Pirates Insider Podcast, Episode 24 (Mailbag edition)

Do the Pirates have interest in Hunter Stratton? We found out Thursday night that, yeah, they do. What about other relievers the team could add? How will a possible lockout impact urgency? Why hasn't Carmen Mlodzinski pitched more? Taking your questions on a Friday from Denver.

Transcript

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Good afternoon, Pirates fans. Welcome into the Pirates Insider Podcast, a Friday edition of the podcast. Technically, kind of an off day. Off day was yesterday, but wanted to save this, space it out a little bit, and do kind of a mailbag version of this thing. We're still sort of getting it off the ground and figuring out what fits best. But I like taking your questions, and I think this is an interesting format to try to do it. I think, and I hope I'm going to be able to get to more questions here than the written version. So let's get right into it. A lot of stuff about uh what actually cleared up last night. Joey Bart being traded for Hunter Stratton. We'll get into that a little bit. But John Taylor asks his first question, John Taylor at John Taylor 26554. Uh, Twitter or X is a great way to submit your questions. But uh he asks who's most likely to be traded at the deadline. Well, first off, there's no guarantee they're going to be trading people away at the deadline. Uh, but if you're going to, if you're going to look at what pieces you have to consider, and again, we don't want to get to that point, but I'm probably looking at a Brandon Lau, Gregory Soto, they would have value. Joey Bart is one. I I thought that they would maybe wait a little bit longer closer to the deadline and allow Bart to accrue some value, but I'm looking at guys on expiring deals who might be attractive to other teams. I know Marcel Ozuna is, you're gonna listen to this and think that I'm nuts, which, you know, I I I suppose there's a scenario where Ozuna plays, plays well, but uh maybe the Pirates are sellers. I I don't think they're gonna be sellers, though. I I don't think this is gonna be a relevant question. I understand why it's asked, but I mean the goal needs to be to avoid that altogether. A couple of guys on expiring deals, too, that you could maybe throw in there, or at least one more is Dennis Santana, but a long way to go before we get to that uh conversation. So, all right. Uh oh, and John also asked who are our two catchers once Joey Bart comes off the I. L. That's kind of an obvious one. Uh it's gonna be Andy Rodriguez and Henry Davis. So, all right, next one. Jake Bauer at Jake P Bauer on X asks, how much does the potential lockout next year affect decisions made this year? Will the Pirates be more likely to go all in if they feel next year is a lost season? Similarly, will this make them less likely to extend a player like Cruz? I think these are separate topics. Um The Pirates have interest in quote unquote going all in this year because they need to win, because it's been far enough in a regime change. Like if there was no talk of a lockout whatsoever, you would see urgency, you would see activity, you would see you know frustration when things aren't going as well as anybody would hope. That's what went into this offseason, that's why they're operating the way they are. The only thing that matters are wins, they should be judged accordingly. Um, now, is everybody aware of the lockout and what could happen? Sure. Um, you'd kind of it it would be hard to be in and around the sport and not be. Um, so I it it kind of has. Uh, and just that you know, you realize like there's a lockout, you could not have baseball, it's time, we're gonna have to make a decision. Um, you know, is this the route we're gonna go? Is this finally gonna come together? Whatever. So, I mean, you can't be completely independent of it. But also when I look at like an O'Neill Cruz extension, uh, I think about him more individually, contract-wise. Like, can you meet at a number that makes sense? He's making $3.3 million this year. Um, he's accruing a lot of value. That was his first year through arbitration this year. He'll be ARB two this offseason, so he's gonna get a raise. Uh, he's gonna be closer to free agency. So it can you convince Cruz to give up years of free agency to re-sign here? And what does that number look like? I know in the past that has never been a real, you know, there hasn't been a lot of traction gained in that conversation. So until that happens, I don't think a lockout's gonna be what you know triggers the pirates to extend O'Neil Cruz. They have him under contract for the next two years, regardless. Uh, yes, they might, if they don't come to an agreement on a contract or things not going well, maybe he doesn't, you know, play out those remaining two years, maybe you try to trade him. But for right now, they have him under contract. I'm not sure, excuse me, that the lockout is going to change that. So, all right, moving along. Bill at BV11387 asks, will Ben Charrington have interest in acquiring Hunter Stratton? Bill asked that before the trade happened. Um, I just threw that in there for a little bit of fun. Uh, I'm gonna sound really smart, or at least fake it, and say, yeah, he has interest in acquiring Hunter Stratton, uh, according to sources. Uh, no, but let's talk about this trade a little bit. And maybe I'm burying the lead because you know, we we do want to hear some reaction or have some reaction to it, whatever. And I have some. Again, I was surprised. I thought they would bring Bart back off the IL, let him play for a little while, see what happened. He was gaining traction, you know, before he went out with the left foot infection. Numbers, if you step back and look at it, it's not great. 