First off, let’s get one thing straight; Pirates’ management has done a fantastic job to turn the team around in a few short years. Not too long ago, it was hoping and praying that the Pirates could win as many games as they would lose. Now, national media outlets are predicting the Pirates to win the World Series.
Seriously, let that sink in for a minute.
Back?
OK, let’s continue then.
The one issue I do have is not that the Pirates are too cheap, or they let their star players walk/trade them once their value is too high. No, that’s not it at all.
It’s that they let them go too early in the developmental process, allowing them to break out elsewhere, and we’ve seen it too many times under Huntington’s watch.
First, which is an isolated case, is Jose Bautista. In 2006, a year before Huntington was brought on, Bautista his .235 with 16 home runs and 51 RBI. In 2007, he hit .254 with 15 homers and 63 RBI. Bautista was optioned to Triple-A in 2008, before being traded to the Toronto Blue Jays in the infamous Robinson Diaz deal. To be fair to the Pirates, Bautista cleared waivers before being dealt, so it wasn’t just them who missed out on the star. When the Pirates let Bautista walk, he was 27.
Then you have Brandon Moss. Moss was acquired from the Boston Red Sox in the Jason Bay deal. In Moss’ only full season with the Pirates, he his .236/.304/.364 with seven home runs and 41 RBI in 133 games. After a very brief stint with the Phillies, Moss went on to become a slugger for the Oakland A’s, hitting 76 home runs in three seasons before being traded to Cleveland this past offseason. When the pirates got rid of him, he was 26.
Then there is Steve Pearce. You remember him, right? The Four-A player who could never really get it going at the Big League level for the Pirates? But maybe, just maybe, he was never given a fair shot.
In his time with the Pirates, Pearce never played in more than 60 games and had over 150 at bats just once. In that stretch, he hit .206 with four home runs and 16 RBI. Last year with the Orioles, Pearce hit 21 home runs and hit .261. In his first two games of 2015, he went deep.
So was it that he wasn’t any good, or did he not get the repetitions?
An argument could be heard for either side, but take a look at what Josh Harrison had to say about his breakout season last year.
“This past year was memorable for me because it was my first season with a substantial amount of playing time. If you look at my previous years, I think I had as many at bats this year as the previous years combined,” Harrison said. “It’s repetition. In any job, you won’t get better if you do your job two days a week. You need to do it consistently.
“And that’s not a shot at Clint Hurdle at all. I love the man. Everyone has a different process of playing time. My first few years was a learning experience for me. I was never a guy who didn’t play, so it was a big adjustment for me.”
Harrison was named the 2014 Pittsburgh Sporting News athlete of the year, but if he never got his fair shot, would he be playing his All-Star ball for some other team, too? Pearce was 28 when he was let go, and Harrison is 27 now.
Notice a trend?
That’s three guys the Pirates gave up on that went on to star for other teams, and the next one was just traded away this past offseason when Huntington dealt Travis Snider to the Baltimore Orioles for Stephen Tarpley.
And no, it’s not an overreaction to Snider going 4/5 with three RBI in his first two games with the Orioles. It’s about last year, too.
While Gregory Polanco’s performance was the reason that his hype train came to a stop, it was Snider who kept it there.
Snider’s performance kept Polanco on the bench, as he was the regular starter in right field for the Pirates down the stretch. In August, he hit .274/.315/.452 with three homers and 10 RBI. In September, he kept it going with a .273/.377/.500 slash and three home runs and six RBI.
The trade to this day makes no sense, as Snider is the perfect fourth outfielder to have. Oh, by the way, Snider is just 27.
Don’t be surprised when the former prized prospect is slugging his way through the league.
But hey, maybe there’s still hope for the 26-year-old Andrew Lambo, right?
