OnlyBucs

Winker who was a possible candidate for the Pirates is signing with the Mets. What a sorry organization we Pirates fans follow! I can see Skenes and Jones etc in a couple years telling management get me out of here! What a joke for an owner.

fjk090852-7 wrote: ↑Thu Jan 16, 2025 6:34 pm Winker who was a possible candidate for the Pirates is signing with the Mets. What a sorry organization we Pirates fans follow! I can see Skenes and Jones etc in a couple years telling management get me out of here! What a joke for an owner.

No surprise that Winker is resigning with the Mets. I will also not be surprised if they do not sign Verdugo or Grichuk, despite their luke-warm markets to date. The best they could hope for is someone like Tommy Pham, if noone else shows interest. This is the bleak reality of being a Pirates fan.

Let's not forget the mishandling of the Rowdy Tellez release. He was a waste of a signing, to be sure, but releasing him short of a contractually obtainable performance bonus will be long remembered by every agent and player for years to come.

fjk090852-7 wrote: ↑Thu Jan 16, 2025 6:34 pm Winker who was a possible candidate for the Pirates is signing with the Mets. What a sorry organization we Pirates fans follow! I can see Skenes and Jones etc in a couple years telling management get me out of here! What a joke for an owner.

Can't say I blame Winker for signing with the Mets. If he had signed here, he may have played a bit more but he'd be going home when the regular season ended. He'd make little difference in terms of winning games. The Mets, meanwhile, have a legitimate shot of reaching the World Series, especially if they resign Alonso.

Winker would be, at most, a one season player for the Pirates. He's of little use to a team like ours. The same with Grichuk and Verdugo. The Pirates need either top of the line free agents or young studs from other organizations who are blocked. I say other organizations because, evidently, we can't seem to draft and/or develop our own players.

The Pirates have supposedly signed DJ Stewart an outfielder who previously played with the Orioles and Mets. It is a minor league deal. I hope Stewart is not the answer to our corner outfielder.

fjk090852-7 wrote: ↑Thu Jan 16, 2025 10:52 pm The Pirates have supposedly signed DJ Stewart an outfielder who previously played with the Orioles and Mets. It is a minor league deal. I hope Stewart is not the answer to our corner outfielder.

Cherington loves OBP. Stewart can't hit but he draws walks. 31 years old, career .212 hitter, batted .177 last season. But he has a career OBP of .328. Last year, the NL league average OBP was .315. Stewart is a rally killer when he swings the bat. But when he walks, he can boost the team's LOB total.

Hopefully, he'll stay in AAA.

https://triblive.com/sports/pirates-acq ... m-red-sox/

https://www.baseball-reference.com/regi ... ugar000cha

https://x.com/martinonyc/status/1880343548677222585

https://x.com/JonHeyman/status/1880365563861692584

The Pirates continue to acquire pitchers who have been designated for assignment with the hopes that someone will be a bullpen arm. Maybe one of these pitchers will fill the role without allocating much in salary. I guess they feel they have enough offense to compete this year.

https://x.com/FabianArdaya/status/1880391490045899094

https://www.mlb.com/news/roki-sasaki-si ... s-analysis

fjk090852-7 wrote: ↑Fri Jan 17, 2025 8:56 pm The Pirates continue to acquire pitchers who have been designated for assignment with the hopes that someone will be a bullpen arm. Maybe one of these pitchers will fill the role without allocating much in salary. I guess they feel they have enough offense to compete this year.

Is it too much of a leap to believe the Pirates are intentionally doing what they can to make sure they can’t win? Obvious needs are either overlooked (a corner outfielder) or addressed in a minimum way (first base). They’ve brought in bullpen guys who’ve had little to no success. It’s not a strategy for winning, it’s a strategy to remain mediocre. After the past nine years, I firmly believe being mediocre is their plan.