DK’s Daily Shot of Pirates: No single-pill cure

DK’s Daily Shot of Pirates: No single-pill cure

Remember [Music] [Applause] that scene in Moneyball where Billy Bean is addressing all those old scouts at the table? They’re trying to figure out how to replace to truly replace to singularly replace Jason Giani. And as Bean looks over to Peter Brand, he asks what it is that the A’s are actually looking for as opposed to one person. Says, “We need runs.” Good morning to you. Good Monday morning. I’m Dan Kvajovich of DK Pittsburgh Sports. This is Daily Shot of Pirates. It comes your way bright and early every weekday. If you’re into football and or hockey, I also offer daily shots of Steelers and Penguins in the same place that you found this. The Pirates need runs. That’s your big revolutionary disclosure. In original Big Journalism hot news for today, you know the Pirates who this past season scored 583 runs. That’s fewer than anybody else. They hit 117 home runs. 31 fewer than everybody else. They had a 655 OPS on base plus slugging percentage lower than anybody else. And as I continue to try to come up with ways where the offense can become marketkedly upgraded while at the same time trying to be realistic about it. And that’s not just about money. That’s not just about how much are they going to spend, how much are they willing to spend, how much can they give up in terms of pitching prospects. It’s also based on a whole lot of internal Pittsburgh factors as I’ve mentioned to you a time or two over the past month. For example, can you upgrade the offense that you get from the catcher position? Sure. Can you also give up on all of Henry Davis, number one overall pick, Raphael Torres, the prospect that you got in the David Bedar trade, Andy Rodriguez. No, no, no. You can’t. So, you can’t just say, “Well, let’s upgrade a catcher.” So, there’d be a natural inclination to say, “Well, get the most offense from the fewest possible players because there are other similar scenarios around the diamond.” As I see it and as I’ve been through it, I’m looking at first base, third base, one corner outfield spot or I could even say one outfield spot and move O’Neal Cruz around. So when the Pirates submitted a written offer to Kyle Schwarber and his representation for 125 million over four years, and by the way, I have since confirmed that that really did happen. The very clear intent behind that is to just add as much offense as anyone could conceive through one sentient being. So along would come Schwarber and his 56 home runs and his 132 RBI, which no, they would not directly translated PNC Park versus Citizens Bank Park. If you’ve ever been to the one at the wrong end of the Commonwealth, you would know that it is much more hitter friendly. But Schwarber was going to be for some teams, and this was expressed openly by the Reds, a oneanddone kind of scenario, meaning they would submit a ridiculous offer for Schwarber, but not for anybody else. and the Reds had the additional carrot of his being from Cincinnati and how he could have helped sell a ton of tickets for Great American Ballpark and didn’t matter stayed in Philly. So, the next thing that you do, and this this is just a reflex, I think is to see who the remaining free agents are and see who fits, you know, Schwarber mold. He was always going to be the cream of this free agency class. He was, he’s gone. Who’s on deck? When I look at the group, I I see Oh, Suarez, speaking of the Reds and Great American Ballpark, and where we would remember him from the most is Pittsburgers. He was also with the Diamondbacks. And then he went on to the Mariners, became a part of their wonderful success that they had this past season. Suarez wouldn’t disappoint. In his 53 games in Seattle, he hit 13 home runs, had 31 RBI’s. And for the season, he’d have 49 home runs and 118 RBI. So, you see where I’m going here with the Schwarber Light thing, that’s a lot of instant offense. But I got to tell you, whether it’s Suarez or whether it’s Kyle Tucker or Cody Bellinger or any of the guys that are still hanging around, I see a couple of issues related to the Pirates. One is that they’re mostly in the 30. You know, the the age that free agents are in Suarez’s case specifically. He’s 34 now. He is coming off the season of his life. But one thing that should always send up a red flag for you with a power guy in his early 30s is when you see the strikeout totals combined with even the slightest slowing of bat speed. Because all that hitters like this have going for them is their elite contact, the elite barrel. And the other thing is the obvious one. Look at the teams that are chasing these players. According to the agents who leak this stuff, they leak it deliberately. And you’ll see, for instance, that the Dodgers, surprise, are in on almost all of them. You’ll see that the Mets, who just lost Pete Alonso, have suddenly ramped up from the public feel of it, their own pursuits. Those are the two teams that have quite literally limitless funding. There are others. What I would prefer in this broader scenario is for the pirates to do that bean thing. Take your three positions that you have. Figure out a way to spread your investments, which by the way is smart until there’s a salary cap system in place. putting all of your financial futures into one player really, really, really hurts you if you’re the Pirates and something goes wrong up to an including injury. But if you take that cash and you’re smart with it and you say, I can add, for instance, a platoon bat to first base to match up with Spencer Horwitz. I can do that. Horwitz doesn’t have power. He does get on base. He does make consistent contact from the singles and doubles standpoint. And he’s a good glove there. Good dude as well, by the way. Platoon first baseman. Couldn’t cost you much. So now we’re down to really two spots. One at third, one in the outfield. The Mets just got Jorge Palano. This was over the weekend. 