Pirates have some brights spots, but not nearly enough

By Chris Mueller
https://www.timesonline.com/sports/20190326/chris-mueller-pirates-have-some-brights-spots-but-not-nearly-enough
March 26, 2019


Jameson Taillon

If a baseball fan that happened to know nothing about the Pittsburgh Pirates were to evaluate their roster, they might like what they see. They might see real signs for optimism.

They would see Jameson Taillon, perhaps ready to blossom into a true ace, and say that he’s the kind of prototypical workhorse starting pitcher that could challenge for a Cy Young.

They would see Chris Archer, who in September finally started to deliver the kind of work that fans expected after he was acquired at the trade deadline, and see a potentially strong number two starter.

Finally, they’d look at Joe Musgrove and Trevor Williams and see a rotation with real, honest to god potential.

Throw in Keone Kela and Felipe Vazquez at the back end of the bullpen, and that random baseball fan might be tempted to make a bet on the Pirates to be very good this year.

These Pirates are long on potential, but short on sure things. It would be nice to have a lot more of the latter.

The Chicago Cubs have sure things, like Jon Lester, Anthony Rizzo and Kris Bryant. The Milwaukee Brewers have sure things, like reigning National League MVP Christian Yelich and Lorenzo Cain. So too do the St. Louis Cardinals, in the form of newly acquired first baseman Paul Goldschmidt.

Every one of those teams has been picked by the majority of the baseball world to finish ahead of the Pirates this season, and with good reason. All of them are better on paper.

In the case of Milwaukee and St. Louis, off-season acquisitions were a big part of the equation. The Brewers spent big to shore up their catching situation with Yasmani Grandal. The Cardinals gave up relatively little to get Goldschmidt, and in the process made their offense, fifth-best in runs in the National League last year, even better.

The Pirates? They’re hoping Lonnie Chisenhall can hold the fort until Gregory Polanco comes back, hoping that Jordan Lyles morphs into a competent fifth starter, and hoping that Josh Bell takes a massive step forward offensively. Oh, and they’re hoping that Erik Gonzalez resembles an everyday major leaguer at shortstop.

Whose chances do you like better?

Erik Gonzalez

As usual, it’s not what the Pirates did, or who they have, that is the story heading into the season. It’s what they didn’t do, what they don’t have, that grabbed all the headlines.

Dallas Keuchel is out there for any team to sign, and none has. The Pirates haven’t been a bidder for a guy that would become, at worst, their third-best starting pitcher. Jose Iglesias, a light-hitting, solid-fielding shortstop was available, but he’s now on Cincinnati.

There were upgrades available that were not pursued. It’s no secret why. Keuchel would cost a pretty penny, probably between $15 and $17 million per season, and he wants several seasons. He’s 31, one of the best sinker-ball pitchers in recent memory, and would probably thrive at pitcher-friendly PNC Park.

The point is, he’s worth the money. Eventually, someone will give it to him.

He wasn’t the only available starting pitcher—there were many others.

Iglesias’ services were secured for $2.5 million. Gonzalez will cost a fraction of that. Will he produce more than Iglesias does? Perhaps. But I’d bet on Iglesias.

The Bucs’ Opening Day payroll figures to come in in the neighborhood of $75 million. That, to put it plainly, is not good enough, nor is it particularly close.

The team can talk all it wants about the attention it is paying to players’ diets, to their sleep, to all sorts of little details in the margins. All of that is nice, but it stands to reason that everyone around baseball is doing things like that.

These Pirates, who won 82 games last year, which was something of a pleasant surprise to many, will be hard-pressed to match that feat in what looks to be a brutal NL Central.

If they do, it will be on the backs of young, mostly inexpensive talent. It will be because the team bet on the Jung Ho Kangs and Adam Fraziers of the world, and was rewarded.

They’re not close to the worst team in baseball, or at least they shouldn’t be. If everything breaks their way, they can challenge for a wild card. There are players who inspire genuine optimism, who give reason for hope.

Just not nearly enough of them.