Tag: Francisco Liriano

With the season behind us, it’s finally time to look at where the payroll ended up for 2019. I’ve been tracking it since Day 1 of the season, and it’s always fun to analyze changes throughout the year. My favorite part of tracking payroll is to compare the official Competitive Balance Tax numbers released after […]

The Pirates have a roster crunch coming up fast. Sure, it’s fair to question whether it matters much or not, given the excess fat permeating much of the roster. At some point, however, the front office deemed every player under contract worth while enough to employ, so it’s reasonable to assume they would at least […]

Once any realistic hopes are gone for playoff contention, there’s not much left to look forward to in sports, especially if a team falls out of contention relatively early. For the Pirates, few individual storylines remain, aside from Bryan Reynolds’ run at a battle title and Rookie of the Year Award. In reality, the rest […]

Leading up to the Trade Deadline, the hope of many fans wanting to see the Pirates buying from just a few weeks ago had been replaced with sadness and despair due to the team’s recent swoon. Instead of hoping to pick up a piece or two at the deadline, now all fans could do was […]

There are plenty of roster intricacies in the Major League Baseball Rulebook that can be difficult to understand in theory and application: Designated for Assignment, waivers, outright assignment, 25-man roster versus 40-man roster, and service time, just to name a few. These intricacies have consistently interested me, and I always had to rely on sites […]

Well, as Ron Burgundy might say, “That escalated quickly.” This wasn’t a topic I anticipated visiting quite this early, but after the entire pitching staff’s performance has seemingly fallen off a cliff, and twenty losses in their last twenty-nine games (as of June 20th) have the team hovering around last place in the division, it […]

The Pittsburgh Pirates announced on Saturday morning that left-handed pitcher Francisco Liriano and outfielder Melky Cabrera will both be added to the 40-man roster and they will make the Opening Day roster. The Pirates currently have a full 40-man roster, though that includes reliever Edgar Santana, who will miss the entire season due to Tommy […]

Ken Rosenthal is reporting that the Pittsburgh Pirates have reached a deal with left-handed pitcher Francisco Liriano. No word yet if it’s a Major League or minor league deal. The 35-year-old Liriano spent 2018 with the Detroit Tigers, where he made 26 starts and one relief appearance. He had a 4.58 ERA and a 5.11 […]

Ivan Nova currently has a 3.87 ERA and a 4.06 xFIP. For a free agent signing on a three-year, $26 M deal, those aren't...

I made a decision last week: I’m done discussing the Francisco Liriano trade, unless something new happens that updates the discussion. This decision probably should have come a lot sooner. Liriano was traded on August 1st, and since then, there has been five months of almost daily conversation about the trade. Actually, conversation isn’t the […]