Malcom Nunez did well for the Pirates at AA after the trade from the Cardinals in 2022. In 2023 at AAA he started off rough in April, got it all back and then some in May and then disappeared for a few months with what was described as a shoulder impingement.
Still young so ST and what he does in 2024 at AAA will be telling as to whether he can help at 1B or not.
My preferred long-term solution for 1st would be to try and trade for Sam Basallo with Baltimore. He might be a year or two away but is around Termarr's timeline. He's blocked at catcher. I really like his swing, effortless power with what looks like a great hit tool.
If we could get him for a Jones or Priester and a lower ranked prospect, I'd scrape the catching and slot him in at 1st or make catching his second position.
Good call, he'd be a lot cheaper (still like Basallo better) and his hit tool looks good. Going by numbers he appears to still be aggressive at the plate with only 40 walks in over 500 plate appearances. His strikeout numbers look good. He totally killed the Grasshoppers in June. He's the type of guy they should be looking to aquire, could be ready sometime in 2025 and is totally blocked at the mlb level.
From a scouting report it sounds like he has soft hands just lacks arm strength and range at third. Soft hands are important at first.
Other than pitcher and catcher, 1B handles the ball more than any other position. The Pirates long have treated the position as irrelevant or as a dumping ground. It really is a nucleus position of most good teams.
Haven't really watched his at bats or swings, but I'll check him out and let you know. I thought he was going to be a power with a lot of swing and miss when drafted but that's the last time I remember really watching him swing.
Just watched a 2023 highlight video on him. His swing has flattened out a bit but his top hand is in a great position to elevate the ball on contact. The palm is toward the sky, back of the hand to the ground.
Couldn't really tell about swing and miss but his strikeout numbers aren't bad at all. He hit some well places pitches with authority although some of his swings fell apart (he's young and still hit them).
Definitely a better 1st base option than what we have on the farm currently.
I think they're just narrative blasting for clicks. And the Pirates fan base is eating it up. Going as far as believing they'd be Central favorites if they just traded for Cease and went Keller-Cease-Skenes from day one.
Nobody really believes this stuff, do they? They're not calling Skenes up before the S2 limit is safely past. They're not trading for Cease. They're not signing Yariel Rodriguez or anybody else who has interest from any other team. They're not adding anybody who isn't the cheapest possible option. How many years of seeing them limit their shopping to Goodwill does it take for reality to sink in?
If they hold him back to safely avoid S2, I hope he dominates the rest of the season and finishes in the top 3 of ROY and gets the monetary bonus from the league. Better yet he would get a full year service time essentially costing the Pirates the cheap year of control and put him well on his way to a pretty big Arb 1 number.
And it sucks cause we can't be sure they'll develop who they have, so trading prospects probably is the best course of action. But they'd still need to add like 3-4 LEGITIMATE pieces to make it worthwhile. Maybe at least 2-3.
I can't see them trading prospects for veterans, either, or at least not good ones. This FO just isn't going to give up a whole bunch of cheap 0-3 seasons for a couple expensive arb2 and arb3 years from a guy they know will leave as a FA. And they're not going to get team-friendly extensions from some guy they just traded for like they did Hayes and Reynolds. In fact, they're probably going to trade anybody who's not being extended BEFORE the arb3 season, so they're only going to get one or two years out of a guy who's already got 3-4 years of service.
Prospect-for-veteran trades just don't work when you unwilling to change your spending patterns to go into contention mode. Nutting has never been willing to adjust his super-extra-ultra-conservative budget practices to take baseball considerations into account. I've never seen a shred of evidence that he knows the difference between running a sports franchise and a convenience store.
First base remains a black hole for the Pirates and signing Tellez just made it deeper and wider, literally. Nunez is a long-shot at best but with Mason Martin gone false hopes can now be focused on him I suppose. Let’s give BC the benefit of the doubt (did I really just say that?) and hope he expects to draft one of the college first baseman that should be available at #9 next year, although I seriously question whether he can think that far ahead.
Maybe with each pushing the other, one will sieze the position. In a perfect world the can push each other to the show with one at 1B and the other at DH
In AAA? Probably. It will be interesting how they work out everything because they have quite a few options. Also have Aaron Shackelford (they could probably just bump him to AA like they did Martin last year), they also signed Jake Lamb too. So a lot of corner infield options in AAA.
Good write up. As you pointed out, the way they’ve handled first base makes me wonder if they think Nunez can force his way back into the mix, but you have to be concerned with a guy with shoulder issues. At the very least, I think it’s a mistake not to be considering further depth at the position so you aren’t relying on him, Jake Lamb and/or Seth Beer.
Malcom Nunez did well for the Pirates at AA after the trade from the Cardinals in 2022. In 2023 at AAA he started off rough in April, got it all back and then some in May and then disappeared for a few months with what was described as a shoulder impingement.
Still young so ST and what he does in 2024 at AAA will be telling as to whether he can help at 1B or not.
