Pittsburgh Pirates Wake-Up Call – Offensive Outpouring

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

In what was nothing short of an absurd, tense game, the Pirates won 12-9 over the Atlanta Braves last night to move to 21-17 on the year and to within 6.5 games of the Cubs in the NL Central. The Pirates notched a season-high 21 hits, yet also only won by three after taking a 9-0 lead after just two innings. The pitching staff and the bullpen remain a huge concern, but the offense continues to deliver. Hopefully this dynamic offense can keep buying the Pirates time until Tyler Glasnow and Jameson Taillon arrive mid-season.

It was good to see Andrew McCutchen tally three hits as he tries to rebound from a poor start to the year. Gregory Polanco continues to show why the Pirates got a steal with his contract extension as he also had three hits and is batting over .300. And Matt Joyce went 2-4 as he proves to be a quality bench bat that can fill in as a starter when needed.

Tony Watson and Mark Melancon, though both started off the year poorly, have recovered relatively well. But the rest of the bullpen is a disaster. To say Arquimedes Caminero is on thin ice would be putting the situation lightly. If I had to pick two guys to go from the pen once the mid-season shakeup hits with Glasnow and Taillon coming up and Jeff Locke and Juan Nicasio likely moving to the pen, I’d send Caminero and Ryan Vogelsong packing. Maybe the Pirates caught lightning in a bottle last season with Caminero, but they should consider replacing him before any more damage can be done.

But the biggest news of the day came off the field before the game started as it was announced that Francisco Cervelli had agreed to a three-year, $31 million extension with the Pirates.

BREAKING: The #Pirates & catcher Francisco Cervelli have agreed to terms on a 3-year contract extension through 2019 pic.twitter.com/lGRq71WYbv

— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) May 17, 2016

This is huge for a number of different reasons. First, it seems to be a team-friendly deal, considering there were rumors before the season that Cervelli was seeking a three-year, $39 million deal. Second, the Pirates have almost all of their entire position players locked up through at least 2018: Andrew McCutchen, Starling Marte, Gregory Polanco, Jung Ho Kang, Jordy Mercer, Josh Harrison, and now Cervelli. With Josh Bell in the wings as the first baseman of the future, and Gerrit Cole as the ace of the staff, the Pirates have a huge part of their core locked up for years to come.

Cervelli can also be the perfect catcher for young guns Glasnow and Taillon. There are honestly too many positives to this deal to discuss.

Yesterday’s Player of the Game

Who was your Player of the Game from tonight's 12-9 #Pirates win over the #Braves?

— Jason Rollison (@jrollisonpgh) May 18, 2016

Make sure to watch for this poll on our twitter feed after each game.

Baseball Talk from Around the Web

• Here’s Cervelli’s take on his extension that he penned for The Player’s Tribune. What a great character player the Pirates have.
• In the fallout from the Blue Jays-Rangers ordeal from over the weekend, Roughned Odor was suspended eight games and Jose Baustista was suspended one. 14 total players and staff members received discipline.
• The Braves fired manager Fredi Gonzalez before the game last night, but the Braves’ problems certainly go beyond Gonzalez.

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