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Jason Mackey's Pirates chat: 01.22.26
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Jason Mackey
11:34
Hello, everyone. Thanks for finding my weekly Pirates chat. Especially excited for this one, for some reason. You know the drill. We'll get started at noon, but please feel free to fire away now.
12:00
And away we go ...
Saint
12:00
It’s looking more and more that Cherington isn’t going to add much more of significance. Assuming Gonzalez and Triolo start as SS and 3B, horrifying assumptions, who are the 13 non-pitchers (and their positions) likely to be? Let’s hope that Griffin and Garcia are ready from the jump or they’re a .500 team.
Jason Mackey
12:02
I don't think we know that for sure. You'd certainly like to see them sign people. Don't disagree with that. But there are still plenty of good players available.

I would be surprised if it's Triolo & Gonzales starting on the left side come opening day. One of them, sure. But if you miss on a FA/trade third baseman, you darn well better extend Griffin.

Don't know about you, but I would be fine with Triolo if it meant Griffin started up here with a contract extension.
Tim
12:02
Hi Jason.  Thank you for your great work.  Do you think the Pirates will align the rotation/schedule to have Paul Skenes pitch the Pirate Opener?
Jason Mackey
12:08
Hi Tim, thank you. I'm guessing you have tickets.

That's a tough call. Short answer: I don't know. If you made me pick, I'd say no, simply because it is technically 1 of 32 and likely already a sellout. However, the calendar would look something like this:

3/26 Skenes
3/27 OFF
3/28 Starter 2
3/29 Starter 3
3/30 (at CIN) Starter 4
3/31 Starter 5
4/1 Skenes

Could you push Skenes back? Sure. But you're making him wait two additional days and probably going bullpen day because it would be short rest for Starter 2, and that ain't happening.

My guess -- again, nothing official -- is that they just roll through 1-2-3-4-5 and Skenes starts again on 4/8.
John
12:08
Jason, Paul Skenes is going to be an historical figure in baseball history. He's going to go down with the all time greats. I don't care what the Pirates have to do, bring in minority owners, bring in private equity, give Skenes a percentage of ownership, but they can't just trade him away. That's why baseball looks so bad. If the Steelers had a 23 year old QB who was the best in the league, we'd know he's going to be here for the next 15 or so years.
Jason Mackey
12:09
They need to win, John. This is a moot point. Skenes wants to win. He needs to know it's gonna happen here. Until that happens, it's a waste of time.

I can tell you with absolutely certain, the dude is obsessed with & addicted to winning. If they win, the discussion changes.
Jamie
12:09
If no Suarez at 3b, do you see trying Gonzales there?  Does he have the arm? That is of course if Konner Griffen makes the opening day roster at SS. I see 15-20 HRs for Gonzo with a 250 BA. Better than what Triollo could do.
Jason Mackey
12:10
I think Triolo is a more likely play at third base. I also think they'll add someone. But Triolo is better defensively. And if they had to -- also don't think this'll happen, as I said earlier -- Gonzales would profile better at SS.
eyrich
12:10
Thanks Jason for being a trusted journalist. How important to the GM is defense vs offence for the left side of the infield?
Jason Mackey
12:10
I try. Ha.

They're willing to sacrifice on defense. They know they need offense. I can't put a percentage on it, but it's why I think you will see them add someone with a better track record of hitting at the MLB level than Triolo.
Butch
12:11
Thoughts on giving KG a contract to show the fans that you are willing to invest in your own players.  If it takes a month to get him to the major leagues starting at AAA so be it.  Hope that we get the second half Triolo at 3rd base.  Then seek that third baseman at the deadline provided Triolo doesn't work out.  They should have the financial flexibility at the deadline to make this model work.
Jason Mackey
12:12
That would be my play, Butch. I mean, ideally I'd like to see them sign Suarez to play third, extend Griffin & use Triolo as a bounce-around guy. I also don't think that'll happen.

But I've said and written this a bunch, the best money they can spend this offseason would be getting something done with Konnor Griffin. He's gonna be a star. And they can get about a 60% discount if they do it now.
demosthenes98
12:12
Enjoyed your article yesterday about Paul Skenes's training. One of the commenters on the story suggested that, in an attempt to keep Skenes, the Pirates offer him, not just a huge contract, but an ownership stake in the team. As far as you know, are player-owners permitted in MLB? If so, wouldn't Skenes be a vastly better owner than Bob Nutting?
Jason Mackey
12:13
Ha. I don't even know if it's possible. And it wouldn't move the needle with Skenes. Thank you for the kind words on the article, BTW.

I stand by what I said before. Have to win. If that happens, maybe they can find a number that works. I don't think there will be an ownership stake involved, because I'm not sure that would mean all that much to Paul.
demosthenes98
12:13
Is it safe to say that Paul Skenes has gotten to where he is in MLB by completely and utterly ignoring the feeble attempts at coaching by Bob Nutting's employees? Wouldn't the rest of the Pirates' pitchers be better off listening to Skenes instead of the pitching coaches?
Jason Mackey
12:14
Not at all. He liked Oscar Marin a lot. So did plenty of pitchers. I know you're performing and trying to show anger toward Nutting, which is fine and fair. But Skenes has been a good teammate and also likes what he likes, and the Pirates have respected that. Not about to cross that wire with their lack of spending, bad trades or any of the other shortcomings.
demosthenes98
12:15
After seeing the Pirates get a Cy Young winner with absolutely no effort, I have to wonder--should the MLB draft lottery formula start taking into account whether or not the teams are worthy of top prospects?
Jason Mackey
12:15
Not in my opinion, no. Don't see how you can imbue subjectivity into something like that.
demosthenes98
12:15
Given that the Mets, the Pirates' first opponent of the season, just traded for Freddy Peralta, is it possible that the season opener will be moved off of NBC due to how grossly mismatched the teams are?
Jason Mackey
12:16
If they don't relegate the Pirates to Triple-A first. Fingers crossed.

