Pittsburgh Pirates: Road Trip Report Card #1

Bench Grade: C

It’s hard to give a bench performance anything less than a C because they usually don’t impact the outcome of a game too much. The Pirates bench has not been nearly as impressive as it was with the Matt Joyce/Sean Rodriguez crew last season. The Bucs have limited depth, and the one promising bench bat, John Jaso, has been horrendous.

On the surface, it would make sense to give this bench a big fat F, because they just have not done a whole lot. However, would it be fair to be that harsh on the Bucco bench when the lack of production from the starting lineup has been much more harmful to Pittsburgh? It would be nice to see guys like Jaso and Phill Gosselin start to rake a little more, but the Bucs have bigger fish to fry.

The Bucco bench was one of the team’s strengths in 2016, especially in the first half of the season. But those days are gone, and now, the Pirates must work with what they have, for better or for worse. So, the Pirates bench has not been productive, but it has not been their biggest detriment either, and although a lack of depth is never a good thing, the Pirates have bigger problems to worry about.