With the July 31st non-waiver trade deadline quickly approaching, the Pittsburgh Pirates currently sit in third place in the National League Central with a record of 42-41. The question on everyone's mind right now is whether the Pirates go all in to win or try to sell and rebuild for the future.
One week ago, the Pittsburgh Pirates were struggling mightily having lost three of four series and looking like they were far out of the race. However, since then they have won three out of four against the Los Angeles Dodgers, split a two game series with the Seattle Mariners, and swept the Oakland Athletics to go above .500 and play themselves back into the playoff race. While they still have a lot of work to do to get where they need to be it is not an impossible task.
If you would have asked me two weeks ago whether the Pirates should buy or sell at the deadline, I would have most certainly said sell low and build a team to win next season. However, with the recent success of the ball club, I am starting to change my mind and think the Pirates should start preparing for a playoff run. Now I don't think they should go after premier names for only half a year, but for the two-three year deal that can help them continue the success they have had over the last couple of seasons.
The biggest need for this Pittsburgh Pirates team right now is a starting pitcher. The Pirates have been plagued with injuries as Gerrit Cole and Jameson Taillon are both on the disabled list, and as a result they have had to plunge into their pitching prospect depth as we have seen the debut of Chad Kuhl and Steven Brault will make his big league debut tomorrow.
So far, the results from these rookies have been really good as Kuhl has a 1-0 record and a 4.09 ERA in two starts and Taillon in his first five starts had a record of 2-1 with a 3.86 ERA. While we will wait and see how Brault does tomorrow, these rookies cannot propel the Pirates into a deep post-season run as there is just not enough experience to help the team. And, with Francisco Liriano in a down year and the extreme inconsistencies of Jeff Locke the Pirates rotation is in desperate need of an upgrade and I think Neil Huntington should pull the trigger and see what he could get.
One name that sticks out to me and I think would benefit the Pirates is Tampa Bay Rays starter Jake Odorizzi. The Rays currently sit in last place in the American League East Division and are far out of the race. Odorizzi has been consistent in the middle of the Tampa Bay Rays rotation and could bring a consistent presence in the middle of the Pirates rotation.
Odorizzi currently has a record of 3-3 with a 3.91 ERA while striking out 90 and walking 31 in 94.1 innings of work. Odorizzi has been very consistent this year not giving up more than five earned runs in a start this season. He has also pitched at least five innings of work in 15 of his 17 starts on the season. His salary is team friendly for the Pirates as well as he is only making $520,700 a year for the Rays.
Odorizzi's strikeout numbers are what jump out most to me with 90 strikeouts in 94.1 innings pitched. If the Pirates can get Odorizzi to come to Pittsburgh, Ray Searage could work his magic and turn Odorizzi into a premier starter for the Pirates. Odorizzi would be under team control for the next three seasons and could step into a rotation of young starters who are ready to bloom and succeed in the future.
If Odorizzi can come to the Pirates the rotation down the stretch would be Cole, Liriano, Odorizzi, Niese, and Taillon. This would be a rotation that excites me and, with the offense that this Pirates team has, could lead the Pirates into a deep playoff run. While many fans are still skeptical about this team, I still have hope that this team could be a success this season.
Only time will tell whether or not the Pirates will buy or sell at the deadline, and this month of July will be a big factor in determining the status. This next week they play a three game series with the Cardinals, they won game one today, and a three game series with the Chicago Cubs before going on the all-star break. If this team can win four out of those six games they will be putting themselves in good position going into the pivotal trade deadline.
No comments:
Post a Comment