Pirates Fan Forum Ep. 219 Will the Password help unlock this Pirates offense?

Pirates Fan Forum Ep. 219 Will the Password help unlock this Pirates offense?

[Music] [Music] Hello and welcome to the Pirates Fan Forum here on DK Pittsburgh Sports Podcast Network. I’m your host, Gary Morgan. With me as always, my good friend Jim Stam. Jim, we get to talk about a something that actually happened for once. Amazingly. Yeah. Yeah. You know, it’s uh Well, our buddy Martin White says, “Y’all got snow up there.” We got cold up here. It’s cold, but the hot stove’s heating up a little bit, Gary. It’s something maybe get us, you know, keep us a little warm during the holidays. Yeah. Yeah. Plus, it it did snow just, you know, we’re supposed to get them a little bit more tonight, I think, into tomorrow morning, which is cool. And I just got back from the gigantic Christmas festival up in Zillian Opople, my home town. Man, that’s where I grew up. My old stomping grounds. They had the Miracle on Maine up there. I could not believe how many people were there, Jeff. There were people who were fans of the Buffalo Bills there and like Cleveland Browns and like I mean there people traveled for this and I see why it looks like a Hallmark little town man. It really does. you suddenly suddenly I have I have a picture of you like with your little mittens on sipping some uh cider somewhere and uh that’s that’s that’s as close to a Hallmark movie as I want to imagine with you in it. Bro, all I’m saying is like I was looking over my shoulder for whoever Megan knew 20 years ago that was going to bust back into her life and save her from her terrible relationship and move her back to this beautiful small town. It’s all I’m saying. Got out of there as quickly as we could. I had a I had a very pricey coffee in a little boutique. I’ll tell you what it man, it was like a a new Mount Lebanon popping up up north. It’s just become such a bougie little town now. Dude, when I grew up, it was just a dusty little village. So, well, you know what? Um, yeah. So, that’s the thing about Well, I’m not going to I’ll be I’ll say nice things about Lebo. I’m here and uh Well, well, let’s just keep Let’s just move on, Gary. Let’s just move on. I got you. All right. So, this trade Pirates make a big trade with the Red Sox. God, how long we’ve been talking about this making sense? So, the Pirates move uh starting pitcher Johan Oedo. uh Tyler San Diego who we just saw in Altuna and uh was just added to the 40man left-handed pitcher there. So, a little surprising if only because of the Pirates already shockingly low depth with left-handed pitching that he would be the type of inclusion here, but I understand it. And you know, he hasn’t debuted and it’s not a sure thing he’s gonna so I get it. and uh a a catcher Adonis Guzman. All in exchange for I think I’m doing this right, Joe’s TSen, I think so, or the Password Garcia, Boston’s number three prospect per MLB pipeline and right-handed pitcher Jesus Travaso. I’m not really going to bother getting into a whole lot about really anybody other than Johan Novo and Garcia here. That’s those are the headliners of this deal. I think those are the important ones for us to discuss right now. Sure. Uh I’m not going to bury the lead, Jim. To me, fantastic trade. Exactly the type of trade this team should be making. Uh I’ve only wanted this kid from Boston since I saw him play in spring training in 2024 and have been bitching about it ever since. So for me to get this dude, it’s almost like playing MLB The Show. I got exactly the trade I wanted. Yeah. Before I even go to uh my reaction to it, what I will say is is like we have kind of been saying that this is the type of um um sandbox you’re playing in if you want to get somebody back that is a good prospect in the AAA area, double A area with paying it with it for it with OADO. Um, a lot of people think, you know, oh, it’s it it sucks to get rid of Odo. It does. I I don’t disagree with that, but there’s a lot of people in Boston that probably feel that we’re probably big Password fans, too. I know they have some a glut in uh outfield, but it seems to me like both teams are happy with the returns they’ve gotten. Don’t you think? I I do. I do. I mean, let’s talk about Password a little bit because probably not an instant answer, right? He’s not a finished product. He’s MLB ready. It’s completely plausible that he could make it out of spring. I’m not guaranteed. Yes, but it could happen. Sure. Um, the big thing with him is power and he’s got a ton of it and he has consistently showcased it and he flew through the Red Sox system. He really did. He’s essentially 23 years old. Jim, this is a gigantic muscular looking kid. I mean, his baseball reference says he’s six foot. That’s probably accurate, but he’s about he feels like he’s almost as wide as he is tall, but he’s He’s put he’s put on a lot of muscle, a lot of weight. Yeah. Fast. And he can really play all three outfield positions. I think that’s an important distinction there. And I I also I saw some people already like kind of mad like that we were ditching money off of the payroll. Like it literally does cut payroll. So I’m not going to sit here and say like, “Oh, this this goes towards making that that huge investment they’ve been talking about.” But we’ll talk about that later in the show. But for right now, like this is just a good trade. Just look at this trade. Not every trade is meant to solve every issue. Look at it individually. This is a good trade. This needed to happen. Yeah. Because I mean, here’s the deal. Um, you have to look at it like they need they need some even if he’s not ready on opening day, they still need someone close. And he is at the very worst close to being in the major leagues. And he’s got big upside. And he’s really really kind of um taken off this last year. his moves up in the system didn’t seem to hurt him. In fact, he looked better as he went through their system. Um, he wasn’t going to get a chance to play there. I think this is the price you pay to get a good prospect out of someone’s system. This is this is this is a guy that I was willing to trade last year for with for Keller, not straight up, but as part of the package for sure. probably the headliner of the package. I would have wanted better secondary prospects, right? But that’s I would have done that last year. I mean, now this year, the thing is it’s got to be about 2026. So, I mean, do you think there’s an opportunity for him to contribute in 2026? And I do. I just don’t want to sit here and put it on him like, yeah, he’s the opening day starter in left field. He may very well be, right? No, that’s that’s the thing, right? Is that in a vacuum, if you’re just looking at this trade, I think you can say you you’re excited about it. You feel like you gave to get, but we all know there has to be more pieces to this puzzle this off season, right? You can’t This can’t be the guy. This can’t be the thing you’re waiting on playing in