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Jason Mackey's Pirates chat: 11.16.23
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Justin
12:58
Do you get the sense that anyone with the team is bothered by the fact that there is currently precisely one dependable decent starting pitcher on the 40 man roster entering year 5 of a rebuild (and he was inherited from before their rebuild, to boot!)?  Obviously the "sell" trades provided them with a few hitters, and the draft gave some interesting pitchers not quite yet in the mix, but man, the lack of success finding starting pitchers who become successful has to bug them, right?
Jason Mackey
12:59
I'm sure there are people unhappy with the pitching situation, sure. But I think a large part of that can & will go away if the Pirates do some things this winter. I would also argue -- and I'm not defending this; I think there should have been more urgency -- that they've set the target window opening further out, meaning they believe they have pitching en route at Triple-A and Double-A. But do they take the pitching situation as seriously as they should? Yeah, I wonder that sometimes, too.
D Mountain
1:00
Jason, just the ole’ gunslinger checking in. Please make sure Ben has my new cell if you see him. Just switched carriers to save a few bucks. Thanks.
Jason Mackey
1:00
Will do, Rich. How is Consumer Cellular, BTW?
Brady C
1:00
Would you consider the Pirates to be a top 3 landing spot for Yariel Rodriguez? Any news on the Pirates' interest in having him around?
Jason Mackey
1:01
I'd be surprised. Here are the teams that have expressed interest: Astros, Yankees, Rangers, Pirates, Dodgers, Blue Jays, Phillies, White Sox, Mets and Giants. Hard to believe the Pirates would be top-3 in there. The Pirates remain interest, but I'm not sure I see it working out.
Canyon
1:01
Was the Oviedo injury found out when we found out or did the club already know about?
Jason Mackey
1:01
The club knew about it.
Stash
1:01
Jason, Starkey claims that Wille the Starge was not the most convivial of interview subjects. What are the odds it was actually Starkey’s fault for the terse exchange?
Jason Mackey
1:03
When in doubt, always blame Joe Starkey. I hope he sees this, too. I texted him to say I liked one of his columns, and he gave me the 'ol Bellefonte Snorkle.
Sam
1:03
Realistically, when could we Skenes in the bigs? I have a feeling they will manipulate his service time
Jason Mackey
1:04
I worry about that, too. But they're gonna look awful dumb if they're keeping Skenes in Triple-A, talking about his changeup, if he's going 6-7 scoreless with 10 strikeouts every night and they need pitching.
Justin
1:04
over or under 30 games at catcher for Davis next yr?
Jason Mackey
1:04
Upset alert: I'll go over.
Wayward
1:04
Jason, Thanks for the chat.  Where do you see the holes in the Bucs minor league system?  Power, more leftie pitching, etc...
Jason Mackey
1:05
Power, yes. I'm sure a lot of teams would say that. Maybe outfielders as well. I like the group of middle infielders they have. Pitching, too. But outfielder, it's a tad thin. And I'm surprised they haven't been able to scare up a 1B option.
1:06
Bug would be my pick as well, but I also like "Heavy Things," covered by Sadler Vaden of Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit fame.
Trey
1:06
Jason, my favorite cover on Cluster Flies is Bug. Can you name one you enjoy?
BVA123
1:06
Anything you’ve heard yet? Based on the interest of free agents?
Jason Mackey
1:07
Not a ton of whispers coming out of there, honestly. I'm sorry.
SteeloCity
1:07
Hey Jason, any chance we go after Cal Quantrill? I know you originally mentioned a list of Flaherty, Severino, Montas, Gibson, Miley. Would you put Quantrill in that tier?
Jason Mackey
1:07
Said this before, based on his salary & what happened in '23 -- injuries, poor performance -- I have a tough time seeing it work out.
Justin
1:07
Do you think the Pirates will spend at least 15 million per year on a free agent this offseason?
Jason Mackey
1:07
No, I don't. I think any yearly salary will be below that.
Justin
1:07
Has there been any talk of putting Davis through a proper offseason program for outfield fielding?   I have almost no doubt he's enough of an athlete and baseball rat that he could become above average at it with enough work.
Jason Mackey
1:08
Their emphasis has been catching. Not sure I agree with it -- I would do what you're saying -- but they're asking him to prepare as a catcher, thinking there's still future there. And I do believe there could be. I just think it makes the most sense for the composition of their team for him to move to RF and figure that out.
Pirates101
1:08
Best option for starting pitcher in FA for the Pirates?
Jason Mackey
1:09
Aaron Nola? Blake Snell? Jordan Montgomery? ... OK, they're not realistic. Ha. The best fit, IMO, is Jack Flaherty on a multi-year deal. Bet on him. Commit to him. Ask him to come in here and be a leader. I think he has the stuff & makeup to do it.
George Costanza
1:10
Hello Jason. How about Garret Cole winning the Cy Young? Is Paul Skenes the only hope for the next Pirate Cy Young winner?
Jason Mackey
1:10
Happy for Gerrit. He's one of the good ones. Possibly, yeah. Either him or Mitch Keller. But if Skenes reaches his crazy high ceiling, would have to think he's their best shot.
DZO
1:11
We know that the Pirates are looking for starting pitching.  Is there any indication that they might go for a mid-tier starter looking for a 3-4 year deal, or should we expect more 1-year/$6m signings?
Jason Mackey
1:11
I think they could sign a guy for multiple years, sure. But remember, guys who get those are really good ... they command a nice chunk of change, and they have options. That's often why you see the Pirates left sorting through the one-year bin.
Sam
1:11
When do you expect to start seeing some activity happen? Around the winter meetings or do you think we’ll get some action before that?
Jason Mackey
1:12
There might be some soon. Maybe GMs get restless around the holidays. I think MLB wants this week to be about awards and such. After that, probably a trickle leading into the Winter Meetings.
Marc
1:12
any chance we get a decision on local tv in the next few weeks?
Jason Mackey
1:12
I've heard first week of December is a target date. So, yeah.
Noah
1:12
Any potential sleeper prospects that might make their debut this year other than the obvious big names?
Jason Mackey
1:12
They just protected one: Braxton Ashcraft. Wouldn't shock me if you see him in Pittsburgh. Don't know how much of a sleeper that is, though.
Johnny M
1:12
Any news on Cruz playing Winter Ball in the Dom Rep?
Jason Mackey
1:13
Nothing yet. But I'm expecting him to do that, FWIW.
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