Free-agent infielder Sean Rodriguez, who played for the Pittsburgh Pirates from 2015 to 2016, will sign with the Atlanta Braves pending a physical, per Fox Sport's Ken Rosenthal. The deal is for two years and more than $11 million. Sources: #Braves in agreement with free-agent infielder Sean Rodriguez on two-year deal for more than $11M, pending physical. — Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) November 24, 2016 Last season, Rodriguez put up the best numbers of his career. While wearing the ... Read More
Pirates’ Marte cruises to 2nd Gold Glove Award
“And there was noooooo doubt about it,” former Pittsburgh Pirates broadcaster Lanny Frattare used to exclaim following a victory. With the season Starling Marte had in left field for the Pirates, there was no doubt about the 2015 Gold Glove winner taking home the award for the second year in a row. Once again, Marte used both his arm and glove to position himself among the league leaders in the outfield by leading all of Major League Baseball in outfield assists with 17. The 17 assists ... Read More
Starling Marte wins 2nd consecutive Gold Glove award
Pittsburgh Pirates left fielder Starling Marte won his second-straight Gold Glove Award, awarded to the best defensive positional player in each league, it was announced Tuesday. He beat out finalists Christian Yelich of the Miami Marlins and Adam Duvall of the Cincinnati Reds for the honor. The Gold Glove winners are voted on by MLB managers and coaches, and a sabermetric component is also factored into the decision. And apparently the voters, too, found it hard to ignore the fact that Marte ... Read More
Good off-season could put Pirates back in the mix
The Pittsburgh Pirates have laid the groundwork to compete with the Chicago Cubs. Hear me out. Pittsburgh has a good core of veteran players and a talented group of prospects who broke into the Majors last season; and the Pirates have even more young players set to help in 2017. That's not to say the Pirates can muscle their way past Chicago — well, they possibly could if the Cubs have a few injuries or drastically under-perform after winning the World Series. But, right now, a ... Read More
Pirates finalize 2017 coaching staff
The Pittsburgh Pirates announced several coaching changes for the 2017 season. Kimera Bartee was named the first base, outfield and base-running coach, Joey Cora was named the third base coach and infield coach and Tom Prince was named the bench coach. Bartee served as the Pirates' minor league outfield and base-running coach for nine seasons. He made several trips to Pittsburgh while filling this role, so he's familiar with the team and its strategy on the basepaths. He also served ... Read More
Column: No clear answer for team MVP
In many respects, it's hard to name an MVP for this year's Pittsburgh Pirates team. There isn't one name that truly sticks out — for once, center fielder Andrew McCutchen won't be topping this list. So, where does that leave us? The following had good seasons, but they still weren't the team MVP, so apologies to: David Freese: On the surface, this appeared to be a desperation signing by Pittsburgh. At the very least, it was a concession that third baseman Jung Ho Kang wouldn't be able ... Read More
Column: Great, now what?
Mercifully, the Pittsburgh Pirates' season (78-83) ended Sunday afternoon after a 10-4 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals. Let's be honest for a second, what reason is there for you to waste your time with another recap about how the bullpen didn't hold up their end of the bargain? None? That's what I thought, too. So, let's take a look at what needs to change for next season. This season has been over for some time now, arguably when the offseason ended and both Jeff Locke and Jon ... Read More
Pirates lose three-run lead, fall to Cardinals
The Pittsburgh Pirates had a chance to play spoiler for the St. Louis Cardinals' playoff hopes — they'd be eliminated with a loss and a San Francisco Giants win — but, despite a 3-0 lead before a Cardinal even stepped to the plate, Pittsburgh lost Saturday's game 4-3 at Busch Stadium. This defeat puts the Pirates at 78-82 on the season. Michael Wacha started for the Cardinals and pitched all of one inning. He threw 29 pitches and allowed the three runs on two hits. Those runs came when ... Read More
Pirates-Cubs game ends tied after rain delay
The word “tie” is very, very rarely used in Major League Baseball. But, Thursday night at PNC Park in front of 19,991 fans, that's exactly what happened. The Pittsburgh Pirates and Chicago Cubs tied 1-1 after an extended rain delay (one hour and 23 minutes) in the Pirates' final home game of the 2016 season. It was the first tie in the majors since 2005. The game, which was called in the top of the sixth inning, was declared a tie and not suspended because the game has no effect on the ... Read More
Jaso’s cycle, Taillon’s pitching give Pirates win vs. Cubs
Just one day after being eliminated from playoff contention, the Pittsburgh Pirates had a historic performance from first baseman John Jaso in an 8-4 victory Wednesday night against the Chicago Cubs. Jaso hit for the first cycle in PNC Park's 15-year history after he trippled off Pedro Strop in the seventh inning. “It's an interesting thing,” Jaso said to reporters after the game. “When you have a season where you don't really make it to the playoffs but there are these little moments ... Read More