Well, here we are again. It’s the final week of the season, and every goal the Pirates talked about so hopefully back in February is beyond reach.
“It definitely didn’t go the way that we wanted it to,” infielder Kevin Newman said Saturday afternoon. Things took an even worse turn for Newman that night when he was plunked on the left knee by a 97 mph fastball. That landed him on the injured list for the rest of the season.
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Mark Kaboly, our superb Steelers writer, is famous for his “10 observations” pieces. Why 10? I dunno. Maybe it’s because you need to get 10 yards for a first down. I’m going to take a cue from Kaboly and offer my thoughts heading into the final week of the Pirates’ season. There are no first downs in baseball, though, so I’ll go with an innings motif and offer nine observations.
Let’s get started …
1. Reynolds wants center field. Since Anthony Alford broke his elbow, Bryan Reynolds has made 10 of his 15 starts in center field. On Monday, Reynolds said he hopes it’s more than a temporary situation: “I want to play center field. You get better reads, see (the ball) better, and I really enjoy playing out there.”
Reynolds played in 150 games in center in the minors and has the range, arm and savvy to do the job in the majors. All he needs is the opportunity in 2021.
“There’s a possibility of that,” was manager Derek Shelton’s coy response. The Pirates could fill that position in the offseason with a free agent, such as George Springer, Starling Marté, Jackie Bradley Jr. or Kevin Pillar … wait, what the heck am I saying? That’s not gonna happen. They had the same hole to fill last winter and wound up with Jarrod Dyson (.157/.218/.157). Let’s avoid another such disaster and simply anoint Reynolds the center fielder until help arrives from the minors.
2. Help arrived from the minors. Whoa, that was quick! Jared Oliva was called up Monday to replace Jason Martin, who went on the 10-day injured list with an upper-back strain. Oliva — who will be in the lineup Tuesday against the Chicago Cubs, according to Shelton — spent the summer at the satellite camp in Altoona.
He’s a natural center fielder, although the consensus of the evaluators with whom I’ve spoken is that he projects to fit best as a fourth outfielder instead of as an everyday guy. There’s not a lot of pop in Oliva’s bat, but he hit .274/.348/.403 and swiped 84 bases over three seasons in the minors.
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According to Baseball-Reference, Oliva is the first player in franchise history to wear No. 76. It’s not a number steeped in Pittsburgh pro sports lore. The most notable Steelers to wear it were Chris Hoke (2001-08) and John Banaszak (1975-81), and the only Penguin was Richard Park (1996).
3. Hit pause on the GCTOE, for now. A slip-and-fall accident last week in Cincinnati put the Great Cole Tucker Outfield Experiment on hiatus. The Pirates have not announced anything about Tucker’s status, but Oliva’s call-up tells me that it is unlikely that Tucker will return from the injured list before the season is over.
All 10 of Tucker’s starts this month were in the outfield, but I think it’s too soon to say that’s his final destination on this club. Like a lot of guys on this team, he never found his stride at the plate, going .237/.281/.322 in August and .179/.200/.179 in September. He’s still just 24 years old and now has position versatility, which could make him an interesting trade piece this winter.
4. Speaking of trades … Adam Frazier won’t be surprised if he is dealt before the start of spring training.
“Yeah, it could happen,” Frazier said the other day. “I had a little bit of it last offseason when my name was popping up a lot, so I assume the same kind of stuff will happen again this offseason.”
Frazier started the past two games at second base, the first time he’s gotten back-to-back games there since Sept. 5-6. His recent switch to left field is due mostly to Alford’s injury, but remember he also started three games in the outfield leading up to the Aug. 31 trade deadline.
5. Williams’ job is on the line. When Trevor Williams takes the mound Wednesday against the Chicago Cubs, it will be his final start of the season — and perhaps his last one with the Pirates.
The righty is 1-8 with a 6.70 ERA and leads the majors with 37 earned runs and 14 home runs allowed. This is an alarming trend, not a new development. Williams had a 6.17 ERA and a 1.56 WHIP after the All-Star break last year.
