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Jason Mackey's Pirates chat: 02.10.21
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Jason Mackey
11:23
Hello, everyone, and welcome to my weekly Pirates chat. We'll get started at noon, though unfortunately I have a meeting at 1 p.m. and will have to have a hard out then. Ask your questions now, and I will get to as many as I can. Thanks so much.
C. Roy
11:59
Any chance Cruz makes the opening day lineup? Other then Hayes who in this years lineup will still be there in 2022-23?
Jason Mackey
12:00
And away we go ... No, C. Roy, I don't see that happening. I like Oneil Cruz a lot, but I still think he's too raw. Ben Cherington has said they want SS to be Tucker, Newman or Gonzalez. Cruz does not yet know another position. He also has more development ahead with consistency, pitch selection, etc. Best to not rush him.
12:02
To your second part, I'll go Alford, Reynolds, Newman, Tucker and Stallings. Polanco won't be here, for sure. Same for Frazier, if he's here now. And I think Moran could hit well enough to get himself traded.
Ralph
12:02
Do you think they’ll trade Frazier soon to give 2B to Newman to prove himself?
Jason Mackey
12:02
I do, yes. I don't see how it furthers what the Pirates are doing to keep Frazier on the roster. I like him as a person and player. Just doesn't fit with the big-picture goals here, and there's interest.
greg
12:02
Jason, Since there was no minor league baseball last season will we see more player movement between the different levels or are most players already slotted? Also does the minor league systems use the DH or do the pitchers bat?
Jason Mackey
12:03
Minor leagues use the DH, first off. Which is yet another reason why it's so dumb the majors want pitchers to hit. To the first part, I don't think we know. Also don't think there's a blanket answer. It's gonna depend on guys and how much they got done at satellite game or on their own. That's different for everyone.
Danny
12:04
Are you anticipating any more Pirates trades before opening day?
Jason Mackey
12:04
Hey Danny. I am, yes. I think Frazier plus a reliever. Either Stratton or Rodriguez.
Danny
12:04
Start one, bench one, cut one Pirates edition: Clemente, Stargell, Parker
Jason Mackey
12:05
Ha, what? I don't like the idea of benching or cutting any of those guys. I guess you're asking me to rank them, to which I would say Clemente, Stargell, Parker. But, geez.
MjB
12:06
I think you can salve the pain of this year by signing some veterans that can be moved at the trade deadline.   In other words, these are the guys I think we could sign, utilize to avoid 100 losses, move at the trade deadline, while allowing the younger guys to develop.     1.  Catcher:  Matt Wieters, here to give Stallings a break, and a perfect long-term plan if Stallings gets hurt.  He is serviceable.   2.  Mitch Moreland, playing exclusively against righties, allows for a 1B backup should Moran or Hayes gets hurt.   3.  Neil Walker, would put butts in the seats because he is who he is, and yes, he would be someone moved at the deadline.  4.  Ryan Braun or Jay Bruce.  I would take Braun until the deadline.   He has historically hurt us, and that alone would be a reason to put him on your bench.  5.  Billy Hamilton, use him as a late season defensive guy and/or pinch runner when needed.  He can be easily moved if used that way.
Jason Mackey
12:08
I didn't catch a question in there, MjB, but here are some thoughts on that. 1. Teams generally don't trade for OTHER teams' backup catchers at the deadline. 2. Don't hate adding Moreland. 3. No. As much as I think they should add him for spring, because it would be fun, I don't see Neil as a good bet to flip at the deadline. 4. Ryan Braun apparently doesn't even want to play. Not sure I want that guy. Also not sure if I want him if he does want to play. ... 5. Don't hate it, but why? What are we doing here? Let Alford play. See if there's anything there. You know what Billy Hamilton is. And while he might be fun, he strikes me as Jarrod Dyson 2.0. I didn't like the first one enough to want to see the sequel.
MjB
12:08
6. Homer Bailey, James Paxton, or Colin McHugh. Bailey has always pitched well here, and all left-handers are welcome in PNC.  All three can be traded easily.
Jason Mackey
12:10
OK with any of those. Something to remember that I seemingly bring up every week: Think about this from the players' perspective. Why -- as much as I love Pittsburgh and PNC Park -- would they want to come here right now? Yeah, they might get flipped, cool. But we're talking about MLB vets here. If they have $3 million -- just making up numbers here -- from the Pirates but think they can get $1.5 million from a team expected to contend, which one do you think they're taking?
MjB
12:10
Sorry...7.  Mark Melancon.   That's an easy closer whom fans already like.  He will be easy to move.  That's it.  None of them will kill the minute budget, and it will make the first half palatable.
Jason Mackey
12:10
Same rules apply. Don't hate adding Melancon, either. Do I think they're going to do it? Heck no. But I don't hate it.
Ricky
12:10
Thoughts on puig to pittsburgh?
Jason Mackey
12:11
Finally, someone brings up the one guy who makes sense.
Mark M.
12:11
Are you surprised the Pirates haven't added a veteran starting pitcher? I'm thinking someone that can creditably take the mound every fifth day and bring some stability.