left field on opening day. Um, I also don’t want to like forget to smell the roses just because I remember there they were grown in manure, you know? That’s why that’s why we haven’t any I didn’t even broach that subject till we just got to it. Right. Right. No, I’m not even saying that you were brother. I’m just I mean just in general the the tone around the team kind of sucks these things down and makes people initially want to hate everything they do. Like I hope people are grown up enough to take just a little bit of a step back. This doesn’t have to change your mind about anybody or anything or sure what they’ve done or whether they should be here or should stay or doesn’t matter. Just individually look at this trade. They traded a guy that they’ve got three years of control left this year and then two more years of arbitration and Johan Noviet is gone. then you’re not going to extend Johan Novo. You’re just not because it took him a little bit longer to get to the league. So, he’s going to be coming up on a different age. He’s a good fit for Boston. He’s a decent bet at a guy that could be a little bit of a horse for them. You know, he’s got some experience in the major, so it makes sense for them to trade for him. He’s low risk for them, and they just don’t have room for password. I mean, like, they don’t I get it. Let’s uh we got more to we got more on this subject because I think it it it bleeds into other areas of the team and maybe what they’re thinking. So, um let’s take that break and then we can get back to it. Sounds good. At DK Pittsburgh Sports, we take pride in coverage that connects our city’s fans to their favorite teams. Now, that connection stronger than ever. Introducing our allnew state-of-the-art app. Find expert inside reporting and original podcasts. Check live box scores. Track the latest stats. Chat it up with our community of thousands of fans all in one place. The new app from DK Pittsburgh Sports. Coverage that connects. [Music] Welcome back to the Pirates Fan Forum here on DK Pittsburgh Sports Podcast Network. Jim, we have I mean, we’ve already had a pretty lengthy conversation about this deal. We might circle back and talk a little bit more about it, but I I think it’s fair to say we both think this was a positive deal. We both like it. I I think we both feel like we gave up something of value and got something of value. Think we both think that they’re both going to affect 2026 for their respective teams in some way. I I think it was just a good baseball trade, man. Yeah. And here here’s the thing that pirate fans aren’t used to. And not only are they not used to it. Um they don’t trust who does it, but there’s always risk involved with this, right? There has to be. You have to. You’re you’re you’re banking on the fact that you can live without a ODO regardless of what he does. And password is a guy that’s going to if not immediately give you impact very very soon give you impact. There’s risk. There’s risk involved with it. You have to live with it. You have to I think there the upside here a couple things. I think where he is right now just what I’ve seen of his development and again I have coveted this player for two years. I have paid attention to him as if he were a Pirates prospect. I mean, like I’ve befriended Red Sox beat writers to help me keep track on of this guy and Tristan Cases. Okay, I love this player. So, I really do have a lot of faith in him. I’m tamping it down myself a little bit because I can get too excited about prospects easily. But to add him as kind of a backs stop to Griffin who’s like getting ready to come up to I I think and and Flores who’s really ready to kind of like I think get a a solid chance. That’s a pretty good looking young core of players that are just getting ready to kind of come up together and it almost doesn’t matter necessarily how they came together into the organization. you know, a couple trades and one, you know, drafted as as much as it’s happened. And that’s kind of what you need to see, right? Yeah. And you’re talking about versatility in a good way. He can play all three outfield positions. I I I think he can play center field right now. Conor Griffin’s a shortstop. Conor Griffin’s a center fielder. Um it gives you a little bit more um leeway with Cruz. um you know so there are some things there that like it you know like you said it doesn’t matter where you bought the groceries uh is the meal good at the end of the day and I think with these players you have a chance for that to be the case I mean let’s talk about what it causes for the Pirates now because I think the first inclination if you’re a Pirates fan they’ve made a trade for a position of need for a guy that’s relatively close so You probably just say that’s the starter in your head, right? I I don’t think so this time. I really don’t. And I think that to get into this conversation, Jim, I think we really have to talk about their finances. There’s been a report recently by DK that, you know, he’s been told, you know, to expect them to probably hit a $95 million payroll here this year. and he thinks they have permission to go 110 if it was a real difference maker. I’ve heard much the same now. I’ve kind of been on that 95 for a long time. You know that because I keep saying it on the show while you roll your eyes. So, but I’ve been saying it for a while. There’s a reason I’m saying it. I’m hearing it. So, it’s not so much that I believe it as much as I’m just telling you. That’s what I’m hearing. So, if that’s the case, they’ve got about 35 million to spend, man. Like, just to hit that, and no, I don’t think they have to, but I do think they want to. And I think Deon’s on to something with why. And it’s why a lot of these smaller market teams this year are rumored in all this stuff, like Miami. And the only one I’m not hearing is Colorado really for some reason, but that’s because they owe so much money to so many bad contracts that they’ve signed over the years that nobody’s complaining about their payroll, right? But the A’s are trying to add, you know, I mean, and Cincinnati’s trying. So, and I think that’s posturing for 2027 a little bit. You want to sit elbow to elbow with Hal Steinbrer, you better you better have tried a little bit if you know what I mean, right? I think there’s real incentive to spend this money. I do think their interest in guys like Schwarber and what I think it’s real. I’m not saying they’re going to hit on them, but I do think they’re trying to. I really do. Yeah, I can see um there’s definitely some optics to it this time around as we head into this year and into what ultimately will be some sort of work stoppage, excuse me. But I do think you will see them. I think this is the thing too when you talk about making the trade for for Password. Um, you you’re hoping that they’re still going to add probably two bats. I would I would hope that that’s the case. Um, I mean, what what positions are you focused on? I’d like to get third base