THE ALEX STUMPF SHOW! WINTER MEETINGS, TRADE RUMORS, & ANDREW McCUTCHEN

THE ALEX STUMPF SHOW! WINTER MEETINGS, TRADE RUMORS, & ANDREW McCUTCHEN

Episode 245, episode two of the Alex Stump Show. In the offseason, we’re going to talk the recent drama with Andrew McCutchen as we seem to have every single off season. And then free agency. The winter meetings are coming up, so the trades are going to be brewing. We talk about the current market and what all three of us think is going to happen in the near future. You’re listening to the Bucko Banter podcast brought to you by the Just Baseball Media Network. He’s music. [Music] They let me run the base. Yeah, my time is like my money cuz I can’t afford a waste. Uh wifey is a lawyer. Take my date to my case after my race at my Welcome back to another episode of Bucko Banner. Another 245th episode of Bucko Banner to be exact. Uh, we got Alex Stump back with us. Alex, first question. How was your Thanksgiving? Oh, it was great. It was great. Family was all here. Got fat, you know, did all the fun stuff. Did you make any trade offers? Like, I don’t know. Uh, stuffing for a turkey to be named later or something like that. No, I brought a pumpkin pie and I helped clean up. So, that I I got a good end of this, dude. You’re a gem. You’re a gem. Was it a Costco pumpkin pie? No. No, I made it. Oh, I I I followed the uh instructions on the back of the can to a te. Okay. Okay. Nice. It was good, I’m assuming. Good enough. Good enough. Now, second question of the Alex Sump Show. What is your favorite pie? It doesn’t have to just be a Thanksgiving specialty pie, but overall, what is your favorite pie? It is an Eaten Park strawberry pie. And I know it’s only a summer thing, but whenever I was younger, I showed up one day at like 1:00 a.m. with a couple buddies and I ate an entire pie in one. Is that a graham cracker crust? No, it was okay. They still the strawberries and the whipped cream are where you’re getting the sweetness from, but it’s it’s perfect. Like that is what I want out of a fruit pie. Love that. They only have that in the summer. Yeah. Sadly. All right. So, like right right now, I’d probably go with like a lemon meringue or something if I was going to have Well, speaking of pies, Stump, that that’s a good segue. Felix pie. No, I’m kidding. Um, PA. PA. Sorry. Well, you know, for sake of the uh conversation. Um, we got the winter meetings coming up, man. And we’re all going to be down there. We just learned that we’re going to be on the same flight. So, I’m going to harass you on the plane. We’ll talk about that later. But we’ve got a lot to talk about because the winter meetings are coming and there’s been been some moves made and my my biggest concern right now is there’s all these rumors about the Pirates wanting to spend and there hasn’t been any moves. There’s been minor league moves. There’s been, you know, uh, you know, the non-tender deadline, the necessary moves for the proper roster management deadlines. But my question to you is, do you think being too patient could hurt this front office this off season? I mean, it theoretically could. I mean, all the big pieces except for Renone and and Cody Pon are pretty much still out there right now. And I I just had to say Cody Pon because, you know, I I love that a 2021 Buck is leading ESPN. Shout out to him, by the way. Yeah. 30 million. Great dude. I’m happy for him just in general, you like. So, good for him getting his money. But yeah, like most of the big players are still on there, you know, like the winter meetings is where I think we’re finally going to see some of these, you know, big names start to come off the board just because that’s how it always is. Uh even if the Pirates don’t make a trade or signing, they’re going to work towards stuff. So, I think the net they have right now is cast wide enough that they don’t have to worry about being too patient yet, but they can’t let the market develop and then hope it comes to them. Like, I think that’s what happened last year with the trade market. Like, they thought they were going to be very active on the trade front and nothing really happened and they couldn’t really jump start a whole lot and that’s why it was a pretty quiet off season. They can’t let that happen to them this year, but I think it’s a little early for, you know, those type of words. I think that’s my concern, right? Because we heard this last year and then when we got to the fan f Pirates Fest, they were like, “Well, we tried. We were definitely in on people. It just didn’t work out.” And is that going to be the same thing we hear at this Pirates Fest? I don’t know. But I feel like, and correct me if I’m wrong, I feel like they need to be a little bit more aggressive and maybe make that trade first before entering the free agent market. So to tell these free agents, hey, we’re serious. We want to compete. You should come to Pittsburgh. What do you think about that? I have a hard time arguing it. I mean, last year’s free agent signings felt like a response to the trades they couldn’t make. Like they didn’t set out like we’re going to get Adam Frasier and Tommy