140 Comments

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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

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So good seeing him have fun again. He was one of the big domino's that doomed the team.

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It's good to see Greg again having fun playing baseball! I wonder if he's learned a bit of Japanese?

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he looks healthy

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I like this greg better than the super ripped greg. eatin' good.

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Happy for him but painful for me as a Pirate fan. I was sure he was going to be a star.

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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

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The team of destiny!

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Jul 31Edited
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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.

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Jul 31
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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.

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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.

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My son and I are heading down the road to Altoona for the game today

Hoping to get my boy a Bubba autograph 🤞

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Bubba was a good guy in spring and signed quite a bit. Good luck.

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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.

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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.

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Any others that you really want to get?

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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.

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By my rudimentary calculation they have 622,000 to use for above slot

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Good. Better than I thought.

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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"?

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Is IKF hurt?

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Yeah rehabbing a knee right now

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Ughhh... was hoping he might be in the lineup tonight but read a comment he was hurt

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Jul 31
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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.

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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.

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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

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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

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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.

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A 2-3-4 of Reynolds 18 HR, Cruz 17 HR, BDLC 18 HR is a step in the right direction.

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Here's to hoping McAdoo is just Matt Fraizer 2.0. Finally GMBC profiting off of the Greensboro Bump!

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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!

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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?

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The Yankees have been fans of ex-Pirates too.

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Noticed that a while ago, but I think they release Ramirez to add Honeywell.

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Love that damn Parrot

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Griffin signed to a 6.5 mil signing bonus according to Kevin Gorman. Said it should be announced by team around 1130 today

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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.

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I vote no. If he was a grandson or great grandson, I would have voted yes.

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It’s a good thing Keiner Delgado isn’t ready yet. Even more confusing.

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Favorite trade - Priester for Yorke. Wish Priester well, but he wasn't progressing here

Least favorite - Peralta for Beeks. It's a long shot, but I thought Peralta had a chance to be an an impact reliever. I also thought the Pirates were full up at pitcher, but I see Mlod has gone on the Il. What's the word on him?

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Agree on Beeks. Peralta might be better than him right now.

Not sure about Yorke. The thing about the reverse splits is weird. Can't hit LHPs at all. Not necessarily a bad thing if Shelton uses him right, but . . . Shelton.

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sooooo is griffin going to sign??

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Just signed! 6.5

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finally lol

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Sorry to give up McAdoo but how many college hitters have we seen stall out at AA? Too many. IKF is a starter. Reminds me of Sid thrift sending Johnny Ray to California with a thank you note so he could put Jose’s Lind’s glove at second. It’s an investment in your pitchers. Yorke and Cookie are two “ready for primetime” mature HITTING prospects. Just what we don’t have, so I am very happy to have them in Indianapolis. Would have rather just brought up Peralta.

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I agree - IKF is already a 2 fWAR player this year with a +5 DRS at 2B. In the Toronto lineup he was mostly in the #8 slot in the order. In the Pirate order probably 6th or 7th. This is a significant step forward for the Pirates under BC as is the trade to get Bryan De La Cruz. BDLC could be #3 or #4 in the order - in front of or behind Oneil Cruz. Cruz is already dangerous, but he could now be surrounded by Reynolds and De La Cruz?

McAdoo really gave the Pirates some negotiating power!

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Jul 31
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BC has had a fetish for high OBP guys. After a couple years of being 27th in MLB in OPS, maybe he's coming around with the Delacruz trade. Of course bats cost a lot of money, so this is probably a one-off.

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