Things have been pretty quiet for the Pirates so far this off-season. They’ve made some moves, but so far those moves have been the expected ones. They added players to the 40-man roster to protect them from the Rule 5 draft. They added a few cheap waiver wire guys, traded for Allen Webster, and signed a few minor free agents. They non-tendered Pedro Alvarez. But they haven’t really started adding the big pieces that they need for the 2016 season.
That really shouldn’t be a huge surprise. The Pirates have been aggressive early in some years, such as last year when they added Francisco Cervelli and A.J. Burnett in mid-November. They also struck early in 2013 when they got Russell Martin. But for the most part, moves all around baseball really pick up during the winter meetings.
Last year the Pirates did add some players early, but then they were quiet until the meetings came around. At that point, they were pretty busy, adding Francisco Liriano and Antonio Bastardo, and finalizing the Sean Rodriguez trade, which came a week before the meetings. Another move that took place right before the meetings was the addition of Clayton Richard. After the meetings, they continued making moves into January and February, with the addition of Jung-ho Kang, and the Travis Snider trade.
The Pirates have some expected moves to make this off-season. They will shop Mark Melancon, and I’d expect a trade. They’ll also shop Neil Walker, although I’d have to think it would be difficult to replace him, to the point where a trade wouldn’t make sense. If they did trade either player, they’d need to find replacements. They need a number three starter, and the early signs are that they’re looking at some reclamation projects. They’ll need bullpen and bench help, as every team does in the off-season. And they’ll need more options at first base, especially now that Alvarez is officially gone.
A lot of those moves should come next week, or at least will start to gain traction. It’s not always a guarantee that things get finished during the meetings. Back in 2013 they didn’t sign Liriano until after the meetings, and they didn’t trade Joel Hanrahan until after Christmas.
The off-season is long, and really doesn’t kick off until the winter meetings. Last year the Pirates made a few key moves during this time, but still had a few big moves reserved for later in the off-season. While this year has been a bit slow, I’d expect that to change next week.
**David Todd Podcast: The Alvarez Non-Tender, Happ, Pirates Pitching Depth. My radio interview with David Todd, discussing the Alvarez decision, and a few pitching related off-season moves.
**A Look Back at Pedro Alvarez’s Career With the Pirates and a Look Ahead at First Base. A long look at Alvarez’s history with the Pirates, and where they go from here.
**Starling Marte Named Best Left Fielder in the Majors. Marte seems to be very underrated, and surprisingly that’s true in Pittsburgh. It’s probably because he’s not traditional in any way. But the overall package gives you one of the better players in baseball.
**Winter Leagues: Polo Off to Strong Start in Colombia, Osuna Homers
**Pirates Non-Tender Pedro Alvarez and Jaff Decker
