Kuzul

Throughout the first two months of the 2014 regular season, Pittsburgh Pirates fans all over the nation were anticipating the major league debut of the organization’s top prospect, Gregory Polanco.  

When his big day finally came on June 10, the 22-year-old phenom made an immediate impact on his team’s struggling offense.  

Through his first 93 at bats, Polanco was batting .301 with three home runs and 13 runs batted in.  

Since then, however, the rookie has hit a wall, as his batting average has dipped to just .241 on the season.  

After collecting just one hit in his last 30 at bats, Polanco was optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis, and Pirates manager Clint Hurdle is confident that the move will only help the young star.  

According to Stephen Pianovich of MLB.com, Hurdle said, “We’ll give him the opportunity to get down, get some at-bats, get out of the spotlight that’s been here for a week and find his way. I believe he will and come back and help this ballclub in September in a very positive fashion.”

It would be no surprise if Polanco is one of the players who will be called up when the roster expands in September, as he is simply too talented to continue to struggle this mightily.  

The Pirates were smart in sending Polanco down to Triple-A at this point in the season.  Considering there are only seven games remaining in the regular season for Indianapolis, Polanco will have a week to regroup and get back into the swing of things.  

The Pirates have struggled to play consistent baseball all season, yet they only sit just 1.5 games behind the San Francisco Giants for the second wild-card spot.  

With just over a month left to play in the regular season, the Pirates have to find a way to ignite their offense and string together a nice winning streak.  Otherwise, it will be an extremely disappointing season for a team that just reached the postseason last year for the first time since 1992.  

If Polanco can regain his confidence at the plate over the next week down in Triple-A, there is plenty of reason to believe the Pirates can make a playoff push in September.  

There is no harm in removing Polanco from the lineup considering just how ineffective he has been. Instead, it is a great move that can pay great dividends for the Pirates come September, when the organization will be seeking another trip back to the playoffs.  

*Statistics Courtesy of Baseball Reference

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

We’re almost at the point in the season where rosters expand to 40 players and teams call up all sorts of minor league prospects to supplement their rosters.

Some of these September call-ups go a long way in helping their teams qualify for the playoffs. Others flame out and ride the bench until the end of the season. Either way, these prospects have the chance to make their mark while also giving a much-needed boost to weary rosters at the end of a long season.

The Pittsburgh Pirates have a slew of potential prospects in Indianapolis who could make an impact in the big leagues when rosters expand in two weeks. Some have been here before; others have spent their entire careers in the minors.

One thing is for certain. This team needs help on several fronts in order to remain in contention for a second consecutive playoff berth. Let’s hope these prospects can help push the team over the top in September.

Begin Slideshow

The next three weeks will determine whether the Pittsburgh Pirates make the playoffs.

The schedule is packed full of teams that are leading their division or in close contention for the postseason. It is full of three-game series with teams like the Washington Nationals, Atlanta Braves, Milwaukee Brewers, St. Louis Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds.

Those teams are a combined 33 games over .500, with the only soft spot being the Reds, who are currently one game under .500 but by no means out of the playoff hunt.

The Pirates play each of the teams listed above in a three-game series except for the Cardinals, who play the Bucs six times. That means the next 18 games are against formidable foes, all with a horse in the race for the playoffs.

The tough schedule comes at a horrible time for the team, currently maligned with injuries to star Andrew McCutchen and solid second baseman Neil Walker. That’s not to mention Pedro Alvarez.

Notwithstanding, the Pirates bats have continued to come alive, despite the absence of the team’s best hitters. Pittsburgh is 5-5 without McCutchen, who will be on the disabled list until at least Aug. 19.

Despite the injuries and tough schedule, Baseball Prospectus still gives the Pirates a 56 percent chance of making the playoffs. The website also predicts the team will finish with 85 wins when the dust settles.

The most important of these next 18 games are the games against division foes Milwaukee and St. Louis. The Bucs are currently looking up in the standings at both teams, despite being out of first place by only 2.5 games. In that timespan, they play six games with the Cardinals and three with the Brewers, teams they are a combined 9-17 against this season. Two out of three of those series are on the road.

Thankfully, those division rivalries don’t happen for another week. The Pirates have other contenders to deal with first.

