OnlyBucs

Dutton wrote: ↑Tue Mar 18, 2025 10:09 pm

3pirates3 wrote: ↑Tue Mar 18, 2025 8:11 pm https://x.com/JonHeyman/status/1902090054123888753

https://x.com/Pirates/status/1902097915482681739

Thanks for the update, 3p3. Delay should be a backup catcher in MLB somewhere. I feel bad saying this, but Cutch is blocking Endy and Henry cuz he takes the DH.
As I posted a while back, our catchers need to learn how to play 1B, cuz even a healthy Horwitz can't hit lefties. But I haven't seen it

I am very surprised that Thomas Harrington is still in camp. It is a positive for him that this late in ST that he got a start. He looked very good against the Phillies. In the Pirates eyes is he higher on the depth chart than Burrows, Ashcraft or even Chandler? It is very interesting that he remains in MLB Camp.

fjk090852-7 wrote: ↑Tue Mar 18, 2025 11:17 pm I am very surprised that Thomas Harrington is still in camp. It is a positive for him that this late in ST that he got a start. He looked very good against the Phillies.

https://www.post-gazette.com/sports/pir ... 2503180014
https://triblive.com/sports/for-pirates ... he-majors/

3pirates3 wrote: ↑Thu Mar 20, 2025 6:02 pm https://x.com/JonHeyman/status/1902781078982492321

How sad is this.
Verdugo signs for only 1.5M from the Braves
He must really have had no interest in signing with the Pirates.
This is just another area in which the Pirates are at a disadvantage.

JollyRoger8 wrote: ↑Thu Mar 20, 2025 6:29 pm

3pirates3 wrote: ↑Thu Mar 20, 2025 6:02 pm https://x.com/JonHeyman/status/1902781078982492321

How sad is this.
Verdugo signs for only 1.5M from the Braves
He must really have had no interest in signing with the Pirates.
This is just another area in which the Pirates are at a disadvantage.

You might be correct about how he felt about the Pirates, but it could be too that he and his agent priced himself out for any team. We will never know but John Heyman said the Bucs offered him 8 million dollars and he might have wanted more so the Bucs went another direction. I am amazed he didn’t sign with any team until one week from Opening Day. The Braves have a decent outfield so I am surprised they signed him. KC is needing outfielders and I am sure they could have matched what the Braves have signed him for.

https://triblive.com/sports/kevin-gorma ... decisions/

https://x.com/JonHeyman/status/1903240879235641726

https://x.com/Orioles/status/1903245309053964338

https://x.com/ZackMeisel/status/1903527356335063261

https://x.com/harding_at_mlb/status/1903589090785997059

https://x.com/ByRobertMurray/status/1903638985244848539

I really liked Adam Frazier when he played for the Bucs a few years back. But I really hated it when he was signed to a MLB contract that basically guaranteed him a 26-man spot and likewise guaranteed that one our many young infield prospects would be denied an important opportunity to develop at the MLB level.

We've now seen Nick Yorke sent down to a crowded Indianapolis infield. If you don't look too hard at Yorke's ST statistics, you might think it's a wise decision. But Yorke has hit the ball hard this Spring and his versatility would be Frazier's equal. Yorke could have been part of a LF platoon.

The Tommy Pham overpay is, at least, easier to understand, given that few suspected that Suwinski and Bae would knock the MLB door down this Spring. And there is the L/R platoon that seems obvious. But there is one other decision that shows a lack of forward thinking: the failure to give Bart, Davis and Rodriguez a thorough opportunity to learn 1B.

We seem to have an "embarrassment of riches" at catcher, where a solid MLB backup like Jason Delay can do no better than a share of AAA playing time. But in a smarter ST, Bart, Davis and Rodriguez would have all auditioned for a 1B platoon. And that might have allowed all 3 to start the season on the 26-man. Cutch as DH removes a possibility.

A few comments on the pitching staff:
Heaney's awful ST has me worried, but Jared Jones' sore elbow has me depressed. Assuming Jones can't answer the bell, adding Harrington to the MLB staff is a popular rumor, but I think it would be short-sighted to create a 40-man cut when you have Burrows and Ashcraft available.

Who do you want to cut? I suppose Shugart is expendable, but I'd rather keep a spot available for a tasty final cut from another team, or Tyler Rainey, who seems to have bounced back this Spring. And we should make room for Borucki.

We have an "abundance of mediocrity" in the bullpen. As much as I like Nicolas' stuff, he has 2 options left. Stratton' has 3. Bednar Holderman, Santana, and Lawrence are righties who should make it. And Mlodzinski, despite having 2 options left, might be a short term option as a starter. There's room for 3 lefties at most. Ferguson and Mayza have contracts that pretty much insure their spots. Could Joey Wentz be traded? If it comes down to Wentz vs Borucki, I'll take the latter. So that means that I'd option Nicolas and Stratton to AAA. Lord knows we'll see them when the inevitable pitching injuries occur.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

https://x.com/JonHeyman/status/1903895749068231145

https://x.com/JonHeyman/status/1903899361391816815