Ben Clemens wrote up the Pirates as one of the "Winners" at the deadline:
"Pittsburgh Pirates
I’m not blown away by the deals the Pirates got in trading for hitters, but who cares? They needed an offensive jolt badly, and they acquired Bryan De La Cruz, Isiah Kiner-Falefa, and Nick Yorke to see if there’s any spark there. De La Cruz lets Connor Joe move into a platoon role that suits him better than an everyday starting role. Kiner-Falefa is a luxury utility defender who raises the floor considerably for a team playing some sketchy bats in its regular lineup. Yorke will probably get a shot in the majors with Nick Gonzales on the IL, and I’m a sucker for his well-rounded offensive skillset despite his lack of a natural defensive home.
These moves aren’t blockbusters, but there just weren’t a lot of blockbusters to be had this year. Adjusted for what was available, I thought the Pirates did a good job of threading the needle. They added some offensive help this year, and even played for the future a little bit with Yorke, without giving up anyone they’re likely to miss. I feel that teams who straddle present and future are often too cute by half, but the Pirates did a good job in my eyes."
With Griffin signed, I hope they put him in center field at least part of the time. I just don't want to see another Cruz or Davis situation in which the first real experience in the outfield comes when he's knocking on the big league door or on a major league field.
I think it was once you didn't move a player away from short because of the lack of shortstops that could hit. In today's game there is probably a bigger shortage in center field.
You know what they say: hope in one hand and expect Ben Cherington to do the rational thing wrt prospect development in the other and see which one fills up first.
I agree. I would like to see the Pirates organization or maybe all minor league organizations do a better job of preparing players for certain situations in the majors. I think Triolo played his first game in the outfield in 2 years, guys are asked to bunt in the majors that weren't asked in the minors, maybe just situational play in general.
I think Cruz is making some baby steps to getting better against lefties. So I wouldn’t really straight platoon him against them other than if he gets a day off, it’s against a lefty.
Hayes, I dunno man. Maybe they can trade him to the Yanks in the offseason. My hope is pretty much gone with him being anything other than a league average bat at best. With his defense before this season, that’s probably a 3-4 win player. But his whole game has regressed.
"Since May 1, he has a 98 wRC+ vs. LHP, and that improves further if you set cut-offs at June/July (141/219 wRC+ respectively, with the caveat that the sample sizes get progressively smaller and therefore less significant). "
Yep. The B/K rate against lefties is hideous, but he’s still hit 5 of his 17 dongs off lefties. His first month or two was rough, but after that, he’s been pretty good. I really think he’s poised to jump off.
The best way to win games is Hayes full-time at 3b, Cruz full-time at SS, and Kiner full-time at 2b. This will probably change once Nick comes back, but he's been pretty awful at the dish for a pretty long stretch.
You do fine posting here until you say dumb stuff like "the fact is you know this as well".
Ke'Bryan Hayes has a *37* wRC+ against the large side of the platoon. Why would I think starting Hayes full-time at 3B is the best way to win games when we have a guy who's 16% above average against RHP and capable of playing 3B pretty well?
If you wanted to say "you know Shelton is too stupid to maximize matchups" you could have avoided steering off the cliff.
I looked at this and of all qualified 3B, Hayes is the absolute worst hitter against RHP in MLB. Then I zeroed out. Among all qualified hitters at all defensive positions, Ke'Bryan Hayes is the worst hitter in all of baseball against RHP. The guy closest to his 36 wRC+ is Eddie Rosario with a 54 wRC+ so he's lapping the field. Of all hitters with only 200 PAs to even include some part time players he's still the worst. There are 4 guys who have 150+ PAs against RHP who are worse and one of them (Tim Anderson) just got DFAd by the freakin Marlins. It's a huge problem that nearly negates all of his defensive value.
In the same season he's become the worst hitter against RHP in baseball, his fielding run value has dropped from it's typical 92-98 percentile to 80th. He's a defensive sub and small side platoon bat at best right now.
You're just an idiot constantly trolling the Pirates.
