21 Comments

Unrelated, but them lers are somehow going to the playoffs

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anyone else see the rumored interest in Naoyuki Uwasawa? Intriguing, but the only scouting report I saw had him as a swingman.

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He's in Bob's price range! Might even get a multi year deal if the can keep it under the Nutting Line!

Nutting Line is $13 million total for a free agent.

Nutting got tricked once with Frankie. (Bob thought it was $13 million for 3 years instead of 3 years at $13 million a year)

I kid but I'm sticking to it until it is proven wrong. This does not apply to free agent signings prior to Frankie's, the amount was slightly higher prior on a multi year deal but fool Bob once, Bob won't be fooled again.

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I can't help but feel like our strategy for negotiating with pitchers this off-season is something along the lines of "Yeah we can't offer you the MONEY or YEARS those guys are offering but we can offer you a spot in the sTaRTIng rOtaTIOn"

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Yep

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what I have noticed is a large uptick in japenese pitcher imports that corresponds with the increasing amount of tommy john surgeries of existing mlb players

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I had not heard this rumor until doing a search after seeing your post, but I'd be for this if he's an option along with Gonzales and Perez to fill out the 4 and 5 spots. If he's seen as the guy that can be a 2/3 in our rotation, that would seem to be a reach.

Plus, unless they get a bargain, I can't see the Pirates willing to sign a player when there is a posting fee on top of the salary. But like I said with the news about Manaea, it would be nice to know our team is wiling to compete for players like this.

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Wil Crowe signed in Korea.

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I’ve lost track of how many ex-Pirate pitchers signed overseas this offseason - it’s gotta be at least 6 or 7 now.

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Id think about trading Brubaker. He ‘might’ return by the All-Star break and ‘might’ be decent and ‘might’ be good enough to tender a contract for 2025. Trade him to somebody with a lot more roster flexibility.

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He wouldn’t bring anything back.

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he´d bring back other damaged goods like another guy who is perpetually injured or a salary dump

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For the mailbag AM: who would win in a brawl of all of the mascots in the division? This is inspired by a post I saw that has Steely McBeam as an S tier fighter in the NFL

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Another one of our realistic hopes for the rotation, Manaea, is off the board after signing with the Mets for $28MM/2. I know some will say that's too much but it's exactly what McDaniel projected at the start of free agency, though it does come with an opt out after '24 which adds some value for Manaea.

I didn't have my heart set on any one FA pitcher in this range, but I was/am hoping that we show that we're willing to compete at the going rates to sign these types of players.

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I’m pretty sure they had multiple offers on the table for him. He definitely had options and ultimately chose the Mets, not much you can do. Hopefully, they move to other options quickly, still some decent arms out there.

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It may seem to be too much, but Steamer has him at 2 WAR for next year. Montas had a similar bottom line projection and got $16 MM.

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It's a good point "willing to compete at the going rates". I do not see that as much for wanting to sign any of these guys this year, but being willing to recognize the going rates will become a necessity in keeping/maintaining our boatload of quality pitching for as long as possible.

If things break well for the Pirates in 2024 - meaning Keller is as good or better than he was last year, and Gonzales and Perez can give us 5 inning starts and possibly a few quality starts apiece before the AS Break, then the Pirates could be very well set to finish 2024 with homegrown quality SP's, including BRU, Jared Jones, Quinn Priester, Braxton Ashcraft, Mike Burrows, Bailey Falter, Luis Ortiz, Roansy Contreras, Aaron Shortridge, and possibly even Max Kranick.

I am hoping we have already made a trade to add a young, highly rated, RH hitting, CF Prospect who can step right into the lineup in 2024. I have mentioned Everson Pereira of the NYY and Ceddanne Rafaela of the Red Sox. The rest of the position players are strong enough to win with the current pitching - SP's and RP's -we already have in place.

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I like the potential of our rotation in the second half of the season but as of now I worry that we'll dig ourselves too deep of a hole in the first half to make the postseason unless we add a mid-rotation starter or better. That may only add a couple of wins in the first half, but that can also be the difference in making the postseason.

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"Mailbag". Pitchers and Catchers are a little more than a month away from reporting. For guys coming off of TJ surgery and rehab - BRU and Mike Burrows especially - will they have them report a little earlier just to give them the one-on-one time and oversight? Where are both with regard to their throwing programs at this time? What will be their rehab schedule from now until June or July?

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