To say that the Pirate off season so far has been disappointing would be an understatement. The off season is far from over and things could change, but the Pirates have done almost nothing to improve their team. The re-signing of Connor Joe I took to be a bad sign that the Pirates were not really serious about 2024. It is amazing to me how much of a positive spin that some of the media have put on the Pirate off season so far. My favorite article was titled, A Look into the Bucs’ Talented New Trio. The article was referring to Rowdy Tellez, Billy McKinney, and Edward Olivares. These individuals may have some talent, but I am not too sure that it is playing baseball. The Pirates did a little better in acquiring starting pitching, but not much. For a team that was talking about contending for a divisions title when the season was barely over, they have not shown much of a propensity for trying to obtain talent to accomplish that goal. Let’s look at what they have done so far, and I know this is hard, but try and stay awake. We are going to look at the 6 main players the Pirates have acquired during the off season. Ali Sanchez looked like he was obtained in case the Pirates traded a catcher, may have a bigger role, now that Endy Rodriguez is out for the year. We will do the players in alphabetical order because they are all pretty much mediocre, with none having much of a chance of contributing to a division title. That’s not to say that there is no hope but if history is any indication, then it will be very surprising if any of these players have a WAR of 2 or over, which means they are a major league starter.
Marcos Gonzales left-handed pitcher going into his age 32 season and the last two seasons have not been that great for Marcos. In 2022 he became a below average pitcher with an ERA+ of 90 for the first time in 5 seasons. In 2023 due to some forearm issues had to have for lack of a better description a rare surgery to decompress a nerve. After the Garcia experience of last year, the Pirates thought, sure why not, let’s get him. As in most cases with such a situation, all sides are optimistic that he will be able to pitch a complete and successful season. If he is not on the IL opening day I will be surprised.
Billy McKinney, outfielder AND first baseman going into his age 29 season and for all intent and purposes has played the equivalent of 2 major league seasons. He has a lifetime OBP of 284 and OPS+ of 82, which means he is about 20% worse than the league average hitter. Last year with the Yankees he did manage an OPS+ of 98 and got on base at a 320 clip. He is at least an average fielder which as you will see is good compared to some. There is nothing in this guys DNA to suggest that he is ready for some break out season in 2024.
Edward Olivares, outfielder heading into his age 28 season. In the last 2 years he has 559 plate appearances which is about one season of playing regularly. Just to compare, last year Byan Reynolds had 640 plate appearances with an OPS+ of 113. Olivares over that 2-year period had an OPS+ of 110, close to Bryan Reynolds, so what’s the catch. That’s the key word catch. Olivares is a terrible fielder. In 4 seasons his Defensive Runs Saved is -21. When the Pirates first signed him, I thought that might mean they were not going to sign McCutchen because here was their new DH. Seeing him in right field will be quite the adventure.
Martin Perez, left-handed pitcher going into his age 33 season. The good news about Perez is that he is under 40 and has bullpen experience. He has been at or an above average league pitcher the last 4 seasons. He is the best of this group of six players but that’s not saying much. He can definitely help this rotation and be an asset to the team. His signing has not been made official, so there is always that.
Ali Sanchez, catcher heading into his age 27 season. Sanchez has practically no Major League experience having only 14 plate appearances. He has spent 10 seasons in the minor leagues. He says his favorite movie is Bull Durham. In his four seasons at AAA he doesn’t have too bad of numbers with a batting average of .275 while slugging .402. He should get an opportunity to show something this year with Endy out for the season.
Last but certainly not least, we have good old Rowdy Tellez or should we say David Vogelbach, the Turtle part 2. Both he and Vogelbach are listed at 270 pounds. Tellez has 4 inches of height on Vogelbach to spread those 270 pounds around a little better. He is coming off an injury plaque 2023 and I have not seen or read where he is trying to get into better shape. He had the big year in 2022 with 35 home runs having 599 plate appearances. Of the free agent first basemen out there, he is definitely at the bottom of the barrel. His defense is below average and considering we had one of the best fielding 1st baseman last year in Carlos Santana, this certainly can’t be considered an upgrade.
Well, are you still awake? The Pirates did re-sign Andrew McCutchen and if he can stay healthy may see some time in the field. Right now, the Pirates do not have anybody to competently play right field, unless they use McCutchen. Obviously, the off season is not over. There is plenty of time for moves, trades, and signings to be made. For the present, the Pirates cannot be taken seriously as a franchise that is trying to win a division title in 2024.
The Goofy Game of Golf/Life Searching for the Answer 