Official Game Thread - 2/26 - Pirates @ Blue Jays

[SammyKhalifa]

Certainly there's a team out there that would swap for a prospective MI guy, right?

[Possum]

All the Bucs need to do is pick the one guy who will not become a HOF player elsewhere.

[Doc]

Certainly there's a team out there that would swap for a prospective MI guy, right?

There's no doubt. The trouble is, with the exception of Cruz, who every team would love to have even though he still doesn't have much major league time, none of them would return much in a trade at this point.

[Wildwoodcoach]

Right now, the Pirates have five middle infielders (Cruz, Gonzales, Puegero, Johnson, and Triolo). If all of them pan out, one or two of them will be dealt away. Which ones? In this kind of situation, I always think back to when the Cubs had two youngsters, Mark Grace and Raphael Palmiero, playing first base. They chose to keep Grace, who had a terrific career. Palmiero, though, ended up in a very exclusive club: players who hit 500 HRs and had 3,000 hits. I hope the Pirates have that kind situation, too.

Probably by late 2025, or 2026 for sure Johnson and Cruz will be the double play combination. I like Triolo, but I see him as a super utility player. He will play all 4 infield positions for the Pirates. I hate to say it, but I think Gonzales may be another #1 Draft pick bust.

I would give anyone from that draft a pass, TBH. That was a pure crap shoot IMHO, you basically were drafting guys from a previous year's performance, no way to guage any improvement, peaking, exposing weaknesses etc.

good point Surg