259 average this season, two homers, six RBIs, there's a lot more there. He had looked good in his rehab assignment. Um, so I thought you would bring him back, play him, and I mean it's an uncomfortable decision with Henry Davis to send him down. But if you're looking at what benefits the Major League team the most right now, taking the Hunter Stratton component out of it, which obviously you need to fix the bullpen, but your best two catchers among those three, most sensible deployment there, is Joey Bart and Andy Rodriguez. I'm not taking Andy out. He he can't. Um, you know, I've I'm a firm believer, I've always maintained this. You hit, you play. We'll figure out the rest. You get a catcher giving me an 880 OPS, which Andy is doing, three homers, three doubles, eight ribies, ten runs scored in 23 games. Congratulations, you're gonna play. I'm not removing you until you give me a reason. Um, Henry Davis has not hit, so it it to me there's no other discussion there. Um but I guess I'll bring up the question this way, then. With Hunter Stratton, he addresses a need. They've needed right-handed relief. He has options, teams love those. He has a track record of success with the Pirates in three seasons with them, two and one, four thirty ERA, 130 whip, 12 walks, 44 strikeouts, 52 innings in 47 games. That's a whole bunch of numbers to say that he's a perfectly serviceable setup guy. Um, if anything, I'm kind of curious what this means for Carmen Majinski. I do think that, you know, and he's going to triple A to start, but I do think it might open the door to use Carmen a little bit more creatively, which the Pirates certainly need to do. Um, and with Joey Bart, again, I'm looping back to what I said at the beginning. I thought they would hang on to him for a little bit longer, let him accrue value, but the benefit here is you're addressing a weakness right away. They need relievers, they need pitching depth. You're not waiting a month to do it. Um, could you have maybe waited a month and up the value? Sure. Um, but you get something you know very well here in Hunter Stratton right now. Um I I have a feeling he won't be too long before he uh comes up to the major league team either. I said he's starting in triple A, but uh he he should be a major league reliever. So I you know the more I think about it, I'm okay with him being with with them making the trade right now. I like I like the certainty, although I was a little bit surprised. Okay, uh F the Kid, A-P-H-T-H-A-K-I-D, asks other than a roles chapman, who were the most intriguing relievers likely to be available. So, okay, I've got a couple names that really stand out to me. Um, I'm gonna start though with a Roldis Chapman's teammate. And again, I was given the caveat, I can't say a Roldis Chapman. He is very clearly number one for me, but I'm gonna go with Garrett Whitlock. I I like him a lot, setup guy for the Red Sox this season, four and one with the 291 ERA, uh, 21 and two thirds innings, six walks, 27 strikeouts. Lefties are hitting just 188 against him. He's pitched, primarily the eighth inning. Um again, I'm not turning down a Roldish Chapman. He has been borderline unhittable this season. We've seen it. Um, but if the acquisition cost is somehow prohibitive and Garrett Whitlock is your second option, I don't hate it. Umce again, presenting a Roldus Chapman as that that solves your biggest problem. Love that. But there are guys who are available. Last season, Garrett Whitlock uh 7-3, a 225 ER80, 62 games, 72 innings, uh, 91 strikeouts, 2.3 B war. Uh it's just it's exactly what you would want. Um, somebody who I'm intrigued by, uh, maybe a little off the radar, Brian Abreu from the Houston Astros was really, really good for a stretch from 22 to 25, ranked ninth among qualified relievers. Started out this season was horrible. Um, had a nearly a 13 ERA for through his first 11 games over uh since May 1st, excuse me. Uh he's pitched in 17 games, has an ERA of three. Um Brian Abreu has been a very good reliever for a long, long time and just had a bad start and consequently has some kind of ugly numbers. I don't know if people listening to this want to hear it, but Bill Murphy obviously has some experience with uh with Brian Abreu, and I'm curious if that's not an option. So, all right, my third one is somebody we're actually going to see. And let me pull my uh Antonio Senzatella notes up here right now. Um Colorado Rockies, we're gonna see him this afternoon. He is a converted starter, he's a righty this season, 6-0, 229 ERA. He's been fantastic in the bullpen. Um, if there's a way to just