Pittsburgh Pirates General Manager Neal Huntington went on MLB Network Tuesday night to discuss the state of the club and the direction that they are going.
Thanks to the club’s elevated play on the field, Huntington has found it easier than it has before to get into discussions with other agents and teams because the Pirates aren’t seen as a bottom feeder anymore.
Other players have found more interest with the organization thanks to their 182-142 record over the past two seasons and reinvigorated fan base and free agents that have been with the team in the past want to come back (i.e. Francisco Liriano and A.J. Burnett).
“What’s been so phenomenal over the two years that we’ve been a playoff caliber team is that more and more guys are wanting to come back to Pittsburgh,” said Huntington. “Not only is Francisco staying in Pittsburgh, but we’re becoming a place that agents are calling us. I met with more agents this winter meetings than I’ve ever met with in the past. We’ve had more agents reach out to us than in the past vs. us having to chase their guys.”
This seemed to have helped out in discussions with free agent Francisco Liriano as he came to an agreement with the club hours before the full free agent pitching market was established. Having a draft pick connected to him helped fend off other teams, but Liriano still agreed to a 3-year/$39 million amount that is less than most expected he’d sign for.
“We hoped that we would be able to retain him,” said Huntington. “We were aggressive in the process. We stayed with him, and I think, quite honestly, if this comes to fruition, Francisco probably left money on the table to come back to Pittsburgh. It’s an environment that he’s comfortable in. He likes his teammates, he loves the city and he’s done some wonderful things for us in his two years.”
Huntington knows the right signings don’t just happen because of him, but because of his staff, scouts and other people within the organization. He also know’s that not all negotiations end with a contract signing and you need a plan b in case things go south.
The Pirates have executed their plan b so far this season in trading for Francisco Cervelli after being unable to re-sign Russell Martin. The Liriano agreement is another piece of that plan b due to the excess money that wasn’t used for Martin. Baseball is a mental game as much as it is physical. If you’re able to make the correct moves, you’ll be able to compete.
“You rely on some really smart people that you work with to help you continue to find those advantages and you continue to move forward and you can’t fall in love with one type of player,” said Huntington. “You have got to continue to be nimble, gotta continue to be mobile. It is getting more difficult and we had a plan had we lost Francisco or if we lose Francisco Liriano. We had a plan on how to attack maybe another weakness in the market, but we’re always going to have to take chances. We just take smaller-dollar chances than some of the larger-market teams.”
Huntington knows that with a small-market team like the Pirates, the ability to take chances with players is small and the money that they have needs to be spent in the right way to the right person. Even though Owner Bob Nutting takes the brunt of the criticism about spending, the final decision to spend is upon Huntington.
“We’ve been fortunate, and our owner takes a lot of grief. What we take in, we spend. and anything that we have left at the end of the year is because of the decisions I make on the money and not because he told us that we need to keep x number of dollars for profit. It’s because of a decision I made not to spend money and we’ve been aggressive. We’re still being aggressive in the draft and internationally. The ability to try our draft pick last year, to try to keep this thing going forward with our ability to acquire amateur players. We’re now playing on a different part of the pool in the free agent market. We need to be right. We understand that. Our margin for error is smaller than most, but we are. We’re pouring money right back into this club as quickly as we can.”
Huntington’s full interview with MLB Network can be viewed below.
(Credit: MLB)
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(Photo Credit: Charles LeClare / USA Today Sports)
