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Jason Mackey's Pirates chat: 01.08.20
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Jason Mackey
11:40
Good afternoon, folks, and welcome to my mostly-weekly-at-this-point Pirates chat. Good to have you. Have a little Grateful Dead -- 7-4-89, from Buffalo -- cranked up here in the office. Leave your questions. I'll be back at noon to answer them.
GSMP
12:00
Would the Pirates consider a guy like Alex Wood on a one year "prove it" deal? It would seem to me to be a low risk proposition. He could be flipped for prospects at the trade deadline if he performed well and the Pirates were out of contention.
Jason Mackey
12:01
I don't think they would be against it, but I think it's kind of a trick situation. Is he healthy? How convinced are you that he's healthy? Wood does profile as the type of reclamation project they would probably take, but I think you also have to know that he's going to be healthy. That's obviously difference than fixing performance.
KB
12:01
What do you anticipate Shelton’s response to be the first time Marte fails to properly run out a ground ball?
Jason Mackey
12:02
Does it matter as much if he plays for another team? ... Seriously, though. I don't know I see it happening. I really don't. I think the players are going to really like Shelton. I think you play different for someone like that. I don't think that same sort of respect existed for Hurdle, especially not lately, right or wrong. I think Shelton is going to be able to get through to these guys, and I think you might see Marte -- and others -- play the game a little differenly.
*Differently.
GSMP
12:03
More likely to happen; sign a veteran catcher like Russell Martin, trade for a catcher or go with Stallings and Mailed?
Jason Mackey
12:04
I don't know if we can accurately predict that because it's so contingent on the outside market and if anyone is willing to offer an MLB-level catcher for Starling Marte or Adam Frazier. But this is a chat and we deal in hypotheticals, so I'll go with trading for someone because they've basically passed on signing the entire market; not sure why they'd get moving now.
Don
12:05
So who are we looking for in the draft? Also will this GM be allergic to drafting a southpaw early in the draft?
Jason Mackey
12:07
Among the allergies Ben Cherington had to list on a job application, a source has confirmed that drafting a southpaw early was not one of them. We shall see. But Cherington has been at the helm of successful drafts and he knows what a successful draft process looks like. So does Steve Sanders and others the Pirates employ. I think it's a futile task to predict who they will or won't select, but I do think the Pirates will be better at unearthing talent in the later rounds under this regime. Also, related: They need to be.
Don
12:07
who’s going to be the closer this year?  Like we will need one. 100 loss season is unfortunately going to happen.
Jason Mackey
12:08
Keone Kela. But if you know the outcome already, Don, I would either bet that -- it's legal now -- or tell the Pirates. Perhaps they can compensate you for the intel and then make a few corresponding roster moves.
12:09
I'm just joking around, of course. I respect you're feeling that way. You're allowed and hardly the only one. But being around this team and these people as much as I/we have, I do want to reinforce just how different of a vibe it is. Guys are gonna want to be here and play hard for these guys; believe me, that was not the case last season.
woobie
12:10
Are you surprised by the complete lack of activity by the new front office on the free agent front? A lot of players who could've helped the Pirates are off the table, many on affordable short-term deals. Jason Castro is the one that really jumps out for me.
Jason Mackey
12:12
I'm surprised they didn't sign a true No. 1 catcher. Robinson Chirinos, too, in addition to Castro. They'll get a pitcher. It's not yet the right market for that. Other than that, it's about what I expected. I'm also surprised they have not yet traded Marte and Frazier. But I do sort of get the spending or lack of spending because Nutting probably wants to see processes first put in place and some infrastructure built before throwing money out there -- even though I know fans will disagree with that. But he talks a lot about being patient and process-driven, and this is what that would look like. Basically figuring out what they have to spend money on before actually spending it.
Chris
12:14
Hi, I tried asking you this multiple times yesterday on twitter but you ignored my mention repeatedly. Who was the PTBNL in the Dickerson deal, it was not announced?
Jason Mackey
12:18
Hi. I was spending some time with my wife and kids and found out Iran launched more than a dozen missiles at two military bases. My best friend is in the military, so I didn't really look at Twitter until late at night while watching the Penguins game. Would never ignore anyone or any question on purpose, but none of us need to be glued to it. ... In any case, there's a six-month window to complete the trade. So, they have until the end of the month.
12:19
*Glued to social media. You get my point. Wasn't ignoring anything just wasn't sifting through my mentions with all of that stuff happening and hitting close to home.
Ty
12:19
This has been the quietest offseason for any baseball team I’ve seen in a while, what is there to be excited about this 2020 pirates team? Also is there any chance Taillon can be back by September ?
Jason Mackey
12:20
Realistically, no. Todd Tomczyk joked when we talked to him last that Taillon telling me that he wasn't giving up hope on 2020 gave Tomczyk angina or something like that. But seriously, and as much as I think of Taillon personally and professionally, I don't think so. He's too much of a long-term investment to push it for one month or so, especially if they're out of the playoffs.
CoalportKid
12:20
We've read about quite a few hires. Maybe I missed it, but what does the analytics department look like now? How does it compare to the "state-of-the-art" teams?
