Kuzul

The Pittsburgh Pirates currently are not a complete team.  

The team lacks starting pitching, as two of its top starters from last year (Francisco Liriano and Edinson Volquez) are both currently on the free-agent market seeking deals.

General manager Neal Huntington has made an effort to bolster the rotation so far this offseason, adding former Pirate A.J. Burnett on a one-year deal.  

The Pirates and other teams in search for a quality starting pitcher received good news Tuesday evening when Mike Axisa of CBS Sports reported that right-handed starting pitcher Kris Medlen is now a free agent, as the Atlanta Braves did not tender his contract for next season.

A five-year veteran, Medlen transitioned to his role as a permanent starting pitcher in 2013 after spending his first four major league seasons serving primarily as a relief pitcher.  

Medlen performed very well for the Braves that year, going 15-12 with a 3.11 ERA in 32 games (starting in 31 of them).  

Furthermore, Medlen is a proven dominant relief pitcher, as he went 10-1 with a 1.57 ERA in 138.0 innings pitched and finished 20th in the National League Most Valuable Player voting in 2012.

Unfortunately for Medlen, he missed the entire 2014 season due to an elbow injury that resulted in Tommy John surgery.  

Would the Pirates consider adding Medlen to the staff as a relief pitcher?  That is possible, but considering the fact that the Pirates need starting pitching more than anything right now, they would likely have him audition for a starting job in spring training.    

At only 29 years old, Medlen still has plenty of time to bounce back from his injury.  

The Pirates don’t have to look any further than within their own organization to find an example of a guy who has bounced back brilliantly from the operation in his career.  

Volquez underwent the procedure in 2009 when he was a member of the Cincinnati Reds, and he has made at least 31 starts in the last three seasons.  

Although the Pirates starting rotation currently consists of all right-handed pitchers except for Jeff Locke, offering Medlen a deal makes a lot of sense.

First of all, he likely will not come at too steep of a cost, as he has not pitched in a game in over a year now.  Most importantly, however, he could bounce back from the injury and return to form, which would have a huge impact on the Pirates’ chances of heading back to the postseason for the third straight year.

Imagine what the Pirates would be capable of achieving in 2015 with a healthy Medlen and Gerrit Cole at the top of that rotation.  Add a seasoned veteran like Burnett along with lefty Locke and Vance Worley to the combination, and suddenly the Pirates rotation is rounded out from top to bottom.

Of course, the Pirates would be taking a gamble by signing him, but the rewards he can potentially offer are worth it.

Statistics courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

General manager Neal Huntington and the Pittsburgh Pirates have been busy this offseason, making small moves for players they hope will play to their maximum potential in 2015.  

The smartest moves the Pirates have made occurred Monday when Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported the Pirates acquired utility man Sean Rodriguez via trade with the Tampa Bay Rays and designated first baseman Gaby Sanchez for assignment.

The 29-year-old Rodriguez batted just .211 in 96 games for the Rays in 2014, which is nothing to write home about. However, his 12 home runs and 41 RBI were both career-highs.  

A seven-year veteran, Rodriguez owns a career batting average of .225 in 1,641 at-bats. His busiest season came in 2011, when he played in 131 games and batted .223 for the Rays.  

Primarily a middle infielder, Rodriguez gives the Pirates the opportunity to rest players such as Neil Walker and Jordy Mercer when they need a day off.

In reality, he can fill in at any position when a player needs a rest day for the Pirates in 2015, and manager Clint Hurdle can be confident with him in the lineup.  

What makes him so valuable as a backup or a utility man is the fact he can play any position in the field, as he has seen playing time at every position except catcher throughout his career.

If Rodriguez blasts 12 home runs as a utility man for them in 2015, they would gladly take that, but he is capable of achieving more given the right number of at-bats.  

Rodriguez collected 237 at-bats in 2014, and although he totaled just 50 hits, more than half of them went for extra bases (28 of them, to be exact).  

With the move for Rodriguez came another move to make room on the team’s roster: designating first baseman Gaby Sanchez for assignment.  