Tim Williams of Pirates Prospects illustrated the point that the Pirates still have their work cut out for them before those division rivalries start Aug. 22:

There are six games remaining each against the Brewers and Cardinals, and those games could go a long way to deciding the NL Central race and the Wild Card order. The first of those games will start next weekend, but before that happens, the Pirates have to go up against one of the best teams in the NL — the Nationals — along with trying to capitalize on the struggling Braves.

The Pirates last year at this time were 23 games above .500 and winning the National League Central by three games. Clearly, this isn’t last year. The Pirates are clinging to the second wild-card spot by half a game over the San Francisco Giants, with Atlanta and Cincinnati close behind.

The fate of these 2014 Pittsburgh Pirates lies in the outcome of the next three weeks. Let’s hope the offense keeps ticking and the pitching staff can silence some of the best teams in the National League.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

There is a moment when a star player winces, or staggers or crumples in pain, and an entire fanbase holds its collective breath. Sometimes it’s nothing, sometimes it’s everything.

Unfortunately for the Pittsburgh Pirates and their fans, the injury suffered by MVP center fielder Andrew McCutchen doesn’t sound like nothing. 

McCutchen’s fateful wince came while taking a swing Sunday in the eighth inning of the Pirates’ 3-2 extra-inning loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks. He clutched his left side as he hobbled up the first-base line (though in typical McCutchen fashion, the hack resulted in a sacrifice fly). Ultimately, he had to be helped off the field.

“I thought I was cramping,” McCutchen later told Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “I never really have had any problems in that area.”

Looks like more than a cramp. Citing an unnamed source—the Pirates had yet to release any official word on McCutchen’s status as of Monday night—the Post-Gazette‘s Ron Cook wrote that McCutchen is “expected” to be placed on the 15-day DL and “could be out at least three weeks or a month because of what appeared to be a serious oblique muscle injury.”

Again, that’s yet to be confirmed. If it is true, it’d spell big, possibly ship-sinking, trouble for the Pirates, who looked to be on course for the postseason.

McCutchen’s value cannot be overstated. At the time of his injury, he owned a .311/.411/.536 slash line to go along with 17 home runs, 67 RBI and 17 stolen bases. If he wasn’t the front-runner to win a second consecutive NL MVP award, he was squarely in the conversation.

Now, the Bucs are faced with the prospect of sailing on without their superstar for at least the foreseeable future. It won’t be easy.

Entering play Tuesday Pittsburgh is locked in a tight three-way battle in the NL Central. Just 1.5 games separate the first-place Milwaukee Brewers and third-place Pirates, and the second-place Cardinals sit in the middle, one game off the pace.

All three teams could technically qualify for the postseason. But in this era of the one-game Wild Card play-in, it’s all about winning the division and punching a guaranteed ticket to the first-round best-of-five series.

Last year Pittsburgh broke through, finishing 94-68 and making the playoffs for the first time since 1992. It won the Wild Card Game but lost, 3-2, in the division series to the Cardinals. 

This season was a chance to build on that success. To reclaim forgotten treasure.

It could still happen. Even if McCutchen does miss a month, he’d return in time for the stretch run. The trick will be for the Pirates to keep their heads above water in the meantime.

The Bucs do boast decent outfield depth. Josh Harrison (.304/.342/.497 with 10 HR) has been a revelation, and Starling Marte, who has experience in center field, is eligible to come off of the seven-day concussion DL on Tuesday, per Howard Burns of the Pittsburgh Business Times. 

Pittsburgh could also try to pull off a post-deadline desperation deal, as Tom Gatto of Sporting News speculated:

Will the Bucs try to acquire an outfield bat, such as the Phillies‘ Marlon Byrd, in a waiver trade? Byrd might be too expensive, both in terms of players and contract. [He] has an $8 million option for 2015 that he reportedly wants picked up if he’s traded, plus an $8 million vesting option for 2016.

Let’s be real, though. Without McCutchen, the Pirates simply aren’t serious contenders. 

A little solace for the hand-wringing Pittsburgh faithful: McCutchen isn’t injury-prone. He’s played at least 154 games every season since 2010, the very definition of durable.

