Next Pirates Game: Sat, Feb 22, 01:05 PM EST @ Orioles (19 days)

^^^Posted: ^^^02/03/2025 ^^^05:00:00 ^^^AM ^^^EST

Does anyone know when SRO tiks go on sale for opening day? Thanks in advance for any info

Scored a 15 on rarity!

I come looking for some help. I have some old seats from Forbes Field, but they are in pretty bad shape. They have been sitting in a garage or basement for most of my life, have a fair amount of rust, and some paint issues. I would love to have them restored, but I don't even know where to start with that. Has anyone heard of companies thataybe specialize in this kind of thing?

Apparently in 2003 his final season Patrick Mahomes fathers posted a 0-1 record on the pirates with a 4.84 ERA. Who woulda thought.

I'm a huge pens fan and working on being a bigger steelers fan. I'm wanting to get into new sports, and baseball is my choice.

I do know that Paul Skenes is really good, and I know the rules of baseball mostly. What else should I know about the team? I think I've heard they aren't too great.

I had a hard time finding the sub lol. I assume pirates is buccaneers. And that goes to buccos?

More of a troll post than anything, although I wouldn't be shocked to see GMBC jump on anyone that the Blue Jays cast aside.

Since not much is going on in the world of Pirates baseball, no offense to Adam Frazier or Tim Mayza, I figured I'd take a stab at calling some shots for the 2025 season. If anyone finds this interesting, I might try and make some updates throughout the year. Before I get into it, any WAR related predictions will be referring to fWAR. Personally, I think bWAR is better but fWAR is more friendly for tracking some of the predictions that I made. Any predictions that involve a certain position, only include production while playing that position (will be explained more later on). Some of these are much hotter takes than others. There's also no particular order to any of this. This will be a pretty long post, so the predictions are in bold as a TLDR for each prediction.

