2016 Pirates

[Ewa PGH Fan]

Smart move trading Melancon. A team doesn't need a closer of his caliber when they can no longer get into a save situation.

I do wonder if they could've gotten at least one top prospect from the Nationals though???

 

[steelparrot]

Kuhl and Tailon establishing themselves in the rotation is huge this year. Next season rotation:

Locks for rotation at this point, options and yrs control are after this year:
Cole 3 yrs control
Tailon 6 1 option
Kuhl 6 2 option
FA
?

AAA depth
Hutchinson 2 yrs 1 option
Glasnow 6 2 options
Brault 6 2 options.

Only question in my mind is, do we sign 1 or 2 sp in the offseason aka 'how high are they on Hutchinson?'.

I think we need a 200 inning type FA SP for sure. I bet the 5th spot goes to a reclamation type on a 1 year contract with our AAA depth waiting till June/injury/ineffectivness.

 

[thedddd]

There are plenty of "projects" out there this offseason.
2016-17 MLB Free Agents


Anyway with the sweep of the Giants look who is back in the wild card hunt....
Interestingly enough the last 7 days McCutchen has a .438 OPS while they are playing good baseball.

 

[stillmatic32]

There are plenty of "projects" out there this offseason.
2016-17 MLB Free Agents


Anyway with the sweep of the Giants look who is back in the wild card hunt....
Interestingly enough the last 7 days McCutchen has a .438 OPS while they are playing good baseball.

.438 OPS the last 7 days? No way....

 

[thedddd]

.438 OPS the last 7 days? No way....

Shoot type-o...OBP....but still finally seeing him breakout is good.

 

[Darkstone42]

Cutch looks good, and Kang appears to be finding it, too. With Freese hitting enough that we can hide Jaso while Bell works out his struggles in AAA (he hasn't been good since being sent back down), the offense will be fine.

RV, by the way, has been doing what we need him to do. He should have been in the rotation to start the year, I think. He's unspectacular, but when he starts, we're at least in the game until he leaves. He does his job.

Nova's doing the same thing for the most part, though today could have gone better.

Cole, Kuhl, and especially Taillon, though, look solid. We should have a chance with our offense to win every game with our rotation so much less prone to implosion than it was earlier in the year.

And the bullpen's been great. Rivero was an awesome get. That kid's stuff is absolutely electric.

 

[Darkstone42]

Kuhl and Tailon establishing themselves in the rotation is huge this year. Next season rotation:

Locks for rotation at this point, options and yrs control are after this year:
Cole 3 yrs control
Tailon 6 1 option
Kuhl 6 2 option
FA
?

AAA depth
Hutchinson 2 yrs 1 option
Glasnow 6 2 options
Brault 6 2 options.

Only question in my mind is, do we sign 1 or 2 sp in the offseason aka 'how high are they on Hutchinson?'.

I think we need a 200 inning type FA SP for sure. I bet the 5th spot goes to a reclamation type on a 1 year contract with our AAA depth waiting till June/injury/ineffectivness.

Frank Duncan and Trevor Williams are establishing themselves as nice depth options, too. I really like Brault, though. If he finds that amazing command he had last year, he'll be a really good #4. And if they get Hutchison commanding that slider, look out for him, too.

I could see them, actually, adding a starter through a trade, having Hutchison and Brault in the rotation until Glasnow's ready to replace someone, and moving Kuhl to the bullpen. Let him cut that hard sinker loose without reservation, and I think he's a back of the bullpen guy. Or leave Kuhl in the rotation and Brault in AAA as depth.

 

[steelparrot]

That free agent list is depressing.

There are plenty of "projects" out there this offseason.
2016-17 MLB Free Agents

That list is depressing.

 

[steelparrot]

Frank Duncan and Trevor Williams are establishing themselves as nice depth options, too. I really like Brault, though. If he finds that amazing command he had last year, he'll be a really good #4. And if they get Hutchison commanding that slider, look out for him, too.

I could see them, actually, adding a starter through a trade, having Hutchison and Brault in the rotation until Glasnow's ready to replace someone, and moving Kuhl to the bullpen. Let him cut that hard sinker loose without reservation, and I think he's a back of the bullpen guy. Or leave Kuhl in the rotation and Brault in AAA as depth.

Now that I think about it, you are right about Hutchinson for sure. We arent going to pay him 3-4 mill to pitch in AAA.

 

[thedddd]

Pirates Extend David Freese

I am surprised but I like the move gives them that option along with protection if Jaso/Bell don't work out.

 

[steelparrot]

Pirates Extend David Freese

I am surprised but I like the move gives them that option along with protection if Jaso/Bell don't work out.

Yep, plus some Kang insurance. Nice low cost move, now we just need to find a SP for next season and some bp/bench moves.

 

[stillmatic32]

Satisfying sweep. This bullpen looks nasty. Loving the lineup with Bell at 1B. Hopefully Cole is ok.

 

[redskin4209]

This team is still an up and down team. Bullpen is still shaky, they gave up a 3 run lead last night. Again Watson gives it up again. Cole has been a disaster. But even with all of the problems and setbacks we are still in the hunt.

 

[dare2be]

First casualty of the loss of Melancon.

 

[psaboy]

Man, they had them down by 3 with 2 innings to go. That really hurts. I really hope they address their pitching needs next year.

 

[psaboy]

Also, they need to find spot for Bell. Dude can ball

 

[stillmatic32]

Bell is such a polished hitter. I like him in the 2 hole. Be nice to have an actual leadoff man though. There's not really one in the pipeline either. A nice fat .375 OBP with some speed to lead off is all this lineup is missing. Speed optional.

 

[stillmatic32]

And why the fuck does Jason have dreads? Can you imagine a 32 year old white man at work having dreads? I think I'm going for it...

 

[Ewa PGH Fan]

If they get swept by the Cubs today I think their wild card chase is pretty much over.

 

[dare2be]

If they get swept by the Cubs today I think their wild card chase is pretty much over.

It's already over. We can't hang with the Moneybags League teams.