Pittsburgh Pirates Mailbag: August 6th, 2019

Welcome to the first post-trade deadline edition of the Pittsburgh Pirates mailbag here at Rum Bunter

If the Pittsburgh Pirates woes continue will people lose their jobs? Why isn’t Mitch Keller in the starting rotation? And more in this week’s mailbag.

As always, thank you to everyone who submitted questions this weekend and participated. Now, let’s dive in!

These are similar so we’ll tackle them together.

With the Pirate underachieving this season, especially with this second half implosion, it would be stunning if people are not held accountable. The question is who?

First and foremost, I do not expect general manager Neal Huntington to lose his job. I’m not saying he should keep his job, just that I expect he will. However, it would not be a surprise to see Huntington make some changes in his scouting department.

As for the coaching staff, anything short of big changes to the staff would be a disappointment. In fact, it would be nothing short of demoralizing for fans.

There is no reason for the Pirate front office to not completely clean house with this coaching staff. From manager Clint Hurdle on down things need to change. That said, it would not be a surprise if Hurdle is back as he is still under contract for two more years. Even if he is, I feel comfortable saying pitching coach Ray Searage and third base coach/infield instructor Joey Cora will not be back. The Pirates pitching and infield defense have both been dreadful this season.

What the Pirates are doing with Mitch Keller makes zero sense. His 3.54 ERA is the second lowest in the International League, and his 123 strikeouts lead the league. He is beginning to look like a pitcher with nothing left to prove in the minor leagues. Especially with the development his slider has shown.

On top of this, no one in the Pirate rotation is pitching well right now. Literally no one. Throw in the team being out of contention and this being the perfect time to give younger guys an extended look, and Keller being in the minor leagues makes zero sense.

Furthermore, with Jameson Taillon to miss the start of the 2020 season this only heightens the need for Keller to become the top of the rotation starting pitcher he has the stuff to be. The sooner he can begin to work toward this at the MLB level the better. Hopefully, Keller is back in the Pirate rotation before the end of the season. To be honest, anything else is completely unacceptable.

It could be with the Dodgers, or it could be with another team or two. Either way, I expect the Pirates to revisit trade talks about Felipe Vazquez this offseason.

The Dodger bullpen is bad. Said bullpen is what cost the Dodgers a Wold Series Championship each of the last two seasons. If that happens again in October, they may be willing to up the offer for Vazquez.

Other teams could get involved in trade talks as well. The Pirates also discussed a Vazquez trade with the Atlanta Braves, Houston Astros, and San Diego Padres at the trade deadline. While the Braves may be off the table with their trade deadline bullpen additions, the Astros and Padres could reignite trade talks.

As was the case last week, unless the Pirates get the exact package they want for Vazquez they should 100% keep him due to his long, team friendly contract. That said, there is zero doubt that they will discuss Vazquez with teams again this offseason.

This is a good question.

Out of the group currently in the MLB rotation, barring something crazy happening, Joe Musgrove and Trevor Williams will be in the Opening Day rotation in 2020. Odds are, Chris Archer will as well. All three of these pitchers are better than they have performed this season, so the Pirates will bank on 2019 being an anomaly not the norm. With Musgrove and Williams, it may be the case. However, Archer has been on the decline for a few seasons now so that may be a different story.

Anyway, that leaves two spots. Keller would make sense, but the team appears to be in no hurry to get him to the MLB level for whatever reason. James Marvel is an intriguing option as well. After posting a 3.10 ERA and a 3.33 FIP in 17 starts (101 2/3 innings pitched) for Double-A Altoona this season, Marvel earned a promotion to the Triple-A level. In 5 Triple-A starts Marvel owns a 2.12 ERA and a 3.37 FIP in 29 2/3 innings pitched. Most encouragingly, his strikeout rate has jumped from 20.2% at Double-A to 27.0% at Triple-A.

But since Marvel has yet to make his MLB debut, the safe bet is that he will begin the 2019 season at Triple-A. So, where do the Pirates go?

You have to assume they will add a starting pitcher to the mix this offseason. There is also Steven Brault who will return from the injured list on Tuesday night, and before getting injured he was pitching the best baseball of his career. Also, do not forget Chad Kuhl who is set to return from Tommy John Surgery next season.

I think so? Since the All-Star Break the Pirates are 0-7 in series played. Their current series against the Brewers is off to a poor starting following a loss on Monday night. But, I mean, they have to win a series again before the end of the season…. right?

That will do it for this week. If you ever have a question for the mailbag look for our Tweet each week asking for questions. Also, do not be afraid to ask a question at any time on Twitter or Facebook.