Jason Mackey
12:12
Super Genius, don't you have a show to prepare for? No, I'm not. Sounds insane, I know, but there's time. Players are waiting it out, trying to see what they can get. It's hardly uncommon to see teams sign guys once camp has started.
Justin
12:12
Do you think Gregory Polanco will be handed the RF job no matter what?  I feel like I'd rather see almost literally anybody else - who has a possible future past 2021 with the team - in RF. Combination of Evans, Oliva, Tucker, Moran, Stokes, whoever.   Even pretty good rental outfielders don't seem to fetch much at the deadline anyway.  (I suppose they COULD pick up Polanco's option for 2022 but that'd be a shock even if he bounced back to 2018 levels) so I just fail to see why they would want to give a ton of playing time to Polanco.
Jason Mackey
12:13
Hey Justin. I do, sadly. They have no other choice. They're paying him an absurd amount of money, they have nothing to lose (except games, but that will probably happen regardless), and they could maybe -- maybe -- help themselves by trading Polanco for a bag of balls or a long-shot prospects. (And I mean, really long shot.) So, you play him and hope for the best.
12:14
Personally, I would like to see Reynolds-Alford-Oliva out there, with a heavy rotation of Stokes just to see what he has. Maybe some other guys impress during spring training. But I think you're gonna see Polanco until they figure out, if anything, they can do with him.
Buzz
12:14
Seems they are "stuck" with Polanco. What do you do with him? Bench a prospect so he can play? What happens with Frazier?
Jason Mackey
12:15
I think Frazier will be traded. There's enough interest there. As I said before, it makes too much sense. Just opined on the Polanco thing above. If he's healthy, I think he'll be out there.
Justin
12:15
Do you think Travis Swaggerty debuts this year?
Jason Mackey
12:15
I do. And thanks for mentioning him. I should have included him in outfielders I'd like to see get a shot this year. Unless he's truly awful during spring training, I think he deserves a chance.
Justin
12:15
Is it naive to think that a June 2022 lineup consisting of, say, LF Reynolds, CF Swaggerty, RF Cruz, 3b Hayes, SS Solid Vet FA Andrelton Simmons type, 2b Gonzales, 1b Moran platoon, C Stallings,  might actually be possible and be pretty good?   The pitching prospect cavalry (Priester and 1st overall pick) would probably still be a ways off though.  It'd be pretty cool if they started to try to win as soon as next year.
Jason Mackey
12:17
I think you might be off in a couple areas. I like your outfield, provided Cruz learns the position. Might be a bit much. Curious where Oliva would fit. As of now, I think he makes more sense. But Cruz also has more upside. They're not going to sign a Simmons type, c'mon. Best we can hope for is Tucker or Newman to play well enough to stick, maybe the other goes to second. Moran platoon for now at first. Curious to see what Mason Martin does this year and if Will Craig ever shows anything.
wvpirate
12:17
What are the chances that after the strike is over there is a salary floor and ceiling in baseball? It needs to happen
Jason Mackey
12:18
First off, there's no guarantee there will be a strike. Just seems very, very likely given the vitriol that exists. And, honestly, I don't think the chances are good that there will be a cap and a floor in the next CBA, unfortunately. Until baseball admits there's a problem here -- and it has not -- then I don't see it actually getting fixed.
Justin
12:18
The 2020 pirates were always clearly going to be bad.   Therefore, why do you think Cherington held on to Bell and Musgrove as long as he did (holding on to Taillon was obviously required) ?  I gotta think 3 yrs of Bell and 3 yrs of Musgrove gets them at least moderately more in a deal than 2 and 2, and I just don't understand what he was trying to accomplish keeping them around in 2020.
Jason Mackey
12:20
I don't think he and they thought they would be as bad as they actually were. In all levels, I think Ben thought there was more here. Regarding Bell, I also think there was a hope that he would improve his stock. He didn't. So they moved. Joe's stock was in a good spot. My belief is they didn't commit to a full rebuild until this offseason, which brought those guys into the discussion. Before, there was a faint possibility they could sign here long-term.
Wayward Eer
12:20
There are still quite a few SP and OF's left on the FA market.  Are we getting to about the time the Bucs can pick some pieces up at prices closer to their liking?  If so, who makes sense, I kind of like Naquin and Mazara as OF options and Walker, Cahill or Porcello as SP.
Jason Mackey
12:21
Wayward, we're getting close, yes. Or at least I think so. I like the OF options you mentioned. The SP ones, too. I think they could benefit from having someone like Porcello, though I don't have any intel that they'll try to sign him. But as I've said, there are two sides to the equation here.
Jeff
12:21
Do you think Ben C is having trouble signing a starting pitcher, outfielder or reliever because players don’t want to join a 100 loss team?
Jason Mackey
12:22
I don't think that's the only factor, but I do think it is a factor. And it's not a slight against the Pirates. They are what they are. When you're competitive, players want to come play for you. When you're expected to finish last, it's a harder sell. But if you find the right guys, you can sell them on opportunity that might not be available in other markets, and Ben has talked about that.
Justin R.
12:22
Hey Jason -- Appreciate your excellent coverage during the offseason. The Bucs have a number of young, talented arms in the system. What criteria are important to you in evaluating those pitchers and their likelihood of success?
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