1. The team finishes at or above .500 - I don't think this team makes the playoffs (not part of the prediction) but I think they at least play .500 ball. Despite an abysmal offseason and too many holes on the roster, I think the pitching helps this team perform better than most think. The rotation is already very good, and I think the bullpen takes a major step forward which is what carries this team. They won 76 games last year and only need to get to 81 for this prediction to be right. This came despite blowing saves at an absurd rate last year, something I don't think will happen this year, and having an abysmal offense.
2. Spencer Horwitz is not a top 15 1B by WAR - I think Horwitz is a fine supplemental piece, but I don't believe in him nearly as much as the Pirates and many fans do. To me, he is to the 2020s Pirates what Gaby Sanchez was to the 2010s Pirates. He won't hurt you, but he also won't do much to help you. He's a fine defender but defense at 1B doesn't add much value. Ultimately, I think he turns out to be about a league average bat which is unfortunately something that doesn't play to well at his position. Issues hitting lefties also hurts. For context, the cutoff for a top 15 1B by WAR in 2024 was 1.9 which coincidentally enough was Spencer Horwitz. I chose "top 15" because although it doesn't quite shake out that way in reality, it more or less correlates to being above or below average as a starter in a 30-team league.
3. The Pirates have at least 3 All-Stars - This may seem like a lot, but I think that there's a lot of room for this to be true. Paul Skenes seems like a lock should he stay healthy. Oneil Cruz should have better odds now that he isn't competing in a crowded SS field. Beyond those two, there's tons of opportunities around this roster. Mitch Keller and Jared Jones weren't far off last year and Bubba Chandler has the stuff to come roaring out of the gates. The bullpen, while not having anyone of paper that stands out, should have plenty of opportunities for someone to break out. On the offense, Bryan Reynolds is a perennial candidate for this list and there should be opportunities for young players like Nick Yorke, Billy Cook, Endy Rodriguez, etc. That's not to say that they get a breakout from all of those groups, but I don't think it's too big a stretch to say they get 1 break out to join Skenes and Cruz/Reynolds in a trip to Atlanta.
4. There are multiple players on the Opening Day roster who are not currently in the organization - I don't think that they make any major upgrades, but I still think they add another reliever and an outfielder. Tim Mayza, although the signing hasn't become official and therefore is not currently in the organization, doesn't count for this.
5. Joey Bart is not the most valuable catcher on the team - There's a number of things to consider here. For starters, I think Bart slightly declines from last year. That's not to say that he can't replicate what he did last year, but I don't fully believe he puts up the same production. That being said, this is more about other players on the team than it is about Bart. I think that he gets a decent amount of time at DH and also at 1B to cover some of the at bats against LHP. As big of question marks as Endy Rodriguez and Henry Davis are, there's still plenty of potential with each. I think a combination of Bart getting time elsewhere and one of the youngsters breaking into the big leagues leads to this coming true. Defensive value also plays a big role here due to the importance of defense behind the plate and Bart not being great defensively.
6. Ke'Bryan Hayes plays less than 100 games - I think people don't quite view Hayes the way that they should. I think his talent takes too much criticism, obviously the bat was awful last year but I think that can be contributed to the chronic back issues. Despite the talent being there, I don't think that he'll ever be healthy enough to utilize it. The news earlier this offseason that he had met with top specialists and that rest and maintenance, not surgery, was the best option tells me that he isn't getting better. Typically, with a chronic issue, if there's a surgical option, there might be hope. If rest and maintenance were enough, I think they would've figured it out by now. I think the less than 100 games comes in part from missing time from injury but also from the team being more conservative with him and playing him less often while healthy. I think the most likely reason for the Frazier signing was thinking Triolo would have to play more 3B this year and wanting to have another utility man.
7. David Bednar finishes with a sub 3.50 ERA - Despite his struggles last year, Bednar's stuff more or less remained the same. There were rumblings of pitch tipping and plenty of speculation that his fitness was impacting performance (which I don't really put any stock into). I think that Bednar bounces back, though not to his previous form as a top closer in the game. Brent Strom will be a major piece in this potentially happening.
8. The bullpen finishes top 10 in WPA - This one will probably shock a lot of people, but I think people tend to forget how much talent there is in this bullpen. Obviously, results are what matters, and they weren't at all there last year, but there are still some things to like in this pen. Mlodzinski and Holderman having normal spring trainings should help them, second season for Nicolas, potential additions from people who lose out on rotation spots such as Burrows or Oviedo, and a really nice group of MiLB signings (relative to MiLB signings) creates a lot of flexibility. I think there's going to be a lot of mixing and matching roster wise, but they have a lot more depth than last year. A combination of Brent Strom and the ability to move on quicker due to the increased depth makes me think the group improves a lot despite the obvious hole at closer. WAR isn't a good way to evaluate relievers, so I went with WPA since it's the best way to evaluate how much they're impacting the teams chances. The cut off for top 10 last year was 4.44 and the Pirates finished in 24th at -0.85. That might seem like a big jump, but relievers are notorious for their year-to-year fluctuation.
9. Shortstop is the least productive position on the team via WAR - This won't come as a surprise to some but there are a lot of fans who are so focused on the hole in RF that they aren't paying attention to SS. IKF is a legitimate MLB player, but he isn't a SS. The bat shouldn't be awful, but the defense will likely be among the worst among MLB SSs. RF and DH are major concerns production wise but there are at least paths to production for each. For RF, Suwinski and Yorke provide at least some opportunity at upside that SS doesn't have. Cutch should be about an average MLB bat but help from guys like Bart and Reynolds should help DH not be a complete black hole which unfortunately SS has the potential to be.
10. Bryan Reynolds plays less LF than other positions - With Reynolds' defense taking a fairly significant hit the past couple years, I think we start to see the transition down the defensive spectrum. We've already seen the team take a few steps towards this between the plans on playing him in RF last year (which ended up not working out) and beginning to work him out at 1B. I don't think he makes a full transition to the infield, but I think that he starts to play there a bit this year. Between getting his weekly(ish) start at DH to stay fresh and optimizing the defensive alignment by putting more athletic players in LF (an issue because of PNC Park), I think he ends up playing more outside of LF than he does in LF.
11. Hunter Barco or Anthony Solometo ends up pitching out of the Pirates bullpen this year - Even if Mayza and Ferguson bounce back to previous form, the long-term options for lefties in the bullpen are bleak. Both Barco and Solometo are Rule 5 eligible this offseason so they might get creative trying to solve the LHRP issues as well as finding roles for them as the roster starts to get fuller. Both players have gotten remarks about being future relievers so a transition wouldn't come out of nowhere. It also doesn't hurt how deep the rotation is meaning that some of these rotation options are going to be used in other ways. For some, that will mean trades, but for others, we'll likely see some shifts to the bullpen like Carmen Mlodzinski.
12. Isiah Kiner-Falefa doesn't finish the year on the Pirates - As I talked about in the SS prediction, I don't think IKF does very well as the starting SS. I don't think it's likely but there is a scenario he hits how he did post trade and gets DFAs/released. The more likely scenario is the team tries to upgrade the position at the deadline. IKF would make for a great utility player but it's unlikely that they'd be willing to pay a bench player his salary. In this scenario, much like Martin Perez, he would get dealt at the deadline to free up payroll in order to "afford" other acquisitions.