Here's an insert from the article - Meanwhile, Pittsburgh’s reno continued with the addition of Kiner-Falefa to the infield. IKF has logged roughly 40 games each at second and third, with 15 games at shortstop. According to OAA, his defense has been slightly above average at both second and third. There is a dip in quality when he stands in at short, but that’s unlikely to be a role he’s asked to fill with the Pirates as long as Oneil Cruz stays healthy. And since the Bucs have Ke’Bryan Hayes locked in at third, Kiner-Falefa should get most of his playing time at second, particularly with Nick Gonzales on the IL for the next few weeks. Jared Triolo has logged 39 games at second this year, but given his 56 wRC+, he seems unlikely to meaningfully compete with IKF for playing time.
To your comment about his recent defense, defensive stats must be prone to wild swings. I checked in on his defense via Fangraphs and Statcast about 3 weeks ago, and he was way below his normal pace. He was something like 73rd percentile on range, when he’s normally in the upper 90’s. Fangraphs FPA showed a similar decline. Now he’s 91st percentile, and FPA has him only slightly off pace for his normal stats. Still, the bat and injury history is scary.
Yeah and the comment is asking "are we sure that's the best deployment" wondering if the author even bothered to look at how putrid Hayes is at the plate. Dude is literally 63% below league average against RHP. That's historically bad. Tiny Dancer can come in as a defensive sub late and close. He can start against LHP. Falafel can start at 2b against LHP.
You truly need to calm down, dude. You're going to have a stroke.
Love the optimism but let's not forget Skenes is going to get sat to manage his innings. I bet Paul has another 50-60 IP this year. That's 9 or 10 starts pace. Playoff odds sit at a meager 17.5%. Looking at the rest of season, I bet he gets skipped 3 times if they continue to buy they have realistic playoff chances to save some post-season innings. 2 times if they fall out of contention.
They have been giving him extra rest with the deployment of the 6-man rotation.
Skenes-Keller-Gonzales-Ortiz-Falter-Woodford.
If they fall out of contention, I could see them pulling the plug on Skenes, not if they're in it. They'll just keep the 6-man and replace Woodford with Jones.
If they fall out, I hope they sit both he and Jones. It's an uphill battle. Need to leapfrog two WC teams and projected standings sees them going .486 ROS so 27-28.
Skenes for sure. But do you think they’ll sit Jones if they fall out of it since he’ll have missed a month anyway? Maybe they’ll just play it by ear with him.
Good to see that Severino and De Los Santos will have a chance to play more baseball. I hope they get some playing time. It would be great if they are able to show that they can handle low A.
This is a Ben Clemens quote in the article on Seattle picking up Justin Turner but I guess is a way to look at BDLC: "One underrated part of having huge holes in your lineup is that they’re easier to replace."
Curious to see whether we get other draft signings. No doubt the remaining guys all want above slot, so had to wait until after Griffin. Not sure much is left.
There can't be much left 10,000 maybe 20,000. Patrick and the lefty from Western Kentucky are probably the only realistic ones left, with Curly a 50/50 and Penn a long shot.
It is, and I wondered why the HS Pitcher at No. 20 - does anybody know anything about him? They pretty much loaded the 11-19 grouping with guys getting $25K when each pick had a $150K slot value. Saving money to use somewhere, and I doubt it was for a college guy. Another BC "Sleeper"?
Definitely the large dose of hopium I ingested last night, but that lineup almost doesnt look bad? Certainly not top of the support, but I could be talked into middle third or so
Was reading that it seems like BDLC has terrible range but a strong arm? Doesnt sound like the worst fit in RF at PNC given how his bat is probably a ~30% upgrade over what weve been running out
A 13th Rounder getting us an experienced MLB Utility guy like IKF who is already at 2.0 fWAR in 2024 was probably more than any of us could hope for. And, Mac benefits also! And the Jays get a solid prospect and get under the $237 mil penalty level. Everybody wins!