bring Mr. Senzatella on back to Pittsburgh, I'd be completely in favor of it. 32 strikeouts, 12 walks in nearly 40 innings, uh a whip of just over one. Um, he has transitioned perfectly to a bullpen role. Uh he's pitched it plenty deep in games. He's a converted starter, he's a veteran. Um, so give me Antonio Sanzatella. I'd be absolutely great with that. All right, let's keep it going here. A couple more minutes. Jill Ballmer at MSP Gal 58 asks, Pirates said they needed Carmen Majinski in the bullpen, but now they aren't using him. Are they holding a grudge? No, nobody's holding a grudge, Jill. What what's going on here? Um it's and again, I would like to see them use him more creatively. I think they will. Uh short answer, I expect him to pitch on Saturday. But basically, they're trying to get to a point uh to separate him and Jared Jones in this piggyback thing and use Carmen a little differently. And uh they he needs to be able to be used, you know, without being immediately prepared. Um that it's not been a huge issue, but it's just sort of feeling this out, and you're not gonna use a guy, you know, like you use him a lot. I guess let me back up because the I was I struggled to understand this too. How you you know you're using pitches for Majinski and and he needs more time. And I I thought, you know, well, he threw the same number of pitches as Jared Jones, but I guess where they come down on it, what they're looking at more is the number of innings. Um, and so I believe it was just three innings the last time out. It was a lot of pitches, uh, but that's something they consider a little bit more than the actual pitches. Anyway, um, rough figure that I've heard is about an inning per day. So you look at three innings, three days since he's last pitched, and that's I I wouldn't be surprised to see him go Saturday again in uh backing up Paul Skeens. And then if he goes one inning, two innings, I think then you get a little bit on a better track with using him. Maybe he's available Tuesday when we get back to Pittsburgh. So nobody's mad at anybody, it's just a matter of figuring out logistics here, and it's it's actually pretty good. So, all right, E Dog at PitYinzer asks, can someone tell me why Spencer Horwitz plays first base? And goes on to say that he's not been very good. Well, E Dog, I will cite this as my reason for why he plays first base. He is an 845 OPS. Um, he's hitting 281, 389 on base, slugging 456. Uh, nine homers, 32 RBIs, 39 walks, 37 strikeouts, etc., etc., etc. He's been a very productive offensive player. That's why he's playing first base. You need his bat in the lineup. I don't know what else you could do. Um, you know, I'm not putting up at second. I'm not going to displace Brandon Lau. There's really nowhere else to put him. I mean, you could DH him. Um, at this point, I would argue the Pirates would be better served rotating that spot uh when O'Neil Cruz gets back. You want to give O'Hearn some time there, Reynolds, Lau, etc. I mean, I wouldn't make Horwitz my regular DH. He's also not been terrible. He's had two games where he's made suspect throws. Um, this season has made four errors in 522 in a third inning. It's like that's fine. It's fine. I don't have an issue with Spencer Horwitz's defense. Uh, I really don't have an issue if my first baseman has an 845 OPS. I'll live with the defense. Give me the offense. Uh all right, last one. Frank Rao at Nitrous Rao asks could the Pirates uh promote Tamar Johnson to play shortstop and go until Connor Griffin is ready. Couple things, Frank. Um, no, number one is the first one. I don't think you're gonna see that happen. Uh, I don't think it's gonna be long before Connor Griffin gets back. Uh we talked to him for the fan five alarm. He said he's throwing out to 150 feet and throw it on back-to-back days. Uh, had a rest day in there, but supposed to throw again. I believe it was yesterday, maybe. Uh, yeah, he's he's progressing very, very well. Uh, he could DH right now if asked. I don't think he's far off. We'll check in with Ben Jerrington on Sunday to find out a little bit more about that. So I don't think there's a long time where you're going to promote somebody like that. But Tamar Johnson, as much as I like him, really hasn't earned it. Uh he's he's had a slow start, he's coming out of it, and good for him. I'm glad to see him hit, and I really like Tamar as a player, but he needs to show me more at AAA. He needs to, you know, continue doing what he's doing. He needs to do more, and he needs to do it for a longer stretch of time. So there will be a day for that, Frank, but not right now. Okay, that does it for this mailbag edition. Hope you liked it. Uh, we will try to do more of these. Hopefully, I can be a little shorter with my answers next time, fit more questions. But thank you so much. Hit me up at J Mackey underscore PGH if you have a question, or you can email me, jason.mackkey at pirates.com. And make sure you subscribe to this podcast. We do them every single day, usually 10 to 15 minutes per day. And uh, even if it's weirdly in a hotel room, we have a way to record them. So thanks so much, everybody. I'll talk to you tomorrow.