13. Zander Mueth is named the Pirates MiLB pitcher of the year - I think Mueth is the next product of the Pirates pitching factory. He had a good year last year, but this year he takes an even bigger step forward. There are other guys like Chandler, Harrington, and Ashcraft, just to name a few, who are more talented, but promotions to the big leagues should cut short those guys MiLB seasons. Mueth already has a pretty good fastball and slider, and a changeup has been coming along too. Control has been one of the main concerns among evaluators, but we've seen guys start to take jumps around this point like Bubba Chandler. Mueth will almost certainly start in Bradenton but an in-season promotion to Greensboro would hurt this prediction a lot.
14. Yordany De Los Santos is named the Pirates MiLB hitter of the year - Admittedly, there is less reasoning to the hitter prediction than there was with the pitcher prediction. The state of the hitting prospects in the Pirates system is really bad. Konnor Griffin will probably end up the favorite here but I decided not to go with him in his first year as a pro, even though I think he's easily the best hitting prospect the team has. YDLS struggled mightily following a midseason promotion to Bradenton but hopefully getting his feet wet at the level will help him out this year.
15. Oneil Cruz is a top 5 CF in baseball - There's a very legitimate argument that the move from SS to CF wasn't the best choice to maximize Cruz's value, but he should still flourish as a CF. There's more room for development at the plate and a full offseason to acclimate to the position should help him out defensively. Even if Cruz stays stagnant at the plate, that's pretty good offensive production from a CF. Defensively, between his speed and arm, there's a really nice base to build from. The cut off for top 5 last year was 3.5 WAR which was a tie between Brenton Doyle and Jarren Duran, a number that is very much on the table if Cruz stays healthy.
16. Nick Yorke puts up 2+ WAR - Recently names the #50 overall prospect in the sport by Keith Law, Yorke should have plenty of opportunity this year. Whether it be in RF or at 2B (if Gonzales has to see extended time at SS), Yorke is going to get chances. I don't think he makes the Opening Day roster following the Frazier signing, but I think that is more a testament to how much the team likes him rather than trying to replace him. Cherington has a history of wanting his position player prospects to get every day at bats rather than contribute off the bench. I think that trying to allow Yorke to get everyday time in Indianapolis was potentially a factor in wanting to bring in another infielder, although secondary to the previously mentioned Hayes issues. Yorke was fantastic following the deadline day deal with Boston and is a prime breakout candidate this year.
17. The Pirates have 5 SPs put up 2+ WAR - As long as Paul Skenes is healthy, he will easily hit this mark. Jared Jones getting a full year and Mitch Keller hopefully learning from his second half issues should both be able to join Skenes here. Past those three, things become a little less certain but there's plenty of options. Bubba Chandler has all of the talent in the world and if things go well, he should be up early enough to reach this mark. Between him, Bailey Falter, Johan Oviedo, Thomas Harrington, Michael Burrows, and Braxton Ashcraft, there will be enough competition and talent where whoever takes the last couple rotation spots is likely going to have to be pitching pretty well.
18. The Pirates are in a playoff spot at the All-Star break - This, combined with prediction #1, is the Pirates way. Strong first half combined with not being able to come through in the end. Pitching tends to have the advantage early in the season and that being the strong suit of the Pirates roster, they're set up well to replicate their early season success of recent years. This will also be before their young pitchers have to start worrying about workload and hopefully before guys like Hayes start to break down.
19. Half of the opening day bullpen ends up not on the active roster after the trade deadline - This might sound weird considering the previous bullpen prediction, but I think this speaks to the strength of this bullpen, the options that it has. There will likely be an injury or two, a guy who doesn't bounce back like Mayza or Ferguson, an out of option guy like Wentz or Strzelecki who they carry to try to preserve depth, and also guys getting converted to the pen or coming back from injury like Oviedo or Moreta that will factor into bullpen turnover. Since they have so many more options this year than last year, they'll be able to move on from guys quicker than they were last year and have better options to move onto.
20. The Pirates make as many or more trades at the deadline as they did last year - The Pirates made 6 deals at the deadline last season. I think that in general, Cherington's idea is to make a number of moves to work on depth instead of taking a swing at a better player that will make a bigger impact. They should have a number of upper-level pitching that they can deal from and a number of offensive holes to fill. Cherington also loves to make little deals to add flexibility to the back of his roster like the Walker deal last year. I think quantity over quality continues to be the Pirates MO.
21. The payroll ends below $92,000,000 - There have been a number of reports this offseason that the Pirates budget for this year is $100M and that they expect to get to or around that number by the end of the year. I don't believe that for a second. There were reports last trade deadline that they had plenty of room in the budget to make acquisitions only for them to essentially confirm they were only able to add IKF and DLC by trading away Martin Perez's salary. There's been comments throughout the years that indicate payroll is tied to revenue and attendance. If we use attendance to project payroll, the budget is likely in the mid to low 90s. The $92M mark is a little conservative based on this number, but I think that they save a couple million for next year as I don't think they believe that this is a year they can truly compete.
22. 15 players currently on the 40-man roster are not on the 40-man roster at the end of the season - Despite thinking that the team will improve this year, I think the roster sees a fairly significant amount of turnover. I've already talked about the bullpen turning over throughout the year, but there is also the changes to the starting rotation. As guys like Chandler and Harrington come up, they'll need to make room. There are also a few guys currently on the 40-man who simply aren't MLB quality players and are likely gone as they add to the roster in coming weeks. Combine all of that with long term injuries and guys going to the 60-day IL, I think we get to 15.
23. The offense improves... but finishes bottom 10 in WRC+ - I know people have high(er) hopes for the offense considering the change from Andy Haines to Matt Hague, but I think expectations have been set too high. He might, and likely will, have positive impacts on some hitters this year, but a general rule that gets talked about in baseball is that hitting philosophies take about a year to set in. I'm on board with Hague and think that he'll have positive impacts on hitting development in the organization, but most of those impacts likely won't be seen until next year. I think they get better, but not nearly enough to make up for how bad this offense is as currently constructed. The team finished with an 86 WRC+ last year, good for 28th in MLB. The mark that would've kept them in the bottom 10 was 95, so this can come true even with a pretty sizeable jump.
24. The Pirates have a top 30 pitcher in baseball not named Paul Skenes - Before anyone says anything, this is not to say that Skenes will not be a top 30 pitcher, just that they'll have one besides him. Between Jared Jones, Mitch Keller, and Bubba Chandler, there is a lot of upside in the Pirates rotation this year. The mark to get into the top 30 is only 3.2 WAR, a number that I think is well within reach for any of the above pitchers. Whether it be Jones adding a third pitch, Keller not regressing in the second half, or Chandler making a quick adjustment to the majors, I think this is well within play.
25. Andrew McCutchen announces his retirement - Cutch has made comments about wanting to play until he can't contribute and while I don't think we're quite there yet, we're getting close. His inability to play the field hurts roster flexibility and the bat is regressing to about league average levels and could very well dip below this year. He doesn't want to play anywhere else and although Nutting wants him to finish his career here, I don't think the front office agrees. Ultimately, a combination of Cutch not wanting to end his career struggling to perform and the team wanting to move on leads to this being his last season.

