2024 Off-Season Thread

[Doc]

I see the Giants are talking with Randal Grichuk. I cannot believe the Pirates are going to lay an egg, and not bring on board a corner outfielder which they darn well need. I know Nutting is cheap, but by not bringing in a good corner outfielder is idiotic in my opinion.

Nutting's willingness to spend will always be a problem when trying to attract free agents to sign here, but another aspect I keep reminding myself of is the willingness of a player to sign here when he has another choice. Players want the chance to win. The Giants try to win. If you were a free agent, and both the Giants and Pirates were interested in you, where would you prefer to go?

[fjk090852-7]

The Pirates acquired Brett de Geus from Toronto for cash. He is a right handed pitcher.

[Bobster]

I see the Giants are talking with Randal Grichuk. I cannot believe the Pirates are going to lay an egg, and not bring on board a corner outfielder which they darn well need. I know Nutting is cheap, but by not bringing in a good corner outfielder is idiotic in my opinion.

Nutting's willingness to spend will always be a problem when trying to attract free agents to sign here, but another aspect I keep reminding myself of is the willingness of a player to sign here when he has another choice. Players want the chance to win. The Giants try to win. If you were a free agent, and both the Giants and Pirates were interested in you, where would you prefer to go?

Exactly. There's a pattern to the FAs the Pirates sign. Either the Pirates are the last stop in their career before hanging it up or they are trying to revive their careers after injuries or poor performance. They sign with the Pirates because they get opportunities better teams don't offer. And if they have a decent year with the Pirates, they get offers from better teams the next year and leave. But FAs who are getting interest from several teams are unlikely to choose the least competitive team.

[Surgnbuck]

The Pirates acquired Brett de Geus from Toronto for cash. He is a right handed pitcher.

7.48 career ERA in 61 IP. They'll fix him!

[fjk090852-7]

I see the Giants are talking with Randal Grichuk. I cannot believe the Pirates are going to lay an egg, and not bring on board a corner outfielder which they darn well need. I know Nutting is cheap, but by not bringing in a good corner outfielder is idiotic in my opinion.

Nutting's willingness to spend will always be a problem when trying to attract free agents to sign here, but another aspect I keep reminding myself of is the willingness of a player to sign here when he has another choice. Players want the chance to win. The Giants try to win. If you were a free agent, and both the Giants and Pirates were interested in you, where would you prefer to go?

Exactly. There's a pattern to the FAs the Pirates sign. Either the Pirates are the last stop in their career before hanging it up or they are trying to revive their careers after injuries or poor performance. They sign with the Pirates because they get opportunities better teams don't offer. And if they have a decent year with the Pirates, they get offers from better teams the next year and leave. But FAs who are getting interest from several teams are unlikely to choose the least competitive team.

You are right the Pirates history is signing FAs on their last stop, but it boggles my mind that they are not taking advantage of this window of opportunity. They cannot hope that Palacios or Suwinski are going to bounce back. Maybe they will, but if they don’t perform you have a hole in the lineup.I don’t expect a superstar, but a player with a history of good results, and if he platoons with another player on the roster, that would work, if their combined stats are well above average statistics. This entire offseason the FO says they need a corner outfielder, so stop the rhetoric and acquire one.

[Ecbucs]

Nutting's willingness to spend will always be a problem when trying to attract free agents to sign here, but another aspect I keep reminding myself of is the willingness of a player to sign here when he has another choice. Players want the chance to win. The Giants try to win. If you were a free agent, and both the Giants and Pirates were interested in you, where would you prefer to go?

Exactly. There's a pattern to the FAs the Pirates sign. Either the Pirates are the last stop in their career before hanging it up or they are trying to revive their careers after injuries or poor performance. They sign with the Pirates because they get opportunities better teams don't offer. And if they have a decent year with the Pirates, they get offers from better teams the next year and leave. But FAs who are getting interest from several teams are unlikely to choose the least competitive team.

You are right the Pirates history is signing FAs on their last stop, but it boggles my mind that they are not taking advantage of this window of opportunity. They cannot hope that Palacios or Suwinski are going to bounce back. Maybe they will, but if they don’t perform you have a hole in the lineup.I don’t expect a superstar, but a player with a history of good results, and if he platoons with another player on the roster, that would work, if their combined stats are well above average statistics. This entire offseason the FO says they need a corner outfielder, so stop the rhetoric and acquire one.

