Pirates fans’ everywhere have been in pain since the early 2000s. Even in 2013, when the Pirates won a playoff game for the first time since 1992, the good feelings didn’t last.
The Pirates were postseason participants from 2013-2015 and went 1-2 in WIld Card games. In the year they went to the NLDS they were eliminated in 4 games. The team didn’t resign players that helped them get there in 2013 such as Marlon Byrd and Russell Martin. A few years later they would trade good, performing players like Pedro Alvarez, Andrew McCutchen, Gerrit Cole, and Starling Marte, why is that?
It’s because owner Bob Nutting is cheap and doesn’t like spending money. The Pirates usually target low market and older players in free agency or call up prospects when they clearly are not ready for the big leagues. Just this past year the Pirates signed Jarrod Dyson and J.T. Riddle, Dyson is 35 years of age, and J.T., who is 28 has yet to hit over .250 in BA.
Before the Chris Archer trade at the 2018 trade deadline, the Pirates haven’t make a splash move like that since 2012 when they acquired A.J. Burnett from the Yankees. The organization settles and gets the bare minimum players for the cheapest price because Bob Nutting wants to line his pockets with money. Nutting is one of the richest owners in the entire MLB, you would think he could spend a little more money getting players that produce which would then bring in more fans and sell out games since the MLB has no salary cap.
The season started off differently due to Coronavirus. Fans around the MLB thought they would see top prospects play in the big leagues because of the expanded rosters and the alternative training site. Pirates fans thought they would be seeing 3rd baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes but they never have, as Hayes was put on the COVID list. Instead, the Pirates called up players like Will Craig and Phillip Evans.
Evans has been the only bright spot Pirates fans have had to hold tightly on to this season, hitting .359 with 9 RBI’s. The pitching has been chaotic because Mitch Keller, Chris Archer, and Joe Musgrove are out with injuries. It seems like every two or three days there is a new pitcher making their debut. As a Pirates fan, this is just painful and I don’t understand the front office and coaching staff’s thinking.
Pittsburgh has a terrible pitching system all the way down to the low minor leagues. When was the last time a pitcher who was drafted by Pittsburgh and went through the system showed to be decent? I believe that would be Gerritt Cole in 2013, who is currently a New York Yankee. Another example is Tyler Glasnow, he always seemed to struggle with the Pirates then he goes to the Rays and finished 2019 with a 1.78 ERA.
The Pittsburgh Pirates need an owner change if they are going to be a threat in the NL Central. Obviously you can’t demand an owner change but that is pretty much the only way. The Pirates need an owner who will go out and sign big-name players who can contribute. An owner who will not trade away good players because they cost too much. An owner who is not worried about making profits more than the productivity of his team.
