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First Pitch: If You Think This Year’s Pirates Bullpen Is Bad…

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The Pirates have had some poor pitching this year throughout their staff, from the rotation to the bullpen. I’ve broken down the many things that has led to this, whether it’s previous top players struggling, a bad off-season approach with the rotation, the injury to Gerrit Cole, the prospects not being ready in time, and so on.

It looks like we might be seeing the light at the end of the tunnel with the rotation. Jameson Taillon showed more encouraging signs tonight in Seattle. Chad Kuhl is in the rotation to stay for now, and I’m looking forward to his next outing on Saturday to see how he does minus the MLB debut jitters. Gerrit Cole will hopefully be back after the All-Star break.

Tyler Glasnow is still having issues in Triple-A, but in the long-term, I think he will join the trio above as one of the top starters in the group. Other long-term options are Steven Brault, Trevor Williams, Nick Kingham, and guys in Double-A like Clay Holmes, Tyler Eppler, and Brandon Waddell. In the short-term, the Pirates will need some sort of turnaround from their current guys like Jeff Locke (who has pitched well lately), Jon Niese, and most importantly, Francisco Liriano.

I think the long-term outlook for the rotation looks good. The 2016 season was a bridge year to the prospects, and the Pirates did a horrible job bridging the gap. But we’re now getting to the point where the prospects are ready to contribute in the majors, and there shouldn’t be the same issues going forward.

I can’t say the same for the bullpen. That’s still an issue for this team, and while it might start getting better with the addition of Juan Nicasio to the group, it’s still a concern. Even worse, while the rotation is trending up, the bullpen looks to be trending down, due to some key free agents on this team. Here is a look at each spot in the bullpen, with more of a long-term view of the positions.

The Closer

The biggest issue the Pirates have going forward is with the closer role. Mark Melancon is a free agent at the end of the season, and with the cost of good closers, plus the lack of reliability for the majority of relief pitchers, it would be wise for the Pirates to let him walk. If they’re out of it at the deadline, it would be even wiser to move him in a trade, getting something in return for him.

Tony Watson would still be around for one more year, so he could take over the closer’s role. But long-term, the Pirates don’t have an internal option that could step up and take over the position after Watson leaves. That could change between now and the end of the 2017 season.

The Set Up Man

If Watson moves up to the closer’s role, there would be a big vacancy in the eighth inning. Neftali Feliz is pitching well enough this year that he could be an option, although he’s not under contract next year. He also would likely cost a lot more than his $3.9 M salary this year. Plus, he’s another guy who might fetch a big return if the Pirates are out of it at this time next month.

Juan Nicasio would be under team control for one more season, but I think the Pirates would need a better option here. Maybe that comes via trade if they’re out of it by the deadline, allowing them to get a relief prospect or a young reliever in exchange for one of their more established guys.

James Santelli had an interesting thought the other night, which might solve this problem in 2017.

I think Liriano has much more value as a starter. If you don’t trust him as a starter, then you could trade him away, dump his salary, probably get a decent return, and use the savings on a cheaper reliever and other help for the team. But the idea of using a former starter in the bullpen is something I’ll get to shortly.

The 7th Inning

This is where I’d feel more comfortable with Nicasio, obviously assuming he performs as well as he did last year in the Dodgers’ bullpen. If he doesn’t, then the Pirates are going to need a big overhaul in their bullpen for next year, as it could be much more grim than what we’ve seen this year.

Middle Relief

This would be the easiest spot to fill, and I say that knowing that the Pirates have had a difficult time filling the middle relief role in 2016. But the Pirates should have plenty of options between one of their current struggling relievers (Arquimedes Caminero, Jared Hughes), their starters who will get pushed to the bullpen (Jeff Locke, Jon Niese if his option is picked up, although I don’t see that happening if he’s just a middle reliever), the prospects in Triple-A who might not make the cut for the rotation (Trevor Williams, Steven Brault, Frank Duncan, and any starter below Triple-A), the guys returning from Tommy John surgery who also might not have a shot at the rotation (Casey Sadler, Brandon Cumpton), and the guys who are actually performing this year (A.J. Schugel and…no, I think actually it’s just A.J. Schugel).

