Today is June 16th, 2011. The Pittsburgh Pirates, who have not had a winning season since 1992 (which I’m sure you all know), are currently 34-33 and only four games out in the NL Central.
What the hell is going on here?
The Pirates have been lambasted over the years for being a small market club that doesn’t sign the right free agents and trades off its top talent. My father, who I love dearly, still rants to this day about “the dog” (his nickname for the Pirates) selling Nate McLouth to the Braves for what he considered nothing at the time. The McLouth deal actually ended up ending really well for Pittsburgh, with the Pirates acquiring a pair of top prospects in Gorkys Hernandez and Jeff Locke, and their most effective starter of 2011 thusfar in Charlie Morton, but I digress. The stereotype is there, and with the years upon years of failure in the organization, it’s a stereotype that many believe to be true.
When you look a little deeper, you realize that the Pirates were trading veterans who would not help the team win in the future, and they were receiving younger players who WOULD help them win in the future. Look at their current roster. Andrew McCutcheon, the team’s best player, was inserted into the starting lineup after the trade of McLouth. They received James McDonald in a trade with the Dodgers for closer Octavio Dotel, and Morton came over from the Braves in the McLouth deal, as I mentioned earlier. Catcher Chris Snyder was acquired from Arizona for three players who the team has no use for: DJ Carrasco, Ryan Church, and Bobby Crosby. The Snyder trade also allowed oft-injured catcher Ryan Doumit to get out from behind the plate more often to save his well-being, and get his bat in the lineup more often. Hell, the team even acquired stud closer Joel Hanrahan from the Nationals in a deal that sent troublesome Nyjer Morgan to DC.
The biggest deal for the club though, was the one that brought Jose Tabata, the speedy left fielder, to Pittsburgh. The team traded Xavier Nady, enjoying a career year in 2008, to the Yankees, along with reliever Damaso Marte, who at the end of the day, was a decent reliever. Also in that trade, the team received Daniel McCutchen, a key member of the bullpen, Jeff Karstens, who has been excellent this season as both a starter and reliever, and Ross Ohlendorf, who’s spent a majority of this season injured, but was the team’s best starter in 2009 and 2010. Four regulars in exchange for an overpaid corner outfielder who played in 63 games for the Yankees in a season and a half, and a reliever who had a 6.02 ERA in two and a half seasons as a Yankee. I’d make that deal over and over every day of the week.
The trades of veterans who wouldn’t help the club win, along with drafting some great talent, like Andrew McCutcheon, Neil Walker, the currently injured Pedro Alvarez, and Paul Maholm, have given the team an excellent young core to build around. The team still has some holes in the lineup, like first baseman Lyle Overbay, shortstop Ronny Cedeno, and outfielder Matt Diaz. But these guys are all veterans on short-term deals who won’t be around much longer. Before the season, Fangraphs ranked the Pirates minor league prospects fifth in their countdown. The team has lots of raw young pitching on the farm, as well as some more polished talent.
The Pirates might not finish at .500 this season, and they might not finish above fourth in the standings. But the future is very bright for this team, especially if they’re able to turn some of their veterans into younger talent this July. Someone like Overbay isn’t part of the long-term solution, but he could be if he’s dealt for the right guys. All I know is that the Pirates that were around during my teenage and early-20s, the team that would be in the cellar every year and doing it with guys who wouldn’t be around the next season, are gone. The new Pirates are here, and they have potential to be very scary in the coming seasons.
