2024 Off-Season Thread

[Ecbucs]

It is hard for me to understand why the Pirates couldn’t pay for either Hayes, Laueano, or Grichuk. Five million dollars in baseball money is pocket change. Please don’t sign a player like Tommy Pham. Since the Pirates are a cheap organization let’s try, Cook, Yorke, Suwinski and Palacios as the right field option, and see if it works. Don’t forget we can also try .202 Adam Frazier.

To me it is a lot better to try any of the younger players than to give Frazier at bats. I have always liked him but he brings no value to this team. I'm a little worried that Yorke is rated so high on the Pirates prospect list. He may turn out to be a nice player but unless the power he started to show last year is real he may not bring enough to the table to be a regular starter.

[Surgnbuck]

Is it just me, but is there more negativity towards Pirates Ownership now than ever before? Yes there are billboards, and shirts telling Nutting to sell, but there is more written negativity. It has been a dreadful offseason. I for one is not that excited that ST begins next week.

I believe more negativity. It's not just the usual Bob is cheap. I think it's because people had already flushed 2024 and felt with a full year of Skenes, Jones, and Keller, and with just seemingly needing just a couple proven bats and a couple more arms in the bullpen that there was serious reason to believe they could contend for the division. Instead, even with the increase of the arbitration players salary and the automatic bump the pre arb guys get, they are spending less this year. We know Soto was off the table. But guys like Bellinger and Santander and Walker were easily obtainable. Even then, fans would have been okay for a Grichuk. People like me that try and reset every year to the positive outlook side feel jaded. And that's why I feel it's more negative.

[Bobster]

I totally agree with Surg. As Pirate fans, we never get to enjoy the present. We are always told the future will be better. But at some point we want to see actual signs of that instead of just words.

Last year Skenes brought real hope that the next few years could bring the kind of baseball enjoyment the fans have been so desperate for. He brought hope that the organization might finally put their words into action by building a strong team around him.

But instead, the organization has done nothing. Instead of adding better players, they’ve scraped the bottom of the dumpster for whatever additions have been made. They’ve even lowered the payroll if that was possible. It seems as if they are no longer even trying to fool the fans. What we see is what we get. If we ever needed proof that the putrid status quo of this team is all the organization desires, we are getting it. The only thing we had was hope. And now it looks like that’s been taken away. It’s hard to find anything positive to say about this organization. And they obviously don’t care that we feel that way.

[mouse]

Nice article today in the Post Gazette on Joey Bart. If he can continue last season's level of play, catcher should be a solid position this year. If Davis can hit, then he likely should be the backup (with both getting a lot of time). Endy, as the more athletic of the two top contenders (Davis looks just a touch wooden to me) could be switched to another position (if he can hit). And then there is Delay, a suitable backup on more limited usage, if neither of the other backup possibilities can hit.

[Doc]

It is hard for me to understand why the Pirates couldn’t pay for either Hayes, Laueano, or Grichuk. Five million dollars in baseball money is pocket change. Please don’t sign a player like Tommy Pham. Since the Pirates are a cheap organization let’s try, Cook, Yorke, Suwinski and Palacios as the right field option, and see if it works. Don’t forget we can also try .202 Adam Frazier.

Guys like Laureano and Grichuk are fine additions to teams like Arizona. The D'Backs are already set with a line-up that's competitive. Those guys are role players capable of giving starters a day off now and then and not hurting the team. But if they're with the Pirates as starting players, it makes the team no better over 162 games. I'm happy BC didn't sign them. I wish he hadn't signed Frazier for the same reason. He's not going to help now and especially not in the future.

[Doc]

Is it just me, but is there more negativity towards Pirates Ownership now than ever before? Yes there are billboards, and shirts telling Nutting to sell, but there is more written negativity. It has been a dreadful offseason. I for one is not that excited that ST begins next week.

I believe more negativity. It's not just the usual Bob is cheap. I think it's because people had already flushed 2024 and felt with a full year of Skenes, Jones, and Keller, and with just seemingly needing just a couple proven bats and a couple more arms in the bullpen that there was serious reason to believe they could contend for the division. Instead, even with the increase of the arbitration players salary and the automatic bump the pre arb guys get, they are spending less this year. We know Soto was off the table. But guys like Bellinger and Santander and Walker were easily obtainable. Even then, fans would have been okay for a Grichuk. People like me that try and reset every year to the positive outlook side feel jaded. And that's why I feel it's more negative.

This is exactly right, Surge. The opportunities this young pitching staff present would have nearly every other owner building a roster to support it. Instead, our owner is going in the opposite direction. I believe more and more fans are finally seeing that winning isn't the objective, that claiming it to be for the past 10 years has been a lie.

Nutting deserves all of the negativity that comes his way. I just want the other owners and the Players Association to join in, although I don't believe Nutting's capable of feeling shame. It just would be nice to hear it.

[3pirates3]

https://www.mlb.com/news/harrison-bader-twins-contract

[fjk090852-7]

https://x.com/SNY_Mets/status/1887207986080129532

Bader could have been an option for the Pirates, but now the Twins have him. All these mid and small market teams are signing players and the Pirates Brass must be on vacation before ST begins.

[fjk090852-7]

If the Pirates even want to sign a free agent outfielder it could be Tommy Pham, David Peralta or Mark Canha. All three players are older than 35 years old. I really think they are going to try to fill the position from within the organization. Gorski has been invited to ST as a non roster player, so possibly he may impress the Staff.

[Ecbucs]

If the Pirates even want to sign a free agent outfielder it could be Tommy Pham, David Peralta or Mark Canha. All three players are older than 35 years old. I really think they are going to try to fill the position from within the organization. Gorski has been invited to ST as a non roster player, so possibly he may impress the Staff.

one of the things about this off season (unless the Pirates stun most of us and actually have a very good year) is that it could be evidence that the front office just doesn't know what it is doing instead of just being entirely a money issue.

Maybe they think players already on the roster are going to be good, maybe they think free agents and players on other teams aren't worth acquiring for close to the asking price.

To me Skenes is a natural, the Pirates have only had to stay out of his way. Jared Jones may be the same with less talent than Skenes. If Spencer H. flops (let's say he is another Lee Mazilli or Brant Brown type of player at best) it should be plenty of proof that Ben and company can't do the job. They just make a lot of head scratching decisions and unfortunately most of them don't work out.