Fam. It was like, well, we failed to facilitate a trade, so these are going to be our fallback options. It doesn’t sound like they’re using free agency like that this year. I mean, just the fact that they’ve been connected to so many guys, you know, so far shows me that this is a different approach that they have to the free agent market that we probably haven’t seen since the 2022 2023 winner whenever they got, you know, the Carlos Santas and and the Rich Hills uh that winter. So, I I hear what you’re saying. It’s too early, I think, to really be concerned about, well, have they really done anything because 25 teams haven’t really done anything so far. Mitch Keller then, right? This is the prime time to trade him at the winter meetings or it would be one of the biggest trades potentially of the off season with Mitch Keller. He’s probably one of a couple guys on the market. Joe Ryan’s up there. Um, so a workhorse. How do you see that developing over the winter meetings? And do you have any teams in mind that you think would be a potential fit? I know we’ve had this conversation before, but as we get closer to these dates and Scott mentions making that big trade, you have to think that it’s becoming more and more likely. Yeah. I mean, I look at teams like who are the contenders that could use a middle of the rotation arm is kind of what I’m looking at. So, I I look at Houston, I look at Arizona, I look at the Mets, you know, like those types of teams I think would be good fits for uh Keller. And even if a trade isn’t happening during the winter meetings, like they could at least talk and, you know, facilitate some stuff to go along with it. Like I don’t think last year they thought that they were going to acquire Spencer Horwitz at the winter meetings if for no other reason than Spencer Horwitz wasn’t a guardian at the time. So, like there is going to be some, you know, uh, fluidity with how this all goes, but I I think Mitch is going to be one of the main characters of the trade market, you know, at this winter meeting, someone that they talk to because like you said, outside of Joe Ryan, uh, Sandy, and maybe Peralta, like there just isn’t a lot out there for starting pitching. And I don’t know if there really is anyone of his ilk who’s out there who you can rely on. Like he’s going to give you 30 something starts in 180 innings. That’s great. He also has this potential to potentially be an all-star right there. Not saying that I think you could get an all-star price for him, but teams are going to consider that he has, you know, a recent all-star game on his resume. Well, yeah. Go on, son. I was just going to say and he has a relatively uh cheap contract right now for most teams. It’s it’s Yeah, for most teams I think it’s a very fair market. If he was a free agent, which he would have been uh by this point, I think he would have gotten more. I don’t think that’s really controversial, but if I was at acquiring team, I would look at that contract and be like, “Yeah, that’s whatever.” I I that’s not a deal breakaker. I don’t think it’d be incredibly enticing, you know, like, you know, kind of like uh Peralta, who I think is due to make $8 million. I think that is a steal. Even if it is only for one year, the amount of team control and the salary is a good intersection for a trade value. Well, what about this? Because this is something that was just rumored today and every a ton of crazy trades are going to be thrown out. And I’m not when I bring this up, I want to just preface it by saying I am not advocating for this. I am just simply regurgitating what was on the internet. And my question to you is, would you go for a similar type of trade rather than getting a major league established player? So when we talk about trading Mitch Keller, we’re like, okay, we can’t mess this up. We need a guy who’s been there, done that, who has proven he can hit at the major league level. Then there was rumors floated, what if you traded Mitch Culler for like a Bryce Eldridge type player, the f the number one prospect for the Giants, which I think they would never do. I I find a hard time believing that that would ever happen, but would you be okay with making a move similar to that rather than getting a guy who might be a average to slightly above average MLB player who can hit 270 in theory? Yes. But it would come with the caveat that I need to see that 15 million or however Mitch is due to make somewhere else on the field. Like I I would need to see Kyle Schwarber actually get signed. I would need to see a different free agent who is going to make comparable money there. Like I don’t think the Giants would use would trade Eldridge. But I’m just going to use this as a thought. I’m just going to use this as a thought exercise. Exactly. Of would you take a Kobe Mayo or someone like that? like it’s not necessarily no, but I have a there hasn’t been a good track record lately of developing young hitters to hit major league pitching. Like, it’s it’s just been a struggle here the last couple years. So, I have a hard time trading my best trade asset for essentially a wild card right here. Like, it’s that’s