Colin Beazley's Pirates chat: 08.04.26
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Colin Beazley
12:52
Yohan Ramirez has quietly been very, very good lately. He's a fun player to be around in the clubhouse, so it's good to see him succeed.
cmose
12:52
cmose from LA.  Now with the trades for bullpen help firmly in place what expectation for the final 2 months playoff bound?
Colin Beazley
12:53
CBeaz from LA! A playoff push is the expectation, I'd say. If this team continues the track it's been on pre-deadline and falls out of contention, that's a clear disappointment.

Pirates are shooting for playoffs "period full stop." They'll have to catch a few teams in front of them to get there, but they at least have a shot.
YinzerWally
12:54
unusual amount of injuries.  I realize this is year 1 of the don Kelly regime but if you do analytics I bet you see that injuries game lost are at steep pace and could be significantly worse than Shelton.
Colin Beazley
12:57
I got an email yesterday of MLB teams by weighted severity of injuries. Here's the link from Rotowire, which shows the Pirates directly in the middle (I don't believe it's been updated for Keller's injury). The difference with the Pirates is, as a small market team, they don't have as many ready made replacements.

Pirates had been really fortunate with the rotation's health up until yesterday. The position player side has been hit hard.
Punxy Dave
12:57
Let’s see. Paul Skenes year one, Rookie of the Year. Paul Skenes year two, Cy Young Award. Paul Skenes year three, Ugh. Where does this go from here?
Colin Beazley
12:58
We'll see. In my opinion, the stuff that made him elite in years one in two will help turn this year into a blip. That said, that doesn't help the Pirates now in a year they need him to be better.
Randy
12:58
Do you expect any changes to how they approach left handed pitching moving forward? Such as callups or lineup changes? With zero bats added at the deadline and ozuna going nowhere this seems to be their greatest weakness.
Colin Beazley
1:00
I agree, especially when the teams around them have Imanaga, Sanchez/Luzardo and Rodriguez. I don't think there is an option in Triple-A to help -- that should be Password, but I can't say I've been too impressed with what I've seen so far. And it shouldn't be on Cruz and Griffin returning, Griffin's 20 and Cruz had struggled badly against lefties up until this year.

That's one of the reasons why Ozuna has stuck around. He's the only player on the roster who can singlehandedly fix that issue if he turns it on and hits. I'm not confident that that's coming around.
Michael
1:00
What do you think of the Brewer manager replacing his young starting pitcher in the middle of an at bat? No concern seemingly of hurting the kid’s confidence. Can you compare with how the Pirates handle their young pitchers. Which is the better approach?
Colin Beazley
1:03
I found that really interesting and I did feel like it showed up Sproat. That said, I follow a few Milwaukee reporters and the Murphy had made clear to Sproat that he needs to be better, so it's not like that came out of nowhere. He'll probably be optioned today.

As someone who grew up pitching, that would have killed my confidence. I didn't like it and would have wanted him to finish the AB. But the Brewers are also notorious for doing all the little things right, so who am I to criticize?
Mole
1:03
How are the pirates realistically going to address the rotation? 3/5 of the rotation is facing an inning limit soon.
Colin Beazley
1:04
Wrote about some options for Keller's spot in the rotation above, but if the Pirates were planning on shutting down Ashcraft/Bubba/Jones, there would have been more urgency to address the rotation. Evidently, they're confident these guys have enough in the tank to get through however long this season goes.
Frank the Tank
1:04
Can Oscar Marin please return??
Jim
1:04
Colin, Do you think the Bucs will get a new pitching coach soon?
Don kelly
1:04
Does the pitching coach return next year ?
Colin Beazley
1:06
Well it's kind of your decision, Donnie. But Bill Murphy's not going anywhere. While a message can get stale (Oscar Marin's apparently did), there are benefits to having a guy around for multiple seasons. I do think it's right to be a little bit critical of how the Pirates pitchers have performed this year.
Syd
1:06
What do you think will happen when Cruz comes back? Does Ozuna get DFA’d and Garcia stays or do you think they’ll keep Ozuna and send Garcia down?
Sunner in Orlando from Lebo
1:06
When Cruz does return do they keep Mangum in CF and DH Cruz or do the put Mangum in left and let Reynolds DH? I'd rather keep Mangum in CF and put Cruz in left but I doubt they want to reinvent the wheel on that front.
Rich in Hawaii
1:07
When Cruz returns, who is going to lose the most at bats, Magnum? Or could they slot him into DH more with Ohearn out?
Colin Beazley
1:08
Aloha, Rich. Answered one of your other questions earlier in this chat.

