With Mike Leake signing a five-year contract with the St. Louis Cardinals, the mid-tier starting pitching market is dwindling before the eyes of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Now, it may be time for the club to consider turning back around towards a Plan B of sorts. When the hot stove started heating up a few weeks ago, former Reds starting pitcher Mat Latos was pegged as one of the many "reclamation projects" that interested the Pittsburgh Pirates. The team had a better bead on Latos than most, ... Read More
Pittsburgh Pirates acquire LHP Kyle Lobstein for cash
Today the Pittsburgh Pirates announced via Twitter that they have acquired LHP Kyle Lobstein from the Detroit Tigers for cash considerations. Lobstein is a 26-year old left handed pitcher who has spent parts of the last two seasons with the Tigers. Lobstein has made 17 starts over that time as well as appeared in three games in a relief capacity. He has posted a 5.33 ERA over that span, with a 1.59 strikeout-to-walk ratio. At first glance, Lobstein's performance thus far can be considered ... Read More
Pittsburgh Pirates acquire IF Jason Rogers from Brewers
The Pittsburgh Pirates dealt from a position of strength to fill a position of need in a trade consummated late Thursday night. The team announced the acquisition of Jason Rogers, first baseman with the Milwaukee Brewers, in exchange for outfielder Keon Broxton and starting pitching prospect Trey Supak. Rogers comes to the Pirates having had his first real taste of the majors last season. The 27-year-old appeared in 86 games for Milwaukee last season, collecting 169 plate appearances. In ... Read More
2016 ZiPS Projections see many surprises for Pittsburgh PIrates
Let's get meta for just a quick second. When you start writing about sports, and I'm talking specifically about baseball here, you quickly realize there is always someone smarter than you. One such person is Dan Szymborski, ESPN baseball analyst and creator of a proprietary projection system called 'ZiPS." Hosted over at Fangrahps, ZiPS takes into account many different factors when forecasting future playoff performance. Chief among them is prior performance set against comparable players ... Read More
Wild Things make front office/clubhouse moves
The Washington Wild Things have shaken up their organization by making moves in the clubhouse and front office. The team has promoted manager Bob Bozzuto to administrative vice president. He will report directly to Francine W. Williams, the organizations managing partner. Bozzuto — who is also the Athletic Director for North Allegheny Schools — worked his way through the ranks with Washington being part of the team since early 2000 as bench coach, infield coach, hitting coach, and third ... Read More
Pittsburgh Pirates could not wait for Charlie Morton to find consistency
Mere moments before the team's annual fan convention was to begin, the Pittsburgh Pirates traded starting pitcher Charlie Morton to the Philadelphia Phillies. Ostensibly, this move was made to release Morton's $8 million salary to pursue other avenues of filling their remaining needs. The move came as a bit of surprise to many. It's fair to look to Morton as one of the pillars of the team's radical change in embracing defensive shifting. Earning the nickname of "Ground Chuck," Morton was ... Read More
A look at Pittsburgh Pirates team needs post-Winter Meetings
With the rush of the Winter Meetings behind them, the Pittsburgh Pirates will now continue to supplement their 2016 roster. Last year, the team saw a relatively quiet Winter Meetings that nevertheless saw them come away with key pieces such as Atntonio Bastardo and Francisco Liriano, who they re-signed. The bulk of their roster work was done after the summit. General manager Neal Huntington identified a market exploit as he looked to Korea for position players, solidified the weakest part ... Read More
Pittsburgh Pirates find much to work with in Jon Niese
The Pittsburgh Pirates have said goodbye to one of Pittsburgh's own in Neil Walker. The second baseman leaves behind an enduring connection to the fan base, as well as 93 career home runs. He gave seven seasons of his prime to his hometown club, but with chances of an extension null and void, the team felt the need to move on. Enter Jonathon Niese. Niese, acquired for Walker in a straight 1-for-1 trade, is a journeyman left-hand starter. In eight MLB Seasons - six as a full-time big ... Read More
Pittsburgh Pirates move deliberately on first day of winter meetings
The Pittsburgh Pirates did not make any moves on the first day of the annual MLB Winter Meetings. That is not to say that they did not find themselves at the center of more than a few substantial rumors. Starting with their most glaring need, the Pirates were reportedly in talks with the agent for free agent starting pitcher Scott Kazmir. Kazmir is a left-handed veteran with 11 years of experience despite being only 31 years old. He carries a career 98-90 win-loss record by way of a 3.96 ... Read More
Pittsburgh Pirates set to bolster bullpen at MLB Winter Meetings
Relief pitchers are always a hot commodity at the annual MLB Winter Meetings. The Pittsburgh Pirates find themselves in the unique position of needing bullpen help while simultaneously carrying a coveted relief trade chip. The "Shark Tank" — the best in baseball in 2015 — suddenly is full of question marks. With incumbent closer and 2015 MLB saves leader Mark Melancon possibly headed to the trading block thanks to a projected $10 million-plus salary, the Pirates figure to be a big player ... Read More