2019-20 MLB Running Hot Stove Thread

Not really what I meant.

 

Somehow, I feel confident that the Pirates will never have an issue with the luxury tax.

 

"We're excited about adding two young players of this caliber and the opportunity we'll have to help them continue to grow," Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said in a prepared statement. "In addition, we now have a greater ability to acquire impact-type talent in this year's international free agent market."

I'm impressed if Cherington managed to say that bit about acquiring an impact-type talent in any kind of free agent market with a straight face.

The Pirates are a joke. If they don't have the worst owner in the major sports in this country, he at least has to be in the conversation.

I get wanting to go to the occasional game. PNC Park is a great ballpark and it is still major league baseball, at least by the opposing team. I do not understand how people still buy season tickets and invest emotionally in that farce.

 

I bought into a season ticket package for four seats six rows behind the Pirates dugout. Cost $1,000 for four games, but they're all against the Cubs.

 

Buying tickets to games at PNC Park to support the visiting team makes sense. I think you know that isn't what I had in mind.

I get that seeing the game up close can be fun, but I wouldn't bother spending for seats that close. The sight lines are amazing in that place. I've watched games from all over the park and I don't think there is a truly bad seat other than the press box.

 

Oh, it's my second-favorite park behind Wrigley. I've sat all over. But my wife likes being that close to Kris Bryant, so she hopes he's not traded this year.

 

All things considered, for a 69-win team to trade a guy coming off a career year and will be 31 and potentially a free agent due to a team option, getting two prospects who are now 7th and 8th in your system rankings isn't terrible. And it's not like there was much hope going into the year based on any additions...what were they gonna do, win 73 games this year with Marte?

 

What the actual fuck?

 

I guess you could say it was a career year in that he isn't likely to do much better, but it wasn't an outlier. That said, you are taking the move out of context.

This is just the latest in a decades-long series of money-driven deals, one that cuts their payroll to $43.265 million in a time when there are players making over $30 million per season. Once again, the Pirates are unloading one of their best players and the return in prospects is nothing special. It isn't as if they had an overcrowded outfield. This trade leaves them with only two legitimate starters, Reynolds and Polanco, and the latter is coming off another serious injury. Both guys they got from the Diamondbacks are years away from the majors and neither was among their top five prospects. Teams know if they are willing to take on a decent-sized contract, they can get get players from the Pirates at a bargain rate because that is the way Pittsburgh has been doing business for over 20 years.

If the Pirates mixed in salary dumps like this with the occasional season in which they would go for it and add help when needed, that would be reasonable, but they don't. Even in their recent run of good teams, they were dumping salaries in the offseason.

At least the Pirates know how to time these things. They waited until a couple of days after the offseason PirateFest at PNC Park, which was held this past Friday and Saturday.

"Hey. Do us a favor and wait until after we're done feeding our season ticket holders bullshit about trying to compete for two days before we make this final, will ya?"

I'm actually embarrassed by how many people in my home town keep falling for their crap.

 

As OOP mentions, the main motivator seemed to be the Pirates continuing to cut their salary obligations. In that context, well, Cherington probably got a good return here, since he probably didn't have a ton of leverage. But if you're a fan hoping the team will be good in 2020, this trade isn't great, and there's no indication that the Pirates are, say, going to be active in the free agency market with the money they now have.

 

Is that for 16 games? Not bad?

Maybe I'll see you at one of those when I buy a seat in the row behind you for $20 on StubHub that morning.

 

They will wait until late in the process and pick up this year's equivalent of Melky Cabrera, a cheap option who would likely be a fourth outfielder on a decent team. That is if they sign any outfield help at all.

Josh Bell is only still a Pirate because he is relatively cheap at $4.8 million and he won't be a free agent until 2023. I'm guessing he will be gone before the 2022 season.

This should be particularly disheartening to Pirates fans watching what the Reds did this offseason. In a comparable market, they committed $164 million to four free agents, most recently Nick Castellanos. They also added Mike Moustakas to the offense and Wade Miley to the pitching staff. I'm not sure where Japanese outfielder Shogo Akiyama fits because their outfield is already crowded, but they are at least putting resources into the team rather than constantly selling off parts without getting value in return.