Welcome to the weekly Pittsburgh Pirates Rumor Mill, where we update you on all of the latest Pirates trades, signings, rumors, injury news, promotions, demotions, and the like from the past week.
If the Pittsburgh Pirates have one area of weakness that they can improve upon with new players, it’s the back-end of the bullpen. The offense is set, both in the everyday lineup and on the bench, and the only way the Pirates are going to improve in this regard is by their own players playing better. And we’re seeing this right now with Andrew McCutchen and Jung Ho Kang. The bench is also arguably one of the best in baseball, and one of the best we’ve seen the Pirates have in a long time.
The team could add another starter, but I doubt this. Chad Kuhl, Ryan Vogelsong, and Ivan Nova are doing enough right now to get by, and by the time the deadline comes, will the Pirates have seen enough out of Vogelsong or Nova to replace either of them as a starter? I don’t think so. Luckily the rotation as a whole is pitching very well right now, although it might be questionable if the Pirates have it to the NLDS.
But the bullpen can certainly be improve. Juan Nicasio and Jeff Locke make me nervous, even if Locke hasn’t allowed a run yet as a reliever in his small sample size. I say if you can improve, do so, and there are cheap ways of doing that. Maybe make a trade, or sign a free agent, or even call up a minor league. But we’ll get to various options in a bit. First, let’s check the injury circuit.
Injury Updates
The Pirates currently only have two players on the disabled list: Chris Stewart and Tyler Glasnow. Both are currently rehabbing, and both could help the Pirates make a playoff push the sooner they return. Here is the latest on each player:
Chris Stewart is with the Curve in Portland. Batting fifth and catching tonight in game one of the DH. #Pirates pic.twitter.com/v63xbOE7F4
— Trey Wilson (@treywilson757) August 16, 2016
Tyler Glasnow threw a bullpen Tuesday and will throw another one before making another rehab start, head athletic trainer Todd Tomczyk said.
— Adam Berry (@adamdberry) August 17, 2016
Hopefully both return soon.
Minor Moves
The Pirates made no moves of note over the past week, outside of sending both Stewart and Glasnow to Double-A Altoona for rehab assignments.
Internal Bullpen Options
One way the Pirates can improve their bullpen is internally, and the Pirates certainly have options in this regard. Once Tyler Glasnow returns, why not use him out of the bullpen? He’s a hard thrower whose fastball might top out higher than either Vogelsong or Nova’s, and top pitching prospects do sometimes begin their careers out of the bullpen in their first major league season. Heck, it’s where Julio Urias is for the Dodgers right now. I understand the Pirates would prefer to keep Glasnow stretched out, but his major league service clock is already running, and if he could benefit the major league squad right now, I’d use him out of the bullpen this year.
There are also some relievers that can help the team down in Triple-A Indianapolis. Drew Hutchinson is down there, and it remains to be seen whether he’ll be used as a starter or a reliever if and when he comes to the majors on September 1st. Trevor Williams has pitched well all season long, and Frank Duncan has come out of nowhere to dominate batters with a 2.06 ERA. When rosters expand, we may get a chance to see these guys in the majors. But come playoff time, maybe one of them would be a better option than Nicasio or Locke.
External Bullpen Options
Ideally, the Pirates would go with Glasnow, or pursue a proven, external arm that team would be more confident in. Let’s start out by crossing Jonathan Papelbon off the list. His character issues would not jive with the Pirates dugout, which has been known for its loose atmosphere and the chemistry the players have together over the past few seasons. Plus, the back-end of the bullpen is solid with Tony Watson, Neftali Feliz, and felipe Rivero occupying the last three innings.
I still like Joba Chamberlain, who is still out there as a free agent and could come on the cheap. It wouldn’t hurt to look into him.
The Braves just activated Arodys Vizcaino off the disabled list yesterday, and he was a popular bullpen name before he was placed on the DL right before the non-waiver trade deadline. Jeanmar Gomez is still with the Phillies and is having another quality year. Maybe Brad Hand could be quietly claimed off waivers from the Padres. And it wouldn’t hurt to check out guys placed on waivers by the Reds and Brewers, such as Tony Cingrani and Tyler Thornburg.
I named National League pitchers because it’s much easier to get NL players as opposed to AL players via the waiver wire. Most of the quality players won’t make it to the Pirates from the AL, but they could be in a good spot to claim players if they’re coming from the bottom of the NL. The bad teams might not make many claims, and the best teams will have to wait until the Pirates have a shot at a player before they do. It will be interesting to see if the Pirates make any moves before the end of August.
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