settled and um and I’d like to get a bonafide major league established starting corner outfielder. Right. I think I think that still needs to happen even with Password because ultimately I think Brian Reynolds moves to DH so or Cruz but I think Reynolds handles DH better mentally. I think Cruz needs to play the field. Yeah. Oh yes. I think um I think if there’s a transition to be made there, Reynolds would be it. And if if if Cruz has a bad season this year, he’s on his way. they’ll move him in the next off season. So, there’s no to me it’s either that or not, you know? So, a guy that’s out there, you commenters, you guys, I was just going to go with this. You rap scallions, Stephen Quan is such a perfect fit for this team, man. He gives him a lead off hitter, average on base percentage, a couple years of team control, four straight gold gloves, left field starter, right? I mean, at PNC Park. And then if Password needs a spot, well, Reynolds can DH, you know, like I think like they’re setting some stuff up here. I mean, and like Marty even points out here, Valdez should be ready in 2026. I would say he says 2027, but I think 2026 we’ll see Esmer Valdez as well. I mean, the Pirates are starting to develop a little crop of some exciting hitters suddenly here, Jim. And I really do think they need to focus back on more established major league players, but I I just I don’t hate going after somebody just because he still needs a little work because I I I just think that’s how you get power in this league. I I just don’t think a lot of people are selling power when it’s available. Look how damn expensive it is. Yeah. I mean, why do you think Schwarber is getting the attention he is at his age? I mean, um, truth. Suarez, too. Suarez with the strikeout numbers and and sketchy defense is still getting a ton of interest. Yeah. The thing with Quan that, you know, that I wonder what the price there would be to get him. Um, you know, there’s some really favorable numbers for that guy still as far as his contract goes. And I think they have him, what is it, under is he under control? Let’s see. He’s eligible for free agency in 2028. So, um, you know, you’re talking one year and then whatever happens in 2027 as far as baseball goes. Um, so I wonder what the price tag would be there. I I think they just need more professional hitters. Steven Quan certainly is. I would take uh Johannio Suarez in a heartbeat. I know his age is an issue, but the power is there. Even if they just add power to this lineup, they will help themselves. Yeah, I would agree with that. I would agree. I I mean, Cleveland, I’ll tell you one thing, when they trade with the Pirates, it’s always a good bet. Get it? Always a good bet, Jim. Always. Oh, man. Yeah. So I I like won that trade. I like Steven Quan. That would be a good acquisition, a good target and and yeah, you got to deal with the price and everything, but I think they still have more pitching they could move. I do. And and I think at this point you could start considering some guys that you were holding on to because you were so thin on the prospect like um on the hitting side of things. Now, I think you could probably start opening the door to being willing to move on from some guys like, oh, Mitch Jeb, you know, like those those guys that kind of like moved up to a certain level and then are looking like they’re slowing down and and kind of starting to fall back down the prospect rankings. Those types of guys you can start tossing into deals now, right, as sweeteners and get rid of them and move them move on from them. Anybody like that that that you think like I think Chang is it the shorts stop that they put on the 40man probably a year or two early last year is a guy that they could probably consider tossing in as a sweetener. Yeah, we’ll have to get some of our our little trade builder gurus that uh watch the show and come up with something for me to see it because I do here’s the thing. I do see a a a perennial contender looking like they might be the ones willing to grab a Steven Quan just because they can throw some of their prospects at him. They don’t care about him being, you know, they’re looking for the right now and they’ll they’ll do it probably more than the Pirates would, but I would be aggressive with him. I certainly would. Now, let’s say that let’s say like that they get Suarez. I think I think ultimately I can I find it difficult to believe Kyle like Kyle Schwarber is really going to leave Philadelphia. I really do. I’m kind of warming to the JT Realm Muto thing. If only because I think he’d be split time with Henry. He’s certainly a good enough catcher that he can catch anybody you want, right? He’s gonna hit enough and he might be that kind of evangelist free agent that this franchise needs desperately. you sign somebody here to help kind of spread the news that it’s okay to take this franchise seriously this year at least, you know, because I think we’re going to have a hard time spending that $35 million. I don’t think they have the roster space to go out and sign six or seven guys, you know what I mean? I think I think they’re going to have to have one or two of those be pretty larger investments. And there’s only so many guys like that out there that they need. Yeah. Well, this is back to the whole thing of them trying to cobble stuff together between from four signings, right? You know, maybe just concentrate on one or two and try to get it done that way. Um, are you thinking they are done on the trade side of things and they’ll just focus on spending the money or will they still look to do the trade route? I think they’ll still look to do the trades too, but I think there’ll be a money eating aspect to it. Like there are some targets out there that I think could be considered not salary dumps, but clearly teams are in some trouble and need to clear out some space. You know what I mean? No, that’s a good point. I think I tend to and fans in general tend to forget that there’s other ways to get to get more for less if that if you’re willing to take some money on to do it now. The Pirates maybe we forget about that because it’s the Pirates. True. I I think that they can go after guy I keep bringing up Anthony Santandere because you know the Blue Jays barely used him. Um, they’re clearly not planning to if they’re out there trying to hunt down Kyle Tucker, too, right? So, they they they want something different. I don’t know what they plan to do with them, but they got that guy makes a lot of money up there. He signed a big contract. They should they should be willing to eat a little bit of it and not ask for a whole hell of a lot to move him. I’d be in on that. I wanted them to sign him last year. Well, all the guys were talking about is there is some pros and cons to it. That’s just that’s just where the pirate they wouldn’t be available if there weren’t. Yeah. Yeah. Right. Um so, you know, I I’m probably very I’m more hesitant on Rio Muto than that you seem to be