Sanchez was a promising player a few seasons ago when he was a member of the Miami Marlins, blasting 19 home runs in back-to-back seasons between 2010-2011.  

Sanchez has blasted just 21 home runs combined in the three seasons since, as his ineffectiveness against right-handed pitchers has led him to a role as a platoon player.  

This was a promising move for the Pirates because it now leaves just two first basemen on the roster: Pedro Alvarez and Andrew Lambo.  

Alvarez, who was the team’s everyday third baseman, will likely be the new everyday first baseman in 2015 while Josh Harrison takes over at the hot corner.  

Although he missed 40 games due to injuries in 2014, Alvarez possesses tremendous power in the heart of the Pirates’ lineup, which is what they need. Platooning him with Sanchez probably wouldn’t have been as effective as leaving Alvarez in the lineup on a consistent basis.  

Furthermore, Sanchez’s statistics even against left-handed pitchers were not impressive in 2014 like they were in 2013.  He batted .333 in 102 at-bats against southpaws in 2013 but just .256 in 133 at-bats against them in 2014.  

Sanchez’s numbers have consistently declined throughout his career, and as he is already 31 years old and set to become a free agent in 2016, the best option would be for the Pirates to trade him (the Pirates have 10 days to decide whether to trade or release him).  

The Pirates became a better team Monday, from an offensive standpoint. While Rodriguez is not a standout player, he has proven he can play at the big league level, while Sanchez’s declining numbers have to be considered a concern for the Pirates.  

*Statistics courtesy of Baseball Reference.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

There was a time when Gaby Sanchez was considered an offensive threat at the plate for opposing pitchers. 

That time was five seasons ago, as the young first baseman was coming off his second straight 19-home run season.  Between 2010-2011 as a member of the then-known-as Florida Marlins, Sanchez drove in 163 runs in 310 games.  

In the three seasons since, Sanchez’s power numbers and batting average have dropped off drastically.  

In 2014, Sanchez batted .229 with just seven home runs in 123 games.  Of course, he has not had nearly the number of at-bats he was given years ago, but that is due to the fact that he struggles mightily against right-handed pitchers.  

When the Pirates traded first baseman Ike Davis to the Oakland Athletics a little over a week ago, it still left three first basemen on the Pirates’ depth chart.  

It is possible that the Pirates could keep Sanchez on the roster and go into the season with two backup first basemen, but there really is no need to, especially considering the likelihood of Pedro Alvarez becoming the everyday first baseman for the Pirates.  

Furthermore, the Pirates have a young and talented prospect named Andrew Lambo, who has seen limited playing time throughout his first two seasons in the majors.

According to a report from Baseball America, Lambo was listed as the best power hitter in the Pirates farm system heading into the 2014 regular season.  Lambo proved that he deserved that ranking by blasting 44 home runs over the last two seasons in the minors.

Realistically, though, when will Lambo be given a chance to play every day if there are two first baseman in front of him on the Pirates depth chart?  Unless either Alvarez or Sanchez is traded during the offseason, Lambo would have to have a tremendous spring training to win the starting job.  

Now, the Pirates could also offer Alvarez in a trade instead of Sanchez, and that would have its pros and cons.  

On the bright side, the Pirates could probably acquire some talented prospects for Alvarez, as he has shown that he has tremendous power at the plate when healthy.  In 2013 for the Pirates, Alvarez hit 36 home runs and drove in 100 runs in 152 games.  

Alvarez missed 40 games in 2014 due to injuries, but he still was able to total 18 home runs and collect 56 RBI.  

To put it nicely, Alvarez has been shaky in the field, committing 52 errors at third base over the last two seasons.  To me, Alvarez would best be suited on an American League team, where he could see a considerable amount of playing time as a designated hitter.  So, perhaps an A.L. team would be willing to trade for him.  

The major con of trading away a guy like Alvarez is that it would leave a power void in the heart of Pittsburgh’s lineup, which they probably cannot afford unless they go out and acquire solid starting pitchers.

