Say we round out the offseason by signing max kepler, jeff hoffman, a LHSP/swingman flier, LHRP plus the usually flurry of minor league free agent depth signings... I think I would feel like we had a fairly successful offseason given what is actually realistic for us
Santander and Teoscar arent really going to be in play for us and Kepler probably has the best glove/bat combo among the rest given he might be patrolling a very spacious left field at PNC. Luis Robert is the only trade candidate that feels like it is somewhat realistic and brings a higher ceiling for LF but his floor is super low and likely would cost another young starter (Ashcraft?). Missing out on conforto hurts there
I like Kepler or perhaps another trade. But I also wonder if they want to dip into the prospect pool/pitching depth to do another deal? They filled one hole quite cheaply, so perhaps it’s free agency for other bat.
I think having sent away Ortiz that if they do that it should be one of the minor league guys not named bubba. Problem with FA is i think oneil/conforto were probably the best combo of price and impact so now the rest of the FA outfielders are either likely outside our price range or not as impactful. A bolder move might be call up the O's and see which baby faced OF we could get for jones and be more aggressive signing a starter, but again even if we set a new AAV record im not sure who is impactful and signing with us for like 15m a year
You will get Ramon Laureano and like it. (Of all the OFers left, he may have the best potential bang for the buck... I would not hate it if they got him for cheap.)
Honestly kinda like it. Youre right on bang for the buck as looks like last 3 years hes been average or better offensively and top of the chart arm strength. His sprint speed is also above average still so feels similar to reynolds where he probably should be a better defender than they are grading him out to be.
Who is the outfield defense guru? With oneil moving to center that feels like a very worthwhile hire
Thing with Laureano is that he is the most talented player that you will likely ever see who is not a star. He runs very well. He has a cannon for an arm. He hits the ball as hard as anyone, he hits a lot of flyballs, and he is pull-hitter, so the power is there and serious. He just can't hit for contact at all, and he is sort lost in the OF. He makes hard plays, but he will get lost on easy ones and makes a lot of errors. He has 3 tools (run, hit for power, and throw) that grade as high as anyone in baseball. He just can't hit or catch. He is a guy that you keep waiting for him to put it all together and have a monster career year.
I would argue I walked the line up of realistic and still some impact given any 2 WAR outfielder is already at least a 4 win improvement over last year and hoffman has been a shutdown pen arm that could stabilize the back end and potentially save some games.
Of course Id rather we sign burnes and trade for kyle tucker but that just aint happening
Given the way we operate, our best hope is probably short term bandaids and hoping the more recent drafts bear more fruit. It would be nice if they spent some short term money on those bandaids though.
Rumor is they are asking for Gil from the Yanks or suzuki, diaz, and a recent 1st rounder from the cubs so price would be steep. If im the yankees, I trade and extend him as a pretty decent consolation prize for soto
The trade that won the World Series for the Pirates. Madlock was the missing piece. What a great move that was. They never looked back after that trade.
Lost Garcia, Shockley, and Dipre - not much to mourn over. Dipre had some excellent numbers in the DSL, but was playing as a 21 year old. Garcia was good, and Shockley is 27.
Listened to a "kid" by the name of Lance Brozdowski, a Development Analyst for Marquee Sports this morning on MLB. Very sharp and he was asked to speak about the possibility of the Pirates making Jared Jones available, but pretty much said has was one of the best fastballs in MLB and mentioned him in the same breath as Spencer Strider. Predicted the Pirates will keep Jones, but if anyone is traded it will be Mitch Keller. Went on to mention Skenes, Jones, Bubba Chandler, and Thomas Harrington and asking why the Pirates don't have them all up and blow away the NL Central. BC should hire him!
Sean Casey and Mark DeRosa banging the drums for the Pirates to get some hitting for these pitchers they have!! I'm big on Spencer Horwitz, Endy Rodriguez, and a healthy Ke'Bryan Hayes added to the Pirates lineup for 2025, and Yorke and Cook for a whole season. Yes, it is going to take some pain in the form of guys being traded to make room, but it is what it is!
Kinda sorry they lost Shockley. Not a prospect, but a very good defensive C. You need guys like that at the upper levels. They added a C because they’re a bit short now.
Yeah this is really the key, we have a bunch of guys with pedigree and have fallen into the quad A level offensively. We need those guys to be at least league average and hold down their own at a few positions, thats a boost of a several wins in itself. We aren't likely to be top 10 up and down the lineup, but theres a big difference between landing 11-20 and 21-30
I'd reorder this and put Hayes totally by himself and then list the others. Three scenarios could render most of that list much less important and 1 and 3 seem likely and you can tell I feel 2 could also occur.