Jason Mackey
12:21
That's a good question. They don't announce those, and, to my knowledge, they haven't made a ton of changes. But Cherington was going to potentially add after learning more about their processes and where they might fall a little short. Probably worth following up on at PiratesFest.
RS
12:21
Do the pirates have a goal? I know they speak of competing and putting a winning team on the field but there actions do not seem to reflect that. Not sure how they compete in today’s MLB financial landscape. It seems from the outside there goal is to spend as little as possible and hope for good results.
Jason Mackey
12:24
Their goal is to be more like the better small-market teams -- namely Tampa and Oakland. I can respect that, as much as I'd like to see them spend more. And right now, I think they know they have a lot of work to do to get there. They need to fix development. They need to pitch better. They need to field better. I think right now their goal is to get more buy-in and better results from the players they do have -- which I don't think is terribly wrong. This group is better than 69 wins. How much better? I don't know. I think that's what they're trying to figure out, then they can spend money in the appropriate areas to fix it.
Drew
12:24
Despite the rotation struggling last season, there’s a bit of a log jam in terms of players competing for spots. Are there any starters left in free agency you think the Pirates will make an offer to?
Jason Mackey
12:26
They'll sign someone, and it might surprise all of us. Drew Smyly is one name that intrigues me. Someone earlier threw out Alex Wood. That would track. It'll be a reclamation project-type on the cheap.
Dave
12:34
I know you don't love speculative trade scenarios, so I'll just throw this out there and you can pass over it in silence if it's boring or too unrealistic. The Mets seem to be a great opportunity with them wanting to unload Lowrie's salary and having nowhere at all for Dom Smith to play. Obviously he would be blocked by Bell, but maybe there's something there to help kickstart some roster churn. Lowrie gives you a stopgap/veteran MI to eventually flip at the deadline, allowing Frazier to be moved for solid value, and allowing you to explore the best possible returns you can get on Marte and Bell, ideally pitching-heavy to go with Keller.

The Yankees reportedly want a LH infield bat, and although Bell's value is hard to estimate, I imagine teams would start lining up to compete. Something like Kela for Lowrie and Smith could kickstart a fairly serious roster churn in order to get younger and line up pieces with all of the pre-arb and on-the-cusp talent.
Jason Mackey
12:36
I'm not a fan -- and not just because it's speculative. You're taking four steps when you could take one. There's interest in Frazier and Marte. Why are we complicating things with Jed Lowrie? Just trade Frazier; you have Ke'Bryan Hayes on the cusp, and you can sign a one-year stopgap for the veteran minimum if you really need it. If they're keeping Bell -- they will and should -- he should play most games. Moran, Osuna or Will Craig would be fine playing the others. When the Pirates need to move Bell to get something back, fine; go do that. I don't understand why we're turning a 5K into a marathon.
dane
12:36
any word on Archer's off season ? is making any adjustments?
Jason Mackey
12:37
He's training in a new place, I know that. Last I talked to him he wasn't going to adjust a ton training-wise, but I do expect the new Pirates regime to encourage him to pitch like he did in Tampa.
dane
12:37
I am a Keith Goddchaeux guy
Jason Mackey
12:38
I can respect that. I find beauty in Pig, Keith and Brent, all in different ways. I'm on a bit of a Brent run lately, though.
El Toro
12:38
Do you think the Pirates will finish 2020 last in the division? Reds are making moves and the other three teams are typically competitive
Jason Mackey
12:39
That's a great question. At this point, I suppose it's hard to say they won't. Have a tough time seeing the Reds fall flat. The Cubs haven't done a thing, but c'mon; the Cubs are the Cubs, and they're not going to finish below the Pirates. Have a tough time seeing the Cards fall that far. Ditto for the Brewers, even though they gutted a lot of their team. I have the Pirates winning around 82-83 games, though that would be tough to do and finish in last.
JohnJohn
12:39
Are there expected to be more senior front office moves? Guys at the director level with little news on guys like Chris Johnson and Will Lawton. Whether they're with the team and will remain so?
Jason Mackey
12:41
One, both are still with the club. I could see the Pirates making some moves there, although not necessarily with Will and Chris. More stuff to add to this part -- bandwith, as Cherington has called it.
dane
12:41
what does opening lineup look like today: 1)Newman 2)Reynolds 3)Marte 4) JB 5) Moran 6) Polanco 7) Stallings 8) Tucker?
Jason Mackey
12:43
At this point I would go: Newman, SS; Reynolds, LF; Marte, CF; Bell, 1B; Polanco, RF; Frazier, 2B; Moran, 3B; Stallings, C; Musgrove, P. ... Bench: Tucker, Maile, Osuna, Gonzalez ... Bullpen: Kela, Crick, Burdi, Santana, Rodriguez, Howard, Feliz, Stratton, Holmes ... Rotation: Archer, Musgrove, Williams, Keller, Brault, Kuhl (potentially as a swing guy).
dames
12:48
Is the front office still hiring? I don't know if you're dialed in at the lower levels but they've been sending mixed signals to candidates and there's no clarity there right now
Jason Mackey
12:49
I don't think a front office is ever "done hiring" if the right candidate is out there. Also, you're asking me if they're done hiring with certain unnamed positions. That's a little hard to answer.
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