just where I am right now. I would want a proven hitter even if he comes with less team control. I think that’s why the Diamondbacks and Mets specifically stand out to me as good fits because I feel like they have assets to trade. How eager would you to be would you to be to package Keller in a trade for like a a Jordan Lawler and other pieces? like are is Jordan Lawler too unproven for you like you mentioned with bright with these other younger hitters or would you rather want a guy that’s been in the major leagues as and and is a major league hitter rather than a top prospect that’s major league ready? I would rather have a hitter honestly like I know uh Horwitz didn’t have a long track record but he was a plus hitter in 2024 for the Blue Jays. he comes to Pittsburgh and once the wrist healed up and you know he got his game reps underneath and he was a plus hitter. So like I look at that as a far more desirable outcome than someone who was a top 100 prospect and then you know fell off for a year or just struggled up in the major leagues for a little bit like Jordan Lawler has. Like I this is a very crass way of saying it. The Pirates have had a couple guys like that the last couple years. like we haven’t seen Henry Davis or Andy Rodriguez, you know, hit major league pitching consistently. I need someone who has some sort of track record. It if it’s not the longest, that’s fine. I can work with it. If I feel good about the other underlying traits, uh yeah, I if I trade for an unproven player though, I I need to see that money being allocated elsewhere. Well, let’s talk about other players then because in your recent article on the Pirates website MLB.com, you mentioned guys like Johan Oviet or Thomas Harrington who we’ve floated around before and I you know that I guess that’s under the guys that Mitch Keller doesn’t get traded in. But then if you move guys like Oettto and Thomas Harrington who you know Harrington I think is just the time has passed for him to be at least a part of this rotation. He could be like a a middle relief guy. But what do you think the return for an Otto or a Harrington get? Would you be more comfortable than taking a a prospect player who isn’t as proven? I I I think I would. I I think I would too. I mean, especially Harrington. I I’m going to push back a little. I think he still could be a starter for the Pirates moving forward. I mean, you’re always going to need depth. You’re always going to need those guys. But I look at someone like Braxton Ashcraft who I know the organization loves and the organization was willing to let him go beyond innings what you know they felt comfortable at the beginning of the year just because he showed so much. They think the world of this guy. I’d rather have him him in the rotation you know to start 2026 than Harrington. I mean I’m willing to say a lot of last year was a fluke and he was a top 100 prospect going into the year. It is what it is. I think he could fetch something in a trade market or, you know, as as part of a package. I think he could be a headliner for a package for a proven hitter. Uh, Odo I think could be swapped for a hitter who’s comparable. You know, someone who has like three years of team control remaining, maybe average OPS plus, but you know, underlying traits that you like more. Uh, if it was an Oviator for a Jordan Lawler type, I I mean, again, that is a complete hypothetical, you know, not not something that’s being discussed. I I think I would be fine with that, you know, roll the dice right there just because you have that starting pitching depth. And this is all, like I said, based on if you don’t keep Keller or if you keep Keller, who do you pivot to? Like I could see them trading Keller and then like a Harrington, you know, just trade from the back end of that starting t pitch or death. But if you trade Keller, I need OVA in my opening day rotation. Absolutely. I mean, I one one trade I’ve been looking at and we’ve talked about it uh amongst us is Thomas Harrington to Colorado as a headliner for like a Jordan Beck. Jordan Beck is a guy that is younger and cheaper and got years of control and obviously Colorado is always looking for pitchers and you know this could be a he could be an interesting piece to fill in in left field as a younger um outfield outfielder with a bat that has a lot of potential. Um obviously there’s some holes there but that that puts Matt Heg to the test a little bit. So I don’t know. I I I could see Harrington being like like Shore said, I could see I could see Harrington being a headliner. Um, but uh, speaking of trades, like in general, would you be disappointed by the end of the winter meetings if nothing has happened with this pirate team? I would I mean I I would be checking in with people, you know, for me to be like, okay, what what happened? What did you accomplish? how close do you feel like you are on things? I mean, I’m not saying that they absolutely have to make a trader signing, you know, the next couple days, but it’s a prime time. It’s a prime time to show that you are serious about this off season, that you have to be aggressive, that you are