coming around to it a little bit. I’m very worried about him at this stage. Um, I still think he controls the running game really well, but I think you’re seeing other parts of his game, you know, regress. I think I’d probably rather just sell out for somebody with some power. I think two years of Rio Mioto is not a lot different than two years of Russell Martin and I still look back on him fondly. Russell at this stage too. I really specifically mean I I think it’s a direct comp. Russell Martin wasn’t that freaking good. Legit, bro. Like go back and look at his stats when he was here. Cvelli was way better. So I I mean like I I think uh I kind of think Rioto is in that territory. Veteran leader, been on a winning team. That’s kind of what I want. like and I think could probably teach Henry a thing or two about how to focus on the game planning and your offense at the same time. I just think he needs a mentor that’s done this before. And I’m not sure if Raphael Flores is going to be enough. And I don’t think Joey Bart is what for whatever reason the right type of mentor for him. You know, he failed himself as a top prospect. So not sure I like that being his example. That’s why I’m starting to I’m starting to drink the Kool-Aid of Riomto a little bit. Plus, I think it could be some easy money to spend. 10 12 million a year for a couple years. One of which you might not even play. Who cares, you know? I And that’s kind of where I’m at with it. Be interesting to see what the market is for him, I guess, is what I’d need to see first. Sure. I I I agree. I wouldn’t overpay for him, Jim. Sure. I just think he’s a guy that I I was completely out on. I’m just kind of I’m opening my door to it a little bit, you know, and you’d you’d move on from Bart at that point, which I’m fine with. Some people aren’t. There’s a question in here about Cody Bellinger, guy that keeps getting a lot of interest. I have not heard him connected to the Pirates. I have heard that he is not interested in the Pirates, but I’m gonna just leave it there. I think I think there are guys that I just automatically slot in a different type of universe for the Pirates and he’s one of them that I just don’t think that’s ever going to be something that would occur on either end to be quite honest with you. No. And I I know Cherton loves the player and I know he’s tried for him a couple times. Um, I just think that that those talks have been kind of exhausted to the point where they’re not even trying this time. In other words, he said no a few times. So, you know, I think I understand why. Hey, it all makes sense from a, you know, left-handed power guy. Um, still can play uh the field, still is a good run producer. All that stuff makes sense. It’s just something that I don’t think is ever going to be in the plans either way. So, and I understand why they’re not in it on Tucker because we’re talking about mega deal. Same same deal. Even more so. I’ I’ I’d be shocked if he wasn’t done with the Dodgers with barely a whimper from anyone else. You know, I the Blue Jays are giving a run at some of these guys, but I really think Tucker goes to Los Angeles. I do. Just feels that way to me. I think that that’s where he will definitely end up. And I think he’s going to um be on the higher side of the projections of what he gets or is what is what it’s supposed to get. Now, that might be something to look out for because there there’s a couple players that were that the Dodgers were kind of like limping into the World Series with a little bit. And I’m not saying they’re done with them, but I I I want to keep my eye and ears open about Andy Pahes because I think there’s a chance that he could be the next guy that the Dodgers send off because they just don’t have time for him not being perfect. And I think we’ve seen them do that with a few other guys. Michael Bush comes to mind in Chicago. and and we missed on Bush. I think that would have been a great acquisition that was available. I kind of don’t want to miss the boat if Pahus comes available because that that dude could he could really play the outfield, man. I I would really like and I think the bat I think he’s got a thunder stick. I know he needs work, but like that’s the type of trade I’d love to see. He’s a step right in guy starting well and uh in terms of years of control he he he really fits the p the Pirates too. He does. But I think that’s a guy that could come available now. What would the Dodgers want from the Pirates? I don’t know. I mean at that stage though they’re probably looking for prospects. You could see them maybe even try to move on from Geez. I think they just resigned Tay Oscar Hernandez, but you could see them potentially want to move on from him or or something if they get Kyle Tucker. So, something could shake free from the Dodgers is what I’m saying. So, pay attention as they start signing some guys there. But, for the most part, Jim, it’s going to be hard to spend money on big big names. So, you you kind of got to start embracing guys with imperfection that second rung down. And and I just don’t see enough people kind of open to even thinking about that. Every everything you throw out is he’s not good enough. That’s not enough. This won’t fix that. They need this, this, this, this. One thing at a time, people. One thing at a time. Yeah. And I guess the thing is too that I would say is the pirates are probably always in a position where they’re going to have to probably spend a little bit more to get someone to come here even if that person has some question marks. It’s just, you know, they’ve largely done that to themselves. But that that’s probably what it’s going to take. And you know what? I’d rather have them swing and miss than just stand there, which, you know, has happened far too often. Yeah, it’s I don’t want to get on them like they’re, you know, they’re in these. Yeah, sure they are. I really do believe they’re trying for these. Like, it’s not an accident that they’re being reported as still being in on specific guys. Like, it’s being repeated by different reporters. The agent is clearly putting that out there, right? like that that they’re involved in it. So, yeah, it could just be drumming up a market, but it’s funny to me on some of these guys like Schwarber and whatnot. How many of them are these small market teams going after them, right? Somebody knows something like something’s going on there, don’t you think? I agree. I I don’t I don’t think as dumb as the pirates can be, I really don’t think this is we’ll we’ll put this out there and then have no intentions of doing any. There’s there’s there’s zero payoff to that, right? And I I really don’t believe that they would think Garcia is the answer, period. And like let’s just be cool with it. I I really don’t. I that just would not be be that wouldn’t be enough to even pretend and and wouldn’t be anything similar to what they’ve considered trying in the past. Their their way of trying cheap is not going and getting a