Should The Pittsburgh Pirates Part Ways With Kyle Crick?

Should the Pittsburgh Pirates look to part ways with one of their primary set up relievers this offseason?

On Tuesday, the Pittsburgh Pirates announced that reliever Kyle Crick‘s 2019 season was over. His season ended early due to undergoing finger surgery. The cause of this finger surgery? A clubhouse altercation with closer Felipe Vazquez prior to Monday’s game.

Due to the altercation Crick was fined by the Pirates. According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the fine was only $2,500. To many people a $2,500 fine would be a hefty one, but to a MLB player that’s nothing more than a drop in the bucket.

In July, Crick got into an altercation with Pirates bullpen coach Herbie Andrade. This led to Andrade being suspended by the team. Crick would not be free of suspensions in July, however, as he received a 3-game suspension due to his role in the melee with the Cincinnati Reds on July 29th.

On top of his multiple off field issues this season, Crick has also struggled on the field. After posting a 2.39 ERA, 3.14 FIP, 0.45 HR/9, 9.0% walk rate, and a 25.5% strikeout rate in 60 1/3 innings of work in 2018, he has been woeful in 2019.

This season Crick is allowed 1.84 HR/9, and while his strikeout rate has risen to 27.0% his walk rate has ballooned to 15.5%. All of this led to Crick finishing the 2019 season with a 4.96 ERA and a 5.95 FIP in 49 innings of work.

Crick has also stated he intends to file a grievance with the MLB Player’s Association over the fine he was given. Crick told reporters he believes the fine was not justified. So, one has to wonder if there could be bad blood brewing between Crick and the Pirates.

All of these issues raises the question – should the Pirates part ways with Crick this offseason?

Part of running a professional sports team is dealing with players that can be a headache. Dealing with these players is a lot easier to do when they are performing at a high level. However, this is something Crick has not done this season. If the Pirates are concerned about Crick potentially being a problem in the clubhouse moving forward, then they should look to move him this offseason.

Now, this is not to say Vazquez is innocent. According to the Post-Gazette’s report it was indeed Vazquez who started the altercation. However, this was not the first altercation Crick was involved in this season. Additionally, right or wrong, when you are one of the best players on a team as Vazquez is you are going to get a longer leash in situations like this one.

As I said above, player’s that are a headache but performing at a high level are easier to live with. But Crick has not performed at a high level this season. Additionally, assuming Vazquez is back as the Pirate bullpen anchor and a team leader in 2020 keeping a player around, especially one that is not an every day player or a starting pitcher, that Vazquez does not get along with could cause more problems than it is worth.

The best case scenario for the Pirates is for Crick and Vazquez to bury the hatchet, Crick to return to his 2018 form in 2020, factor in other relievers such as Keone Kela and Michael Feliz, and then for the bullpen to profit. However, it is unclear how realistic either of those things are.