Pittsburgh Pirates: Jose Osuna Needs To Play & Other Takeaways From Series Loss vs Mets

The Pittsburgh Pirates continued to be the worst team in baseball since the MLB All-Star Break

The collapse that the Pittsburgh Pirates have orchestrated in the last month has been….something. After entering the All-Star Break with a 44-45 record, 2.5 games out of first place in the National League Central and the second National League Wild Card the team has been abysmal. Absolutely nothing has gone right since the break.

After losing two of three against the New York Mets this weekend, the Pirates are now a woeful 4-18 sine the break. This collapse has caused the team’s record to plummet to 48-63, something that seemed unfathomable when the Bucs went 14-7 leading up to the break to pull within one game of .500.

Additionally, they’re now 14-18-4 in the 36 series they have played this season. But, hey, at least this series was sweep number 10. Silver linings, baby! Because, hey, at this point silver linings are about all the 2019 Pittsburgh Baseball Club has left to play for.

Next up for the Pirates is a three-game series against the Milwaukee Brewers as their six-game home stand continues on. But before turning our attention to the Brew Crew here are three takeaways from their series loss against the Mets.

Jose Osuna needs to play every day

Jose Osuna is starting to look like a potential every day player, and the Pittsburgh Pirates need to find out if he is or not. Osuna was in the starting lineup both Friday and Saturday night this past weekend, and entered Sunday’s game at first base when the score was out of hand.

Friday night Osuna was 2-for-3 and he drove in a run. On Saturday, he was 0-for-1 with a pair of walks and one of these walks came with the bases loaded. After entering the game Sunday, Osuna was 2-for-2 including a solo home run.

On the season Osuna is now slashing .316/.369/.653 with a 162 wRC+ in 104 plate appearances. His 8 home runs are already a new career high, and his extra base hit rate is a staggering 16.9%. His .337 ISO is also off the charts.

The rest of the 2019 season needs to be about figuring out what the team will have to work with in 2020. Part of this is figuring out if Osuna is best suited as a bench player, or if he can be an every day player for the Pirates. With at bats to be had in right field, and at third base against left-handed pitching, there is no reason for Osuna to not be playing every day the rest of the season. It’s time to find out what kind of role the 26-year-old INF/OF can play for the Pirates.

People need to lose their jobs

What has happened with the Pirates is unacceptable. A 4-18 stretch that knocks a team from being 2.5 games out in both the divisional and wild car race to being 12.5 and 10.0 games out just can not happen. Especially this late in the season, it’s not like this was some greatly overachieving team crashing back down to earth after a strong April.

When play began on July 12th the Pirates were 44-45. That’s 55% of the season. For 55% of the season, despite more injuries than any other NL squad, the Pirates were contenders. The team has since completely collapsed, and the coaching staff needs to be held accountable.

It’s not just the coaches who are at fault, though. Yes, the players deserve blame for not coming through. But, in addition to the coaching staff, the Pirate front office needs to be answering hard questions too.

This is coming from someone who is a huge Joe Msugrove fan, but the Gerrit Cole trade has been a total and complete disaster. The Chris Archer trade has been even worse. Imagine an outfield of Bryan Reynolds–Starling Marte–Austin Meadows, to go with a Gerrit Cole-Jameson Taillon (when healthy)-Tyler Glasnow–Trevor Williams–Mitch Keller (we’ll get to him) starting rotation. This team would look much different.

Also, the roster decisions

this season have been mind boggling. There is zero reason for the aforementioned Keller to remain at the Triple-A level, especially with, literally, the entire Pirate rotation struggling. Then again, if Keller was in the MLB rotation they would make him be fastball heavy instead of using his best pitches – his curveball and slider – and it would be for naught anyway. It also took them far too long to move on from Nick Kingham and Jordan Lyles.

Guys like Pablo Reyes and Erik Gonzalez have no business being on a MLB roster. No offense, but those Pirate scouts that “pounded the table” this offseason for Gonzalez may want to look for a new career.

What was once viewed as one of the best run, most respected franchises in baseball under the guidance of Neal Huntington has become a dumpster fire. With the Bucs closing in on their third losing record in four seasons, and worst record since at least 2011 if not the 100+ loss team of 2010, it is time for the Pirates to clean house. It is time for people to lose their jobs.