Offseason Expectations For The Pittsburgh Pirates

The Offseason is just a little over a week old now, but since we’re so early into it, what are some moves we could see from the Pittsburgh Pirates this winter?

The 2020 MLB season came to an end just over a week ago. Many times through this 60 game sprint, it seemed the season was doomed to be canceled all together. However, not only were we able to get through a 60 game season, but we were able to get through an unusual playoff month with few setbacks. Now that the offseason is in full swing, what’s in store for the Pittsburgh Pirates?

Well, first we have to look at the current situation of the Pittsburgh Priates. After the 2019 season, the Bucs decided it was time to start tearing down and start rebuilding in more ways than one. This started with a complete tear down of the staff starting with the firings of 10-year manager Clint Hurdle on the last day of the season and pitching coach Ray Searage receiving the heave-ho just days later.

The front office was next with the firings of general manager Neal Huntington and team president Frank Coonelly. In their place, the Pittsburgh Pirates hired Derek Shelton (manager) and Oscar Marin (pitching coach) for the two coaching positions. Their new general manager is now Ben Cherington and their new team president is Travis Williams. The complete reshape of the internal system seems to be continuing as Larry Broadway was moved out of the position of farm director, with a handful of other scouts and coordinators that were part of player development also getting either reassigned or let go.

This led to the Pittsburgh Pirates starting a rebuild of the team. Cherington got a late start to the offseason, but he seems to know what he’s doing as it looks like he has chosen a direction and is sticking with it.

Cherington’s first major trade was when they sent Starling Marte to the Arizona Diamondbacks for Brennan Malone and Liover Peguero, both of which we consider top 10 prospects in the Pirates’ system with Peguero being a top 100 prospect in baseball. To replace Marte he signed the defensively gifted Jarrod Dyson who he was able to flip for international bonus pool money at this year’s deadline. Though the return doesn’t seem like much, the Pirates have already put that money to good use signing a few international prospects.

This offseason, it looks like we are set for more of the same from Cherington’s first offseason. Cherington has a handful of pieces to deal with Adam Frazier being the most prominent, and pitchers Richard Rodriguez and Joe Musgrove coming off strong campaigns. The rebuild looks like it will continue this off season.

One thing I mentioned the Pirates need to do this off season is add depth, but another thing they need is durability. The Pirates suffered many injuries this year. Though a handful were fringe players, a few were valuable like Jameson Taillon, Chris Archer and Keone Kela. Regardless if most of them weren’t impactful players, it was the second season in a row the Pirates saw many players hit the injured list.

With so many injuries, the Pittsburgh Pirates need that depth and durability, and it seems like this was something the Pirates were ready for this year. They signed eight different players to low-cost deals. Two pitchers, three outfielders, a utility guy and two catchers. Cherington signed all of them in a few months compared to Huntington signing 11 guys between two off seasons.

Most were depth guys, but what the Pittsburgh Pirates need is durability. Even if the Pirates plan on going for a high draft pick again, they need to put nine guys on a field. Bringing in a durable innings eater like Rick Porcello, Ivan Nova or Mike Fiers, or bringing in a veteran looking for a bounceback season like Mike Minor, Robbie Ray or Jose Quintana might also be a choice. This is especially true if they trade Musgrove and non-tender Trevor Williams.

However, one issue that is going to affect many teams is revenue. With no ticket sales, no concession sales, and no sales from other in-stadium shops and restaurants meant way less money coming through the door.

Teams in a rebuilding state like the Pittsburgh Pirates are likely going to cut payroll, fringe teams like the Marlins, Giants and Brewers might not cut, but they’re also not going to spend. Even competitive teams are going to be very reluctant to spend. Combined with an overall solid but not overly exciting free agent market in 2020-2021, and a 2021-2022 free agent market being extremely deep, filled with numerous MVP, Cy Young candidates and a handful of other all-stars becoming available, many teams, including bigger market ones, aren’t going to buy via free agency, or add much to their payroll, making lower cost (in terms of salary) trade targets more valuable.

The Pittsburgh Pirates goals for 2021 will be securing a high draft pick, while slowly introducing their young players to the bigs so by the time they are ready for competition again, they’re already familiar with the major league level. We’ve already seen the first wave in Ke’Bryan Hayes and Mitch Keller with varying degrees of success between the two.

Hayes was outstanding in 2020, and Keller has been both extremely unlucky and extremely lucky. Next season, we should see the arrival of Oneil Cruz and Cody Bolton. Another one of their goals for next season is figuring out who’s part of the next core and who isn’t by giving some of their fringe guys some playing time. The Bucs should also continue to stock up the farm system. Though their prospect list currently boasts some good names, you can never have enough prospects. Building from within is the meta in today’s game.

With their 2021 goals in mind, we know how they can prepare for that this offseason. They can both give their younger fringe players more playing time and build up their farm system with trades. If the Bucs trade Frazier, that will open the door for Cole Tucker to get regular reps at shortstop, something that looks like the Pirates want Tucker to get.

If they can get a decent package for Josh Bell, then they could start seeing if Will Craig might be a part of their future. Right now, it seems they want to keep Bell around, so non-tendering Jose Osuna might be the route they take in order to get Craig more reps in the Majors. The closing role shouldn’t be limited to just one pitcher, rather a closer by committee. Trading Rich Rod not only opens up the closer role so the Bucs can try different guys in different roles, but also potentially gets a notable prospect back in return.

However, we could also see a handful of players’ names tossed around in terms of extension talks. Recently, Ben Cherington said that he isn’t ruling out a Bell extension. Last offseason, before the transaction freeze and the shutdown of Major League Baseball, the Pittsburgh Pirates had been exploring extensions with some of their young players. Hayes, Bryan Reynolds, Keller, and potentially even Musgrove could be names the Bucs look into extending.

All told, I think you should see the Pittsburgh Pirates fairly active. They should get some calls on guys like Musgrove, Frazier and Rich Rod, but I think you could also see them looking at extensions for a few of their younger guys. If the Pirates are serious about getting back into contention sometime by 2022-2024, some of the moves they make now could heavily impact that window of contention.