Pittsburgh Pirates: 2017 Outlook on Competing So Far

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Editorial: The Pittsburgh Pirates had a bridge year in 2016. At the beginning of this off-season, there were questions around whether or not 2017 would also be. The question seems to have an answer.

Early in the off-season, there was not much in terms of rumors surrounding the Pittsburgh Pirates. The only rumors that fans heard entering the Winter Meetings, were that Andrew McCutchen seemed destined to be dealt to the Washington Nationals. The proposed deals saw a lot of young major league players and prospects coming back in the deal. Many viewed this as the Bucs preparing for a little bit of a rebuild, and the club having another down season. However, the deal did not happen and the Chicago White Sox instead got the haul of young, controllable pitching.

Many fans started to wonder if there would be any other team that would help the Bucs rebuild by dealing for Cutch. The Nationals seemed the perfect fit. Then at the Winter Meetings, the front office put down the rumors. Neal Huntington and staff suggested that they were not actively shopping Cutch, but rather being approached by others. With the Nationals out of the picture, Huntington stated that a deal seemed unlikely. Still many are questioning if Cutch will be here in 2017, and furthermore if the Pittsburgh Pirates are serious about contending.

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Script Suggests Positive 2017

Now here we are three weeks later, and the script seems to be changing. First off, the face of the Pittsburgh Pirates franchise is still in town. There have not been many rumors since the Winter Meetings. Baring a huge offer from a team like the Dodgers or Mets, Cutch will be here in 2017. The Pittsburgh Pirates front office seems to believe this too, as they are starting to add some significant pieces to the team.

First came the signing of Daniel Hudson. The former Diamondback reliever will join an already power bullpen. Hudson projects to take over Neftali Feliz‘s spot as the 7th or 8th inning pitcher. Then just yesterday, the Bucs made another significant addition by retaining Ivan Nova. Ivan Nova was stellar for the Pittsburgh Pirates down the stretch last year. If nothing else, Nova is the exact veteran, and middle of the rotation arm the Bucs were looking for.

Better Options

Bringing in these two significant pitchers on significant deals will improve the team. Neither of them are dumpster dives, but rather established big leaguers. Yes, Hudson’s stats look bad at first glance, but he is much better than that. He was very good in 2015, and had a bad few weeks in 2016 that inflated his earned run average. Obviously, with Nova, we know what he was able to accomplish here in Pittsburgh already, and he will continue to have success. Will he be lights out like he was? Most likely not, but he still is significantly better than what they entered 2016 with.

The Big Rumor

Lastly, the big rumor that has been all over social media for the last three days. First reported by Buster Olney and then confirmed by Ken Rosenthal, the Bucs are working to acquire Jose Quintana. Now obviously nothing is done yet, however it seems like the Bucs are the main team trying to acquire him. There have been reports of the Astros, but they have backed off. The Yankees also were reportedly in on him, but other insiders have put down these rumors.

One thing that is for certain, is that the big three have all confirmed the talks between the two sides. The big three of course being Ken Rosenthal, Buster Olney, and Jon Heyman. There is nothing out there questioning the legitimacy of the Pittsburgh Pirates interest in the talented left-handed pitcher. Quintana would represent a high impact addition. He likely will cost the Pittsburgh Pirates at-least two top 100 prospects, including one of their elite prospects. They know this by now, but yet Rosenthal reports that talks are still ongoing.

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One More Significant Move

If the Bucs acquire Quintana, then their rotation immediately looks to be one the best in the majors. Of course this is based on Cole, Taillon, Quintana, and Nova performing to expectations. Does making a significant move to improve their roster suggest they are not serious about competing in 2017? Even them attempting to acquire him suggests that they are.

Quintana suggests they will add another arm!

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Chances are if they are unable to acquire Quintana, they will look to acquire another arm else where. A team looking to compete would not be aggressively trying to solidify their rotation if they were not trying to win. In doing so, they will likely add another starter one way or another. The Bucs have several young, average projected arms they could go with instead like Steven Brault and Trevor Williams. However, this does not seem to be the case as they are searching for a more proven arm with higher upside in Quintana. If they are unable to strike a deal for him, they could fall back to the Rays for a pitcher like Alex Cobb or Jake Odorizzi.

For all the questions surround if the Pittsburgh Pirates were looking to rebuild, it does not seem to be the case. The Bucs started the off-season off slowly, as they may not have been sure how to approach 2017. With strong inquiries on Andrew McCutchen they may have been thinking to themselves that they would need to take another bridge year. However, after missing out with the Nats it became clear to the organization that they most likely would be retaining him for 2017. With that, the organization seems to be understanding that it might be worth taking one more shot at the playoffs in the Andrew McCutchen era.

Next: Pirates resign Nova, Now What?

In Conclusion

From the get go, it seemed simple. If you trade McCutchen, you look to gather pieces for the 2018 season. The team would be trading arguably their best hitter and it would seem logical to punt on 2017. However, if there were going retain him then they need to make some significant moves. It appears that the Bucs are trying to put a better product on the field in 2017. They have made a few moves that sets them up to be more competitive this year than last. Hopefully they make that one more significant move to put them back in as legitimate contenders.

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