OnlyBucs

0A272A3B3C2D3A7A79480 wrote: And you know what folks?  If any of us really want to see an example of just how LOW the bar is as a Pirates Fan, here it is:



[highlight]“We feel like we got a young Freddy Galvis. His name is Erik Gonzalez,” Huntington said.[/highlight]



Freddy Galvis?  That's the mark?   The "old" Freddy Galvis is 29 this year.  Erik Gonzalez is 27 this year.   



Galvis had his first productive season as a starter last year and signed only a 1yr/ 5 million deal with the blue jays (which includes, a 2020 team option.)





Welcome to the Pittsburgh Pirates.  This is normal for us.   Up is down, left is right.   29 is old, 27 is "young" .   our GM believes the guy we've targeted has the potential upside of a guy that signed this offseason for a more team friendly contract than we paid Sean Rodriguez the last two seasons. 
Actually, Galvis has been fairly consistent these last 4 years. And he's considered one of the top fielding SSs. He hit 20 HRs in 2016. But his slash line is an unimpressive .246/.290/.374/.664. Jordy Mercer was .256/.316/.383/.699. I guess if Gonzalez can field as well as they hope and just be a slightly below average hitter, NH will have his version of Freddy Galvis. A big part of NH's job is to spin the moves they make and don't make. Equating Gonzalez to Galvis sounds better than saying they think Gonzalez will be a better fielding, worse hitting Jordy Mercer.



https://www.baseball-reference.com/play ... fr01.shtml




I get you.   I don't dispute Galvis's defensive chops at all.   I think that his woeful bat prior to last year made him more like a good backup quality SS than a good starter.



I  found that statement cringeworthy.  2 years younger than the full version, with the full version only costing 1yr/5mil with a team option.



NH needs a PR man, badly.  That's not how you talk up an acquisition.  If he would have said "defensively", it would have been good.   



Gonzalez is has a lot of potential.  I see the potential to outhit, Jordy for sure.  I like the pickup.   He's got a lot of offensive potential.     He's the kind of player I would take a chance on revamping his swing to get balls elevated.  He makes hard contact,  plays good defense and he can run a little bit.   He has tools and will contribute in other ways while we try to get his swing changed.   



 

2123393F294C0 wrote: I see Reyes was reassigned to minor league camp this morning, so I assume that means Newman stays as the infield backup. No idea how safe an assumption that is.


this was the other Reyes, Alfredo, not Pedro

62607A7C6A0F0 wrote: I see Reyes was reassigned to minor league camp this morning, so I assume that means Newman stays as the infield backup. No idea how safe an assumption that is.
That was Alfredo Reyes, not Pablo.

I just noticed that when I saw today's starting lineup.

so it's reyes vs newman, then?

32000C0C182A09000D080700610 wrote: so it's reyes vs newman, then?
My guess is that Reyes makes the team along with Shuck. Newman goes to Indy to play second along with Kramer, and play some outfield as well.

646869323B323A37302F35020 wrote: so it's reyes vs newman, then?
My guess is that Reyes makes the team along with Shuck. Newman goes to Indy to play second along with Kramer, and play some outfield as well.
Yeah. Keeping Shuck and sending down Newman is totally the NH move here further smashing whatever confidence Newman has left.

I just saw WTM's assessment of Newman in his ST losers article:



Kevin Newman, SS (now UT IF): The Pirates just handed their SS job to a 27-year-old utility player with a middling, at best, track record coming off a middling, at best, spring. It seems evident that they don’t consider Newman a major league shortstop.



https://www.bucsdugout.com/2019/3/20/18 ... ers-so-far



This is consistent with my opinion that the Pirates now see Newman's ceiling as nothing more than a utility infielder. This is the year they should have been watching Newman at SS to decide if he is the answer or if Tucker will be the answer next year. Instead, they gave the job to Gonzalez after Hurdle said Gonzalez had been erratic in the field and he didn't hit as well as Newman in ST. So I believe Newman will make the team as a utility infielder. No point in him going to AAA to take ABs away from Tucker or Kramer. Also, Gonzalez is far from a sure thing and if he flops, they will have nothing to lose by giving Newman a chance. Normally, you don't want a young player sitting on the bench and not getting much PT but if that's his ceiling, why not? If he makes the team they can decide if he can be a valuable utility player and have a career that way. If not, maybe he'll be traded at some point during the year. There's always a team that thinks they can fix a player and take a chance in him. They even found a taker for Gift Ngoepe. And Gift even signed with the Phillies after striking out 38 times in 72 ABs.

Today Kang hit a walk-off grand slam as Bucs beat Orioles 7-5. Kang also had a 2B, his first non HR hit of ST. Archer did well for 3 innings but have up 3 runs in 4th on HR, 2 doubles, 3 BBs and a WP.

644944555243541417260 wrote: Today Kang hit a walk-off grand slam as Bucs beat Orioles 7-5. Kang also had a 2B, his first non HR hit of ST. Archer did well for 3 innings but have up 3 runs in 4th on HR, 2 doubles, 3 BBs and a WP.
Archer looked like lights out in the first 3 innings. He did not get the call on the check swing from the first batter in the 4th inning, and then the inning unraveled for him.