1) Pirates sign or trade for a full time RF
2) Nick G (don't know why he wasn't on the list) makes year to year improvements (not a farfetched possibility) and is the full time second basemen. This wasn't inferred here here but I just feel too many people have new shiny tool syndrome with Yorke when in some ways he is Nick just 1+ years later. (he crushed AAA and may have MLB adjustment issues).
3) IKF is the full time SS which I feel quite confident he will be unless Peggy crushes AAA.
With just those three things what is left is backup catcher ABs (which should be a decent amount if Bart hits and gets time at DH), and some RH 1B time.
To me, Hayes is the real wild card. A healthy Hayes is a difference maker on this team but back problems, man, they are just hard to figure out. He was my son's favorite player but his injuries have jaded my son's interest in the team.
My family absolutely loves Suwinski but unfortunately I believe he's toast. Something about his interaction with coaching (or the Haines effect) just messed him up and I think he won't put it together. That first part of 2023 - he was going to be a rock star! But the wheels have come off and may be irreparable.
Say we round out the offseason by signing max kepler, jeff hoffman, a LHSP/swingman flier, LHRP plus the usually flurry of minor league free agent depth signings... I think I would feel like we had a fairly successful offseason given what is actually realistic for us
Santander and Teoscar arent really going to be in play for us and Kepler probably has the best glove/bat combo among the rest given he might be patrolling a very spacious left field at PNC. Luis Robert is the only trade candidate that feels like it is somewhat realistic and brings a higher ceiling for LF but his floor is super low and likely would cost another young starter (Ashcraft?). Missing out on conforto hurts there
I like Kepler or perhaps another trade. But I also wonder if they want to dip into the prospect pool/pitching depth to do another deal? They filled one hole quite cheaply, so perhaps it’s free agency for other bat.
I think having sent away Ortiz that if they do that it should be one of the minor league guys not named bubba. Problem with FA is i think oneil/conforto were probably the best combo of price and impact so now the rest of the FA outfielders are either likely outside our price range or not as impactful. A bolder move might be call up the O's and see which baby faced OF we could get for jones and be more aggressive signing a starter, but again even if we set a new AAV record im not sure who is impactful and signing with us for like 15m a year
You will get Ramon Laureano and like it. (Of all the OFers left, he may have the best potential bang for the buck... I would not hate it if they got him for cheap.)
Honestly kinda like it. Youre right on bang for the buck as looks like last 3 years hes been average or better offensively and top of the chart arm strength. His sprint speed is also above average still so feels similar to reynolds where he probably should be a better defender than they are grading him out to be.
Who is the outfield defense guru? With oneil moving to center that feels like a very worthwhile hire
Thing with Laureano is that he is the most talented player that you will likely ever see who is not a star. He runs very well. He has a cannon for an arm. He hits the ball as hard as anyone, he hits a lot of flyballs, and he is pull-hitter, so the power is there and serious. He just can't hit for contact at all, and he is sort lost in the OF. He makes hard plays, but he will get lost on easy ones and makes a lot of errors. He has 3 tools (run, hit for power, and throw) that grade as high as anyone in baseball. He just can't hit or catch. He is a guy that you keep waiting for him to put it all together and have a monster career year.
Good info here, appreciate it!
those four do not move the needle
I would argue I walked the line up of realistic and still some impact given any 2 WAR outfielder is already at least a 4 win improvement over last year and hoffman has been a shutdown pen arm that could stabilize the back end and potentially save some games.
Of course Id rather we sign burnes and trade for kyle tucker but that just aint happening
Cubs are supposedly the front runner to land him. I saw a PPG note that Jones and Keller are getting lots of attention.
we need to strive more than one and done in the playoffs
Given the way we operate, our best hope is probably short term bandaids and hoping the more recent drafts bear more fruit. It would be nice if they spent some short term money on those bandaids though.
Maybe if they sprung for some gauze to go with the Band aids?
Some Flintstones vitamins for the team!
Just doing a little inventory of BC's trading of our pitchers:
1) Priester for Yorke
2) Patrick Reilly for Cook
3) Ortiz for Horwitz
4) Shim for BLDC (grade F)
Well, 3 out of 4 have good potential. But the 4th was a real stinker. Loved Shim, although he may never pan out w/ injuries.
I think the team may have just lost patience in waiting for Shim to be healthy for a full season and were lower on him than you are.