That can change in a hurry, but it may bode well for the MVP’s chances of getting back sooner rather than later.

He’d better. Pirates fans can only hold their breath for so long.

All statistics courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com unless otherwise noted.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

In starting pitcher Edinson Volquez‘s first four games with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2014, the righty went 1-0 with a 1.71 ERA.  

Suddenly, it looked like the Pirates made a great decision in signing him to a one-year deal during the offseason.  

In his next five, however, he took the loss in four of those games while surrendering 22 earned runs in 18.2 innings.  

He then won two straight decisions in his next three starts, putting him one game under .500 with a 3-4 record.  

After a loss on June 7 to the Milwaukee Brewers, Volquez bounced back and pitched brilliantly in his next start, shutting out the Chicago Cubs over 7.0 innings pitched.  

What happened in his very next start, however, had many critics raising the same question: In the strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, which one is the true Volquez?

He pitched horribly in his next start, lasting just 2.1 innings while surrendering eight earned runs to the Cincinnati Reds.  

On Saturday, Volquez held the Philadelphia Phillies to just one run over 7.0 innings of work, and the victory was his third straight decision with a win.  

With the win, he climbed over .500 for the first time since he started the season 1-0. However, the same case still remains.  

He looked shaky in the top of the first inning Saturday, allowing three batters to reach base safely. 

However, with what seemed like the click of a switch, Volquez instantly settled down to escape the inning unharmed. From there, he was dominant.  

So, it remains uncertain what kind of pitcher he really is at this point in his career. He has shown flashes of greatness at times while looking lost on the mound at others.  

One thing is for sure, however: With a potential National League Central Division title on the line in the second half of the season, Volquez will have to prove his true identity.  

The Pirates have been dealt heavy blows throughout the season to their starting rotation, with Francisco Liriano and Gerrit Cole both spending time on the disabled list.  

Volquez is the veteran with the most experience in Pittsburgh’s rotation, and now is the time for him to continue pitching well into the second half of the season and potentially even the postseason.  

So, while the question remains unanswered, you decide: Who is the real Volquez, and what do you predict his final statistics will be at the end of the regular season?

*Statistics courtesy of Baseball-Reference

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The Pittsburgh Pirates received a major boost last Saturday when their young starting pitcher, Gerrit Cole, made his first start in over three weeks.  

The 23-year-old had been shelved with right shoulder fatigue, which had caused him to lose velocity on his fastball and yield more hits to batters.  

Cole took the mound for the second time since coming off the disabled list Friday as the Pirates hosted the Philadelphia Phillies at PNC Park in Pittsburgh.  

Simply put, Cole was dominant through five innings, allowing just one hit and one walk while striking out five batters.  

Cole did all that on just 80 pitches, which is why fans were shocked when they saw Pirates manager Clint Hurdle walk out to home plate prior to the start of the sixth inning to make a pitching change.  

According to Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Cole was pulled from the game due to soreness in his right lat.  

Cole made his major league debut for the Pirates in 2013, going 10-7 with an earned run average of just 3.22 that year.  His efforts helped lead his organization to its first playoff appearance since 1992.  

Needless to say, Cole’s presence in the rotation is essential to the Pirates’ chances of making a deep run at a World Series title in 2014.  

In 13 starts this season, Cole is 7-4 with a 3.78 ERA.  Unfortunately, he has missed a considerable amount of time already due to injury.  

The Pirates’ top pitcher right now, according to the depth chart on the organization’s website, is Charlie Morton.  Although his 5-9 record may not look good on paper, Morton has pitched very well in 2014, posting an ERA of 3.30 in 17 starts.  

Their No. 2 starter is currently Cole, who will likely be at the top of the rotation in a year or so barring any catastrophic injury.  

Rounding out the five-man rotation are starters Edinson Volquez, Jeff Locke and Vance Worley.  

Over his last 14.0 innings pitched, Volquez has not allowed an earned run.  He has brought his ERA down to a respectable 4.07 on the year, while his record sits at an even 6-6.  

Still, Volquez has not been able to find consistency on the mound this season, as he has not been over .500 since starting the season 1-0 in early April.  