My preferred long-term solution for 1st would be to try and trade for Sam Basallo with Baltimore. He might be a year or two away but is around Termarr's timeline. He's blocked at catcher. I really like his swing, effortless power with what looks like a great hit tool.
If we could get him for a Jones or Priester and a lower ranked prospect, I'd scrape the catching and slot him in at 1st or make catching his second position.
What is your opinion on Blaze Jordan? I think he is ranked around #10-12 in the Red Sox prospect pool.
Good call, he'd be a lot cheaper (still like Basallo better) and his hit tool looks good. Going by numbers he appears to still be aggressive at the plate with only 40 walks in over 500 plate appearances. His strikeout numbers look good. He totally killed the Grasshoppers in June. He's the type of guy they should be looking to aquire, could be ready sometime in 2025 and is totally blocked at the mlb level.
From a scouting report it sounds like he has soft hands just lacks arm strength and range at third. Soft hands are important at first.
Other than pitcher and catcher, 1B handles the ball more than any other position. The Pirates long have treated the position as irrelevant or as a dumping ground. It really is a nucleus position of most good teams.
Haven't really watched his at bats or swings, but I'll check him out and let you know. I thought he was going to be a power with a lot of swing and miss when drafted but that's the last time I remember really watching him swing.
He looks to me like he would have a lot of swing and miss, but that has not really been the case, at least not excessively so.
Just watched a 2023 highlight video on him. His swing has flattened out a bit but his top hand is in a great position to elevate the ball on contact. The palm is toward the sky, back of the hand to the ground.
Couldn't really tell about swing and miss but his strikeout numbers aren't bad at all. He hit some well places pitches with authority although some of his swings fell apart (he's young and still hit them).
Definitely a better 1st base option than what we have on the farm currently.
Funny, Jim Callis predicts Skenes will be promoted before the end of May and win ROY. You’d think Callis would know Skenes was drafted by the Pirates.
I think they're just narrative blasting for clicks. And the Pirates fan base is eating it up. Going as far as believing they'd be Central favorites if they just traded for Cease and went Keller-Cease-Skenes from day one.
Nobody really believes this stuff, do they? They're not calling Skenes up before the S2 limit is safely past. They're not trading for Cease. They're not signing Yariel Rodriguez or anybody else who has interest from any other team. They're not adding anybody who isn't the cheapest possible option. How many years of seeing them limit their shopping to Goodwill does it take for reality to sink in?
If they hold him back to safely avoid S2, I hope he dominates the rest of the season and finishes in the top 3 of ROY and gets the monetary bonus from the league. Better yet he would get a full year service time essentially costing the Pirates the cheap year of control and put him well on his way to a pretty big Arb 1 number.
And it sucks cause we can't be sure they'll develop who they have, so trading prospects probably is the best course of action. But they'd still need to add like 3-4 LEGITIMATE pieces to make it worthwhile. Maybe at least 2-3.
I can't see them trading prospects for veterans, either, or at least not good ones. This FO just isn't going to give up a whole bunch of cheap 0-3 seasons for a couple expensive arb2 and arb3 years from a guy they know will leave as a FA. And they're not going to get team-friendly extensions from some guy they just traded for like they did Hayes and Reynolds. In fact, they're probably going to trade anybody who's not being extended BEFORE the arb3 season, so they're only going to get one or two years out of a guy who's already got 3-4 years of service.
Prospect-for-veteran trades just don't work when you unwilling to change your spending patterns to go into contention mode. Nutting has never been willing to adjust his super-extra-ultra-conservative budget practices to take baseball considerations into account. I've never seen a shred of evidence that he knows the difference between running a sports franchise and a convenience store.
Nunez played a lot of 3B in the Cards system
From what I remember when he was acquired, Nunez was said to be a 3rd baseman in need of a move to 1b because of defensive issues.
last spring that were reporting good defense
First base remains a black hole for the Pirates and signing Tellez just made it deeper and wider, literally. Nunez is a long-shot at best but with Mason Martin gone false hopes can now be focused on him I suppose. Let’s give BC the benefit of the doubt (did I really just say that?) and hope he expects to draft one of the college first baseman that should be available at #9 next year, although I seriously question whether he can think that far ahead.
Would be just too good to get two MLB players for one Quintana rental.
Dare to dream!
That jersey is fire!
Maybe with each pushing the other, one will sieze the position. In a perfect world the can push each other to the show with one at 1B and the other at DH
will be platooning with Beer, no?
Looks to me like he’s been platooning with beer for years.
Had to come back 7 hours later just to get a laugh from this again.
sal y limón
In AAA? Probably. It will be interesting how they work out everything because they have quite a few options. Also have Aaron Shackelford (they could probably just bump him to AA like they did Martin last year), they also signed Jake Lamb too. So a lot of corner infield options in AAA.
Good write up. As you pointed out, the way they’ve handled first base makes me wonder if they think Nunez can force his way back into the mix, but you have to be concerned with a guy with shoulder issues. At the very least, I think it’s a mistake not to be considering further depth at the position so you aren’t relying on him, Jake Lamb and/or Seth Beer.