For the first time in more than two decades, the Pittsburgh Pirates have made headlines for seemingly all the right reasons, going from perennial losers to championship contenders after making the postseason in each of the last two seasons.
Can we properly say that the Pirates truly have been a legitimate contender for a World Series title though?
While the team has taken the first step in a championship run by making the postseason in back-to-back seasons, their weaknesses have shown in short series. They have failed to make it past the Division Series each time, losing in the NLDS in 2013 before getting bounced in the National League Wild Card Game this postseason.
One player offered his insight on what needs Pittsburgh general manager Neal Huntington will need to fulfill if the Pirates will have any real chance of making a deep run into October: four-time All-Star and 2013 National League Most Valuable Player Andrew McCutchen.
Rob Biertempfel of TribLive sat down with McCutchen to ask him about his legacy and what he feels the Pirates must do to be a playoff team again in 2015:
Consistency throughout the lineup is something we need. We need an everyday first baseman. The big ballclubs, the good ballclubs have an everyday first baseman. The platooning is not going to work for us. We need somebody who can be confident over there, knowing he’s going to play every day, regardless of whether he’s struggling or not. We need a complete lineup. You can have a platoon in the outfield every now and then. Look at the Giants, who had (Travis) Ishikawa out there (in the playoffs). Outfield platoons, I understand. But when it comes to the infield, you need that group of guys who are always going to be there: first base, third base, shortstop, second base. Once we have that, I think it will complete our team from an offensive standpoint. We have defense and pitching. I think an everyday first baseman is something we really need to look into.
With a future that looks awfully bright for the Pirates, Huntington must do all that he can to bring in that needed offense that will round out the lineup in 2015.
An Everyday First Baseman in Pittsburgh?
Regardless of McCutchen‘s views, which are hard to argue with after the performance the Pirates got out of their first basemen in 2014, the Pirates could continue to platoon a few players at first base.
Pittsburgh already has Gaby Sanchez, Ike Davis and Andrew Lambo platooning at first, but there is one solution that would make a lot of sense in Pittsburgh: shifting third baseman Pedro Alvarez across the infield.
After watching Josh Harrison have a breakout season in which he batted .315 in 143 games and ended the remainder of the regular season at third base, it would be tough for Huntington and manager Clint Hurdle to remove Harrison from that position.
At the same time, Alvarez failed to stay healthy in 2014, missing a total of 40 regular-season games. We are not exactly talking about a Gold Glove-caliber third baseman here either, as Alvarez has committed 52 errors over the last two seasons.
Still, the Pirates cannot afford to keep him out of their lineup, as his bat is too powerful of a force to have wasting on the bench. Over a 162-game average throughout his career, Alvarez has averaged 28 home runs and 89 RBI.
According to Michael Hurcomb of CBS Sports, Huntington confirmed on Tuesday that Harrison will be the Pirates’ everyday third baseman in 2015, a move that makes complete sense.
With that move, it wouldn’t be all that surprising to see the Pirates name Alvarez their everyday first baseman, which would leave Huntington and the organization with a decision to make on Sanchez, Davis or Lambo, as it would not make sense to carry three backup first basemen on a 25-man roster.
Pitching?
It would be interesting to ask McCutchen if he truly believes that the Pirates currently have the pitching needed to win enough ballgames to reach the postseason again.
After all, it is very possible that Pittsburgh loses two of its best starting pitchers in Edinson Volquez and Francisco Liriano during free agency. Liriano rejected the Pirates’ qualifying offer while Volquez was not offered one, which means both men are set to become free agents.
It would be somewhat of a surprise if the Pirates do not go after at least one of these guys in an effort to bring them back for another couple of seasons in Pittsburgh. However, that possibility is seeming more and more real as free agency gets underway.
As of now, the only legitimate top-of-the-rotation starter on the Pirates’ roster is Gerrit Cole, who at the age of 24 is blossoming into an ace.
Other than Cole, the starting rotation consists of Jeff Locke (7-6 in 21 games in 2014) and Vance Worley (8-4 in 18 games in 2014), two men who would make solid pitchers at the back end of the rotation, as they did in 2014.
However, neither pitcher strikes one as a No. 2 or 3 starter, as Locke has been very inconsistent over the last two seasons, and Worley hasn’t pitched in more than 17 games since 2012.
Now, there is no question about it that the Pirates have arguably one of the best bullpens in all of Major League Baseball. Led by setup man Tony Watson and closer Mark Melancon, the Pirates finished fifth in the National League among all bullpens with a 3.28 ERA.
Still, it is hard to see the Pirates succeeding with the group of starting pitchers that they currently have on their roster.
Whether it is working out a new deal with either Liriano or Volquez or going out and signing a decent starting pitcher such as Brandon McCarthy or Jason Hammel, Huntington will have a lot of work to do with this Pirates team if he wishes to watch them make a run at the team’s first World Series title since 1979.
*Statistics courtesy of Baseball Reference.
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