Pittsburgh Pirates Wake Up Call – The GM Settles All Family Business

In our daily Wake-Up Call, we get you ready for the day with a complete look at all things Pittsburgh Pirates.

So Long, Mr. Hughes

In a shocking move, the Pittsburgh Pirates announced the release of RHP, Jared Hughes. I honestly don’t think anyone saw this coming. Hughes has been fairly poor this spring, pitching to an 11.57ERA in 9.1 innings of work. Many may have wanted Hughes released but I doubt anyone expected it to happen.

Jared Hughes has been a very good relief pitcher for the Pirates since his 2011 callup. He’s mostly cleaned up other people’s messes with a heavy use of his sinker. Hughes’ release is also a painful reminder of the human element to this game as he took to Twitter to say his goodbyes to the only organization he’s ever known:

Pittsburgh as a city and as an organization will forever be family to me. Thank you @Pirates, it was an honor to wear the black and gold.

— Jared Hughes (@locatejared) March 29, 2017

I don’t think anyone has a bad word to say about Jared Hughes, except for maybe Brandon Phillips. Let’s never forget the moment that “Big Bubba” forever became a part of the Pirates-Reds rivalry:

Here’s to you, Jared Hughes. I am sure all Pirates’ fans everywhere wish you nothing but the best and hope you catch on with another Major League bullpen very soon.

Hutch Optioned

In another surprise move, Drew Hutchison was sent down to the minors. Hutchison was coming off easily his worst start of a very bad Spring. He allowed nine runs on 10 hits in 3.1 innings. Some cynically believed he’d be forced into the rotation regardless of the results but those people were wrong.

The Francisco Liriano trade is still a poor trade but for now, Neal Huntington made the correct move in sending Hutch to the minors. Hutchison may eventually figure things out and become a consistent Major League pitcher but it won’t be at the start of the 2017 season.

Trevor Williams, one of the other fifth-starter candidates had a very good outing yesterday. He went four innings, allowed zeros runs on two hits and struck out six. Williams has looked the best in terms of results this spring as his most recent outing brought his Spring Training ERA down to a paltry 2.04. Tyler Glasnow will have his last Spring Training outing on Saturday as the Pirates travel to Montreal to play an exhibition game against the Toronto Blue Jays.

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