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Jason Mackey's Pirates chat: 01.20.21
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Jason Mackey
11:21
Hello, everyone, and welcome to my weekly Pirates chat. We'll get started here at noon, but feel free to ask whatever you want now. Seems like there's plenty to talk about. Thanks, as always, for participating!
12:00
And away we go ... with a little 12/14/71 playing in the headphones.
Darnell
12:00
Hey Jason.  Just wondering if the Pirates ever had any interest in signing Michael Wacha?  It seems the former general manager thought highly of him.  Thank you.
Jason Mackey
12:01
Hi Darnell, very doubtful. At least, I should say that I have heard nothing of the sort, nor have I see anyone else report it. I think he might be a little above what the Pirates would be looking to spend on free agents.
Bill
12:01
Hi Jason - Although prospects are inherently speculative, it seems that by both quantity and quality, the Pirates got quite a haul for Joe Musgrove.  I was curious as to your opinion as to why the return so exceeded what they were able to get for Josh Bell.  Both have two more years of team control, and while Musgrove has had his moments, it would seem that Bell is by far the better and more impactful player.  What gives - should they have waited longer to deal Bell?
Jason Mackey
12:03
I'm fine with what they got back for Bell and when they did the deal. Also, I'm not privy to the other offers Cherington had or how the deal evolved, which would likely help to form my opinion on it. But from the outside, I don't see any issue with trading Bell now for potentially two pitchers who can help. The reason you saw Joe net more was multi-faceted. One, I think Cherington did a better job than Neal Huntington did with Gerrit Cole. Second, almost always pitchers are going to net more because they're so important and such a valuable commodity. Everybody always needs pitching.
Guest
12:04
why would anybody support this franchise?
Jason Mackey
12:05
This sort of thing frustrates me. I'm fine with people being mad about the Pirates. You should be mad. They've screwed up. And, hey, maybe you don't wanna support them. That's fine, too. But this is what I've chosen to do with my life. You're basically making light of it or saying it's unimportant. You're doing the same thing for everyone who spends their discretionary time or income caring. I'm not going to show up at your job and belittle it. Be mad about the Pirates. Criticize. Whatever. But please don't belittle my job by saying no one cares. Believe me, our web numbers would indicate that they do.
Gino
12:06
Hi Jason...any news/rumors on the Adam Frazier trade front?  Also, do you think Taillon gets traded?  Thanks Jason.
Jason Mackey
12:07
Hey Gino. No news or rumors, though I do expect Frazier to go. It makes too much sense. Also, I don't see them making the moves to trade Bell and Musgrove ... then for some reason keeping Frazier. I don't think the return will be anywhere near what they got for Joe, but it makes absolutely no sense for them to pay Frazier $4.3 million to occupy a spot they can audition others who actually might be a part of their future.
Ralph
12:07
What will the role be for Difo? Seems like a silly signing to me.
Jason Mackey
12:08
I don't know about silly. Maybe superfluous? He's depth. Good teams have too many options. The Pirates still don't have nearly enough. It is a minor league contract. And even if they signed Difo to play in Class AAA, then be available if there's an injury, I don't have a problem with that. I do think he'll have a legit chance  to make the roster, however, after they trade Adam Frazier.
greg
12:08
Do you really believe any of these prospects will still be here 5 years from now? Won't Bob have to open his pocket book and do you believe he will?
Jason Mackey
12:12
I do, yes. On both fronts. Let's say Peguero, Gonzales, Mason Martin and Quinn Priester come up in 2023. (I just picked random names.) That starts their arbitration clock. The Pirates will have at least 4-5 years of club control, even if they eventually choose to trade those guys. (I'm saying 4-5 to go really, really conservative on trades.) As for whether Bob will spend, I get asked this a lot. Ben Cherington and Travis Williams are legit, would you agree? Worked for the Red Sox and Penguins. They've won championships. They're not dopes. They have pride and value the professional opinon others have of them. Why would they come here if they didn't believe Bob would eventually spend what's necessary to win and keep winning? Either Cherington and Williams are stupid/gullible, or maybe Nutting actually will. I agree that he needs to disprove that narrative, but I also wouldn't automatically say he's gonna go cheap, either
Mike
12:13
So who do you see next to be traded?
Jason Mackey
12:13
I think Adam Frazier is next. Also, someone asked me about Jameson Taillon. My prediction is that there's some fuss over it, maybe some dialogue, but I think the Pirates ultimately hold onto him.
Prince Bob
12:13
To begin, thanks for the stories on BP. Going to bed and listening to him doing Pirate games on the radio next to my bed is a great memory. He was the best.
Jason Mackey
12:13
Of course! Thank you so much for reading. Those were a lot of fun to do, believe me.
Prince Bob
12:13
Next, what happens to Taillon? Do they keep him for part of the season hoping he hits top form and brings better return? Is that too risky so they'll move him and his salary now and take what they can get? Is there any scenario where he's still here in October?
Jason Mackey
12:15
I don't see a scenario where he's here in October, no. I do think they'll wait, because the offers won't be what they could otherwise get, and it makes sense to bet on Taillon. Figure, if he gets hurt and the offers aren't great now, what are they really losing? To me, the more likely play is to hope he pitches well in the first half, then make the move. If he's on, the Pirates will have no problem moving him.
Danny
12:15
Adam Frazier seems like a very logical trade candidate but I’m worried about his potential market with so many free agents still out there (C. Hernandez, K. Hernandez, Wong, Profar, etc) that can all play second and some that have versatility... thoughts?
