Pittsburgh Pirates Rumors: Cherington Monitoring Pitching and Catching Market

In a recent statement shared by Jason Mackey, Pirates GM Ben Cherington discussed the team's plans for the rest of the offseason. Cherington highlighted that the Pittsburgh Pirates are interested in strengthening their starting pitching and keeping an eye on the catching market. The team has been cautious in trade negotiations, turning down deals in pursuit of better opportunities. Hopefully, something will shake out in the next couple of days.

With the loss of Endy Rodriguez, the team wants to use Henry Davis behind the plate. He along with Jason Delay should be the tandem come opening day. The team also added catcher Alexi Sanchez on a split contract that will allow him to be moved between the Big Leagues and the Majors. Davis of course has the most questions surrounding his catching ability at the Big League level. So it's not surprising that the team is monitoring the market at least.

Cherington's insights reveal their approach to potential player acquisitions, indicating a commitment to continue and build this team's roster toward contention. The team's careful consideration of potential trades is interesting as well. Are these trades buying veterans by selling prospects? Or are they selling veterans? Hopefully, it is the team locking in on a potential veteran who will be here past 2024.

As the Pittsburgh Pirates prepare for the upcoming season, fans can expect a focused pursuit of talent, particularly in pitching and catching.

Cherington's approach reflects a balance between exploring the market and being discerning in trade negotiations. It is good to see that they are not being desperate in the sense of making bad trades just to make trades. However, it seems like there is definitely momentum toward a potential trade playing out.

In the offseason teams are constantly making changes to their rosters. So it is hard to say how many more moves Cherington will make. However, with the addition of Andrew McCutchen and Martin Perez, the team is projected to have 42 players on their 40-man roster. Now they could simply take 2 players off the roster. Or a trade could be coming that would unload some of the players on the 40-man roster. Hopefully, a trade that is actually noteworthy, adding Big League talent and not subtracting from it.