kid and plugging them in. It should be it should have been on the way here. That should have been the way they operated on the way here. You know, that’s the way they should have been trading. Many times, right? How many times did we complain about that on the way here again? I don’t want to stop smelling the roses because of the manure. I’m going to remind myself. But now that you’ve done that, I I think they understand like they have to they have to go right now a little bit. They do. First, I think how could Cherrington not think his job’s on if he doesn’t do it this year, he’s done. Williams has to feel the same way. He’s the one that put out the guarantee. They’re both done if it doesn’t happen this year because honestly Bob won’t need anybody running his damn team now in 2027. Yeah, he’s got plenty of time to do whatever. Yeah, for sure. And I I would say that Well, let me ask you this, Gary, because since um I saw a little bit bit of this and I think it is a natural kind of question um once this happened with Odo. Um Keller, what do you think? Where can we tuck Mitch Keller into his little little pirate bed every night now and he’s going to be there in spring and then we don’t have to worry about it or what do you think? Yeah, I mean I know you’re too busy to listen to all my nonsense shows every every day. I get it. But just literally in yesterday’s show, I put that to bed already. I I mean I’ve been hearing that the team had kind of like changed their minds on it and the math doesn’t work. They’ve they really felt like if they moved him they were going to have to replace him and they felt like it was going to cost almost what he cost. So it just wasn’t going to work out for them. The returns didn’t look like what they were hoping they would look like either. So I I just think that’s done. I was 95% yesterday. That’s what I said on the show. Literally, the 5% happened tonight. Yeah, I think so, too. Um I do think that that pretty much solidifies the fact that they won’t move him. He he he’s too important to them now for innings. Um and stabilizing that rotation as as as a veteran in there. Um I think you know what you’re going to get with him. Does he need to improve those second half numbers? Absolutely. But um I do think I do think that puts it to bed. I think so too, my friend. So, I want to talk about another subject that’s kind of been floating around and it’s the Andrew McCutchen um comment that about Alex Stump supposition that he was leaning towards him potentially not being back this year. wasn’t directly a slap at Alex or anything, but I just want to talk about it because it’s a couple years in a row now with Cutch kind of lashing out at the local pseudo media about, you know, comments and guesses and whatnot. And I don’t know, I just feel like we owe it a conversation. Before we take a break, Jim and I have a brand new contest on the show that we want to announce. We think this is going to be a lot of fun cuz listen, Ben is becoming a superstar in sports and Jim is just not willing to sacrifice the NIL money anymore to have him close the show. So, I’ll let Jim give you the real reasons later, but like just go with me. I’m trying to have some fun. But, uh, Ben is going to no longer close the show out very soon. We’re going to do it again here at the end, but we want you guys to submit a new closing for our show. We want you guys to record a 10second clip of somehow creatively saying, “Let’s go Bucks.” It would be great if it was a horizontal video instead of a vertical video, but use your phone. send it to me on Yeah, we’ll we’ll uh we’ll make sure to look, it can be it can be your kid, it can be a grandkid, it can be as Larry said or as who said it to me earlier today? Um I have a buddy. He was talking about this. He’s like, even if it’s now, let’s just say this, dog, cat, Gary said parrot earlier tonight. Uh, whatever you got, just um come up with something. Ben wants to hand it off to somebody. Whatever it is, let’s say it’s uh pirate queen here. She wants to do it in her uh Krampus outfit. Do it. Do it. Like, and maybe we’ll change it all the time, you know? Maybe we’ll change it periodically. It doesn’t have to live for the next 50 years or some something like that. Just let’s let’s make it your ending. Like let’s go Bucks has to be included. That’s for sure. Let’s go Bucks has to be included. It could be a dog doing it. It could be you. It could be your baby. Whatever. Just make sure that it’s said. That’s all. Got to do it. Let’s see what Let’s see what you guys can come up with. It’ll be a lot of fun. Let’s take that break, Jim. Let’s come back and let’s [ __ ] about Cut a little bit so that maybe he replies to us. So, we’re leveling. At DK Pittsburgh Sports, we take pride in coverage that connects our city’s fans to their favorite teams. Now, that connection’s stronger than ever. Introducing our all-new state-of-the-art app. Find expert inside reporting and original podcasts. Check live box scores. Track the latest stats. chat it up with our community of thousands of fans all in one place. The new app from DK Pittsburgh Sports coverage that connects. Hey, welcome back to the Pirates Fan Forum here on DK Pittsburgh Sports Podcast Network. Martin, there is no deadline for the contest, brother. Whenever you just go ahead and enter it in, I don’t care. We might change this all the time. Chip and I are like free thinkers, man. We we love to just blow with the wind and change it. We’re like we’re like um reformed hippies at this stage. So, let’s make it fun. Listen, we tried Call Your Shot. We tried having you guys do videos for Call Your Shot. Whatever. Just do something creative. It doesn’t have to be you on camera. Point it at your stupid like elf on the shelf and and say, “Let’s go Bucks.” I don’t care. Just give me a video that says, “Let’s go Bucks.” That’s 10 seconds long to close the show out. And be as creative as you want. Yeah. But have fun with it for real. And don’t be nervous about it or nothing. I’m not going to make fun of them. We’re not going to critique them. I’m just going to have fun with it. That’s all. New way to close out the show. That’s it. And and I lied too before we get into catch. Faithful follower Adam Yarovski has gone ahead to his trade value calculator and predicted a Guardians Pirates trade. I knew for Steven Quan. Are you ready to hear it? Mike Burroughs and Termar Johnson for Steven Quan. Would you do it? The value is almost dead on. I’d do it. And I love Mike Burroughs as you know. H for two years. I would, man. Like it’s about 2026. Does he make this team better in 2026? Oh well. will. Yes, he does. He makes every team better. Question answered for me, brother. I’m going to start thinking differently. If they’re trying to win in 2026, if it answers that question, if it accomplishes that goal in my mind, I’m I’m in. Do it within reason. Yeah. You know, um, how old is Stephen Quan? Let’s see. 28. You know, that’s a guy that I could get on board with. Even