going to not just talk the talk, but you’re going to have players to show up what this all meant. So I yeah I if they don’t make some sort of transaction I would consider that probably a disappointment. Uh like I said I could say that and then two days later they you know make a trade or or a signing or whatever. I mean there’s a lot of factors that go into place here, right? Yeah. You get you get that and and it is what it is. I I don’t want to overreact but it is a perfect time to show on a national stage. Yes, we are serious. Because you’re not just saying it to the other 29 teams. You’re saying it to the free agents that are out there that are saying like it’s not always money that players go after. Like that is a huge factor in this equation. But they also want to win. They also want to know how serious your franchise is about winning, what type of role they’re going to have, you know, those type of things. And if you leave the winner meetings with a shiny new prize, that goes a long way towards whatever else you’re trying to accomplish this off season. So I I think some sort of transaction during this winter meetings would be a very good sign to just kind of officially set the pace of the winner. Do you think opt outs I mean I know it’s like this is just unchartered territory for the Pirates but offering an opt out in a contract would help attract more free agents rather than overpaying significantly to get somebody here. Uh opt outs were kind of a hard no with Reynolds. Now, that was a completely different set of circumstances. Sure. Uh that was an extension rather than, you know, a free agent signing. So, I don’t know if there is still like or if there is just like a hardline no for it, but it was for Reynolds. So, I’m I’m kind of skeptical that opt outs are going to be a real selling point to come to Pittsburgh. Not saying it can’t happen. I’m just basing off of precedence. I figured. Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. Um stuff, how about the let’s let’s pivot to the reliever market, right? Because I I think we touched on this previously on the first episode, but right now you’re going into the 2026 season with Dennis Santana, Isaac Matson, and a few other arms as your high leverage pieces. I think I think Isaac Matson threw a record high of innings last year. Um, and I felt it felt like at the end of the year at least since we were at the ballpark almost every game that he was used in virtually every game uh in any type of leverage situation after moving Bednar. Um, so I feel like expecting the same from him would be kind of foolish, but like we’re big Isaac fans, so you know, I know he he’s going to persevere and fight and and just shove that fast ball down your throat. But um, what is the reliever market looking like? because we’ve got Edwin Diaz available. And I’m not saying the Pirates are going after Edwin Diaz, but Ryan Hy just signed a two-year deal with the Orioles. Seems like reliever market is a little bit expensive right now. Do you expect them to sign a high leverage reliever or trade for one at least? I think it’s something they’re going to explore. Like I mean the best example I can give is going into 2024 whenever they pivoted to signing a role as Chapman and that was really a response of they couldn’t get you know the starting pitching help that they wanted. So they were like you know what we’re just going to make the eighth ninth as solid as we possibly can. I think they’re going to be a little more passive whenever it comes to the reliever market or they could be more passive whenever it comes to I’m not saying they can’t sign something but the priority has to be the bats. You have to make sure that your resources whether it’s dollars or prospects that you’re willing to trade goes towards building the best possible major league lineup that you can. Now, I’m not gonna argue like I I agree with you with uh Matson like he showed a lot in 2025, but I don’t feel good going into next year with him and Dennis Santana is basically my only proven, you know, leverage arms. Like I like a lot of the young pitchers that they just added to the 40man roster and I wouldn’t be shocked if like an Antoine Kelly or uh you know, Bido like Yeah. Like a lot of these guys, could they be impact relievers? Could they be leverage arms? Yeah. I I could see it, but I need to see something a little more reliable to go with it, whether that’s from the left side or just getting like a big eighth inning arm or someone who, you know, trends the right way. So, I I I would expect the trade market would probably make more sense than the free agent market just because like you said, like Helley signing for what was it 22 million for two years or something? Yeah. Like that’s just a lot. Yeah. If you’re going to pay $10 million for a reliever, you just traded a good one to the Yankees in July. Yeah. I mean, I I think too I I fortunately for the Pirates is that they have a lot of and we’ve talked about this a lot throughout the season. Something that we noticed with Altuna in Indianapolis, even in Greensboro, they have a lot of relievers in their system that are solid and and