Jason Mackey
12:16
I don't disagree with you. But in the end I just think it makes too much sense to move Frazier. Honestly, Danny, what's the argument for keeping him? I guess you figure you can try and deal him at the deadline, but what if he gets hurt? What if there's no need? What if the market still stinks? And what are you paying for in the meantime. I just think it makes more sense to do it now.
Prince Bob
12:16
Finally, everyone recognizes the problem Gregory Polanco's swing creates. Did he have the same swing in the minors and if so couldn't someone have recognized it would be a problem once he got past minor league pitching? And there have been short, infrequent stretches of time (too short and infrequent) when he's been the hitter we all expected, still using that swing. Are those stretches just anomalies or blind luck?
Jason Mackey
12:18
I actually got an interesting email from a longtime pro scout after I wrote something about Polanco's swing. He said he didn't see the length of Polanco's swing as his primary problem. I respect the guy's opinion and certainly take it seriously. I also think Polanco's problems are more complex than his swing. Can be his pitch selection, health, confidence, any number of things. I don't know how you would define those stretches. Maybe some actual health? Probably a little bit of all of those things. I think it's tough to label them as one thing.
Danny
12:18
Today on 93.7, Cherington hinted that he expects to add to the rotation via FA/trade. Any word on any potential guys? Seems like a good idea to bring in a possible deadline flip candidate.
Jason Mackey
12:19
He said the same to us on a Zoom call yesterday. It's probably the third or fourth time he's said as much this offseason. To this point, I believe that has netted Troy Stokes Jr., who was actually a waiver pickup. I do expect the Pirates to add something at some point, but it won't be anything more than a dumpster dive, believe me.
Jack Doyle
12:19
Are you ready to field all the comments about how cheap Nutting is and that they are giving away the stars and will never compete?
Jason Mackey
12:21
I get them every week, Jack. I understand where they're coming from, and I don't think people are wrong. The only ones that make me mad are the ones that say nobody cares. That's personally insulting and also wrong. But I don't fault people for being hacked off about how Nutting has conducted himself. But to be fair, he has also never had a World Series-winning GM in here who knows this thing from top to bottom. I'll give Bob a chance to support Ben. If he doesn't, by all means, rip the man into next year.
MjB
12:21
I think the real fans of the Pirates, those who know that this complete rebuild is necessary, would tolerate this better if we would sign a couple of free agents who will help us score some runs.  That is going to be our greatest weakness without a doubt.  I think the pitching is a little worse with the Musgrove trade, but not too far off of last year with Taillon returning.  Assuming you were GM, which free agents would you sign based upon contract size and upside in the offensive department?
Jason Mackey
12:24
Hey MjB. I appreciate the enthusiasm, but I wouldn't spend any more money than was absolutely necessary right now. If I was Cherington, I would be telling Nutting, "Look, I'll fix your farm system. Here's how I'll improve your draft, development and international footprint. I need money for infrastructure on those things, plus I wanna be able to sign my draft picks. As a tradeoff,  we'll keep costs low now. When these guys pop and we're competitive again, I want assurances that you'll get me the pieces I need to get over the top." If I'm not convinced that's possible here and I'm Ben, there's no damn way I take the job.
GH
12:24
When will we inaugurate a new Pirates ownership?
Jason Mackey
12:25
Man, it took 24 minutes into this chat to get that joke?
Bill
12:25
Jason-- I'm probably in the minority here but I love what GMBC is doing so far in flooding the system with talent, that while they may be years away, have high upside potential. I've already excepted that the 2021 Pirates will probably not be very good and while it's tough to see, they seem to finally have a plan. I want to watch young players like Hayes, Keller, Tucker, etc. develop and hope to see Swaggery, Cruz, Bolton, Preister behind them. Cant wait to see how BC does with the number 1 pick in July.
Jason Mackey
12:26
I agree with you, Bill. I don't think the 2021 pirates will be terrible, mind you. They'll win 70 games. They'll pitch decently. Maybe an offensive surprise or two. I think they definitely have room to grow with  fielding and fundamentals. But, yeah, they are going to overmatched a lot of nights. That said, I also like the direction. Cherington knows what he's doing. This is different than other rebuilds the Pirates have sold. Just look at what Ben has done in a year. It's a lot. I just think you need to try your best to have some patience here.
The Eman
12:26
Just wanted to thank you for the great two part series about Bib Prince. All the old school characters have been replaced by dull automatons.
Jason Mackey
12:27
Ha. Thank you very much. I think Pittsburghers are very lucky with who they get to have call Pirates games, but I know what you mean. That sort of stuff is way too vanilla for me.
Bill
12:27
Jason-- I see the future infield of the Bucs as this: 1B Martin, 2B- Gonzales, SS - Peguero, 3B Hayes. Probably 2-3 years from that but would you agree?
Jason Mackey
12:27
I would, yes. I think Cruz will wind up as a DH or in right field.
Pirate Fan
12:27
If the team actually does sign a Major League free agent, what's most likely? Fourth outfielder, starting pitching depth, or closer?
Jason Mackey
12:29
Not a closer. I really, really doubt they'll have one of those this year. I would say both a starting pitcher and fourth outfielder. Think Jordan Lyles or what they wanted Derek Holland to be. Fourth outfielder like what Corey Dickerson was supposed to be or what they expected out of Guillermo Heredia; obviously those went two different ways. They'll sign cheap vets looking to prove something or stay in the show, hoping they have a good first half and can be flipped into prospects.
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