If you made it this far, thanks for reading and I would love to hear any thoughts anyone has. Some of these are certainly more likely than others and I don't expect to hit on them all but I thought it would be fun to write out and track throughout the season.

There’s no limit to the amount of surveys you can complete. Let them know how terrible of an organization and embarrassment they are to the city

Next Pirates Game: Sat, Feb 22, 01:05 PM EST @ Orioles (23 days)

^^^Posted: ^^^01/30/2025 ^^^06:36:34 ^^^AM ^^^EST

Who do we realistically think we pickup before the season. I just hope we get a competent OF. I would also be for trading Hayes

Did anyone get an email for the survey and it didn’t have a link? (Or am I just an idiot and can’t find it?)

Everything below “Let’s Go Bucs!” Is just links to their socials and mlb shop.

Why are we fans of this team? And would you cheer for another team? Bring it!

Should the commissioner tell under performing teams to increase payroll and be more competitive? Or is he a doormat?

After signing Frazier, the Pirates now have 2 super utilities on top of IKF who might or might not be the everyday SS (I still think they're bluffing there) and three catchers, not to mention IKF can play C too in a pinch.

I know BC loves a middle infielder and a super UT but this is crazy even for him, which makes me think the Frazier signing has to be setting up a trade. IKF has minimal surplus/trade value so Triolo, who I'd guess has relatively the same or slightly less value as Horwitz, or Hayes gets traded and Triolo or IKF play 3B full time. SS and RF are the biggest needs, who could Triolo or Hayes bring back?

Triolo for Alex Freeland? Triolo and Keller for Marcelo Mayer? Suwinski Hayes and Ashcraft for Robert?

Hello all. I’m a SF Giants fan and I wanted to know what the take on Joey Bart. I hope he find a good home with Pittsburgh. He was a good dude here and hopefully he finds success.