if he played well, could you extend him out? I guess you could. He’s only going to make about 8 million this year because he’s a guy that probably doesn’t, you know, because of the type of hitter that he profiles to and has been in player, he’s not going to be in that upper echelon of like salary contracts either, you know. No, a tremendous fielder. Um, traditionally pretty good on base percentage. Average wasn’t great last year. He had a down year last year. Power is middling. He’ll hit you 10 home runs. He’s slowing down on the base paths. His stolen bases are falling off, but he really, really is. Yeah, he was still a 3.7 war guy last. He really, really is a leadoff hitter. And he really, really is a tremendous top-notch fielder. almost a guaranteed drop in gold glove left fielder. Like I’m just saying for me that makes this team exponentially better in 2026. That’s what I’m doing for a guy probably going to use in the bullpen. Screw it, York. Hit hit accept. Do it, York. Now you know. That’s what we’re doing. So Andrew McCutchen, who we are not going to rumor is being traded. I I don’t want to get any nasty grams. So yeah, like listen, this I think this was completely innocent really. Like Alex Stumpf has asked u you know his opinion. Yeah. Yeah. That’s the thing about these, right? Is like it’s just you’re you’re just giving your honest feel of the vibe, right? I mean, but as so often happens, it doesn’t stay in Alex’s mouth or in Alex’s words or where Alex said it, which was on a Reddit AMA where all he did is say, “I’m leaning towards Cut not coming back next year.” That’s it. Nothing nothing more than we did last week. Really, we mused the same kind of thing, right? So then it goes to um you know Northshore 9 and they put it out there and for whatever reason Northshore 9 triggers the hell out of K. He just responds to that account like it sets him off. It’s we’ve seen some Steelers that couldn’t resist like going after Steeler Nation or whatever, right? like or Blitzburg or what, you know, there some of them just hate certain accounts, right? I’m not claiming he hates everybody there, but like for whatever reason, every time they tweet something about Cut, he goes back at them. I don’t know why. It could even just be a healthy jab between your I wonder about that. Is this the Jim Rosati that said it’s so funny? Is this Is this the uh Twitter and exile Jim Rosati? I don’t I don’t know. I don’t know if it’s him or not, but it’s really funny either way. And and again, I don’t think there’s anything nefarious there. I just think it’s it’s odd that like it’s a couple times he’s done that cuz it’s something that wasn’t really freaking news until he responds to it and then it’s then it’s news. Suddenly then it’s news like because he responds to it. It wasn’t news when Northshore 9 put it out. It was content. It was like, “Hey, Alex said this. Fans think about it, right? But then Kutch has got to come back with like tune about it. Why?” And like this team is and this McCachen situation is so damn stupid. We know like we have known year after year ever since the first time that he came back. They’re going to do this again next time. They’re going to do this again. the time after that, right? We know they’re gonna Why? Why fake the drama? Why open the door for this? Especially if you’ve got such thin skin, you can’t take Anthony Dinardo tweeting something. You know, the only thing I can only thing I can figure, Gary, what’s that? It is Rosati. I just looked over at the chat. Um, sorry if your ears were burning, Jim. Man, we weren’t trying to badmouth you, brother. Yeah, get get get get get get get get get get get get get get get get get get get get get get get get get get get get get get get get get get get get get get get get get get get that ex account back, Jimbo. Um no, could they be in just wait and see mode with Cutch? Uh just to see what they’re going to do this off season. Um or could they add Cutch regardless? Gary, what do you what do you think? I think they can add Cut regardless. Um, the thing that we talked about most, Jim, was that the role was going to have to be different and we were worried about how Cutch would accept that role change. Well, I think the role change is is going to come and I and I think what Cutch would find if he did a little bit of looking around that most teams are going to do that to a 39year-old player. So I I do believe that yes, he is going to I think he is definitely going to um come back especially after bothering to make a comment like that. He he’s definitely going to I think it’ll be 5 million. I think his role will change. I just think he’ll he’ll play a little less, man. Like he got almost 500 bats last year. Maybe he gets 420 this year or something, you know? like I he’ll probably get less. Probably should get less than that, but he was statistically the second best hitter on the team last year. You know, and sometimes as you get older, less is more. Um if they are going to have him back, you know, um keep him fresher, you know. I I don’t think that’s a bad thing at this point. I guess my question would be, Gary, is why is baseball so weird? Not just the Pirates, just with with signings and free agency and the lulls that seem to go on and it’s a bizarre sport. It’s not It’s the longest free agency period there is, you know, like all the other ones put artificial end dates on on them. You know, free agency opens specifically at this date, it closes specifically on this date. It isn’t a a an entire season to live through where these moves can happen, right? You know, like you would love to I’d love to see them compress the the free agent period. I think it would be fun to see more action, you know, have a a an o a a legal tamping tampering period like the NFL does of of two or three weeks where where guys can talk and and formally come up with deals and whatnot. and then open it up for a month and be done with it. Like I it does drag on too much, but then what the hell would we talk about? Yeah, but you know, Jim, I’m not looking for it to get harder. Like No, but you know, it’s almost like it it it it’s at such a snail’s pace that like at least there would be big big movement at certain times where to me, I don’t know why the players let this happen. like you you’re not you want to create a market, do you not? I mean that that is how things get done and money gets spent. If teams think they have all off season and parts of spring training to finally do somebody’s deal or to see what’s left, I just am surprised the players are okay with it. Um, you know, and maybe there’s another side to that I’m not thinking, but man, you’re just not getting any type of engine revving up at all. I mean, I got to be real with you, man. I I don’t think that it should be open all the way into spring training. Like, there should be roster stops on the way there, you know, like free agency’s over when spring training starts, guys. you know, and then you have what, a a two-day spread