Pittsburgh Pirates Preview: Is There Hope Yet For The Buccos?

It’s that time of the year again for Pittsburgh Pirates fans. The harsh blanket of winter begins to thaw, encouraging feelings of hope and excitement. The birds are chirping, the sun is shining, and the Buccos are reporting to Bradenton for Spring Training. Like a gambling addict assuring themselves that this wager is the big one, this time around will be different, us Pirates fans are gassing ourselves up for another baseball season. We’re ready to be hurt again.

But will this season be different? Can we return to that beloved scene we witnessed in the 2013 Wild Card game against the Reds? An electric scene that featured rowdy IC Light filled Pittsburgh natives chanting “Cueto, Cueto,” forcing the Reds pitcher into a sure panic attack and a ball-fumbling blunder. Well, if insanity is doing the same old over and over and expecting a different result, the Pirates, and ownership, may finally be snapping out of delirium. They’re at least showing signs of competitive life.

Last season Bob Nutting awarded outfielder Bryan Reynolds with an unheard of eight-year, $106.75 million contract, the largest contract in franchise history. The year previous, we locked up star third-baseman and Gold Glove Winner Ke’Bryan Hayes with an eight-year, $70 million extension. Have the long-loyal Pirates faithful finally got through to the cheap ass owner? Has he taken our “Spend Nutting, win Nutting” jabs and acted upon them.

It may be so. Ownership continued their spending spree this year and signed ace pitcher Mitch Keller to five-year contract, shelling out $77 million. In the not so old days, Money Mitch would have fetched prospects, cash, and a bag of chips in a trade with a big market team. There’s a disappointingly accurate narrative that the Pirates act as a farm system for the Yankees and Red Sox, drafting generational talent to practically give them away a few years later. Gerrit Cole still haunts me.

The tides are shifting on the North Shore riverbanks. The Pittsburgh Pirates have committed to some young talented pieces to build around in an attempt to compete in the NL Central. Now would be the time to make a run because of the division being weaker than years previous. The NL Central is up for grabs, and I think the Pirates could have a shot at competing.

Let's dig deeper into the Pirates roster. While there are some key positions that are under lock, there’s some major holes as well. The Buccos signed veteran flame-thrower Aroldis Chapman during the offseason, adding depth to their relief pitching that already has star closer David Bednar. Middle reliever Colin Holderman also returns for the Pirates this season. He’s shown quality pitching in the middle innings but struggles in high-leverage situations. Look for Holderman and Chapman to be the go to set up men for Bednar.

Outside of Mitch Keller, the Pirates starting pitchers are nothing to write home about. In classic Pirates fashion, they signed aged veteran pitcher Martin Perez during the offseason, much like they had done in the past with AJ Burnett in 2012 and Rich Hill last year. I imagine older vets dread the conversation with the skipper, informing them they are being sent to Pittsburgh to die, Old Yeller style. They also signed 32-year old, former Seattle starter, Marco Gonzlaez for a bargain $12 million that comes with a Tommy John surgery and nerve damage that limited his appearances last season.

That’s it. These three are the only pitchers that are solidified in the rotation and have significant MLB experience. The other two spots are up for grabs. I’ll speculate that those two spots will go to last season’s starter Roansy Contreras and to young buc Jared Jones. Roansy had a challenging season last year recording a 3-7 record with a 6.59 ERA. The Pirates and Contreras are looking for a rebound season from the 24-year-old. The former 44th overall pick, Jared Jones, has shown improvement in the minors and has displayed promise in Spring Training thus far. He also regularly hits triple digits on the radar gun, which gets folks excited. The young right-hander is a bit of a project but could prove to be a solid starter this year.

Number one overall draft pick Paul Skenes will start the season in the minors, allowing him to further develop. I know, I’d love to see the stud start in the majors from the jump as well, but respect the decision to not rush him into the rotation. Skenes has never pitched in a five-man rotation, starting every seven days at LSU. Additionally, he’s pitched a small number of inning since being drafted. Gerrit Cole pitched over 200 innings before being called up. I assume Skenes will be called up to The Show at a later date this season. But for now, his 101 mph whipping rocket arm and smoke show gymnast girlfriend stay in Altoona or Indianapolis.