performed very well this year. I’ve been told by multiple people that Harbon was the most major league ready reliever they saw with their own eyes in Altuna this year. Um, but like I think expecting that from a rookie is a lot. So having that veteran come in like an a Chapman or whoever I think would do wonders for this bullpen. Well, I mean, I’m going to cut you off right there. I’m looking at the free agents for this year and there’s some names that really stand out to me that they could sign. Uh Jaylen Beaks, Ryan Baraki, Max Cranic, Tim Mesa, Dar Moretta, Caleb Ferguson. That’s a good one. That’s a good one. Is Max Cranic healthy? I’ I’d be all in on that. I I Max Cranic’s a closer next year. Let’s do it. Well, what about what about Carmen Majinski being in a high leverage spot? Does he close? I You know what? I The starter thing caught me off guard last year. Like I think if Carmen was willing to be of a reliever and just go full go on that he could be an eighth ninth inning guy. Yeah. He finally clicked down the stretch last year when he focused on it. I feel like Yeah. Like I mean he he has a desire to be a starting pitcher and that’s fine. You should have goals. You should work towards something. But at some point, I think you need to accept like I did not have a good run as a starting pitcher, but I’ve been dominant out of the bullpen, you know, the last couple years. Like I think he could be a closer, you know, if he wanted to go full go with it. So, we’re going to see. I haven’t heard if they’re going to continue the starter experiment. The amount of starting pitchers that they just added to the 40man roster, I don’t really get it. Like I I get trying to do right by the player and honor their commitment to the team, you know, have that be mutual, but at some point it’s like, well, I saw that guy in 2023 close out the greatest comeback win this franchise ever had, and I thought, well, that’s it. He’s going to be a closer in the future someday. I I think that’s a fine consolation prize if you’re not a starter. Yeah, we we thought the same thing. And I I think coming out of 2024, we had a lot of high hopes for Majinski and Nicholas. So that brings me to my next question, like what are what is the vibes around Kyle Nicholas as being a contributor to this bullpen next year? I know the command has been a big problem and and the consistency, but the stuff is like you can’t argue against the stuff like it’s there. It’s just honing it in. Oh yeah, it’s elite stuff. Like I we’ve talked like he says like I just try to throw it down the middle and where the ball goes it it just kind of lands on it like it it is elite stuff. It moves. It’s I think just continuing to develop like he has another option here. I I think so I would kind of view him in the same lens that we saw last year like earn your keep. If you can’t, you’re going to be in Indianapolis. And you know what, like pure stuff-wise, he could also be, you know, a quality leverage setup closer type pitcher. He just has to show right now. And I don’t know how many eggs I could put in that basket until he actually shows something. Let’s pivot, Alex, to your favorite subject before we close this show out. Oh boy. Andrew McCutchen has made some headlines recently over a quote that you said and I think we’ve talked about here before that you know it’s trending in the direction that maybe they don’t bring him back. It wasn’t like a definitive like hey this is not happening but it it brought Cutch out and you know he said that’s the first I’ve heard of it. Why do we go through this every offseason since he’s been back? like what what is the deal with him and the organization not getting on the same page or is it just simply like hey we just don’t have this roster figured out so until the last minute like we need to make a decision whether or not we could retain Andrew McCutchen. Yeah. So I’m going to cover my butt here a little bit and add a little bit of context to what I did. I I did a Reddit AMA where someone asked, “Do you think Cut is coming back?” And I said, “Right now, I’m leaning no.” There was some frustration on his part uh with the organization. There was some frustration from the organization on catch. You know, it’s it’s I didn’t think it was anything too groundbreaking. I think there was a lot said on the record that’s been printed either by me or the Post Gazette or the Trip or whoever that kind of said like, “Yeah, this isn’t, you know, perfect right now.” Not saying that it has to be perfect, but it’s not perfect right now. uh that kind of he he decided to disagree in and voice his opinion that’s fine on it. I I stand by what I said on it. It is what it is. I could see them reuniting, you know, bearing whatever hatchet or whatever level of beef it is and go through. But I if that does happen, I don’t see that happening until later in the off season. like right whenever he returned in 23 that was you know that just what happened it happened later in the offseason is what it is. Uh going into 24 he had the Achilles injury at the end of the 23 season. They just wanted to make sure 100% that he was good to go before they