The process may as well be a set schedule by now.
December-February: The Pittsburgh Pirates acquire a struggling pitcher with some past success. The acquisition gains little attention nationally; fans give mixed reactions.
May: After a few appearances, the pitcher is making a positive impact. Fans are cautiously optimistic. Nay a peep from the national media, though.
August: The pitcher is having a great season. He has won the support of the fan base; pitching coach Ray Searage gets lauded nationally for being a magician with pitchers.
November-December: The pitcher ends up trading their successful season for a bigger contract. Some sign with the Pirates, others sign elsewhere. Many wonder how their void can be replaced (if they left).
Repeat the steps.
Since Ray Searage was hired as the Pittsburgh Pirates pitching coach, this has been the typical cycle for the Pirates. A.J. Burnett, Francisco Liriano, Edinson Volquez, Mark Melancon and J.A. Happ (though his cycle was much more abbreviated) have all gone through this process. A process which has proved it works.
The Pirates need at least one more starting pitcher now that Happ has signed with the Toronto Blue Jays, though they may prefer a second to give Jeff Locke competition for the fifth starter spot or insurance if someone gets injured, so it would not be a surprise if this is the method they use to round out their rotation.
So now the question is, who is next?
The Pirates typically like players that have struggled with command, usually due to that pitcher’s mechanics. A high strikeout and groundball rate is also preferred. Luckily for the Pirates, there are a few pitchers available who fit that mold (note, this does not include guys like Scott Kazmir or Mike Leake, who are not considered reclamation projects).
Trevor Cahill — Buster Olney tweeted Sunday that Cahill was considering signing with the Pirates on a one-year deal. Not much has been reported on this since, nor has it gotten out if the Pirates have made him an official offer, but he fits the mold the Pirates are looking for. After finishing in the top 10 of the Cy Young voting in 2010, Cahill has bounced around the majors. Last season, the 27-year-old spent time with the Atlanta Braves and Chicago Cubs. He struggled with the Braves, but fared better out of the Cubs’ bullpen. His struggles began after a 2013 hip injury, which may have thrown his mechanics off. The Pirates typically find players like that and try to revert them back to their original mechanics. He could be used as a starter or reliever.
Justin Masterson — Travis Sawchik tweeted Tuesday that the Pirates are interested in Masterson, likely on a one-year deal. An All-Star in 2013 with the Cleveland Indians, Masterson has also since pitched with the St. Louis Cardinals and Boston Red Sox, both of which he struggled for. He is a groundball pitcher with a 7.5 career K/9 ratio, which isn’t great but not terrible either. His walk numbers have risen since his All-Star season, though that hasn’t deterred the Pirates in the past. The big issue with him is his decline in velocity. His average pitch velocity has gone down every year since 2013, dropping to 87.4 MPH in 2015. He will also be 31 in March, so there could be worries he may just be starting to decline.
Tim Lincecum — This name may draw the most appeal to Pirates fans, but he may not make the most sense for the club. For one, Searage has not worked with someone with a motion as unorthodox as Lincecum’s in Searage’s time with the Pirates, so it is hard to predict what would happen if any adjustments are made to Lincecum’s delivery. The two-time Cy Young winner for the San Francisco Giants has seen a steep decline in production since 2011: His walks are up and his strikeouts are down, and his FIP doesn’t indicate he’s had bad luck. His fastball average has steadily declined, and the sinker is losing its effectiveness. Lincecum is only 31, but his best days appear to be behind him, with or without Searage.
Doug Fister — After a 16-6, 2.44 ERA season in 2014, Fister was just one of many disappointments for the Washington Nationals in 2015. The Pirates like pitchers of his size (6’8”) but he doesn’t entirely fit the mold they seek in reclamation projects. For one, his fastball velocity dropped to 86 mph last season, and he does not generate the groundballs the way some of their other options do. There did not appear to be any mechanical differences for Fister between 2014 and 2015, so it could be hard to identify a fix. However, he still has the size the Pirates covet, and they could allow him to use his towering presence more to his advantage. He is also a sinkerball pitcher, and the Pirates could develop that into a heavy groundball pitch the way they did for Jared Hughes and Charlie Morton. There is also the possibility 2015 may have just simply been a fluke.
Other possibilities — Mat Latos, Mike Pelfrey, Henderson Alvarez, Wade Miley, Kyle Lohse
These likely will not be the most exciting moves the club could make, but considering their past there is a decent chance they return to this well to replenish their pitching.
