The MLB Winter Meetings have arrived. The Hot Stove is about to heat up for the Pittsburgh Pirates and all of Major League Baseball
For a lot of fans, the MLB Winter Meeting is the official start of the Hot Stove season. Management from all 30 teams will be in Maryland with the hopes of improving their ball clubs and giving their fans World Series dreams.
The Pittsburgh Pirates under Neal Huntington have never been the most active team at the Winter Meetings. Leaving the headline-stealing moves to the Angels and Nationals of the world. However, the Pirates have made their share of very respectable and important movies over the last handful of years. They’ve also traded Neil Walker for Jon Niese. So, as in life, results may vary.
This year the Pirates enter the meetings with the pending trade of Andrew McCutchen hanging over their heads. However, it’s unlikely that’s the only move the Pirates make at the Winter Meetings. Today I am going to discuss a couple of scenarios for the Pittsburgh Pirates. One will be a realistic outcome, the other is a pipe dream and the last is one that will NEVER happen.
Realistic Move
In the past, the Pittsburgh Pirates have used the Winter Meetings to mostly improve their pitching rotation. Last year they traded for the disaster that was Jon Niese. 2015, the team traded for Antonio Bastardo. 2014, they signed Edinson Volquez. Are you starting to see a pattern here?
The most likely scenario is the Pirates will sign or trade for a pitcher that fans won’t get too excited about. The most obvious candidate is Derek Holland. Last month, MLB Trade Rumors reported that Holland and the Pirates have some interest in each other.
Holland fits the mold of a reclamation project the Pirates have become famous for over the last half-decade. Holland used to be a consistent workhorse for the Texas Rangers until injuries derailed him. From 2009-2013, he averaged nearly 160 innings per season with a 4.44ERA. Not exactly a superstar but for the American League, those are okay numbers.
Holland won’t exactly thrill the fans but if he bounces back to form he could be a steady contributor that gives you some quality and respectable innings. If he doesn’t work out, he’s potentially an injury plagued waste of money. Holland is not high risk, high reward. He’s more high risk, middle reward. If he pitches to his 2009-2013 form, he’s a perfectly acceptable middle of the rotation starting pitcher. Not exactly a pitcher that radically changes the fortunes of a team.
Pipe Dream
The offseason for a lot of teams is when they dream of big moves that put their team over the top in October. For the Pittsburgh Pirates, it’s generally been a series of minor moves over the years. You can debate that strategy and point to it not working in 2016. However, a lot of their moves paid off big time in 2013-2015.
Pipe Dreams to me represent something that COULD happen but deep down, you know it’s not likely. The Pirates saw this play out at the 2014 trade deadline when they were linked to Jon Lester and fans started dreaming of that scenario but in the end, it didn’t happen. It seemed likely at least for a few hours.
One of the teams the Pirates have often been compared to is the Tampa Bay Rays. They were the small market darlings from 2008 when they won the AL pennant until basically 2013, which was their last playoff appearance to date. The Rays have been an ace pitcher factory as James Shields lead to David Price. Price eventually gave way to Chris Archer. The Rays have report
The Rays have reportedly been at least taking calls about their All-Star pitcher. My pipe dream scenario involves the Pirates trading for Chris Archer.
It’s worth noting that a source told Pirates Breakdown that during the 2016 deadline, the Rays offered Archer to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Josh Bell, Steven Brault, and Kevin Newman. The Pirates obviously rejected that deal but it does show that the club has at least expressed an interest in the Rays’ ace.
The Pirates haven’t pulled the trigger on a trade of this caliber in a long, long time and it’s doubtful they will do it now. The team would benefit from a legit top of the rotation starter to help Gerrit Cole and give Jameson Taillon and Tyler Glasnow a bit more time to grow, develop and ease into their roles in the rotation. However, the Pirates seem dedicated to their youth movement.
Never Going to Happen
Another aspect of the Winter Meetings and the offseason is dreaming about your team suddenly changing their entire philosophy and making the big trade. For the Pirates, this pretty much seems like an impossibility. The phrase “Typical Cheap Nutting” has haunted Pirates’ fans for years. Even in the playoff seasons of 2013-2015, fans constantly called for the team to spend more money. It’s the nature of rooting for a small market team.
The Pirates seemed poised following the 2013 season to be the next dominant team in the NL Central. They had the young core and a fairly talented rotation. However, the Chicago Cubs finished their rebuild quicker than most expected and shot past the Pirates and everybody else, winning the World Series this past season. …sigh.
The “other” Chicago team has been in a state of purgatory for the last handful of years. The White Sox haven’t been terrible but they haven’t been good either. It’s the worst position to be in for a ballclub. You’re either a contender or you better be rebuilding in this game. The White Sox have a huge trade chip in their ace Chris Sale. The White Sox are asking for a lot and they absolutely should be. Chris Sale is one of the best in the game and he could help kick start a huge rebuild for the South Siders.
The asking for a top prospect is exactly why this trade will never happen for the Pirates. The Bucs are not in the business of giving away too much in trades. That’s not the way small market teams stay competitive in this game. The dreams of Sale taking the mound for the Pirates are exactly that, dreams. So if you want to see Sale pitching for the Pirates, load up MLB: The Show. That’s the only way it’s ever going to happen.
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Featured Photo Credit – Keith Allison – Flickr Creative Commons
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