2 years and 40 million. That’s not a long commitment. He’s 32, so that’s understandable. Batted 265 with 26 home runs and 78 RBI’s for the Mariners this past season. Middle infielder, but he’s also had at least a couple of cups of coffee at third base, including five starts for Seattle just this past season. Water under the bridge. Obviously, the Mets signed him. I I don’t understand why the Pirates wouldn’t have. And more tellingly, I don’t understand why they weren’t one of the teams that Palano’s agent leaked out as having been interested. Are they still eyeing some super crazy big fish? If so, I I can’t imagine who it would be. Are they trying a different approach? Are they still thinking that Jared Triolo could just magically pop through? I don’t know. But I will say it feels so much smarter to spread it out than to funnel everything into one guy when we come back. J1Q. If you’re looking for a great dining experience, look no further than Northshore Tavern. Located directly across Federal Street from PNC Park, next door to Mike’s Beer Bar, Northshore Tavern is Pittsburgh’s home for steak on a stone. Enjoy your steak finished on a hot lava stone in front of you where you ensure each piece is cooked to exactly your liking. Or try their rotating selection of entre, hot sandwiches, salads, and burgers, all while enjoying the ambiance dedicated to the great players and history of the Pittsburgh Pirates all around you. Come see why everyone’s talking about Northshore Tavern and Steak on a Stone. It’s Gun Storage Check Week. Help prevent unwanted access to your firearms. No one wants their unsecured gun to be used in an accident, a suicide, or a crime. Use lock boxes, safes, and locks to secure your firearms. Learn more at gunstorage check.org. That’s gunstoch check.org. Brought to you by NSSF, the Firearm Industry Trade Association. [Music] Today’s J1 Q comes from John Marshall who says, “DK, do the Pirates need to overpay free agents to get them to come to Pittsburgh or is the best option for the Pirates to get people through trades?” I’m long of the belief that if you outpay somebody else, you’re going to get the guy. I have covered countless scenarios, including working with agents as they go through a process that includes the Pirates. Now, most of that, for full context, was during the Neil Huntington tenure, but the point is on the agent’s end. And I can tell you agents, you get them off the record, which is where only about 99% of those conversations are. And they’ll just tell you, look, if the Pirates just added on $250,000, they’d have this guy. They just that’s just how it is. My guy wants to be paid. He’s got one contract left in his career and he wants to make sure he’s taken care of. That’s the way they talk. But then the deals get signed and it’s all about he wanted to come home. Uh his wife is from here or there. He has an ailing relative three states away which is nice and close for him. That that kind of stuff that kind of stuff is what what ends up being put out there where if you want to deal in reality Chapman had just won a World Series in Arlington, Texas. Loved these guys. You could tell when the pirates went to have a series down there while he was still here and he was given his ring and the ceremony at home plate and he was all like weepy and grateful and everything else. My friends, he left the Rangers because the Pirates added 500 grand onto a $10 million offer. Just walked right out of there. This guy’s career earnings, according to Spot Track, are $176 million. He he he gleefully, eagerly, unflinchingly left the champions to come to the Pirates because they offered an extra 500 grand. There are exceptions to this, but there aren’t many. Go read up on the saga of Freddy Freeman, Mr. Atlanta, Mr. Braves. lifetime dedication. Dodgers come in with a couple extra bucks and there went Freddy. So this thing that a lot of people talk about and that you ask about John by and large is malarkey specifically this idea that you have to really really entice that player to come to the Pirates. That was true before Paul skins, but skins in this rotation in general have created something of a different perception about the Pirates when they come to town within the baseball world, meaning the actual baseball world, the players, the coaches, the managers, and so forth. They’re not anybody’s joke when it comes to facing them over the course of a series because you might run into the three pitchers that you don’t want to see. Case in point, actually a glaring case in point came in September when the Dodgers passed through here PNC Park and the Pirates swept them. And there weren’t any real remarks about it or whatever because everybody knows that if the Pirates line up their right pitchers against you, they’re going to get you or they have a really, really good chance to get you even with the world’s worst offense. So, that aspect is beginning to move in the Pirates favor as well. But again, all you have to do is drop an additional penny in front of somebody and they’re going to go diving for it. I appreciate the question. And I appreciate everybody listening to Daily Shot of Pirates. We’ll be back with another one of these tomorrow. [Music]

Is there really any single-pill cure left out there?

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