Your post explains why no one should take any talk of trying to win seriously. It took me until I was over 60 years old to figure out that any talk among management about the Pirates trying to win is just baloney. They may want to win but only if it can be done cheaply and most likely because they got lucky. Having Skenes, Jones, Chandler, Keller provides management with a chance to be a typical major league team and make an effort to win.

[Surgnbuck]

You know what's sad? When the best our hopes can get up is for guys like Verdugo and Grichuk.

Sure they're better than we've had but I really wish the bar was higher

[Bobster]

Nutting's willingness to spend will always be a problem when trying to attract free agents to sign here, but another aspect I keep reminding myself of is the willingness of a player to sign here when he has another choice. Players want the chance to win. The Giants try to win. If you were a free agent, and both the Giants and Pirates were interested in you, where would you prefer to go?

Exactly. There's a pattern to the FAs the Pirates sign. Either the Pirates are the last stop in their career before hanging it up or they are trying to revive their careers after injuries or poor performance. They sign with the Pirates because they get opportunities better teams don't offer. And if they have a decent year with the Pirates, they get offers from better teams the next year and leave. But FAs who are getting interest from several teams are unlikely to choose the least competitive team.

You are right the Pirates history is signing FAs on their last stop, but it boggles my mind that they are not taking advantage of this window of opportunity. They cannot hope that Palacios or Suwinski are going to bounce back. Maybe they will, but if they don’t perform you have a hole in the lineup.I don’t expect a superstar, but a player with a history of good results, and if he platoons with another player on the roster, that would work, if their combined stats are well above average statistics. This entire offseason the FO says they need a corner outfielder, so stop the rhetoric and acquire one.

I think we have to accept that this is the business model of the Pirates. Nutting isn't interested in a "window of opportunity." He's proven repeatedly that his interest lies in the business aspect of owning the team; not the score at the end of the game. I don't say that to insult him. It's simply recognizing the reality of the situation. We can say, "They should add this guy or that guy" but we are looking at it thru the lens of competition. And every year we closely analyze the moves the team makes and we can see that team management is not looking at it thru that same lens. They are operating a cost-effective business. They have the advantage of operating in the world of professional sports where the product has a built-in fanbase. We don't have to try out the company's new product to see if we want it. We were already fans of the Pirates long before Nutting took it over. And no matter how disappointed we are in the team, we continue to follow and hope things will change, no matter how much the evidence indicates that it won't.

[fjk090852-7]

You know what's sad? When the best our hopes can get up is for guys like Verdugo and Grichuk.

Sure they're better than we've had but I really wish the bar was higher

One of the two players you mentioned are players who I still hope the Pirates will sign. These players in my opinion are the ones that the Pirates could afford. I am sure I have set my bar lower than most individuals who post on Only Bucs, but I cannot agree with the Pirates signing some over the hill player to fill that open outfield position. I, like a few posters on this site am a very long time Pirates fan, but Nutting and the way he operates has taken some of my enjoyment from following this team.

[Ecbucs]

Exactly. There's a pattern to the FAs the Pirates sign. Either the Pirates are the last stop in their career before hanging it up or they are trying to revive their careers after injuries or poor performance. They sign with the Pirates because they get opportunities better teams don't offer. And if they have a decent year with the Pirates, they get offers from better teams the next year and leave. But FAs who are getting interest from several teams are unlikely to choose the least competitive team.

You are right the Pirates history is signing FAs on their last stop, but it boggles my mind that they are not taking advantage of this window of opportunity. They cannot hope that Palacios or Suwinski are going to bounce back. Maybe they will, but if they don’t perform you have a hole in the lineup.I don’t expect a superstar, but a player with a history of good results, and if he platoons with another player on the roster, that would work, if their combined stats are well above average statistics. This entire offseason the FO says they need a corner outfielder, so stop the rhetoric and acquire one.

I think we have to accept that this is the business model of the Pirates. Nutting isn't interested in a "window of opportunity." He's proven repeatedly that his interest lies in the business aspect of owning the team; not the score at the end of the game. I don't say that to insult him. It's simply recognizing the reality of the situation. We can say, "They should add this guy or that guy" but we are looking at it thru the lens of competition. And every year we closely analyze the moves the team makes and we can see that team management is not looking at it thru that same lens. They are operating a cost-effective business. They have the advantage of operating in the world of professional sports where the product has a built-in fanbase. We don't have to try out the company's new product to see if we want it. We were already fans of the Pirates long before Nutting took it over. And no matter how disappointed we are in the team, we continue to follow and hope things will change, no matter how much the evidence indicates that it won't.

I agree with Bobster here although part of Nutting's business plan is to lie to fans by giving the impression the team is trying to win.