The 2013 Major League Baseball season brought a wide range of emotions to the great American city of Pittsburgh.  It had been 21 years since the Pirates had clinched a playoff berth on September 24th when they defeated the Chicago Cubs 2-1.  Pirates’ fans rejoiced, baseball romantics swooned, and the boys in black and yellow quickly became playoff favorites among those whose team had not earned a berth.  The club responded to the pressure and attention by defeating division rival Cincinnati 1-0 in the Wild Card play-in game.  They would ultimately lose to the eventual National League champion St. Louis Cardinals in the NLDS, in Game 5 of the five game series. 

So what’s next in order for the Pirates to put together back-to-back playoff berths and even contend for a World Series title?  Believe it or not, there could be very little change to Pittsburgh’s roster during the offseason.  However, that isn’t to say that there aren’t issues that need to be addressed.  The Pirates desperately need to get more mileage out of their starting pitchers.  Pittsburgh starters ranked 24th as a group in the majors in innings pitched, which obviously led to their bullpen being way overworked.  The average starter lasted less than six innings in a given game, which in turn caused the bullpen to pitch over 545 innings last season; good for fourth most in the league. 

This could be a tough trend to turn around if veteran right hander, A.J. Burnett, decides to retire.  The 36-year old sinker-baller quietly was one of the best pitchers in the National League in 2013.  He led the NL in strikeouts per nine innings as well as groundball percentage.  Even if Burnett decides to remain in the league for another season, I still think the Pirates need to go out and sign a starter that will just eat up 6+ innings every five games.  The bullpen, despite being overused, was one of the main reasons the Pirates even made a playoff run.  They posted a 2.89 earned run average while allowing opponents to bat only .229 against them.  Jason Grilli and Mark Melancon will need to perform at the same level next season in the closer and set-up roles for the Pirates to replicate their success in 2014.

The offense, on the other hand, needs to be way more consistent in terms of production.  Pirate hitters ranked in the bottom half of the league in every major offensive category, something that has to change if manager Clint Hurdle wants to coach in the postseason again next year.  There are several positions in the lineup which were extremely productive that need to stay that way.  Andrew McCutchen, Starling Marte, Neil Walker, and Pedro Alvarez all contributed heavily to the sporadic success of the offense.  All four of them are either under contract or expected to reach an arbitration agreement during the offseason.

At shortstop, they will either re-sign free agent Clint Barmes or take a chance on the youngster, Jordy Mercer.  The Bucs are set at the catcher position with veteran Russell Martin.  He brings a much needed defensive and leadership element to the young team, and his offensive contribution last season can definitely not be overlooked.  He drove in 55 runs and posted an on-base percentage of .327, numbers very similar to the Braves’ Brian McCann, but at a much cheaper price. 

So with six every day positions spoken for, that leaves first base and right field.  The corner outfield spot will most likely be filled one of two ways.  Jose Tabata played a fair amount at right field and 2013 and contributed a WAR (wins above replacement) of 1.1, which is fairly substantial in a part time role.  The Pirates could stick with him at the position, or use one of several up and coming players in their farm system to round out the outfield.  It’s unlikely they will go out and sign a free agent outfielder to a multi-year contract this offseason. 

The same can’t be said for a first baseman, however.  The Pirates platooned Justin Morneau, Gaby Sanchez, and Garrett Jones last year, none of whom performed particularly well.  Morneau will more than likely sign somewhere else as a free agent, Sanchez is awful against right-handed pitching, and it is not likely that the Pirates will pay Jones the over $5 million he is eligible for in arbitration.  So, as you can see, it makes the most sense that a large-ish move will be made for a full time first baseman, though there are few options.  In my mind, Corey Hart makes the most sense for the Pirates, although it’s hard to put all of your eggs in a newly-repaired-knee basket.  Another free agent they could target at first base is James Loney, a good left-handed hitter who gets on base frequently. 

I’m going to go out on a limb and suggest that the Pittsburgh Pirates will be able to replicate the success they had in 2013 and churn out another playoff berth in the extremely competitive National League Central division.  However, they desperately need to address their starting pitching endurance and offensive run production.  They ranked 18th in quality starts and 20th in runs scored last year, which were two of the only categories in which they underperformed.  The team has an incredible mixture of young talent and veteran leadership, which can only lead to good things moving forward.