For the past couple of years, Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Jeff Locke has been a whipping boy for criticism among Pirates fans.
Much of that has been deserved as since Locke made the All-Star team in 2013, he hasn’t been nearly as effective for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
After Wednesday’s night’s performance in a loss against the Milwaukee Brewers in which the southpaw allowed five runs, seven hits and five walks in three-plus innings, frustration with Locke has hit an all-time high.
Pirates’ fans have had enough of Locke and their frustration is understandable. Despite showing some flashes early on and being tied for the team lead in wins with eight, Locke has been downright terrible of late.
UPDATE: as we were prepping this post, word came that the Pirates have effectively moved Jeff Locke to the bullpen
Next week, #Pirates will start Liriano on Tues & Cole on Wed v #Mariners. Jeff Locke will be available out of bullpen.
— RobBiertempfel (@RobBiertempfel) July 22, 2016
He’s been so bad that in his past seven starts Locke has an 8.39 ERA.
With young arms like Chad Kuhl and Tyler Glasnow (who is likely to start Saturday) sitting in the minors, it begs the question of whether or not Wednesday’s debacle was the last start Locke will make for the Pirates?
[perfectpullquote align=”full” cite=”” link=”” color=”#000000″ class=”” size=””]But with that being said, I can’t give Locke the ball anymore.[/perfectpullquote]Throw in the fact that the trade deadline is approaching and there are plenty of starters the Pirates are linked to and it is very possible the team will do whatever it can to avoid handing Locke the ball again his next turn through the rotation.
That especially rings true considering Kuhl tossed six innings of one-hit ball his last time out against the Washington Nationals.
Throughout his struggles, I have never been much of a Locke basher.
He’s a fifth starter. He performs the way most fifth starters in the league do. Sometimes you get a pretty good effort and sometimes you get what Locke has done recently.
Even with the team’s struggles early on, I never felt Locke was the problem. If the guys pitching ahead of him in the rotation were pitching up to their billing, then the Pirates would be in much better shape than they sit right now.
Locke at times this season has been very good. Given the performances of Francisco Liriano, Jon Niese and Juan Nicasio in the rotation to start the season, you can make the case that Locke was the best of that group for a while, which is sad and a major reason why the Pirates have had so much work to do in terms of their starting rotation.
Just a little over a month ago, Locke tossed 6.2 scoreless innings against the San Francisco Giants. He followed that up with one run in seven innings against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The Pirates are 9-9 in Locke’s 18 starts this season so he has given them a chance to win most times out.
That is exactly what a fifth starter is supposed to give you.
Locke clearly hasn’t been the Pirates biggest problem on their pitching staff this season.
But with that being said, I can’t give Locke the ball anymore.
In his past three starts since a masterpiece against the Dodgers on Jun 25, Locke has pitched a combined 12 innings. In that span he has allowed 13 earned runs on 16 hits while walking nine.
If the Pirates are serious about winning, they have to move on from Locke now.
It’s time to settle on a rotation and the best five options right now, barring a deal for a starting pitcher, are Gerrit Cole, Liriano, Jameson Taillon, Glasnow and Kuhl.
But don’t count on that being the case.
Neal Huntington may try and move Locke, but there won’t be much of a return. But at this point that is fine.
Many want Locke to be DFA’d and you can certainly make that case. But I will be shocked if that happens.
Locke can be kept under contact for at least two more years and he is cheap considering what starting pitchers make. Locke is making $3.025 million this season and is arbitration eligible for two more seasons. Even if he gets raises, they won’t be significant ones.
Unless the Pirates can trade Locke by the August 1 non-waiver deadline, I can’t see them just walking away from his contract.
The schedule up until then will help the Pirates hide Locke if they choose to do so.
After Saturday, because of days off, they won’t need a fifth starter again until after the trade deadline passes. I would expect Locke to be moved somehow. That also may mean that the team would like to showcase him one more time before the deadline approaches, so I wouldn’t be shocked to see him take his next turn in the rotation either.
But if Locke isn’t moved by August 1, you can pretty much count on him being a part of the rotation the rest of the season.
Has Locke made his final start for the Pittsburgh Pirates?
That should be the case, but it likely isn’t as he will probably get the ball at least one more time.
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