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There could be a rash of non-tenders around the league this winter, as teams seek ways to lower costs after taking a big revenue hit this summer. Williams, who’s in his second year of arbitration eligibility, could be swept up in that tide.
“It’s out of my control,” Williams said. “We’ve had some conversations, but nothing as far as ‘What does it look like?’ I trust (management), and I felt like they trust me as well, so it’s something that is out of my control. We’ll take it when the offseason comes.”
6. Welcome back, Fulmer. One potential rags-to-riches storyline to look for next year is Carson Fulmer’s bid to make the starting rotation.
Wait a sec, didn’t the Pirates already cut Fulmer? Yep. And on Monday they re-claimed him off waivers. So far this year, Fulmer has been waived by the Chicago White Sox, the Detroit Tigers, the Pirates and the Baltimore Orioles.
“When we (cut) him, we just kind of ran out of roster space,” Shelton said. “We’re happy to have this guy back. We’ve identified some things we think will make him better.”
A first-round pick in 2015, Fulmer has made 54 appearances (15 starts) in the majors and is 6-9 with a 6.34 ERA. During his first stint with the Pirates, he was slated to work in the satellite camp as a starter. If he sticks this time, he’ll get a shot at the rotation next year.
7. The missing ingredient(s). The Pirates are 6-14 in one-run games and 1-5 in extra-inning games. Shelton talks about needing to get “over the hump” to turn those heartbreakers into victories. So what’s the missing ingredient?
“To tell you that there’s one thing, I don’t know,” Shelton said. “It’s something we will spend a lot of time focusing on (this offseason).”
Shelton is correct to say there’s not a single culprit — and that’s worrisome. On Friday, the Cardinals made three errors and issued eight walks, but the Pirates still couldn’t generate enough offense. On Saturday and Sunday, Mitch Keller and Joe Musgrove each tossed six shutout innings, but the bullpen coughed up leads. Outfielders make throws to the wrong base. The running game is below league average. The starting rotation’s .226 winning percentage is the fourth-lowest mark in MLB history. This is a topic we will revisit often during the offseason and into spring training.
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Some of what the Pirates need can be found, I believe, via trades and free agency — a roster makeover. An important part of it, however, is the intangibles — confidence, know-how, second-nature ability — and those have to be developed over time. Which brings us to …
8. Musgrove’s mentality. Right-hander Joe Musgrove will start the season’s penultimate game Saturday in Cleveland. It’s been a hard summer for Musgrove, who missed almost a third of the season because of right triceps inflammation.
“I’ve been battling a lot of mental issues … just feeling like I’m not having much fun doing what I love to do,” he said.
On Sunday, he blanked the Cardinals for six innings and racked up 11 strikeouts. “I had a little bit more fun today,” he said. “Sometimes, I get caught up in trying to do things for other people, trying to be the guy on the staff (who’s) going to turn things around and trying to carry the whole team, when I just need to worry about myself.”
Musgrove could be on to something. Perhaps the only way the Pirates are going to become confident as a team is by first discovering that trait in themselves individually.
9. Promotion ahead for Don Kelly? I chatted a couple of weeks ago with a longtime scout who’s pals with Pirates bench coach Don Kelly. The scout was surprised when I said it seems inevitable that Kelly will someday manage the Tigers. Last weekend, Detroit skipper Ron Gardenhire unexpectedly retired. On Monday, that scout texted me: “You must’ve known something when you brought up Don Kelly’s name with Detroit!”
Well, I did predict back in March that Kelly will soon be the skipper in Motown, but I was as stunned as anyone by Gardy’s departure.
Bench coach Lloyd McClendon, who managed the Pirates from 2001 to 2005, is the Tigers’ interim manager. Kelly played for the Tigers from 2009 to 2014, scouted for them in 2017 and remains popular with fans there. However, he’s been a big-league coach for just two years, and a source told me that it’s unlikely he’ll be a top contender for the Tigers’ job — at least, not this time.
(Photo: Joe Sargent / Getty Images)