Pirates need Ben Cherington to back up bullpen talk with a real move

Pittsburgh Pirates general manager Ben Cherington should have earned some grace from fans after what he did to fix the team's sputtering offense during the offseason. The Pirates scored just 583 runs last season, but this year they've already tallied 452 (fourth in MLB through July 3) over just 88 games. Now, he'll be tasked with performing a midseason overhaul of Pittsburgh's bullpen, and failure to do so will immediately erase the goodwill he's built up.

Just a few days into July, Pirates relievers have combined for a 4.37 ERA, which ranks 23rd in baseball. It's become a real problem as Pittsburgh tries to find a way to contend in a challenging National League.

The Pirates have lost way more games than they should when leading after eight innings and when the offense puts up a six spot or higher. It can't be overstated how badly additions are needed. Cherington acknowledges this, but has preached just a modicum of patience. The general manager states that trades are needed, but things won't pick up until after the draft on July 11.

That's fair, but when the MLB Draft and All-Star break roll around, he'd better spring into action with a concrete plan; otherwise, this is all empty lip service.

Ben Cherington needs to deliver multiple arms to fix the Pirates bullpen

The unfortunate reality is that basically every contender shops for relievers at the trade deadline, and this season, the pool of relievers expected to be available is especially light. Unless something drastically changes, the mediocre American League and highly competitive divisions like the Pirates' NL Central have limited the pool of guaranteed sellers to just a handful of teams.

A reunion with Aroldis Chapman would be ideal, but the former Pirate will be extremely expensive as the top target on the market. Pittsburgh would be better off looking elsewhere so that the club can bring in multiple arms, rather than breaking the bank for only one.

Under-the-radar target Lake Bachar of the Miami Marlins would be an ideal fit, but a hot June has Miami in the thick of the playoff chase, so a deadline sale isn't guaranteed. Even if Bachar does hit the market, another, bigger fish should also be brought in.

That could be Chapman's teammate Garrett Whitlock, who has plenty of high-leverage reliever working the eighth inning and has impressed with a 2.60 ERA, 29.1% K-rate, and sparkling 5.5% walk rate. Most of the Pirates' top options now are left-handed, so a guy like Whitlock would have added value as a battle-tested righty.

Some other options of varying effectiveness exist, and Cherington's best strategy would be pursuing both a cheaper middle-relief type and a true high-leverage weapon.

So far, Cherington has added Hunter Stratton in the Joey Bart trade. Stratton is a nice depth option, but if he's Cherington's answer to the bullpen woes, we're all in big trouble.

Acknowledging the problem is a good start. Planning to do something about it is refreshing. Actually making it happen is a different beast entirely. We're arriving at put up or shut up time for Cherington to fix his club's greatest Achilles heel.

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