Locke is one of those guys who has shown glimpses of greatness, only to fall back to Earth quite quickly. In the first half of the season in 2013, Locke went 8-2 with a 2.15 ERA.  In the second half, he went 2-5 to finish the season with an unimpressive 10-7 record.  

This season, however, Locke is locked and loaded, owning a walks and hits per inning pitched of only 1.008 and an ERA of 3.46 in six starts.  

Then there is Vance Worley, who has shown a lot of promise in 2014, pitching at least 6.2 innings in each of his first four starts since being called up in June.  

Worley is the type of pitcher that can pitch deep into games and set his team up to win, which is why the Pirates will likely keep him in the rotation even after Francisco Liriano returns from the disabled list.  

With all that being said, it is easy to see that the Pirates have a decent rotation even without Gerrit Cole. However, Cole’s dominance on the mound is what puts the Pirates into the discussion of potential playoff contenders in 2014.  

Without Cole, the Pirates may have to look to acquire another pitcher prior to the July 31 trade deadline. For now, we will have to wait for word on the severity of Cole’s injury, but the Pirates organization couldn’t have been happy about the outcome of his start Saturday.  

Cole is an integral piece in Pittsburgh’s starting rotation, and without him, the rotation simply isn’t as effective.  

On the other hand, if the injury turns out to have been just mild discomfort and Cole doesn’t miss any more time, look out for the Pirates as they are fully loaded and primed for another playoff run in the second half of the season.  

*Statistics Courtesy of Baseball-Reference.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

After being removed from his role as the closer of the Pittsburgh Pirates one week ago, Jason Grilli was settling into his new role as a normal reliever.

But according to Matt Snyder of CBSSports.com, the Pirates reached an agreement with the Los Angeles Angels to swap former closers Grilli and Ernesto Frieri.

Neither Grilli nor Frieri has performed up to potential in 2014, but this may be one of the best trades the Pirates have made in a long time.

Frieri owned an earned run average of 6.39 in 31 innings pitched for the Angels in 2014. However, he is no stranger to success on the mound. The 28-year-old from Colombia was signed by the San Diego Padres in 2003, and he has enjoyed great success pitching in the National League.

In 105 appearances out of the bullpen for the Padres from 2009-2012, Frieri owned an impressive 2.33 ERA while averaging 11.4 strikeouts per nine innings pitched.

Now, he is heading back to the National League, and he should be looking forward to a new beginning with a team that is beginning to turn its season around.

Pittsburgh’s bullpen already featured two stars at the back end: current closer Mark Melancon (2.35 ERA, 14 saves) and Tony Watson, who has been arguably the best reliever in the league this season with a record of 5-0 and an ERA of just 0.98.

Now, it has added another dangerous force in Frieri.

Sure, it seems that Frieri lost some effectiveness over the last two seasons with the Angels, pitching to an ERA of 3.80 in 2013 before his awful season this year. However, he is now heading back to the league where he dominated opposing batters from the moment he stepped on a big league mound.

Adding to the excitement in Pittsburgh, it has been proved that a change of scenery is all it could take for a struggling player to really turn his season or career around.

Ask Ike Davis, and he will tell you all about it.

Davis was traded only 12 games into the 2014 regular season after batting .208 with the New York Mets. Since arriving in Pittsburgh, Davis has batted .246 with four home runs and 19 RBI in 60 games played.

At that pace, Davis is currently on track to own his highest single-season batting average since 2011. More importantly, he has helped the Pirates win games and get back into the race for the postseason.

Then there is Grilli, whose glory days seem to be almost over. Now 37 years old, Grilli probably doesn’t have many years left in his tank. After all, his current contract is set to expire after this season.

On the other hand, Frieri is still in the prime of his career at only 28 years of age. If he had owned a high ERA his whole career, this trade wouldn’t be very exciting for Pirates fans.

However, Frieri has shown the ability to dominate opposing batters in the National League, and it would be no surprise to see him turn his season around in Pittsburgh much like Davis is currently doing.

*Statistics courtesy of Baseball-Reference.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Pedro Alvarez has always been a polarizing player for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The man affectionately known as El Toro has undisputed power in his bat as evidenced by the National League-leading 36 home runs he hit last year. However, that power comes at a cost in the form of dismally-low batting averages, loads of strikeouts and poor fielding at third base.