from the end of spring training to the beginning of the season. Go ahead and open it up for a couple days there if you want, you know, to like have guys recoup from injuries and whatnot. You can keep trades alive at that at that time, but free agency, put some brakes on it, man. Because honestly, it just sucks like that. It’s literally we’re talking about it for many teams, especially us. We’re talking about it from the very beginning of October. Mhm. All the way until sometimes March. Yeah. And you look what they do with the international uh you know when someone’s posted from Japan or something. What kind of market that creates for a guy, you know, and there there’s a set time frame there and teams have to get in on it and then that’s when things happen. I just it’s shocking to me that they don’t want to simulate that. Look at the NFL when free agency period begins and the type of deals and numbers that are flying around. It’s two three days everybody of values gone and then there’s a few stragglers and then it’s over. I I mean and that’s those are much bigger rosters, you know, like I’m just saying it should be a lot easier to conduct a lot of things in Major League Baseball. It really should. They frustrate me endlessly. It’s the worst run league there is. I I I I I’m very intolerant of some of them. The the free agent period has really been bugging me for a while, though. I I I just think it’s too long. It’s too dragged out. Even the posting system from Japan and Korea to the United States is better. You open up the posting period. You get 45 days to close with the guy. If you want in, you’re in. I’m not saying you should have to pay posting fees for every free agent, but Christ, can’t we just open it for like 45 days and be done with it? Like, compress it a little. I’m not asking you to be unreasonable and have everything done in a week, right? And maybe people, you know, if there’s someone out there that has thought this through more than me about the player side of this and why it’s not that dis advantageous, okay. But I would just think that you’d want to keep the market cranked up as much as you possibly can instead of having teams that know they have months for some of these guys and then they let the market cool. And they teams are notorious to wait. They’re gonna wait it out. Totally, bro. So, Andrew McCutchen then, I mean, just to circle back since we since we derailed ourselves, I I mean, I kind of wanted to talk about this as a larger conversation because with other sports, I think we’re we’re feeling we’re suffering from the teams not being able to move on from what they should be able to move on from. in many ways. Like I think the Penguins probably waited a year or two too long to move on from Mike Sullivan, right? You know, they realistically should have let Chris Latang go at least a few years ago, right? And I’m enjoying watching him play, so take this with, you know, all due respect. Mike Tomlin’s been held on to too long. Let’s be real. like and you know as well as I do this team we when we watch them play football because you watch other games too. Sure. It doesn’t look like they know what they’re doing. They just don’t they don’t look like any other team. It hasn’t been a banner year for Cam Hayward in this regard. Cam Hayward’s a great example. And Cam Hayward’s a guy that man, you know, I had probably more respect for Cam Hayward than almost anybody in this town as far as a sports figure go. I love what he does. Charity work. Walter, man, Walter Payton, man of the year. He’s been a consmate stealer. Hated seeing him do what he did with his contract last year. Hated seeing him whine about getting Need in the belly. hated you. Why are we holding on to these guys that shouldn’t be held on to so tightly that we’re actually starting to poison the well and turn fans on them? I don’t want to have these feelings about Cam Hayward. I don’t want to have a discussion about Andrew McCutchen not seeming like he wants to be cordial. You know what I mean? Yeah. And and I I will say that like I just I I I imagine it’s very difficult, but like I just don’t see the chirping back on social media as anything that benefits you. I I guess maybe they don’t care at some point, you know, as far as where they are in their lives. Yeah. But I don’t think it helps. And I would say that, you know, Gary, I think maybe more than anything with sports in general, it’s become so much more of like an entertainment business and teams. Even in teams here in Pittsburgh, you get very very um incentivized to keep those guys around. I do think that I think that there’s more of that than ever now that has kind of seeped into sports because if you remember the Steelers used to not be that way that they would they would actually do the opposite. They would let someone Chad Brown, Leavon Kirkland, Greg Lloyd, Rod Woodson, um they would do it a year before it actually needed done. So like you know Troy forced to retire, right? Um, the Pirates, uh, I’m sure they fall into that category more than any of them, which is they want that that feel good, that feel good. He’s kind of their only shot at it. Who else is not here any David Var is not here anymore, right? I mean, and and I I I’m sorry. If they were to bring back like Starling Marte, you’re not going to get any warm feelings about that, you know, not at this stage. No. You know, and he doesn’t I don’t think he ever endeared himself the way Cotch did. Not there would be some dieards that would like it, but I’d hate it. I mean, that’d be a white flag to me. I don’t even know what you would do with them, you know? No, I I I just I do think that it’s coming now down more to sports is now more than ever entertainment and there is the investment part of it and I think those teams are or those types of guys are seen as assets and maybe not even assets on the field as much for the brand itself. True. And I and I think that is very true and I think that’s a big reason why I say almost regardless of the fit Cutch will be back. I just think it I just think it makes too much sense he knows what he needs to do here. He knows why he’s here. And I think, yeah, he got a little frustrated last year, but I just think who the hell doesn’t when they’re losing, you know, and you can say that everybody was snowballed and stupid and wrong and but those players really did think they had a chance to win in spring. They really did. They looked at that rotation, they thought they had a good chance to win. They did. I think I think at at players core when they show up for whatever it is, spring training, training camp, whatever it is, is most guys look around and say, “Yes, we have the dudes here.” and and when you get to like September of what okay, you probably don’t consider to be your last season, but you know, you know that it’s getting to the point where you better start slowing down and appreciating what those paintings look like a little bit. you know, sure. Of course, you’re gonna get a little more frustrated, you know, and I think a lot of people kind of read a lot of his comments and his frustration with his own play, you know, stars don’t like to lose anything and he is losing and he knows he is. He knows he’s losing some capability, right? Like that’s frustrating, Gary. you. It’s It’s very much like what we just You mentioned it about Cam Hayward wasn’t upset about getting eat in the stomach. Cam Hayward’s upset about the team stinking, him not playing well, things are a mess. That’s what it is. It’s not about getting eat in the stomach. And it’s not that for Cut either. It’s about all those other things. and it manifests itself in certain ways. I truly believe that and that’s probably up to and including lashing out at a certain tweeter. 