Ben Clemens wrote up the Pirates as one of the "Winners" at the deadline:
"Pittsburgh Pirates
I’m not blown away by the deals the Pirates got in trading for hitters, but who cares? They needed an offensive jolt badly, and they acquired Bryan De La Cruz, Isiah Kiner-Falefa, and Nick Yorke to see if there’s any spark there. De La Cruz lets Connor Joe move into a platoon role that suits him better than an everyday starting role. Kiner-Falefa is a luxury utility defender who raises the floor considerably for a team playing some sketchy bats in its regular lineup. Yorke will probably get a shot in the majors with Nick Gonzales on the IL, and I’m a sucker for his well-rounded offensive skillset despite his lack of a natural defensive home.
These moves aren’t blockbusters, but there just weren’t a lot of blockbusters to be had this year. Adjusted for what was available, I thought the Pirates did a good job of threading the needle. They added some offensive help this year, and even played for the future a little bit with Yorke, without giving up anyone they’re likely to miss. I feel that teams who straddle present and future are often too cute by half, but the Pirates did a good job in my eyes."
That's awfully patronizing...f that guy.
With Griffin signed, I hope they put him in center field at least part of the time. I just don't want to see another Cruz or Davis situation in which the first real experience in the outfield comes when he's knocking on the big league door or on a major league field.
I think it was once you didn't move a player away from short because of the lack of shortstops that could hit. In today's game there is probably a bigger shortage in center field.
You know what they say: hope in one hand and expect Ben Cherington to do the rational thing wrt prospect development in the other and see which one fills up first.
I agree. I would like to see the Pirates organization or maybe all minor league organizations do a better job of preparing players for certain situations in the majors. I think Triolo played his first game in the outfield in 2 years, guys are asked to bunt in the majors that weren't asked in the minors, maybe just situational play in general.
Yeah it'd be nice to have a few of the fundamentals down before asked to be able to do it at the highest level.
https://blogs.fangraphs.com/pirates-brighten-up-their-offense-with-a-fresh-coat-of-paint/ intriguing first comment there:
Is everyone sure that it’s better to use IKF at 2nd? Look at these wRC+ splits (from before last night’s game).
Oneil Cruz:
51 against L
132 against R
Ke’Bryan Hayes:
158 against L
37 against R
IKF: 115 and 116
I think Cruz is making some baby steps to getting better against lefties. So I wouldn’t really straight platoon him against them other than if he gets a day off, it’s against a lefty.
Hayes, I dunno man. Maybe they can trade him to the Yanks in the offseason. My hope is pretty much gone with him being anything other than a league average bat at best. With his defense before this season, that’s probably a 3-4 win player. But his whole game has regressed.
I agree with you on Cruz. Seen elsewhere:
"Since May 1, he has a 98 wRC+ vs. LHP, and that improves further if you set cut-offs at June/July (141/219 wRC+ respectively, with the caveat that the sample sizes get progressively smaller and therefore less significant). "
Yep. The B/K rate against lefties is hideous, but he’s still hit 5 of his 17 dongs off lefties. His first month or two was rough, but after that, he’s been pretty good. I really think he’s poised to jump off.
The best way to win games is Hayes full-time at 3b, Cruz full-time at SS, and Kiner full-time at 2b. This will probably change once Nick comes back, but he's been pretty awful at the dish for a pretty long stretch.
The fact is you know this as well.
You do fine posting here until you say dumb stuff like "the fact is you know this as well".
Ke'Bryan Hayes has a *37* wRC+ against the large side of the platoon. Why would I think starting Hayes full-time at 3B is the best way to win games when we have a guy who's 16% above average against RHP and capable of playing 3B pretty well?
If you wanted to say "you know Shelton is too stupid to maximize matchups" you could have avoided steering off the cliff.
I looked at this and of all qualified 3B, Hayes is the absolute worst hitter against RHP in MLB. Then I zeroed out. Among all qualified hitters at all defensive positions, Ke'Bryan Hayes is the worst hitter in all of baseball against RHP. The guy closest to his 36 wRC+ is Eddie Rosario with a 54 wRC+ so he's lapping the field. Of all hitters with only 200 PAs to even include some part time players he's still the worst. There are 4 guys who have 150+ PAs against RHP who are worse and one of them (Tim Anderson) just got DFAd by the freakin Marlins. It's a huge problem that nearly negates all of his defensive value.