Who dumped something in your cereal this morning? My goodness.
Joel
12:16
Jason, great reporting on Paul Skenes. He is unique. Now with all the recent free agent signings both major and minor, the Pirates seem to be in a difficult spot related to their need for a third baseman. Suarez doesn’t seem plausible, and BIchette rejecting the Phillies means that they still need Bohm. Is it dumpster diving time or is there a viable alternative to fill this gap?
Jason Mackey
12:17
Hey Joel. Thank you. There are still options. I still think Bohm could be in play. Josh Jung and Jordan Westburg are options. You could also pivot, play Triolo & extend Griffin, as I've been saying. Isaac Paredes is another. Not a super ideal fit, if you look at his spray chart, but my point is that they're not screwed.
RS
12:17
Are there changes you would like to see when the CBA expires at the end of the year? I can't see how salaries can continue to climb as they have being a good thing for baseball. Thank you.
Jason Mackey
12:18
Yeah, a cap, floor and revamped revenue sharing. I wanna see MLB operate as much like the NFL as possible, right up there with nationalizing and better branding its stars. I think baseball could get there if it thought a little differently.

Do I think that'll happen? No. Because baseball doesn't want to change.
BillC
12:18
With Yoan Moncada thankfully resigning with the Angels are we moving closer to Triolo at third on opening day or do you think something else is still possible externally?
Jason Mackey
12:18
I think something else is still possible.
62 Stack Monster
12:18
Hi Jason, I enjoyed your article about Skenes, in particular his hatred of the word urgency, as it relates to the offseason.  His rhetorical question, "what have we been doing all of these other **** offseasons?" plays well to me as I'm sure other fans as well.  So, why and what is so different now? They dumped or traded a lot of salary away (Bednar, Falter, Pham, Hayes, Cutch-not signed as yet), so the spending difference is negligible.  If they need so many bats/changes, why wasn't that addressed over the past 6/7 years?
Jason Mackey
12:21
I don't disagree with you. They should have acted like this last offseason, if not before. That being said, from 2020-22 they clearly weren't trying to win. Then they took some steps in '23, jumping from 62 to 76 wins, and then they had a lousy offseason. Moves they made didn't work out.

Bottom line, and Paul will hate this, but they haven't displayed enough urgency -- until this offseason. And they shouldn't be done.
62 Stack Monster
12:21
Jason, as a paying subscriber to the Post Gazette, I'm really disappointed in the decision to close in early May.  Any chance that you may go the route that DK Kovacevic went and start your own sports column/podcasts or jump to the Trib like Starkey?  I enjoy your writing and insights to R Pirates and R Stillerz, (I'm not really a hockey fan) and I'd hate to see you become a writer for the Toledo Blade or Cleveland Plain Dealer.
Jason Mackey
12:22
I'm disappointed, too. We all are. But we aren't giving up hope. Our goal is to produce the best product possible for as long as possible.

I'm a fairly positive person, and I pray about things (as far as I'll go on religion). So I'm gonna do that and hope something changes.
FirstTimeLongTime
12:23
Hey JM - The Bucs should be looking at the trade market and remaining FA to bring in a difference making bat at 3rd base (open to SS like CJ Abrams, we'll solve the KG issues when he arrives). They've spoken openly about increasing payroll but it seems like more of a reallocation of resources.  Given what we see day to day in terms of contracts around the league we're just asking for that 125-135mil payroll.  The division has gotten better, so we need to do more.
Jason Mackey
12:24
Not sure they've spoken openly about increasing payroll, first off. They did leak that they'd be spending $30-$40 million, but national folks seemed to fall for the narrative that it would be $30-$40 million on top of last year's payroll. No.
12:25
Their payroll will fall somewhere between $100-$110 million, I would imagine. Which is a nice bump, certainly. I like it. Though I'm also not propping it up as something transformative.

Anyway, not sure of your question, but they can add a 3B bat, a pitcher (which they need) and probably something else. I'd like to see them do it before ST, which is still possible.
Bob Hoover
12:25
Why did PG ignore the death of Wilbur Wood?
Jason Mackey
12:27
I don't know, Bob. I'm not in charge of obits. I will say that I don't think it's something glaring omission like we disrespected a World Series winner for the Pirates.
FirstTimeLongTime
12:27
Hey JM - I know this is a tough one to guess at but are there any minor league guys knocking down the door or blocked by established players available?  Thinking 3B, OF , SS or honestly any big bat (still looking to add to that power number).
Jason Mackey
12:28
Are you talking all orgs or just the Pirates? Not really with the Pirates. I don't think you're gonna see Flores unseat Davis or Yorke knock off Triolo or Gonzales, if that's what you're asking.
martian
12:28
Good morning Mr. Mackey. Any word on any more potential bats being added to the lineup. Should we just get comfortable with Triolo being 3rd base answer?
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