Holes To Fill For 2023

[fjk090852-7]

I think most people would agree the Bucs need to add a catcher this offseason which could be Roberto Perez who has indicated there might be a mutual interest in his return. As many as two or three pitchers should be added to solidify the rotation and bullpen. A left handed first baseman would be nice to add to platoon with Michael Chavis. As for a DH I am beginning to think that R. Castro would be an ideal player to fill that role. Castro has had some difficulties in the field, but he appears to be a good hitter. From time to time he could play some in the infield, but I would hope that Hayes, Cruz and possibly Bae would be the every day infield players along with Chavis and his platoon partner.

[Ecbucs]

2A26277C757C74797E617B4C0 wrote: I think most people would agree the Bucs need to add a catcher this offseason which could be Roberto Perez who has indicated there might be a mutual interest in his return. As many as two or three pitchers should be added to solidify the rotation and bullpen. A left handed first baseman would be nice to add to platoon with Michael Chavis. As for a DH I am beginning to think that R. Castro would be an ideal player to fill that role. Castro has had some difficulties in the field, but he appears to be a good hitter. From time to time he could play some in the infield, but I would hope that Hayes, Cruz and possibly Bae would be the every day infield players along with Chavis and his platoon partner.
this sounds good to me, Maybe Castro should learn to play first too if he is going to move around infield.

[WildwoodDave2]

3C30316A636A626F68776D5A0 wrote: I think most people would agree the Bucs need to add a catcher this offseason which could be Roberto Perez who has indicated there might be a mutual interest in his return. As many as two or three pitchers should be added to solidify the rotation and bullpen. A left handed first baseman would be nice to add to platoon with Michael Chavis. As for a DH I am beginning to think that R. Castro would be an ideal player to fill that role. Castro has had some difficulties in the field, but he appears to be a good hitter. From time to time he could play some in the infield, but I would hope that Hayes, Cruz and possibly Bae would be the every day infield players along with Chavis and his platoon partner.
I think this is a very good thread and it should give us a lot

to think about going forward

[Bobster21]

I think the guy who should be the LH hitting 1Bman in 2023 is the same guy currently making too many errors at SS in 2022. Cruz is 6'-7" with quite a wingspan. He could prevent a lot of throwing errors to 1B. He is too erratic at SS, Newman is under contract for 2 more years (and has become their most consistent hitter), and Peguero looks like the better SS prospect while being 1-2 years away. Slugging 1Bmen are too expensive for Nutting to ever pay for. But Cruz could be an exceptional, home grown one.

[gileszee]

Sign Trey Mancini or Eric Hosmer; it won't happen but one can hope. Hell bring back Bell.

[WildwoodDave2]

313F3A33252C3333560 wrote: Sign Trey Mancini or Eric Hosmer; it won't happen but one can hope.  Hell bring back Bell.
Nutting won't pay any of them. Any money spent should be on pitching, IMO

[Bobster21]

526C6961726A6A614164736037050 wrote: Sign Trey Mancini or Eric Hosmer; it won't happen but one can hope.  Hell bring back Bell.
Nutting won't pay any of them. Any money spent should be on pitching, IMO
He won't pay for pitching either.

[2drfischer@gmail.c]

210C01101706115152630 wrote: I think the guy who should be the LH hitting 1Bman in 2023 is the same guy currently making too many errors at SS in 2022. Cruz is 6'-7" with quite a wingspan. He could prevent a lot of throwing errors to 1B. He is too erratic at SS, Newman is under contract for 2 more years (and has become their most consistent hitter), and Peguero looks like the better SS prospect while being 1-2 years away. Slugging 1Bmen are too expensive for Nutting to ever pay for. But Cruz could be an exceptional, home grown one. 


I commend Chavis for doing an admirable job at 1B for such a small guy, but I’d really like to see someone else there over these last few weeks. Having Cruz do it would allow management to get an idea if he’s a good fit in the future. If he can play SS, he can play 1B.

[Surgnbuck]

1. Two enormous holes to fill will be guys the Pirates should expect to rebound by a good leap; Hayes and Reynolds.



2. All the BC draft guys will be making moves, and more added to the 40 roster. With only 5 rounds in 2020, his next two draft classes are still mostly AA and A ball. We should see a few moving to AAA next season.



3. It's not been talked about that I've seen on the board. Ben Gamel is a free agent after this season. Is he worth pursuing? He'll be turning 31 next season. Me personally, would hate to see him go, but they have a lot of outfielders now, and who knows if Cruz goes into that OF mix?



4. Speaking of Cruz, it would be nice to know what they plan on him going forward. Is he going to be their SS? Would he be enthusiastic to a move to the OF or 1B?



5. Keller, Brubaker both have shown major improvement, but can we expect further improvement? If Contreras stays on point, they have three solid rotation guys. However.....



6. You need 5-6 starters, and that's not counting having depth for injuries.



7. Their offseason focus should be on acquiring pitching. Their abysmal offensive numbers I feel are related to the youth movement they are almost going full fledged on now.



8. Bae has been mentioned all year. Bae has probably been as solid as anyone in AAA all year. Bae was signed by NH, and since it has come out about his domestic abuse, that seems to be the focus more than his play. IDK if BC has kept him around simply for trade fodder, but my guess is that's exactly what will happen. He's another in a cog of middle infielders, and at some point, BC has to put his foot down and decide who those guys will be. There's only two spots, and right now there's Cruz, Castro, Newman, Marcano, Castillo all having had time or playing right now with the Pirates. Peguero probably moves to AAA next season, and perhaps Nick Gonzales. Peguero and Castillo are on the 40 man roster. Having just read three different scouting reports on Bae, his arm isn't ML caliber for SS, leaving him strictly as a 2B guy. I think he needs to go.



9. The bullpen has shown some quality in guys taking leaps forward, but injuries have derailed Peters, Bednar. DeJong has really stepped up but can we rely on him? Crowe was the bomb for the first half of the season, but look how he's struggled. This is certainly going to be a sort it out at Spring Training sort of thing.



10. They have to hit tons more long balls if they're going to strike out so much. Or they need to change the approach. We've all scratched our heads all season as these guys watch fastballs right down the middle for strike one, run some counts up, and strike out looking on a ball in the zone, or swinging at one in the other batters box. It's mind blowing confusing.

[Bobster21]

I don't know how much of a rebound by Hayes should be expected. He was not a dominant hitter in the minors and didn't hit for power either. Fans got excited when he made his MLB debut in the brief 2020 season when he hit .376 in 24 games. But it was just 24 games during a bizarre season when everyone was concerned about covid. A lot of hitters did poorly at that time and I'm sure a lot of pitchers were not at their best either. Maybe a good situation for a hitter focused on making a good debut vs distracted pitchers. He had only 85 ABs that season.



Since then, he has batted 790 times with 12 HRs and a BA of .248. He was only a .264 hitter in AAA so .248 vs MLB pitching doesn't seem unrealistic. With more experience, maybe we can expect a .260ish BA with the same lack of power. Based on his minor league career and his MLB experience other than those 24 games in 2020, I just don't see evidence to suggest Hayes is going to become a dominant hitter.