ended up signing him. And then last year they wanted to wait until the winter meetings concluded. So they knew where their roster stood and where, you know, they stood with a couple free agents before they uh reached out to him and made it official. So I don’t think if it does happen, it’s going to happen, you know, around Christmas time like it did last year. Uh I think the fact that the Pirates are connected to someone like Schwarber, you know, who is a big time DH and a DH only kind of shows that this isn’t just a slam dunk conclusion that he’s going to come back. like I don’t think this was ever, you know, 100% he was going to come back. He didn’t even voice at the end of the year like yeah, he said he wanted to keep playing, but he never followed up with and I want to keep playing for the Pirates. Now, of course, you know, the Pirates are going to be up there of where he would like to play, but he didn’t say this was going to be the only place I wanted to go. He’s voiced that he wants to play every day and he wants to win. And those are two admirable goals for players right now. Uh, I don’t know how many contenders look at a 39year-old DH who is coming off his worst statistical season and think he’s going to help get our team better. I don’t know how the Pirates, you know, look at this offense that was last in every stat that matters thinks, yeah, touch of 39 is going to have a bounceback year. He absolutely could have that type of year, but I think is that really the safest bet that you can make right now? So, I I think you have to improve the offense one way or the other. And maybe Andrew McCutchen could be part of that calculus, but I I don’t know. As it stands right now on what is this, December 3rd, 2025, I would lean towards him playing for another team in 2026. Yeah, I I agree with that. Just because in a perfect world, if you are going to build a winning team for next year, you cannot have him coming off the bench just as a bat, right? Like you can’t have a guy who is not going to play the field be your he’s not going to be your fourth outfielder. So then what is he? He’s just a bat like you mentioned who’s coming off his worst worst uh statistical season. But he was far from the worst problem last year. I mean, that’s yeah, fair fairly obvious. Just the positional flexibility or the lack thereof of it is concerning when you’re trying to build around a bunch of other pieces. And not to mention, you don’t have any outfielders right now that are worth it in terms of like defensive runs saved or just like you like O’Neal Cruz is your best outfielder right now and that’s that’s a concern. So yeah, I think if you’re in it with guys like Schwber or any other DH, then it’s going to be hard to make an argument to retain him. Yeah, I also go ahead. Yeah, I I just wanted to add one more thing here. He Kutcha said the entire time he didn’t want to come back to Pittsburgh just to be in Pittsburgh. He wanted to win. And he felt going into 23, he saw a young team that was competitive that maybe the record didn’t reflect it, but they were closer. He felt they were closer to being competitive than not. And this team just hasn’t taken that next step. The two off seasons that he has been a pirate really since the return said I’m not counting the 22 23 have been quiet off seasons. The results on the field have stagnated. They have not taken that next step. So I could see why he is frustrated with a lot of this stuff. Uh, I go back to the question though, like how much can you count on a 39year-old DH to have a big bounceback year? Like like in 23 he had a 380ish OBP and, you know, was great. And then in 24 he had 20 something homers and if you watched him he got jipped out of at least, you know, like five or 10 more maybe. Like it it wouldn’t be outrageous to think, yeah, he should have had mid- 20 homers. I didn’t really see that silver lining in his 2025 output in general. And for a team that desperately, desperately, desperately needs to improve the offense so they don’t waste this young starting pitching, you got to look at DH as a position that you could potentially upgrade. Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. Just my two cents. Not really a question here, but I think that with this the current position of this team that you need to leave, you don’t necessarily need to have a full-time DH. Like if you get a Kyle Schwarber, like that makes this team immensely better. Then go get a Kyle Schwarber. But I think having that position open in the lineup is very valuable that you could play matchups. I know we we love to play matchups and have guys that play multiple positions, but you know, I think you you need to use every tool in your in in your uh in your bench here. And um if Cut comes back, he’s not going to be the biggest problem we have this year, but like I think we could we could definitely upgrade the roster in other ways. Real real quick, I was scrolling through TikTok the other day and the there’s all these people that think they could fix every single team. So, they put out a video like how I could fix the Pirates. This is just a random person. So they’re they’re