Colin Beazley's Pirates chat: 07.21.26
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MarisstheCat
12:56
If Valdez maintains this sort of offense, do you see hum s a finalist for NL RoY?
Colin Beazley
12:56
If he can maintain this, he'd be the favorite. This run has been unbelievable.
KillerBob
12:57
Hello Collin, always a great chat!!  Always remember, Donny Shelton, or is it Derek Kelly? His mentor was the worst manager in Pirates baseball in my lifetime. I am 67. Donny is only slightly better. And the rumor that  the worst GM in Pirates history, can only add relief help if he does not increase payroll? But in fairness, the way he bungled this roster, he should pay for upgrades out of his own pocket. Roster construction is a major part of a GM'S job; Where did he think Ozuna fit? Give me  a break
Colin Beazley
12:58
Hey KillerBob, thanks for the kind words. I've been told the report the Pirates can't add payroll isn't true. At a bare minimum, they've freed up some space with the trade of the Comp pick and the Joey Bart deal, but I'd expect there to be more room than that.
George T
12:58
Hi Colin, can you see the Pirates using Cruz as a DH only when he returns from the IL.  They have much better fielding outfielder than Cruz and to keep his bat in the lineup, DH-ing would do it.
Colin Beazley
12:59
Hey George. I'd say it's possible he gets more DH reps, but the Pirates will spread DH reps around. O'Hearn/Reynolds/Lowe all benefit with some hitting-only days. That's before you throw in someone like Ozuna.
Tom Raymond
12:59
Hello Colin, When I look at the Bucs current state of affairs, I see a Team with poor fundamentals, lousy Bullpen, disappointing Starting Pitching,  below average fielding, and a Manager who has shown to be less than acceptable. With ALL of that, How can the Pirates EVER get to one of the Wildcard spots. There are 7 teams in contention and the Bucs are 6th out of 7. Seems like a lost cause to jump over that many especially given their deficiencies. You agree?
Colin Beazley
1:00
Hey Tom. You know the Pirates are tied for the third wild card spot right now, right? Like today?
Gene
1:00
Do you think they would DFA Osuna
Colin Beazley
1:02
This was debated in the press box yesterday. On one hand, I think the Pirates would have traded Ozuna's struggles for what Valdez and Cruz have done. Maybe he had a role in it. Maybe he didn't. But it hasn't exactly tanked the offense.

From a roster construction standpoint, it doesn't make sense to roster a DH who doesn't play. From a clubhouse perspective, he has been everything you could ask for. Is that enough to roster him when everyone's back? Not sure, but it does matter.
Floating around
1:02
Do you think the organization is keeping Mlodzinksi in his current role instead of moving him to higher leverage relief situations to keep him stretched out because with injuries and poor performance in Indy but several pitchers. There is no starter if one of the five get hurt?
Vic
1:03
is Mlodzinski a jerk?
79 Buccos
1:05
Any chance CM gets put in the rotation and Keller can pitch long relief?  I hope MK can get it figured out, but I think we need a 5th starter and CM has been throwing the ball very well.
Colin Beazley
1:06
Yes, the Pirates do want to keep Mlodzinski stretched out. A piece of that is keeping him as a rotation option (and maybe a spot start/bullpen game is the answer to the 17 games in 17 days stretch).

They also believe multi-inning relief is a huge help. That game in Cleveland, where he was prepping to come into a 2-1 ballgame, was the perfect situation for him (and helped the offense break it open). The problem, as it has always been with Mlodzinski, is the Pirates need him as a bulk reliever, a closer and a starter.

No, he's not a jerk. He's always been good to me and to us (the media). I haven't seen anything in the clubhouse to make it seem like he's an issue there, contrary to what some others have said.
Sunner in Orlando from Lebo
1:06
Any chance Santana will be released? Although he had a scoreless outing last night, he cannot be trusted unless we throw him into long relief only in low leverage situations. He has been terrible this year and his blowups might cost the Bucs a playoff spot.
Colin Beazley
1:07
I expect these next few days before the deadline are a last chance for Santana. If he doesn't perform before August 3, it'll be tough to justify keeping him when reinforcements come in.
Sunner in Orlando from Lebo
1:08
If and when Cruz, Horwitz and Griffin come back, who gets benched? Valdez obviously stays in the lineup along with Ohearn and Lowe, but what do they do with Ozuna at DH and Reynolds in left. I feel that Mangum and Cook are significant upgrades in the outfield, but their bats are not quite as consistent to play them every day.
Floating around
1:08
Is Horwitz expendable? O'Hearn can play 1B. Still have 4 OFs and one can DH.
Colin Beazley
1:08
Answered both of these earlier. It's a good problem to have.
Dan N
1:09
Colin with their record against left handed pitchers don’t you think a right handed hitter with some pop might or should be on their wishlist
Colin Beazley
1:10
The Pirates have looked much better against lefties recently. Ryan Weathers was tipping his pitches, but they still hit well against him. They hit Joey Cantillo well on Sunday. I think they may have found some solutions.

At a minimum, assuming they don't have a blank checkbook (they don't), offense isn't what they're looking for at the deadline. I thought it might be, but Esmerlyn Valdez has helped fix that.
Dan N
1:10
Also happened to see a couple of Greensboro games recently…Fun team to watch…they pound the ball and I was told more than a couple of scouts were there looking at the catcher Carmichael…
Colin Beazley
1:14
Good tip Dan, thank you.

I'd expect a lot of ... I don't know, Mets/Rockies/Angels/Royals/Giants ... scouts have spent some time in Greensboro lately. There's a lot of talent there. Shortstop is a position of strength in the Pirates system, and there's no need for another at the big league level for the next decade. Pirates are looking for a catcher, but there's a lot of depth with Berg/Plaz/Carmichael/Perez (plus Flores, of course).

I've heard plenty say that Berg and Carmichael, in particular, are future big leaguers. Wouldn't be shocked to see a team target one in a deal.
Saint
1:15
Some in the media speculate that Cherington won’t release Ozuna in the coming roster crunch because he doesn’t want to draw attention from above to his decision to sign Ozuna for $12M. Does anyone seriously believe that Nutting is unaware of that? If it comes down to Ozuna vs a utility guy who has better offensive numbers and can actually contribute defensively (eg., J. Gonzalez, Triolo, Callihan) as well as free up the DH spot for guys who occasionally need a breather, who loses his roster spot?
Colin Beazley
1:17
There's a lot that would go into the Ozuna conversation, but whether Bob Nutting is aware that his $12 million signing is batting .208 isn't one of them. (Also feels worth noting Ozuna had a .738 OPS in June and a .876 OPS in July, so he has been better.)

It doesn't make sense from a roster construction standpoint, but that's not the only factor.
Richy
1:17
Is there room on this roster for the password or is he trade bait?
Colin Beazley
1:19
With the emergence of Valdez, he might be expendable. He's also ranking in Indianapolis: he's batting .417 this month with as many walks as strikeouts and an 1.100 OPS.
TooTall21
1:19
I miss David Bednar. No more needs said.
Colin Beazley
1:19
Don't we all.
1:21
That'll do it for this week's Pirates chat! Thank you all for reading along and for your many questions. I'll be looking forward to another chat next Tuesday back in Pittsburgh. From trade talk to a Cubs and Yankees series, I'm sure we'll have plenty more to talk about then.
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