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Bill Brink's Pirates chat: 12.12.18
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Bill Brink
11:38
Good morning and welcome to the winter meetings edition of the Pirates chat. We'll get going at noon ET, but you can begin submitting questions now and I'll post them as we go.
12:08
Sorry for the delay. Here we go.
Lee In SC
12:08
What's the Bucs starting rotation as of opening day?
Bill Brink
12:09
Taillon, Archer, Williams, Musgrove ... Brault? Kingham? Lyles? Rodriguez as the opener?
DesertDweller
12:09
Wouldn't Cervelli pay more dividends playing C/1B for the first half of the season and flip him to a contender at the deadline?
Bill Brink
12:10
They run the risk of his getting another concussion (or any injury), or poor performance limiting his value. Plus the acquiring team couldn't give him a qualifying offer, if that were to come into play.
That option does, however, give the Pirates a better chance to contend than trading him does.
Mason
12:10
Any ideas on where the money the Pirates saved on Nova and Harrison will go?
Bill Brink
12:11
Huntington said Tuesday that some of it had already been spent, on Kang, Chisenhall and (if he passes his physical) Lyles. But payroll has decreased yet again, and there are questions about whether they'll bring it back up -- but there's still time left in the offseason.
Matthew
12:12
Chris Archer was much more successful when not shaking off Cervelli's calls. As trade talks heat up for him, is his veteran presence valued for Archer and a very young pitching staff overall?
Bill Brink
12:14
It very much is, and it's not just Archer who speaks highly of his game-calling and the care he takes with his pitchers. That's why I still think they are more likely to keep, rather than trade, him. If they move him, that would tell us that the attendance drop for the second year in a row is causing ownership to restrict what Huntington can spend.
LA Matt
12:14
With the most recent salary dump, sorry, trade of Nova, despite what management says, are the Pirates truly interested in competing next year in the NL Central?
Bill Brink
12:15
Yes -- depending on what happens next. If they find a solution at shortstop, or add a bat, or get a starter, or go find the guys like Tampa has that work well in the opener situation, then yes, but if they make that move and stand pat, it's harder to see.
Mason
12:15
Tulo coming to Pittsburgh?
Bill
12:15
I know Huntington is okay with Newman/Gonzalez, but what would the price of Troy Tulowitzski be on a one year deal roughly?
Alex
12:15
Has there been any word on if the Pirates may pursue Tulo?
dane
12:16
Is Tulo so bad he wouldn't be an upgrade at SS for '19? And considering Polanco's injury, how do we now view the Archer deal? Would have been nice to have Meadows in RF this season.
On the Bill Brink
12:16
Has there been talk about Tulo to Pgh?
Bill Brink
12:18
Second on my list of things to do after this chat is dig into Tulowitzki. (First is Cervelli.) The Pirates would only owe him the major league minimum and Toronto would pay the rest of his salary. Plenty of teams would be interested in him, so he can choose the place with the best chance to win/location that he likes if he wants, but keep in mind he was hurt and did not play at all last year.
DesertDweller
12:19
Assuming Lyles makes the 25-man roster AND the Pirates sign another SP, who goes off the roster?
Bill Brink
12:19
There are enough moving parts between now and when the roster is finalized that it could be anyone. Not to punt on the question, but it's hard to say.
MJC_412
12:19
Is Cervelli gone by Friday?
Ethan
12:19
Any word about potential Cervelli-suitors? Heard a rumor about the Dodgers offering Stripling for him, but backed out. Any murmurs on Cervelli landing with the Mets? Maybe a Syndergaard package?
Duquesne Duke
12:19
Is Cervelli the next veteran with a significant (for the Pirates) salary the next one to go?
Frank
12:20
If Cervelli is traded will it be another salary dump?
Joe Balawajder
12:20
Any chance the Pirates make a big move at short? Heard Boston is in on Cervelli, could Bogaerts be an option?
Alex
12:20
There was a report that the Dodgers would definitely consider Cervelli straight up for Stripling. Have you heard anything on that?
Bill Brink
12:20
Let's get into Cervelli. Ready?
12:22
I saw John Perrotto's report about Stripling. I have not heard anything to that effect, which is not to say there isn't anything to it. I still do not think they move him unless there are payroll/revenue forces from above Huntington that we as of yet don't know about. It depends on what they trade him for, whether it would be a salary dump or not. I did talk to someone last night that said the Boston stuff was probably not a realistic option.
LA Matt
12:23
What comes first: The cart or the horse? In the Pirates' case: Winning and fielding a competitive team or better attendance?
Bill Brink
12:25
Huntington has consistently acknowledged that the front office needs to put a competitive team on the field in order to attract fans. I don't know if that's the cart or the horse, but that one is first. Thing is, fielding a competitive team requires money, not Dodgers-NESN-YES Network money but money all the same, and Nutting, having taken over the franchise at a low, low point financially, isn't into deficit spending so much.
Jay
12:25
What would your guess be for the Pirates opening day payroll?
Bill Brink
12:25
Let's go to the spreadsheet. Hold please.
12:27
I've got them at roughly $75 million including an estimate on Lyles, plus estimates on Dickerson and Kela's arbitration salaries, plus the rest of the 40-man (I like 40-man payroll because it's how MLB and the Associated Press calculate official year-end payrolls, which matter for the luxury tax). I have to imagine they spend more than that. Maybe they get to last year's level of $86 mil or so?
Vacant 5th SP
12:27
With the Nova trade, how do you see the Pirates filling the 5 spot in the rotation? Internally or Externally?
Bill Brink
12:27
Lyles should get a shot, as will Kingham and Brault. Keller could be ready by midseason. And they might go with an opener.
Kevin
12:28
One of the things that becomes apparent at this time of the year is how lightly regarded the Pirates’ farm system is by other organizations. You don’t hear much about them trying to pry so-and-so away from Pittsburgh. This is a critical flaw in my opinion. My question is, where does the Pirates’ system rank in your opinion and why does it seem to produce so few impact players?
Bill Brink
12:29
They've got some really interesting players, but they're in the low minors as of now. At the top, Keller is legit, so are Hayes and Tucker, but other than Keller they lack the top 100 prospects you see in other organizations. Trading Meadows and Baz impacted that a little bit.
Ryan
12:29
Do you think that bigger name players like Xandar Bogaerts and Manny Machado could be on the Pirates radar or will they primarily focus on cheaper guys like Jose Iglesias
Bill Brink
12:31
I saw the reports about Boston listening on Bogaerts, but I don't see them moving him. And Machado will be out of the Pirates' price range.
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