They're not going to move Cruz to a corner midseason. He will play center field a good bit, though the Pirates have a bit more flexibility with where they play him. I'd expect Mangum to lose the most at-bats (Reynolds and Valdez aren't being sidelined), though I do think it'll all be flexible with some shared DH at-bats and Mangum's versatility.
Buzz
1:09
With a lockout likely on its way do you think “the window” of opportunity to make the playoffs will still be open in 2028 if the 2027 season is lost? Also would the pirates consider trading Paul skenes that year even if they are contending similar to the tigers with Tarik Skubal?
Tourman
1:09
I'm approaching my mid 70s and possibly running out of time. Do you see the Pirates as being SERIOUS contenders any time soon? Would a strike be the best thing to happen to this team in the long term?
Aces High
1:09
I get the national media not wanting to go against the players union, but how do these long time reporters like Buster Olney and Jeff Passan continually report that a cap isn't needed and the Dodgers aren't good for baseball? 2 regions seem to be against a Salary Cap. NY and LA. The rest see the common sense in it. Why not the long time baseball reporters?
Colin Beazley
1:12
Sure, why not, a few salary cap questions as we go through the final few questions here today.

It's hard to predict the future given we don't know what baseball will look like in 2027. Maybe it's capped. Maybe it isn't. Maybe we miss the entire season. Maybe the Savannah Bananas take over. Who knows?

Under the current system, I do think the Pirates have a real chance in 2027 and 2028. The moves they made at the deadline set them up well for 2027 at least. There are some questions with how the salaries all fit with a number of first time arb eligible players like Skenes, but as of now, the only two players you'd want back that are not currently set to be back are Lowe and Soto. Everyone else is under control.
1:16
Does that make them SERIOUS contenders? Depends on your definition of SERIOUS. It's not the Dodgers, but it is a good team. And they are a good team this year.

I don't want to speak on behalf of the national media, but it would be tough to be against the players union and agents while continuing to maintain relationships there.

As for Skenes, the Pirates certainly won't let him go for nothing. The Tigers have a higher payroll and still got some return. As a lower payroll team, when the time comes, the Pirates will have to nail that trade.
greg patton
1:16
Nick G is not a 3rd baseman correct? - he needs to play 2nd base and let Brandon L DH but what do you do when Cruz returns
Steve
1:16
Nicky G loses more games with his glove at third than he wins with his singles. Should the Tree be permanently planted at third?
Colin Beazley
1:17
Don Kelly made the defensive replacement for Gonzales last night, even in a one run game, and it was immediately proven as the right decision. I'd expect we see more of that going forward.
1:18
Hit enter too soon, but don't think that defense allows Gonzales to be the long term answer at 3B. The slide over to second is almost certainly best for him. Pirates will have options next year if they don't re-sign Lowe.
Don kelly
1:18
I liked the bunt last night with the runner on 3rd and less than 2 out. Might we see more of that ?
Colin Beazley
1:18
It's your choice, Donnie! It was a good spot for a squeeze.
Sunner in Orlando from Lebo
1:19
With the bullpen additions, will Donnie have a shorter leash than a longer leash on the starters knowing he has better arms in the bullie than before the deadline?
Colin Beazley
1:20
It'll be interesting to see. Kelly kept the short leash even when the bullpen was in its previous state, so I doubt it'll get longer. But it's also hard to see that leash getting even shorter than it was.

My guess is it'll stay the same, but it'll look like better management when the new arms perform better.
South Texas Buc
1:20
Colin. If they lose another starting pitcher to injury who do they go to? Surely no one they have currently can fill in that role after the loss of Mitch. And a BP game every fifth day for a team chasing a playoff spot probably isn’t going to cut it.
Colin Beazley
1:21
I'd assume you'd have to go to a Triple-A arm after Mlodzinski (again, assuming it is Mlodzinski). Maybe it can be Khristian Curtis once he's back and healthy.
Ethan
1:21
What went into optioning Billy Cook and keeping 3 catchers? Seems like you'd want to optimize versatility on the bench, especially when they insist on giving one of those spots to a DH-only player who isn't hitting
Colin Beazley
1:22
I think Endy Rodriguez and Rafael Flores both playing some first base played into it. I see the argument here. Maybe Flores has an opportunity to be the platoon first baseman against lefties?
Molly
1:23
Do you think if they put Mlodzinski back in the rotation that they will use an opener for him?
Colin Beazley
1:23
That's entirely possible against teams with a lot of lefties. Think the Pirates will have to be creative with that spot, regardless of whether they go with the obvious and stretch Carmen back out or not.
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