Closer - need a new one?
Posted: Wed Sep 07, 2016 7:45 pm
1C30383F3413243222510 wrote: Quail - Can I assume that you were being sarcastic?
Mostly yes.
The Pirates will not sign either one. It's not in Huntington's DNA to do such a thing, but it's not because they won't be able to afford to sign either of them.
A glance at the upcoming class of starting pitcher free agents reveals a very weak group. There's not one pitcher among them that is even close to Chapman's or Melancon's pedigree as a relief pitcher.
If the Pirates go with some combination of Cole, Taillon, Kuhl, Brault, Glasnow, Williams, Hutchison and Duncan for a starting rotation (with Kingham and Cumptom available by mid-2017 coming off of surgery and ready to provide depth) they won't need to sign a FA starter beyond perhaps a tryout type of contract like they did with Matt Joyce this past spring.
So without spending money on a FA starter the Pirates could have the money required to sign Chapman or Melancon. We've seen how the price for starting pitching has inflated over the past few years. By comparison relief pitchers might still be a relative bargain. Maybe.
Of course there are just too many possible strategies that NH could employ this off season to accurately predict how things may unfold but my feeling is that signing either Chapman or Melancon isn't one of them.
Mostly yes.
The Pirates will not sign either one. It's not in Huntington's DNA to do such a thing, but it's not because they won't be able to afford to sign either of them.
A glance at the upcoming class of starting pitcher free agents reveals a very weak group. There's not one pitcher among them that is even close to Chapman's or Melancon's pedigree as a relief pitcher.
If the Pirates go with some combination of Cole, Taillon, Kuhl, Brault, Glasnow, Williams, Hutchison and Duncan for a starting rotation (with Kingham and Cumptom available by mid-2017 coming off of surgery and ready to provide depth) they won't need to sign a FA starter beyond perhaps a tryout type of contract like they did with Matt Joyce this past spring.
So without spending money on a FA starter the Pirates could have the money required to sign Chapman or Melancon. We've seen how the price for starting pitching has inflated over the past few years. By comparison relief pitchers might still be a relative bargain. Maybe.
Of course there are just too many possible strategies that NH could employ this off season to accurately predict how things may unfold but my feeling is that signing either Chapman or Melancon isn't one of them.