The questions surrounding Alvarez have become more prominent since the emergence of super-utility player Josh Harrison and his stellar play since becoming a mainstay in the lineup. Some fans in Pittsburgh think Harrison can and should shoulder the full load at third base, relegating Alvarez to a platoon-like situation off the bench. Those fans are a bit premature in their zeal to see Alvarez ride the bench, but the question still remains as to what his future with the team holds.

First and foremost, Alvarez is represented by super agent Scott Boras, a man whose clients usually opt for free agency and big-money deals when their time is up. The team is paying Alvarez $4.25 million this season, a number that is likely to inflate to more than $10 million during arbitration in the offseason, according to Rum Bunter’s Adam Perry.

So perhaps the bigger question isn’t to bench or to play Alvarez, but rather to trade him and get something in return before he leaves for free agency anyway. The team controls Alvarez until after the 2016 season, but that doesn’t mean the Pirates shouldn’t start exploring ways to move him now, especially because he’s in line for a big pay raise after the season.

Do the Pirates want to pay upwards of $10 million a year for a third baseman who currently leads Major League Baseball with 17 errors? That’s a lot of money for a player hitting .232 at the plate, second-worst among all third basemen in the league. Of course, he’s always liable to go on a tear and hit seven home runs in a week.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Bob Smizik makes a relevant point in a blog post from several weeks ago, a point that illustrates the conundrum that is Pedro Alvarez.

Alvarez will be a free agent after the 2016 season. Since he is represented by agent Scott Boras, whose clients usually opt for free agency, the belief is the Pirates will trade him before that day comes. If Alvarez’s career takes off, there’s no way the Pirates can afford him. If it does not, there’s no way they’ll want him at the salary he’ll still command.

Smizik goes on to say that Alvarez could be a prime target for American League teams looking for a designated hitter, or for a team looking to convert him to first base. His ability to hit 30 or more home runs a year cannot be denied, especially on a Pirates team lacking in power. But the Pirates are not the New York Yankees and cannot afford to pay a player tens of millions just for a power bat.

The debate in Pittsburgh isn’t centered around trading Alvarez, although maybe it should be. Instead, manager Clint Hurdle is faced with hard decisions now that second baseman Neil Walker is back from the disabled list, forcing Hurdle to get creative in finding a lineup spot for the hot-hitting Harrison.

For one, Perry thinks it’s time for Alvarez to ride the bench. If that happens, could a trade be far behind?

The immediate question is: Who gives the Pirates a better chance to win, if you’re writing the lineup card tomorrow? I’d go with Harrison, and give him a chance to prove he’s not an everyday player, rather than continuing with Alvarez, who has yet to prove this year that he’s an everyday player.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

News broke Friday afternoon that the Pittsburgh Pirates have removed Jason Grilli from the closer’s role, according to Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reporter Rob Biertempfel.

Setup man Mark Melancon will get the lion’s share of saves, according to Biertempfel, while Grilli will be used in low-leverage situations—games the team is losing, in other words.

What a difference a year makes.

This time last season, Grilli was just weeks away from attending his first All-Star Game—a feat made even more impressive by the fact that he was 36 years old and in the midst of a career resurgence more than 16 years after being drafted.

The man fans affectionately refer to as Grilled Cheese pitched to a 2.70 ERA last year, giving up just 15 runs in 50 innings. In contrast, he’s already given up nine runs in 18.2 innings this season.

The four home runs Grilli gave up in 2013 have already been equaled this year, including two game-changing home runs in back-to-back games against the Cincinnati Reds this week. His 4.34 ERA isn’t horrendous, but it’s certainly not ideal for a closer.

So what’s the issue? Why has Grilli fallen so far from his lights-out performances last year at the back end of the bullpen?

For starters, his strikeouts are done, his walks are up and, as Rant Sports’ Zach Morrison said, his command is awful.

The odd thing about Grilli’s situation is that his velocity on both his fastball and slider are down, but not by much. Grilli’s average fastball velocity is down by just 0.6 miles per hour and his slider is down just 0.4 miles per hour compared to 2013. Grilli’s problem isn’t his velocity—it’s his command.

