As I sit here writing this, the Pirates sit just a few games from a spot in the Wild Card game despite having , yet it feels to me that making the playoffs isn't a feasible goal. Don't just take my word for it though. Take a look at some of the recent deals the front office made.
I have been enthusiastically optimistic from the beginning of the season despite not spending money to resigning J.A. Happ after his historic post-deadline run last year. Instead, they went out and spent some money on Ryan Vogelsong, a journeyman pitcher who was never anything special. I was skeptical at first, but I had confidence that the front office knew what they were doing. They have made some shaky looking offseason moves in the past that really paid off. For example, in the 2012 offseason they signed Fransisco Liriano to a 2 year deal despite injuring his non-throwing arm that offseason and starting 2013 on the DL. I didn't see it coming when Liriano led the Pirates to their first playoff appearance since losing the 1992 World Series en route to winning the NL Comeback Player of the Year. Moves like this instilled my faith in the ability of the front office to make beneficial offseason moves.
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That lasted until about this past week. Vogelsong just returned from an eye injury he suffered early in the season and hasn't done much. They also traded away Neil Walker for Jon Niese. Now I understand this move. Walker's contract was dwindling down, and he will command a major payday this offseason after his contract expires. The Bucs simply wouldn't have had the capital to resign him, so they went for the trade to attempt to get some value out of him. Niese seemed like a decent acquisition mainly because having even a decent lefty in the rotation never hurts. Well, he flopped and was just traded back to the Mets for a former Pirate, Antonio Bastardo. Niese's performance has frustrated me all year, so I actually like this deal. However as the dust settles, the Mets basically get Niese and Walker for Bastardo and come out the winners in these deals.
Let's circle back to Liriano because his numbers this year, 6-11 with a 5.46 ERA, have been abysmal, and he's making 13.7 million this year. That's hardly worth the price tag, so again, I can understand trading him away. What really made me scratch my head though was how getting Drew Hutchison was worth both dumping Liriano and giving up two highly touted prospects in Reese McGuire and Harold Rameriez.
I could cite other deals like trading away Melancon for Felipe Rivero and prospect Taylor Hearn and the acquisition of Ivan Nova for 2 players to be named later as proof that Neal Huntington is gearing up for 2017 and beyond. Let's hope these moves pan out.