I have a different opinion on another young talented Pirate, Henry Davis. If he isn’t on the Pirates opening day roster, it would be baseball malpractice. Davis swings a powerful bat and fills a need at either catcher or right field. Personally, I say start him at his natural catcher position, where he flaunts an exceptional pop time. It’s a position the Pirates have struggled at since parting ways with Russell Martin. It would be silly not to address it with a guy like Davis. The big gripe on Davis is his defensive skills, which is wildly overblown. His defense is just fine and his offensive production is top-notch. He’s tied for the most home runs in spring training thus far, alongside fellow teammate Ke’Bryan Hayes.

While I’m talking about home runs, I should mention that Pittsburgh has the most home runs of any team so far this spring. They’ll need this production this season to make up for sub-par pitching. Who doesn’t love watching the Battling Buccos rally back from a shit pitching performance in the late innings? Oh, the nostalgia!

Let's talk position players. The major positions Pittsburgh needs to address are first base, second base, right field, and DH. We’ll start with first base, a position the Pirates have been struggling at for a while now. Last year the Pirates signed veteran first baseman Carlos Santana, then they traded veteran first baseman Carlos Santana. This season it’s likely that we’ll see a combination of recent addition Rowdy Tellez and utility man Connoe Joe at first. Solely based on his bat, I’d like to see Connor Joe make the majority of starts. Joe showed some flash at the plate last season and was able to step up in big time moments when the games were close. However, it should be noted that Rowdy is a year removed from a 35-homer season. Either way, first base is the Pirates’ largest weak point this season, outside of their pitching rotation.

At second base for the Pittsburgh Pirates, we have Liover Peguero and Jared Triolo. They sound like a baseball players, right? Peguero is largely unproven, playing a mere 11 games last season in the majors for Pittsburgh and putting up unspectacular numbers. Triolo has a bit more experience in the bigs, playing in 54 games last season. Triolo showed that he could move around the diamond and make some plays and showed pop in his bat‌. This one is a toss up, with both young guys showing promise in spring training thus far. I look for them to split time at second base, but lean towards the more proven Jared Triolo to make the majority of starts.

Look for right field to be a revolving door. I expect Connor Joe, Josh Palacios, Edward Olivares, and Andrew McCutchen all to make starts in front of Clemente Wall this year. Olivares has shown he can make plays in the outfield with the small sample size we have. He’s also shown that he can hit well against leftie pitchers, which puts him above the others for me. It’s sure to be a mixed bag in right field.

Cutch is back and will be our DH. One thing that I’ve always liked about McCutchen is that he gets on base and practices patience at the plate. Last year, he had the highest on base percentage and walks on the team. Cutch was also able to drive in a modest 12 home runs in his 14th major league year. As a Pirates fan, it just feels right to have Cutch in The Burgh, ya know? He’s a great guy to have in the clubhouse to motivate and mentor the young guys.

The Pirates will get back dazzling young shortstop O’Neil Cruz after he suffered a broken leg early on last year. The return on Cruz will provide Pittsburgh with some added power at the plate and a competent fielder that’s more than capable of making plays in the infield. While at shortstop now, it’ll be worth keeping an eye on where he’s moved around this season. When you look at him, he has a body more accustomed to a third baseman or right fielder, where I think he could see some reps.

For every question mark we have on the field, we have another example of a guy who’s locked up for the foreseeable future. Reynolds, Hayes, and Keller have signed long-term deals, and Jack Swinski and O'Neil Cruz are under team control for the next few years. In the first time in seemingly a long time, the Pirates have solidified key pieces to build around for the next half-decade. The lingering question remains, will ownership screw the pooch and blow it all up as they have in the past when dealing with young talent? I sure hope not. I hope we continue to build around these guys and finally become baseball relevant for something other than our beautiful ballpark.

I see this upcoming season as somewhat of a mystery. Last year, the Buccos started the season going 20-9 before slipping to back to reality with a 8-18 record in May. Who the hell knows what will happen, it’s why we play the games. I believe we can be relevant in a less competitive NL Central if all the pieces fall the right way and skipper Derek Shelton, who’s looking for an extension of his own, strategizes efficiently.

To reflect the unknown, I’ll blindly shoot and say we’ll go 82-80 this season and have our first winning record since 2018. It’s entirely possible the Pirates make the playoffs under the current expanded playoff system. Derek Shelton will get extended another year and we’ll continue to build around the Young Bucs. A yinzer can dream, right?

Let's Go Bucs!

Dan, a bona fide sports and data geek, hails from the wilds of Western Pennsylvania with an undying passion for the Stillers, Pens, and Buccos. Dan has embarked on an exciting sports writing journey, ready to subject the world to his unique blend of enthusiasm, questionable insights, and yinzer homerism. Find him and his laptop in the corner of a Starbucks near you.