Fan reaction to Grilli’s demotion will surely be mixed, but can anyone blame Clint Hurdle for making the move? The team has been struggling all year to get back to a .500 winning percentage and is currently eight games behind first-place Milwaukee in the NL Central.

It goes without saying, but the Pirates can not afford to lose so many games in the final inning, especially after the rest of the team worked so hard to secure a lead.

As the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Ron Cook said Friday, losing too many games like that can have a very real effect on the psyche of a team, especially one that’s struggling.

Nothing demoralizes a team more than when it plays hard for three or four hours and builds a lead only to see the closer blow it in three or four minutes. The Pirates lead the National League with 14 blown saves.

Fans will now get the chance to see if Grilli can regain his form in low-pressure situations. If he can’t, it might be time for the team to part ways and close the curtain on Grilli’s career, according to Morrison:

If he continues to regress, then the Pirates shouldn’t hesitate to cut ties with him. Something needs to be done soon however, because right now, the Grilled Cheese is toast.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The Pittsburgh Pirates shocked Major League Baseball last year by winning 94 games and coming within a win of reaching the National League Championship Series, but this year’s version of the team will have a hard time duplicating that success.

At this point last year, the Pirates were 12 games over .500 and leading a crowded pack for the first spot in the National League Wild Card race. This year, as of June 17, the team is one game under .500 and currently sits seven games back of the Milwaukee Brewers.

Despite the fact that the Pirates currently sit 2.5 games out of the second Wild Card spot, sabermetrics website Baseball Prospectus only gives the team a 20 percent chance of making it back to the playoffs for a second consecutive year.

The biggest difference between this year and last is the team’s starting pitching, which has been nowhere near as efficient. As of June 17, the starting staff has only earned 17 wins in 69 games started this year, bad enough to rank 28th in baseball. In addition, the starters’ combined earned run average sits at 4.12, ranking them 22nd in baseball. In comparison, the Pirates finished with the fifth-best rotation in baseball last year after pitching to a 3.50 ERA.

During an interview on the 93.7 The Fan radio station last month, general manager Neal Huntington acknowledged that his squad wasn’t playing or acting like a playoff-caliber team and admitted that the starting staff lacked the fire it possessed last year.

Our starters, while as a whole haven’t been as productive as we’d like them to be, there are some definite strong signs.

Huntington made this statement long before the team released ineffective Wandy Rodriguez and before pitchers Gerrit Cole and Francisco Liriano landed on the disabled list. The rotation is now full of names like Brandon Cumpton, Vance Worley and Jeff Locke, pitchers who all started the season in the minors.

It will likely be several more weeks before either injured pitcher returns to the team, and there won’t be any salvation coming in the form of top pitching prospect Jameson Taillon, who in April became another in a long line of pitchers to undergo Tommy John surgery.

Perhaps the only silver lining is the team’s schedule heading into the All-Star break in mid-July, which features National League bottom-feeders like Chicago, New York and Arizona despite two series with Cincinnati and one with St. Louis.

Huntington will have some tough choices to make on how, or if, to improve his team heading into the second half of the season. The general manager has been a buyer and not a seller since 2012, bringing in big bats like Marlon Byrd and Justin Morneau last year at the deadline and trading for Travis Snider and Gaby Sanchez the year before that.

As already noted by Bleacher Report’s Matthew Smith, the Pirates need to be buyers at the trade deadline this year, especially when it comes to the starting rotation.

It’s clear that the team has to invest in an arm or two to make a playoff run, a fact Huntington understands. As per ESPN’s Buster Olney, the Pirates are one of several teams linked to talks in acquiring Chicago Cubs pitcher Jason Hammel, who is 6-4 with a 3.02 ERA this year.

It wouldn’t be surprising to see the team make a move for an arm, considering the Pirates have a pool of talent large enough in the minor leagues to entice any general manager in baseball. The question remains if Huntington will pull the trigger soon enough to save a starting rotation that is at best a gamble and at worst one of the shakiest rotations in the National League.

The decision could make or break the Pirates’ playoff chances for 2014, a fact not lost on Smith.

Make no mistake: The Pirates are very much in the playoff picture. Sure, taking the NL Central is unlikely, but grabbing a wild-card spot is attainable if Huntington goes about his business the right way.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com