There are also actual relief pitching prospects in the upper levels. Dovydas Neverauskas is getting a lot of attention lately after being selected for the Future’s Game. Edgar Santana is a hard thrower with the potential for a plus slider in Altoona. Jared Lakind and Montana DuRapau have also shown some promise at the level.

With that group, plus the inevitable minor league free agents, waiver claims, free agent signings, minor trades, and so on, the middle relief should have plenty of options. Hopefully that will yield a better situation next year, with maybe one of these guys potentially advancing to a late inning role.

The Short and Long Term

In the short-term, the bullpen might get a boost due to the fallout from the rotation. They’ve already added Juan Nicasio to the mix, and maybe it’s not a coincidence that they’re now on a string of 20.2 straight scoreless innings.

At their best, Melancon, Watson, and Feliz make up a great combo for the late innings. Nicasio, in his 2015 form, would add a great middle reliever to that group. Schugel has done well in his role. And then the Pirates would have a few other options for those final middle relief roles, with the hopes that Hughes and/or Caminero could turn things around.

But there’s also a chance that it might be too late for the Pirates to do anything this year, and if that’s the case by the deadline, we could see this bullpen get blown up. That might help them improve their chances of getting a better bullpen in the long-term, since relievers like Melancon and Feliz would fetch a good return at the deadline.

Scenario number three would have the Pirates floating in no-man’s land, where they’re not exactly sellers, but also not the strongest contenders. In this case, a 2012 trade deadline approach might work best. That year, the Pirates traded for guys who were going to help more in future years, rather than focusing only on that season.

In terms of the bullpen, they could take this approach by taking on a struggling reliever with a bad contract and trying to fix him. For example, Antonio Bastardo has a 4.96 ERA and a 5.00 xFIP this year, which kind of makes it seem like he still fits in with the Pirates. He’s still owed the remainder of his $5.2 M salary this year, plus $6.5 M in 2017. This is the type of player the Pirates could go for, hoping to get the guy back on track in 2016, and if it works, having him around in 2017 to boost what looks like a weaker group.

Long-term, the Pirates have enough pitching in their system that they should be fine in the bullpen. The 2017 season might be a bridge year for the bullpen, just like the 2016 season was for the rotation. If that’s the case, they need to put a much bigger, and much better focus on adding bullpen arms this off-season, to bridge the gap until the internal options step up.

**Jose Osuna Promoted to Indianapolis. This is an interesting situation. Part of me thinks Osuna is only getting called up to replace Adam Frazier. I don’t see Frazier going back down to Indianapolis anytime soon. At the same time, the Pirates have plenty of outfield options in Triple-A, with Hanson getting time there, Willy Garcia in the mix, and Austin Meadows recently promoted. Osuna also can’t go to first base with Josh Bell on the team, and DH isn’t an option with Jason Rogers. That’s where part of me really hopes this move is a sign that Josh Bell is coming up. I’ve stated that I don’t think Bell would provide a big upgrade over John Jaso immediately, and he might not upgrade him at all right away. But I’d be as excited as anyone to see Bell getting the call, getting eased in to the majors (or thrown full into the mix), and taking over the position for the long-term.

**First Look at a Top International Target for the Pirates. John Dreker posts some video of a guy the Pirates have been linked to.

**Prospect Watch: Duncan Pitches Gem in Indianapolis Victory. It has been good to see Duncan stepping up this year. I don’t see him as a starter in the big leagues, but could see him as a relief option.

**Bell, Glasnow named Triple-A All-Stars. Glasnow will start the game.

**What Led to the Pirates Re-Signing Buddy Borden? I talked with Borden about his trade to the Rays, why he was released, his control problems this year, and what led to him returning to the Pirates.

**Pirates Sign Two Non-Drafted Free Agents. The Pirates are filling out the lower level rosters.

**Morning Report: Clay Holmes Has the Look of a Top Prospect. It’s good to see Holmes start to pick up his performance lately, as he’s another potential rotation option for the future.

Tim Williams
Tim Williams
Tim is the owner, producer, editor, and lead writer of PiratesProspects.com. He has been running Pirates Prospects since 2009, becoming the first new media reporter and outlet covering the Pirates at the MLB level in 2011 and 2012. His work can also be found in Baseball America, where he has been a contributor since 2014 and the Pirates' correspondent since 2019.

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