ordinary – especially his 4-seamer, which has run flat and resulted in an inordinate amount of hard contact with opposing hitters posting an .853 OPS against the heater.
He’s struggled more in away games (4.65 ERA in 62 innings) than home ones (2.92 ERA through 64.2 frames) and also has had difficulties against left-handed hitters – .776 OPS compared to .626 for righties.
Attack the high heat and lay off the sweeping breaking ball. Expect strikes and be ready to crush them.
The last full Pirates series of August in the year 2024 is upon us and yes, it feels as if this season has flown by.
The ups and downs of the 2024 campaign have been wild ones for sure, especially against division rivals, and the Pirates are coming off a series win versus the Cincinnati Reds thanks to a Yasmani Grandal walk-off homer, and now, they welcome another NL Central foe, the Chicago Cubs.
Pittsburgh has seen Chicago seven times so far this year, finishing 4-3 in those seven games up to this point, with a series win in a four-game series in Wrigley Field and a series loss at PNC Park during Paul Skenes debut weekend.
Both of these teams have changed since they last saw each other on May 19 at Wrigley, seeing as the draft, the trade deadline and many other factors have come into play for the roster construction between these two life-long rivals, so lets take a look at what you’ll see and what you can expect over the next three days as the Pirates and Cubbies square off.
Ian Happ has always been a thorn in the Pirates side since arriving to Chicago, and the Pittsburgh native has been hot as of late for the Cubs, slashing .283/.389/.630/1.019 with four homers, four doubles, seven RBIs and eight free passes over the last 15 days.
Pair those numbers with two multi-hit performances in the Cubs series win over Miami, and Happ enters this series on a heater, and with a .307 career batting average in 102 games versus Pittsburgh, expect Happ to continue to be a menace versus the Buccos.
Pirates: Oneil Cruz
Oneil Cruz is one of the pillars of the Pirates offense, and he’s shown that over the past month, slashing .323/.400/.548/.948 with three homers, 12 RBIs and eight stolen bags over the past 30 days.
Although the strikeout total is one per day with 30 over the past 30 days, Cruz has found his stroke versus both right handers and left handers this year, and with Taillon, Steele and Hendricks going for the Cubs, this is a favorable series for the StatCast love child.
Cubs: Issac Parades Issac Parades was apart of one of the more intriguing moves we saw at the deadline this year, as the Rays sent him to Chicago for Christopher Morel.
Since arriving in Chicago though, things haven’t been great for Parades, who is slashing .135/.217/.243/.460 with two homers and nine RBIs in August, numbers the Cubs would like to see improve before season’s end.
Parades also struggles with right-handers, hitting just .212 against them compared to .274 versus left-handers, and with three righties on the bump for the Pirates, that doesn’t exactly spell a turnaround just yet for Parades.
Pirates: Bryan Reynolds It hasn’t been talked about a ton, but Bryan Reynolds has not been good in the month of August.
Reynolds, who has a plus-.900 OPS in June and July, has just a .634 OPS in August. Pair that with just one homer this month, and he’s on pace for the lowest OPS and home run number in a month all season.
The last 15 days have been more brutal, as his OPS sits at a .459, so for Reynolds, who is the spark for the offense, you’d hope he turns it around before season’s end.
Key Injuries
For Chicago, their injuries are practically all related to pitching, as Ben Brown, Luke Little, Hayden Wesneski, Jordan Wicks, Colton Brewer, Yency Almonte and Adbert Alzolay are all on the IL, with Wesneski being the only one not on the 60-day, so pitching depth has been a struggle for Chicago, who also just let go of Hector Neris not too long ago.
Pittsburgh has arguably their three best guys going in this series, if Jared Jones starts of course, but any series you have Mitch Keller and Paul Skenes pitching, you expect to win.
Usually though, it comes down to what the offense can do, and in a series where you avoid Shota Imanaga and Javier Assad, you feel pretty good, but the offense has to attack the likes of Taillon, Steele and Hendricks early and often to give their strong starters early leads and give the bullpen, which has been better as of late, some breathing room.
As mentioned earlier, I think Oneil Cruz will have a big series, but watch others like Bryan De La Cruz, who had a strong series versus Cincinnati, as well as Rowdy Tellez as contributors that could push the Pirates over the edge versus Chicago.
Don’t these guys practice? Mistakes happen of course, but the same one two or three times in one game, by the same guys?
I mean, as a Pirates fan, you know there is some crap you have to deal with, but does throwing to the wrong base need to be one of those things?
Seems to me a league minimum player should probably know not to break for third base on a ground ball to the third base side of short stop.
More than anything, it seems to me if I wanted to get away with spending as little as possible, I might make sure I have a coach that is going to make sure all the free stuff is happening.
