Biggest Offseason Additions
Edinson Volquez
Following their National League Division Series exit in five games it became clear that the Pirates were in desperate need for more reliable arms in the starting rotation. Rather than bring back A.J. Burnett for over $10 million per year, General Manager Neal Huntington sought a cheaper option in former San Diego Padre and Los Angeles Dodger free agent Volquez for a one year at $5 million.
Volquez hasn’t been the same player who lit up the scene in 2008 with a 17-6 record, 3.21 ERA and a career-high 206 strikeouts due to Tommy John surgery in 2009 and a 50-game suspension at the start of the 2010 season for testing positive for performance enhancing drugs.
Since then he has gone 25-30 with a 4.95 ERA and 420 strikeouts in 84 over the last three seasons. It will certainly be interesting to see if Volquez can get back to form, but realistically, for the money, Volquez is probably one of the best arms that the Pirates could afford to get on the mound.
Travis Ishikawa
Ishikawa will probably make a little over $500,000 in 2014, therefore making the first baseman a decent pickup for Huntington and the Pirates in the wake of the loss of veteran Garrett Jones to the Miami Marlins. Ishikawa didn’t really do much in 2013, as he only played in seven games with the Baltimore Orioles and New York Yankees; however, his 2012 are a little bit more redeeming.
In 2012 while with the Milwaukee Brewers, Ishikawa hit .257 with four home runs and 30 RBI in 94 games as he split time at first base with Corey Hart and in the outfield as a platoonist. Prior to that he had made decent strides as a member of the San Francisco Giants, but this will be the first season in which he will be the go to guy at first base. It may take a little bit for him to get going, but his .261 average in the NL would certainly be an improvement in comparison to the .254 by Gabby Sanchez and the .233 posted by Jones in 2013.
Biggest Offseason Losses
A.J. Burnett
The loss of Burnett comes as a huge loss to the Pirates for two reasons: the first is that even at 37-years-old he is still a reliable strikeout machine who can win more than 10 games and the second is because the Pirates had the luxury of the New York Yankees paying the majority of his salary to keep him off of their roster.
When that contract expired at the end of the 2013 season, which also happened to be the season that the Pirates would break their 20-year playoff drought, the team found themselves at a bit of an impasse due to their small market ways. In the two seasons he played in Pittsburgh Burnett went 26-22 with a 3.41 ERA and 289 strikeouts, 209 of which came in 2013, his second-best yearly total of his career.
His ERA also happened to be the best career total of any team he played for. Burnett’s time with the Pirates was one of those deals that benefitted all parties involved, in that the Buccos needed a veteran leader on the starting rotation and Burnett needed a no-worries environment to clear his head and get back to his winning ways. It’s a shame that the two couldn’t work out a deal, but the $16 million the Philadelphia Phillies offered him was too hard to pass up.
Michael McKenry
It’s understandable that the Pirates are fully invested in catcher Russell Martin, but why they elected to designate McKenry for assignment and then cut him loose is a bit of a mystery. McKenry’s offensive numbers aren’t really anything to brag about, .226 with 17 home runs and 64 RBI in 187 games over three seasons; however, his defensive and game-calling capabilities more than made up for it.
McKenry is definitely the kind of guy who needs more starts, and it’s more than likely that he’ll get them with the Colorado Rockies, but he was a fantastic platoonist behind the dish, and the way the Pirates handled their parting of ways is disgraceful; especially since he was a fan-favorite.
Name to Watch in Spring Training: Gregory Polanco
One of the bright stars in the Pirates’ organization, Polanco and teammate Dilson Herrera represented the team at the 2013 All-Star Futures Game and was added to the 40-man roster near the end of November of this last year. Polanco has come up through the ranks over the last five years, hitting .277 with 34 home runs and 238 RBI.
He also possesses a lot of speed on the bases and could potentially steal 20 or more bases for the Pirates if given the chance. At 22-years-old, now might be the best time to bring him up and be taken under the wing of 2013 NL MVP Andrew McCutchen. The Pirates need more consistent hitters in the outfield and Polanco might be the best chance they have to do it internally.
Biggest Spring Training Battle: Finding a starting right fielder
So far there are two spots in the outfield which are pretty much locks for the Pirates, McCutchen in centerfield and Starling Marte in left. Marte had a breakout season in 2013, hitting .280 with 12 home runs and 41 stolen bases, but he also knocked-in a lackluster 35 RBI despite playing in 135 games.
Jose Tabata played in 106 games, splitting his time between left field (40 games) and right field (50 games), while hitting .282 with six home runs and 33 RBI. Based on the law of averages, one might think that Tabata is a greater offensive threat with the bat; however, the one thing that Marte had going for him last season is the 83 runs he scored compared to Tabata’s 35.
Only McCutchen scored more times than Marte with 97. Lastly, Travis Snider, who was recently signed to an one-year deal worth roughly $1.5 million, and Polanco make it a three-way battle for the last spot in right field. There are legitimate reasons for each person to win the job, but how each player performs in Spring Training will certainly determine of manager Clint Hurdle will set his lineup.
What Went Right in 2013
Like the Oakland Athletics in 2012, the Pirates of 2013 were the story of the year. Despite a lack of power and runs scored on the season, the Pirates got the job done with solid pitching from the likes of Francisco Liriano, Burnett, Gerrit Cole and Jeff Locke. Nobody in the starting rotation who pitched 12 or more games finished with an ERA higher than 3.59, and only Charlie Morton and Wandy Rodriguez finished with less than 100 strikeouts on the season.
The Pirates’ bullpen was nearly unstoppable with clutch outings from Jason Grilli (33 saves, 13.3 strikeouts per nine innings) and then Mark Melancon (16 saves) who took over after Grilli went down due to injury.
Even though they only took the first Wild Card spot, the Buccos exceeded expectations by posting their first winning record AND making their first trip to the postseason since 1992. Even though they lost to the St. Louis Cardinals in the NLDS, the entire season was proof that everything went right in Pittsburgh. Getting back is the next challenge.
Biggest Areas of Improvement in 2014
Unfortunately for the Pirates they haven’t really done anything to improve things going into 2014. While they did make a few decent signings as mentioned above, they lost way too much throughout the offseason to really indicate that they will come close to being as competitive as they were in 2013.
The Pirates still need one brilliant starting pitcher and a handful of more-consistent bats in the lineup, specifically at first base, right field and shortstop. Clint Barmes is a fine defender, but a .211 average is not exactly helpful to winning games. Stephen Drew would be a much more reliable asset for the Pirates in this case.
Overall Spring Training Preview
As great as it would be to see the Pirates get another chance to turn the tables in the postseason, it’s highly unlikely that it will happen. The Cardinals are the heavy favorites, which leaves two Wild Card spots for the Pirates. Unfortunately for them, the San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants and the Washington Nationals/Atlanta Braves have reloaded considerably and will more-than-likely be the heavy forties for those spots.
One thing that can be learned from the Pirates last season, which they’ll hopefully hold onto going into Spring Training, is something that Hurdle said while being interviewed during their Wild Card matchup against the Cincinnati Reds, “We certainly embrace the hard around here.” Hurdle is a great manager who puts a lot of faith in his players.
Nothing comes easy, and he expects his men to fully understand that you have to play at your hardest every single day until the season is over. It’s with this that the Pirates are a tricky team to profile, and they could in fact upset the odds and squeak their way into the postseason again. As it stands now, it’s unlikely; however, a lot of it will depend on how everyone performs throughout Spring Training.