making all these crazy moves and then the one move is the one move is sign Kyle Schwarber. He’s going to play left field. I’m like, “Oh, that’s literally Did you see my comment?” So So I I I immediately go I’m like, “I got to go to the comments.” First comment is Scott just starting a huge argument. I’m pretty sure this kid’s like 8 years old and I [ __ ] ripped him a new one. Like a long long argument going on. I thought I’ve been getting likes every day on this comment. Like I was just like you’re crazy if you think that Kyle Schwarber’s playing left field full time at Pizza Park. He was like he got more athletic and and blah blah there’s that would be legendary. Oh my god. Like I I watched Yoshi play right field at 21 and just oh jeez the malpractice of defensive glove work that was going on out there. Now let’s triple the size of the amount of ground you have to go. That’s nuts, dude. It’s crazy. I’m so happy that you saw that, Adam. I’m so so happy cuz I was going to send that to you, but um I was just like bored one night. I was like, I’m going to ruin this little kid’s day. Um Dom, before we let you go, I want to ask you an actual question here. If you and I’m gonna put you on the spot, and we’re going to put this on a quote card, and you’re going to be held accountable, so just don’t worry about it. All right. If you were to make a prediction here, by the end of the winter meetings, is there what is one guy that could be a addition to the Pirates by next Thursday or Wednesday? I guess really going to hit me with the one. Uh, screw it. I’ll say Suarez. Oh, third base. I don’t know. I don’t know where they stand with him right now. I I Sure. I’ll just throw off my back foot. Why not? I like it. Fade away. And if it happens, you look like a genius. And if it doesn’t happen, nothing happens. So, And yeah, if Who’s the player who was celebrating his basket and it just bounces four times out? Oh, uh, Nick. Is it Nick Young, maybe? Right. Yeah. What? Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I I look forward to seeing that my face on that gift. So, I’m gonna make that right after this, by the way. So, good. Well, the next time we see you stump will be Sunday morning at the brand new Pittsburgh airport. Are you uh you driving? You Ubering? How you getting there? What’s your mode of transportation to the airport these days? I drive there. Drive there. Okay. I’ve heard I’ve heard parking is a little bit of a situation right now. We’ll we’ll figure it out whenever we get there. Yeah. Well, I’m looking forward to getting down to uh sunny Orlando, Florida, because it is absolutely freezing here. If you don’t already, make sure you go to buckcoanter.com, our new website. You can check out this episode there. You just scroll down, hit latest episode. You can see all of our beautiful faces. And while you’re there, go to YouTube, subscribe, like, leave a comment, tell a friend to tell a friend. Go get yourself some Bucko Banter merch. I believe if you use the code banter25, you get 25% off. Go follow us on all social media. Leave a fivestar review. Download the episodes. Do everything you can to help us out. It’s much appreciated. And until next time, raise it. Raise it. Yeah. My talent is like my money cuz I can’t afford to waste. Uh wifey is a lawyer. Take my date to my dates or the steak by the plates and

🎙️ NEW EPISODE: The Alex Stumpf Show | Bucco Banter Podcast
In this loaded episode of Bucco Bantr, we’re joined by MLB.com’s Alex Stumpf for a deep, unfiltered breakdown of the Pittsburgh Pirates’ offseason, the approaching MLB Winter Meetings, and all the storylines that could shape the Bucs’ 2025 campaign.
The Winter Meetings in Orlando are right around the corner — the hottest, wildest, most fast-moving week of the MLB offseason — and all three of us will be on the ground, in the thick of every rumor, negotiation, and surprise move. Before we head south, Alex stops by to give us an insider’s perspective on what fans should expect and what the Pirates absolutely must do to avoid getting left behind.
We dig into:
🔥 Why acting early in the free-agent and trade markets is crucial for the Pirates
🔥 What type of bullpen help Pittsburgh should aggressively target
🔥 Potential trade chatter around Mitch Keller, Johan Oviedo, and even top prospect Thomas Harrington
🔥 How these decisions impact the long-term competitive window
Then, the moment Pirates fans have been waiting for — Alex Stumpf addresses the Andrew McCutchen drama head-on. Will Cutch return to Pittsburgh for another season? What would that deal look like? And is bringing him back the right baseball move? Alex gives his honest take, and we break down every angle of the situation.
If you’re a Pirates diehard, a baseball news junkie, or someone who lives for offseason chaos, this is the episode you need in your queue.
Don’t forget to LIKE, COMMENT, and SUBSCRIBE for more Pirates talk, live Winter Meetings coverage, breaking news updates, and exclusive interviews.
#Pirates #PittsburghPirates #MLB #WinterMeetings #BuccoBantr #AlexStumpf #AndrewMcCutchen #MitchKeller #MLBOffseason #PiratesBaseball #LetsGoBucs #BaseballPodcast