The Pirates released their promotional schedule today for the 2018 season, featuring all of the fireworks, bobblehead, and other promotional nights of the year. The schedule is below, and might be able to provide some hints on what the Pirates plan to do this offseason.
The biggest thing that stands out is the Andrew McCutchen Starting Lineup figurine on July 6th. The big question this offseason is whether the Pirates would trade McCutchen or keep him for his final year on his contract. Having a giveaway could provide a hint on what they intend to do. Of course, they might be able to change their plans if they did actually deal him.
Just as telling might be the Sean Rodriguez bobblehead on June 23rd. The Pirates have several infield options, and it seems they would have to deal one away if they added someone else from the outside. I didn’t think Rodriguez would be one of those options, since they just added him recently for the 2018 season. The fact that he’s on the promotional schedule indicates he’s in the plans for next year.
The McCutchen bobblehead comes before the trade deadline. The post-deadline bobbleheads are an Andy Van Slyke on August 4th, and a Felipe Rivero on September 8th. So if the Pirates aren’t competitive, and end up dealing at the deadline, they probably won’t be cancelling any promotions as a result.