They were definitely not as high on him as me. The Darvish comps were tantalizing. Time will tell.
time to trade for a true major league allstar in his prime
hasnt happened since we sent Fred Breining, Al Holland and Ed Whitson to the Giants for Bill Madlock
What would it take to get Kyle Tucker? Probably Jones plus Termarr, or something like that.
Rumor is they are asking for Gil from the Yanks or suzuki, diaz, and a recent 1st rounder from the cubs so price would be steep. If im the yankees, I trade and extend him as a pretty decent consolation prize for soto
Sorry paredes not diaz
He only has 1 year of control so probably less than that, but still some decent prospects, or a good major leaguer.
would do it if they included Framber for Griffin
lets do it!!
i´d welcome another decade of losing if we could make a real world series run one year
The trade that won the World Series for the Pirates. Madlock was the missing piece. What a great move that was. They never looked back after that trade.
sources saying Billy Cook and Josh Palacios to the Mets for Marte and all the money
Absolutely not, the Billy Cook fan club does NOT approve of this nonsense
I thought it was Ashcraft and Peguero, for Marte, Mauricio and Santucci with around $9.5 million coming back.
Calling BS on Santucci that’s the butcher at my old deli in Pittsburgh ;)
Lost Garcia, Shockley, and Dipre - not much to mourn over. Dipre had some excellent numbers in the DSL, but was playing as a 21 year old. Garcia was good, and Shockley is 27.
Listened to a "kid" by the name of Lance Brozdowski, a Development Analyst for Marquee Sports this morning on MLB. Very sharp and he was asked to speak about the possibility of the Pirates making Jared Jones available, but pretty much said has was one of the best fastballs in MLB and mentioned him in the same breath as Spencer Strider. Predicted the Pirates will keep Jones, but if anyone is traded it will be Mitch Keller. Went on to mention Skenes, Jones, Bubba Chandler, and Thomas Harrington and asking why the Pirates don't have them all up and blow away the NL Central. BC should hire him!
Sean Casey and Mark DeRosa banging the drums for the Pirates to get some hitting for these pitchers they have!! I'm big on Spencer Horwitz, Endy Rodriguez, and a healthy Ke'Bryan Hayes added to the Pirates lineup for 2025, and Yorke and Cook for a whole season. Yes, it is going to take some pain in the form of guys being traded to make room, but it is what it is!
Kinda sorry they lost Shockley. Not a prospect, but a very good defensive C. You need guys like that at the upper levels. They added a C because they’re a bit short now.
You forgot Henry Davis and Peguero.
If Pirates can positive offensive WAR from three of Hayes, Endy, Davis, Peguero, Cook, and Yorke, then they will be a threat to win the division.
Yeah this is really the key, we have a bunch of guys with pedigree and have fallen into the quad A level offensively. We need those guys to be at least league average and hold down their own at a few positions, thats a boost of a several wins in itself. We aren't likely to be top 10 up and down the lineup, but theres a big difference between landing 11-20 and 21-30
I'd reorder this and put Hayes totally by himself and then list the others. Three scenarios could render most of that list much less important and 1 and 3 seem likely and you can tell I feel 2 could also occur.
1) Pirates sign or trade for a full time RF
2) Nick G (don't know why he wasn't on the list) makes year to year improvements (not a farfetched possibility) and is the full time second basemen. This wasn't inferred here here but I just feel too many people have new shiny tool syndrome with Yorke when in some ways he is Nick just 1+ years later. (he crushed AAA and may have MLB adjustment issues).
3) IKF is the full time SS which I feel quite confident he will be unless Peggy crushes AAA.
With just those three things what is left is backup catcher ABs (which should be a decent amount if Bart hits and gets time at DH), and some RH 1B time.
If the Pirates can get 5+ wins from Hayes & Suwinski, it'll be huge. The only one other than Hayes to muster a 2-win season is probably Endy.
I just want melkel to bring back his Hayes saying with some gusto
let this be...
Only the realest BoD squaders will know how to finish that sentence correctly
A fixable back issue? I kid, I kid.
To me, Hayes is the real wild card. A healthy Hayes is a difference maker on this team but back problems, man, they are just hard to figure out. He was my son's favorite player but his injuries have jaded my son's interest in the team.
My family absolutely loves Suwinski but unfortunately I believe he's toast. Something about his interaction with coaching (or the Haines effect) just messed him up and I think he won't put it together. That first part of 2023 - he was going to be a rock star! But the wheels have come off and may be irreparable.
I’m certainly not writing Hayes off, and I doubt the Pirates are either. However, I am in favor of keeping him on a very short leash.