OnlyBucs

Just a guess, but I am thinking that in the next week to ten days many of the starting pitchers who would fit in the Pirates budget are going to be signing contracts for the upcoming season. If the Pirates don’t sign or trade for a pitcher during this period they are going to be left out in the cold for a starting pitcher who can join the Opening Day Rotation.

https://twitter.com/alexspeier/status/1 ... 5065592024

https://twitter.com/JonHeyman/status/17 ... 2091088369

The Pirates front office have must have gone on vacation between Christmas and New Year’s because there continues to be no news regarding free agents or trades. I am beginning to fear that the Pirates are not going to add to their starting pitching group. Every day goes by and another team signs a pitcher which I thought could fall into the Pirates team budget.

Happy New Year everyone. My hope for the new year is that the Pirates don't give away too many prospects in the search for the next Archer.

mouse wrote: ↑Mon Jan 01, 2024 11:59 am Happy New Year everyone. My hope for the new year is that the Pirates don't give away too many prospects in the search for the next Archer.

Make that the next Doug Drabek mouse.

Happy New Year, everyone! I believe the Pirates will be better in '24 for these three reasons: O'Neil Cruz will be with the club for the entire season; the youngsters who received a lot of playing time last year will show marked improvement (especially Henry Davis and Nick Gonzales); and Roansy Contreras, Luis Ortiz, and Quinn Priester will surprise us. I think we'll be in contention for a Wild Card spot into September.

Happy new year to all. It may sound crazy but Spring Training starts next month!

Happy New Year to all the Pirates followers. I am hoping for a better season in 2024. Also I am still holding out that the Pirates outbid Toronto or any other team for Yariel Rodriguez. His signing would be a perfect beginning for 2024.

I have not been excited about any of the off season moves. It seems like business as usual.

Sanchez: backup catcher.
Gonzales: a body for the rotation. Declining each of the last 3 years.
Alcantara: utility infielder whose name Greg Brown likes to pronounce.
Tellez: fat 1Bman with power but hit .219 and .215 the past 2 years.
McKinney: light-hitting utility OFer.
Olivares: decent utility OFer.
Martin Perez: good pitcher in 2013 and 2022. Otherwise average or below.

Looks like they've added bodies for 1B and the rotation and added fringe players. They're going to sink or swim with how last year's young players improve (or not) this year. They'll have Cruz at least.

We are about 6 or 7 weeks out until pitchers and catchers report to Bradenton, and the Pirates need at least one more starting pitcher. I had figured that with PirateFest this Saturday they would have a player announcement of some type this week to gauge the fan interest. There are still two days until PirateFest so possibly a player acquisition will happen before Saturday.