The Pirates paid $10 mil to sign Aroldis Chapman last year, and he pitched in 68 games/62 IP 3.79 ERA. After 39 Saves and a 2.00 ERA in 2023, Bednar earned about $4.2 mil in his first year of Arbitration. This year Bednar will be paid $5.9 mil after blowing 7 Saves last year. The bad 2024 actually kept him in the "reasonable range" for a Pirate Closer for 2025.
Through 2024, his Career Value in fWAR for the Pirates is 4.7, which in dollars is $36.4 mil, and we have probably paid him less than $7 mil since getting him from SD in the Musgrove Trade. I think the Pirates should be looking at candidates to be our future Closer, and guys like Kyle Nicolas, Eddy Yean, and Jaden Woods are auditioning right now. I do not see Jared Jones as wanting to become the Closer. He has been very successful as a SP, and the future potential earnings as a SP could be much greater for him than as a Closer.
Melancon and Watson were not necessarily predicted to be elite late inning relievers but were just SO good that I think me (and likely more) sometimes forget how calming the 8th and 9th innings were with them. Why am I rambling on history? - it is not always the sexy arm - I'm starting to hop on the Santana band wagon to at least give him a shot late in games consistently. All he has been doing for months is the most important thing - get people out and as a bonus - not let many on base as it has not been a Chapman or Mitch Williams tight rope act.
Burrows went four the other day, so I don't think that's happening soon.
Had a discussion at Pirate City a couple days ago about how nobody remembers Earl Weaver. Has there been a constitutional amendment or something that says you can't weaverize a pitcher?
I'm just some jag on the internet but this seems like the perfect institutionalized blind spot that could be exploited. An industry-wide dogma about certain amounts of pitches and lengths of time to "stretch out", at the very same time as starters are pitching less and less.
25 yo Mike Burrows does not "need reps", and the physical difference between throwing 20-30 pitches three times a week and 75-100 pitches once every five days does not require a months-long acclimation process.
I'm not falling for the idea Dejan floated that the Pirates are spending tens of millions of dollars on analysts, but also, if their analysts aren't actively asking what can be done to positively buck what everyone else is doing what point do they serve?
I’ve been thinking about this since reading the article in the P-G yesterday about the beefed up analytics department. I am hard pressed to think of a single roster move that the Pirates have made in the past couple years that screams “genius.” It’s pretty much the same nonsense year after year.
Did the analytics gurus recommend signing Pham and Frazier? Seriously.
The Pirates paid $10 mil to sign Aroldis Chapman last year, and he pitched in 68 games/62 IP 3.79 ERA. After 39 Saves and a 2.00 ERA in 2023, Bednar earned about $4.2 mil in his first year of Arbitration. This year Bednar will be paid $5.9 mil after blowing 7 Saves last year. The bad 2024 actually kept him in the "reasonable range" for a Pirate Closer for 2025.
Through 2024, his Career Value in fWAR for the Pirates is 4.7, which in dollars is $36.4 mil, and we have probably paid him less than $7 mil since getting him from SD in the Musgrove Trade. I think the Pirates should be looking at candidates to be our future Closer, and guys like Kyle Nicolas, Eddy Yean, and Jaden Woods are auditioning right now. I do not see Jared Jones as wanting to become the Closer. He has been very successful as a SP, and the future potential earnings as a SP could be much greater for him than as a Closer.
Melancon and Watson were not necessarily predicted to be elite late inning relievers but were just SO good that I think me (and likely more) sometimes forget how calming the 8th and 9th innings were with them. Why am I rambling on history? - it is not always the sexy arm - I'm starting to hop on the Santana band wagon to at least give him a shot late in games consistently. All he has been doing for months is the most important thing - get people out and as a bonus - not let many on base as it has not been a Chapman or Mitch Williams tight rope act.
I keep saying, I’m convinced they see Nicolas as a potential closer if he can just throw a few more strikes.
No doubt.
I'd be similarly excited to see them slot Burrows into the Indy pen.
Burrows went four the other day, so I don't think that's happening soon.
Had a discussion at Pirate City a couple days ago about how nobody remembers Earl Weaver. Has there been a constitutional amendment or something that says you can't weaverize a pitcher?
Amen!
I'm just some jag on the internet but this seems like the perfect institutionalized blind spot that could be exploited. An industry-wide dogma about certain amounts of pitches and lengths of time to "stretch out", at the very same time as starters are pitching less and less.
25 yo Mike Burrows does not "need reps", and the physical difference between throwing 20-30 pitches three times a week and 75-100 pitches once every five days does not require a months-long acclimation process.
What if they just tried.
Yep yep yep
I'm not falling for the idea Dejan floated that the Pirates are spending tens of millions of dollars on analysts, but also, if their analysts aren't actively asking what can be done to positively buck what everyone else is doing what point do they serve?
I’ve been thinking about this since reading the article in the P-G yesterday about the beefed up analytics department. I am hard pressed to think of a single roster move that the Pirates have made in the past couple years that screams “genius.” It’s pretty much the same nonsense year after year.
Did the analytics gurus recommend signing Pham and Frazier? Seriously.
I heard Nutting is sending a memo to all the analysts this weekend to list 5 things they did this week by Monday at noon.
Didn’t peg you as a DOPE (Department of Pirates Efficiency) supporter?
regardless if Bednar bounces back, he is getting up there is arbitration
is it time to start considering Jared Jones as the closer?
BOBBY!!!
WHAT??