In the same season he's become the worst hitter against RHP in baseball, his fielding run value has dropped from it's typical 92-98 percentile to 80th. He's a defensive sub and small side platoon bat at best right now.
Have you watched his defense this series?
You're just an idiot constantly trolling the Pirates.
Here's an insert from the article - Meanwhile, Pittsburgh’s reno continued with the addition of Kiner-Falefa to the infield. IKF has logged roughly 40 games each at second and third, with 15 games at shortstop. According to OAA, his defense has been slightly above average at both second and third. There is a dip in quality when he stands in at short, but that’s unlikely to be a role he’s asked to fill with the Pirates as long as Oneil Cruz stays healthy. And since the Bucs have Ke’Bryan Hayes locked in at third, Kiner-Falefa should get most of his playing time at second, particularly with Nick Gonzales on the IL for the next few weeks. Jared Triolo has logged 39 games at second this year, but given his 56 wRC+, he seems unlikely to meaningfully compete with IKF for playing time.
GFY
To your comment about his recent defense, defensive stats must be prone to wild swings. I checked in on his defense via Fangraphs and Statcast about 3 weeks ago, and he was way below his normal pace. He was something like 73rd percentile on range, when he’s normally in the upper 90’s. Fangraphs FPA showed a similar decline. Now he’s 91st percentile, and FPA has him only slightly off pace for his normal stats. Still, the bat and injury history is scary.
Could be very wrong but I think I remember reading some defensive metrics are collected on a running basis but in periodic updates.
Makes sense, so you’d end up with large data dumps that could cause decent-ish shifts.
Yeah and the comment is asking "are we sure that's the best deployment" wondering if the author even bothered to look at how putrid Hayes is at the plate. Dude is literally 63% below league average against RHP. That's historically bad. Tiny Dancer can come in as a defensive sub late and close. He can start against LHP. Falafel can start at 2b against LHP.
You truly need to calm down, dude. You're going to have a stroke.
Yeah, I went a little too far
No worries; it happens to the best of us.
I actually laugh out loud at
the Hayes reference. Spot on!
I'll be here all week
Greg Polanco becoming something of a japanese cultural icon by hitting fat dongs is by far the best thing I've seen in a while:
https://x.com/GaijinBaseball/status/1818592542461444550
So good seeing him have fun again. He was one of the big domino's that doomed the team.
It's good to see Greg again having fun playing baseball! I wonder if he's learned a bit of Japanese?
he looks healthy
I like this greg better than the super ripped greg. eatin' good.
Happy for him but painful for me as a Pirate fan. I was sure he was going to be a star.
Nice to see, thanks for sharing
I think it was Luke? Mentioned since Skenes was called up, they've been on a 90-win pace.
Keep that up and they'll have no problem making the playoffs. That pace probably lets them catch the Brewers.
That's a fairly large sample of games to dismiss it
The team of destiny!
Love the optimism but let's not forget Skenes is going to get sat to manage his innings. I bet Paul has another 50-60 IP this year. That's 9 or 10 starts pace. Playoff odds sit at a meager 17.5%. Looking at the rest of season, I bet he gets skipped 3 times if they continue to buy they have realistic playoff chances to save some post-season innings. 2 times if they fall out of contention.
They have been giving him extra rest with the deployment of the 6-man rotation.
Skenes-Keller-Gonzales-Ortiz-Falter-Woodford.
If they fall out of contention, I could see them pulling the plug on Skenes, not if they're in it. They'll just keep the 6-man and replace Woodford with Jones.
If they fall out, I hope they sit both he and Jones. It's an uphill battle. Need to leapfrog two WC teams and projected standings sees them going .486 ROS so 27-28.
