Pittsburgh Has To Act Fast Or Risk Losing Skenes

Pittsburgh Pirates Preview

If you have a generational talent on your roster, what do you do? If you have him affordable and under control for a few years, what moves are you making? I think most of us would answer that we are going to do whatever we can to surround that person with talent. We are going to invest in the team and hope we can start winning so that the player stays. The Pirates have to turn their franchise around immediately or they risk losing a generational pitcher in Paul Skenes. 

Last year recap:

Well, there isn’t much reason to be excited about last season. The team lost 91 games and was 20 games under .500. There wasn’t even much hope as the team was 20 games under at the All-Star Break and they never really got any better. The biggest issue was their hitting; the offense was bad. However, the pitching wasn’t exactly amazing outside Skenes. Mitch Keller was okay, but he had a 4.19 ERA, higher than you’d like for a guy that is supposed to be your number 2. I want to knock Skenes for this, or maybe praise Keller, but I’m not sure either is deserved. Skenes had 20 quality starts, and Keller had 17. But Skenes was removed repeatedly after five innings. Those two combined for 47 of the Pirates' 54 quality starts for the year. 

Offseason moves:

The Pirates were rumored to be in on a number of big names this offseason. Whether there was any truth to those things, who knows? There are a ton of times when people claim to be interested in names, so the press hears about it and gives the fanbase hope. There were rumblings that they were in the mix for Kyle Schwarber, and there were a couple of other guys like Eugenio Suarez that reportedly were offered contracts, but nothing materialized. Ultimately, they upgraded with Brandon Lowe at second base, and potentially got some power with Marcell Ozuna coming in to replace Andrew McCutchen. 

May 25, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA;  Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Mitch Keller (23) delivers a pitch against the Atlanta Braves during the first inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Roster: 

If you look at the depth chart for the Pirates you have to be extremely skeptical of the team. Looking at the lineup, it feels like they have a bunch of replacement players who are all starters for Pittsburgh. That doesn’t mean there is no talent. I like Lowe. I like Ryan O’Hearn and Ozuna. However, I don’t like that the team is depending on them to generate the offense. These are typically guys who are going to supplement, not be the focal points. There is hope, though. Konnor Griffin has been described as a can’t miss guy. If he is called up, he can be the focal point, and perhaps, the team can build around him. The rotation, with Skenes and Keller, needed another arm, and Bubba Chandler might be that arm. 

Betting outlook:

The Pirates won 71 games last year, and this year the books hung the number 78.5 on them. I do agree that the Pirates will be a better team than they were last year, but how much better is the question. Are they going to win eight more games? Maybe. The Reds didn’t get much better, and they have some issues with injuries and their rotation already. The Cubs did get slightly better. The Brewers seem to win no matter what. The Cardinals should be the worst team. I still see the Pirates finishing fourth in the division, and I just don’t see them getting over the total. I lean to the under, but I think either side will be a sweat. They still may need one more year. 

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