Five New Years Resolutions for the Pittsburgh Pirates

The Pittsburgh Pirates enter 2020 with a new president, a new GM, a new manager and new personnel in both the front office and the coaching staff.  Here are a few resolutions for the new regime as we enter a new year and a new era of Pirates baseball.

The Pittsburgh Pirates off-season so far has consisted mostly of filling out vacancies throughout the organization. Travis Williams replaced Frank Coonelly, Ben Cherington replaced Neal Huntington, Derek Shelton replaced Clint Hurdle, and assistants in the front office and coaching staff have been put into place.

From the standpoint of baseball transactions, the Pirates have made only one major-league acquisition and that was signing catcher Luke Maile to a one-year deal.

There have been rumors on the Pirates having trade discussions on a number of their players, but nothing has come to fruition at this time.

With the front office and coaching staff seemingly just about all set, Cherington and co. will likely now be more focused on adding talent to both the major league roster and minor league system.

So, what are the resolutions for the organization as we inch closer to the start of the 2020 season? Let’s dive into a couple.

Improving catcher

Luke Maile was signed to a one-year contract earlier this off season by the Pirates.  This comes after Elias Diaz was non-tendered by the team back in early December.

The only current catchers on the 40-man roster are Maile and Jacob Stallings. With Maile’s lackluster offensive numbers and a minor league option remaining, the Pirates should be looking to acquire a more capable catcher to split time with Stallings at the big league level.

There are a couple of catchers the Pirates can still sign in free agency.  Robinson Chirinos and old-friend Russell Martin come to mind as some potential players the Pirates could sign.

Chirinos is the better offensive catcher of the two having slashed .238/.347/.443 with 17 homers for the Astros in 2019.  He is also a solid defensive catcher but will turn 36 in June and may be looking for an opportunity with a clear-cut contender.

Then, there is Russell Martin, who played for the Pirates in 2013 and 2014.  Martin, who will be 37 on Opening Day, is still looking to play next season and what better place than with the team he enjoyed so much success with in two seasons? Aside from being a great player on the field, Martin quickly became a fan favorite during his time in Pittsburgh.  While the offensive numbers have not been as great in recent seasons, Martin is still a fine defensive catcher which is big with a young staff.

Whether by signing a free agent or acquiring a younger, MLB ready catcher in a potential trade, this is a position that still needs to be addressed.

Keeping Big Joe around

Joe Musgrove, just 27 years old, is entering his third season with the Pirates after coming over from the Astros in the Gerrit Cole trade prior to the 2018 season. In his two seasons with the Pirates, Musgrove has a 4.28 ERA in 51 games (50 starts) while recording 8.1 K/9 and limiting walks.

While the 4.28 ERA seems unspectacular on the surface, it does not tell the whole story.  His career FIP with the Pirates is 3.72, which indicates that he has been unlucky in his time in Pittsburgh.  The best may still be yet to come as Musgrove is just entering the prime of his career.

Although he is a younger player and his time with the Pirates has been brief, Musgrove has emerged as one of the leaders on this team and in the clubhouse.  He has earned the reputation of being a tough guy who will not back away from anyone.  A couple of instances of this were his confrontations with Javier Baez at second base, and squaring off with Josh Donaldson in Atlanta.

Musgrove is still under team control for three more seasons, but buying out his arbitration years and tacking on another couple years of control seems like a good idea for an emerging quality starting pitcher.  Corey Kluber‘s five-year $38.5M guarantee with Cleveland in 2015 and Madison Bumgarner‘s five-year $35M guarentee in San Francisco could both serve as the groundwork in a potential deal.

Developing talent

It is no secret that the biggest weakness for the Pirates the last few years has been player development.  Between highly regarded players not panning out in Pittsburgh, and players such as Austin Meadows, Tyler Glasnow and Gerrit Cole thriving after being shipped out of Pittsburgh, player development is an area that needs to greatly improve.

The Pirates have already taken a number of good strides to correct this issue this offseason.  They hired Ben Cherington as GM who comes from a player development background in both Boston and Toronto.  Steve Sanders joined Cherington’s staff as assistant GM, essentially replacing Kyle Stark who was in charge of player development under ex-GM Neal Huntington.

Now that the people are in place, it is time to implement strategies to ensure player development improves.  The strategies need to be forward-thinking and centered around individual player strengths instead of blanket strategies that apply to all players.

For an organization like the Pirates, where resources are not as abundant as in the big markets, developing talent in the minor leagues and eventually implementing it at the Major League level is key.

Changing the culture

The 2019 season for the Pirates was a disaster on the field, off the field and in the clubhouse.

Keone Kela was suspended by the team due to an incident in the clubhouse.  Kyle Crick fought with bullpen staff and was injured in an altercation with Felipe Vazuqez, who ended up in prison on despicable charges relation to sexual relations with a minor.

These incidents as well as on-field performance led to an overhaul of changes within the organization.

With Travis Williams, Ben Cherington and Derek Shelton on board, the culture is already set to change.

In his introductory press conference, Shelton voiced his desire to change the culture in the Pirates clubhouse.  He wants to develop relationships and have fun, but also wants the players and coaches hold each other accountable for their actions.

The new personnel and existing personnel need to also believe that they can become and will be winners again.  After three years of no playoffs for the Pirates and a disastrous 2019 campaign, this can be tricky.  However, it seems the right people are in place to get the Pirates back to the postseason sooner rather than later.

With what seems to be the right people in place in the organization, it is time for playoff baseball to return to this city in the coming years.  These five resolutions will hopefully be the first steps in bringing back Buctober.