Skenes for sure. But do you think they’ll sit Jones if they fall out of it since he’ll have missed a month anyway? Maybe they’ll just play it by ear with him.
Hard to say. I don't love that he had the lat problem already.
Good to see that Severino and De Los Santos will have a chance to play more baseball. I hope they get some playing time. It would be great if they are able to show that they can handle low A.
This is a Ben Clemens quote in the article on Seattle picking up Justin Turner but I guess is a way to look at BDLC: "One underrated part of having huge holes in your lineup is that they’re easier to replace."
:shrug:
Exactly what I keep saying.
Agree, and that's why any attempt to improve has to be appreciated. BDLC and IFK have holes, but they can lengthen the lineup.
My son and I are heading down the road to Altoona for the game today
Hoping to get my boy a Bubba autograph 🤞
Bubba was a good guy in spring and signed quite a bit. Good luck.
Curious to see whether we get other draft signings. No doubt the remaining guys all want above slot, so had to wait until after Griffin. Not sure much is left.
There can't be much left 10,000 maybe 20,000. Patrick and the lefty from Western Kentucky are probably the only realistic ones left, with Curly a 50/50 and Penn a long shot.
Any others that you really want to get?
The prep P most, because they’ve done well with that demographic, but I doubt he’ll sign. I think Griffin and Sanford used up about all the “extra.”
Andrew Patrick seems to have good power, which they always need.
By my rudimentary calculation they have 622,000 to use for above slot
Good. Better than I thought.
It is, and I wondered why the HS Pitcher at No. 20 - does anybody know anything about him? They pretty much loaded the 11-19 grouping with guys getting $25K when each pick had a $150K slot value. Saving money to use somewhere, and I doubt it was for a college guy. Another BC "Sleeper"?
Is IKF hurt?
Yeah rehabbing a knee right now
Ughhh... was hoping he might be in the lineup tonight but read a comment he was hurt
Someone in some article I read mentioned he's probably about 10 days out.
I read he was due to get re-instated Friday. Not sure what the bucs will do. He has played several MiLB games working his way back.
Ah yeah, 27th and 28th played at AAA
Cutch-Reynolds-Cruz-DLC-Rowdy-IKF-Bart-Hayes-Taylor
Suddenly they're very RH. I hope they stick with Taylor in CF. Which I thought was the plan all along when they acquired him.
Definitely the large dose of hopium I ingested last night, but that lineup almost doesnt look bad? Certainly not top of the support, but I could be talked into middle third or so
Was reading that it seems like BDLC has terrible range but a strong arm? Doesnt sound like the worst fit in RF at PNC given how his bat is probably a ~30% upgrade over what weve been running out
He has one of the best arms in the entire sport.
Bad plate discipline but has good power.
Not ideal, but he is certainly an upgrade over the players they have been running out there.
Should provide decent protection for Cruz.
A 2-3-4 of Reynolds 18 HR, Cruz 17 HR, BDLC 18 HR is a step in the right direction.
Here's to hoping McAdoo is just Matt Fraizer 2.0. Finally GMBC profiting off of the Greensboro Bump!
A 13th Rounder getting us an experienced MLB Utility guy like IKF who is already at 2.0 fWAR in 2024 was probably more than any of us could hope for. And, Mac benefits also! And the Jays get a solid prospect and get under the $237 mil penalty level. Everybody wins!
Dennis Santana & Bailey Falter. It's almost like the Parrott found some left over Searage dust laying around.
Anyone notice the number of ex-Pirates in the Dodgers pitching staff?
The Yankees have been fans of ex-Pirates too.
Noticed that a while ago, but I think they release Ramirez to add Honeywell.
Love that damn Parrot
Griffin signed to a 6.5 mil signing bonus according to Kevin Gorman. Said it should be announced by team around 1130 today
Do the pirates let IKF wear #4 since he is a cousin of Kiner? Part of me says yes, part of me says no? I don't even know if IKF would want to wear it.
I vote no. If he was a grandson or great grandson, I would have voted yes.
It’s a good thing Keiner Delgado isn’t ready yet. Even more confusing.