Mistakes happen. The game picks up speed, and players don’t have the benefit of slowing the game down to the microsecond before making a play like we do before we hammer them, but fundamentals, the building blocks of any sport, that stuff is supposed to be second nature, what the hell happened to that? In Pittsburgh to be sure, but around the league, what happened to clean, smart baseball?
You can’t coach every outfielder into having an 80 grade arm, but you can coach every outfielder to know diving for a baseball with two outs and a runner at first needs to be a better than 75% bet.
You can teach every outfielder once the ball comes to you there is never a benefit to that ball staying in your hand. Make a decision on where the ball is going before you catch it and come up firing.
You can teach your infielders to be in specific spots to receive a cutoff throw based on where baserunners are and how many outs there are. Understand that risky double play when you’re up 8 isn’t worth it, just take the out at first. If a second baseman has to retreat to right field for a ball, the first baseman should have his foot on the OF side of 1B ready to receive the throw.
You know, like everything we learned through almost 150 years of playing the sport professionally in this country and suddenly we’re like grateful when a guy backs up a play or hits the cutoff man, or receives a throw on the bag instead of 2 feet in front of it on a tag play. This stuff all used to be “well duh” stuff, crap we were taught in little league we all claim anyway, I’d say more like Pony League, but point taken.
What the hell has happened to the single cheapest thing you can do on a baseball field? Why is next to nobody recognizing with how hard it is to win, you can give yourself a much better chance by simply paying more attention to detail than your opposition.
Next time you watch a game, and this will really work better at the ballpark as opposed to TV, but as much as you can, try. Pay particular attention to Isiah Kiner-Falefa. Watch what he does every time a ball is hit in play.
He has a responsibility on every ball hit anywhere in the field. It’s repeatable. Ground ball to left while he’s playing second base, he covers second. Basic, right? More runners and out scenarios, they all have something he’s supposed to do.
Everyone on the field does, but I’m asking you to watch him because he’s the only one you’ll see ALWAYS do these little things. Every play he has a purpose. He doesn’t just float to an area, he purposefully beelines it for the spot that position and scenario require.
Ke’Bryan Hayes is good at this too, but he’s injured, and truly, there’s less opportunity to see what I’m talking about with a 3B.
Now, IKF is a Gold Glove winner. I don’t expect every player on the field to do what he does, or be capable of it. The positioning away from the ball, making good throw decisions, knowing when to take the extra base, hustling, all that stuff, that needs to be demanded and instructed.
Especially when you want to maximize your talent.
Fundamentals are the completely unnoticed footholds in a team game that very often accentuates the individual. Knowing where your teammates will be and what everyone’s responsibility is can help make the success rate go up. It can keep 5 run innings from blooming, by accepting and taking the outs that are given.
It helps thwart panic when things start rolling down hill and feeling out of control. Your fundamentals are meant to help you reset and not rely on your mind in the moment as much as muscle memory.
You could play this game for 20 years and still see something you’ve never encountered in any given game, so of course you can’t prepare your way out of ever being caught off guard, but you sure can make the routine as close to automatic as possible.
A major league baseball staff shouldn’t have to teach fundamentals, but they should enforce them. Even if you can hit the ball 470 feet. Even if everyone knows you’re slow. Even if everyone knows you’ve had a back problem.
You practice them to reinforce that they’re important here too, they aren’t just crap you had to do to get here.
It’s not just defense either. Most reasonable people understand the three true outcomes in baseball, and most of us know the gravitation toward them has hurt the game. It’s created an all or nothing offensive attack night after night. It’s created pitchers who miss bats for strikeouts or walks, but that’s like all there is.
There are far more strikeouts and walks in today’s game, and that means fewer opportunities to play defense and even fewer hours put into working to be hard to play defensively.
You’d like to think a team down 2 in the 7th would understand getting a guy on and working him around the bases by just making contact and hitting the ball in the right direction is a perfectly acceptable way to come back in a game.
This whole thing probably comes across as an old man yelling at clouds, if so, guilty. I know the game has changed, I just think there’s no reason that playing the game in a practiced and smart fashion should ever go out of style, in fact, if you’re a team that’s never going to be in the top 15 payroll mix, it seems to me you can’t afford not to.
Maybe this coaching staff can’t do the job.
Maybe they just don’t emphasize it.
Maybe I don’t care, I just want to see athletes who look and act like every play matters and when the opposition gives them an out, the scoreboard will soon show they’ve taken it.
I’d like to see coaches who demand it.
Mostly because I just want to see baseball played where errors are a physical mistake as opposed to an unpracticed and preventable looking flood gate opener.
If you build a team on pitching and don’t try to make sure you get them outs when they pitch them, you probably don’t know what you’re doing.
Steel City Pirates 