100%. This this is, you know, you you you get thin skin about a little bit of everything, do you not? When things aren’t really what you want them to be and how you thought they might go. Absolutely. Yeah, I would think so. I mean, he’s a legend here. I just I I’m so cautious that this ends well. I want I want both parties to make smart decisions. Um I I guess I kind of allowed myself to believe that the Pirates might make a decision more about baseball than about doing right by Cutch. And yeah, I no longer think that. I think they’re going to make a decision that’s does right by Cotch regardless of whether it has anything to do with baseball or not. Uh I don’t think that he’ll be coached in that way though, if that makes sense to you. I I do believe that that courtesy ends at Donnie Kelly’s door. And I think we saw that last year because he did not play him as much as he wanted to be played. Yeah. And I think this is just all the the danger of of when things when things play out a year or two longer than they should have. It’s it’s there’s rarely like a pretty dismount from it, you know, like it’s hard it’s hard for that to happen. And um I it’s going to be hard if Gino still wants to play and goes somewhere else next year and the Penguins don’t want to extend him. Yep. You know, that’s sort of if Brian Russ doesn’t stay, you know, at some point like that’s not Gensel sucked, but what the Penguins is doing is improbable this year and that should be aside. You don’t typically win with a ton of 38, 39, 40, 41 year olds, as I think the Steelers are finding out, too. Yeah. So, you do have to, I think, be willing to move on. And I do believe that Cutch cares enough about this organization that almost more than more so than for himself. I think he would put checks on where he felt he was and not push it too far, if you know what I mean. Sure. But I also think again, second best hitter statistically last year. He’s still got something to give to this team. And you’re a couple injuries away from needing to put Brian back in the field and play catch at DH maybe. you know, like you don’t know what’s going to happen in a season before he becomes very valuable because you have to have somebody to hold down that spot and he’s done it before. And when he’s not doing it, he’s on the bench and he’s the best pitch hitter you have. You know, he’s going to come up and give you a professional at bat. 5050 chance he draws a walk, you know. Yeah. Look, the the ideal scenario is the Pirates still go out, get two at bats. You sign Kutch for the four or five million dollars. He’s the part-time guy that can and and the vibes guy and he can come in and give you some professional bats when he when you need it. I that would be the ideal scenario. So, let’s end the show on this. The qu the name of the show is will the password help unlock the Pirates offense? What do you think in 2026? Does password play a role in helping to make this team hit better? Yeah, at some point. Um, but I don’t know that it will be right out of the gate. Um, he certainly is a candidate that they could still want to get him settled and then make and then bring him back up. I don’t know if it’s going to be right out of the gate, but I know already if it isn’t and it isn’t injury related, it will be a very unpopular decision, if only because this guy’s going to put on a show at that stadium in Bradenton. He is going to hit a lot of home runs under that wind. Yeah. No, you’re right. You’re right. And you know what? fans are going to see him fans would see him in the minors and you’d see Ovido on a big league mound and that won’t sit well with some people. Yeah. And but I think you know to be fair this spring training uh I think it’s going to be a lot of fun. You have a ton of new power like Valdez Griffin now Password. I I I think it’s going to be a lot of fun. Flores. It’s going to be a lot of fun to see some of these guys kind of start to tee off down there in the sun. Man, I I I think Cherington could easily fail to put this team into a playoff situation in 2026, get fired and and the the next team and and leave the team set up enough that it wins after he’s gone. that that wouldn’t be the best outcome for him and eventually I think we’d have to look back on it and kind of like give him some queasy apologies for setting the next GM up well. But he he’s made some moves recently that have made the top of this um organization and the prospect level look just a hell of a lot better overnight. Jim, you’re right. And you know, I’m flash forwarding to 10 years from now and the Twitter arguments about how how we do this with uh former pirate GMs and what they left the what they left the system and the organization. Like we’ll do this with Ben Sherington. We will. Absolutely, brother. And I I can’t wait to be doing it with you because we’ve been doing this show for a long time, Jim. And every time something like this happens and it actually happens on a night when we’re doing the show, I get extra excited because I get to brainstorm it out with you and then it makes me a lot smarter when I make my first comments on the other show. So yeah. Well, I’m glad we can this can be the guinea pig for it, but no, it gives us like when this happens this quickly and we have to go to show, I love it because it’s more just like fresh reaction to it. Absolutely, man. I love it. So, anyways, hey, good stuff. Good trade. Happy about it. We’re gonna listen to Ben till you guys make it change. I’m just telling you, we’re going to say, we’re gonna let Ben say, “Let’s go Bucks” at the end. And Ben wants to grow up. He wants to retire. NIL money’s coming. That’s right. Help Ben. Help Ben clear up funds that Pat Narduzi can find to lure him to the football team. Listen. Once Chris decides he’s allowed to take hits. Just saying. The the holidays are coming up. Get a couple get a couple drinks in you and record a Let’s Go Bucks. Let’s see what happens. Right. This kid’s got Southpaw quarterback all over him. Just saying. Just saying. Let’s go Bucks. Yeah, buddy.

Gary Morgan and Jim Stamm sit down for a late night talk about Cutch, free agency and a plethora of other Pittsburgh Pirates topics!

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