Second baseman Neil Walker and center fielder Andrew McCutchen were the only two players to hit at least 20 home runs for the Pirates in 2014, so trading away Alvarez would negatively impact the power numbers for the Pirates in 2015.  

Playing the role of general manager Neal Huntington, here is my verdict: listen to any offers on both players, but try to get a decent offer for Sanchez, as trading away Alvarez at this point would not make much sense.  

Then, in spring training, allow Alvarez to become accustomed to playing first base.  In the worst-case scenario, Lambo and Alvarez could split time until one of them takes off and gets hot.  

Although his batting average is nothing to be excited about, it is hard to come across the level of power Alvarez possesses at the plate, and although the Pirates could get more in return for Alvarez, the lineup they currently have is set up to win now.  

Without Alvarez’s power in the middle of the lineup, however, the Pirates should expect to win less games than they did last season.  

*Statistics courtesy of Baseball Reference

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

When the Pittsburgh Pirates were bounced from the playoffs in the 2014 National League Wild Card Game by the eventual World Series Champion San Francisco Giants, general manager Neal Huntington knew there would be a lot of work to do in the offseason.

That work included potentially re-signing catcher Russell Martin and starting pitchers Edinson Volquez and Francisco Liriano. 

So far, Huntington is 0-1, as Martin left the Pirates for the Toronto Blue Jays. 

Of course Toronto’s signing of Martin was questionable in itself, as the organization agreed to sign a catcher in his thirties to a five-year deal worth $82 million. 

Still, before Martin even agreed to terms with the Blue Jays, the Pirates traded away lefty reliever Justin Wilson to the New York Yankees in exchange for Francisco Cervelli, New York’s backup catcher.  

While this move probably was made because it was evident to Huntington that Martin would be offered money that he was not willing to give, it is also evident to fans that Pittsburgh’s organization did not seriously pursue Martin.

Martin had a great stint with the Pirates, helping them to get to the playoffs in both seasons when he was a member of the team.  

Next, the Pirates went out and signed a familiar face in A.J. Burnett, who pitched considerably well in two seasons with Pittsburgh, going 26-21 with a 3.41 ERA. In 2014 with the Philadelphia Phillies, however, Burnett went a career-worst 8-18 with a 4.59 ERA.

Signing Burnett would be justifiable if he were coming off a solid 2014 season (and if the Pirates were in need of one more starting pitcher at the back end of their rotation). However, at 37 years of age, it is disappointing that Burnett has been Pittsburgh’s biggest acquisition so far this offseason.  

To make matters worse, Mike Axisa of CBS Sports reported that the Pirates signed Radhames Liz to a two-year contract worth $3 million. The 31-year-old pitcher has not appeared in a Major League game since 2009 when he was a member of the Baltimore Orioles.

In 28 career games, Liz owned a 6-8 record with an ERA of 7.50. In ten Minor League seasons, Liz was 71-76 with a 3.61 ERA. His best seasons have come in the last four years, but three of them have been spent in the Korean Baseball Organization (from 2011-2013).  

The Pirates continue to make small moves in free agency (while both Volquez and Liriano remain on the market).

Meanwhile, the Pirates’ biggest competition (the St. Louis Cardinals) has already gone out and traded for a huge bat in Jason Heyward.  

With a current starting rotation that consists of Gerrit Cole, Burnett, Vance Worley and Jeff Locke, the Pirates are not exactly set for a successful 2015 season. Though the Pirates should be just fine on offense, the pitching needs to improve before the start of the regular season.  

Of course it is still very early in the offseason, but the moves Huntington has made so far really are subtraction by addition. After all, he gave $3 million dollars to a man who hasn’t pitched in the big leagues since 2009. The three big starting pitchers on the market right now are Max Scherzer, James Shields and Jon Lester. However, the Pirates have not been mentioned as serious contenders for any of them.  

There are plenty of solid starting pitchers on the market—such as Brandon McCarthy and Jason Hammel—who the Pirates could make a run at, but as of now the organization has not done anything to improve the team from last season.

Then there are Edinson Volquez and Francisco Liriano, who both had successful 2014 seasons in Pittsburgh. Volquez pitched brilliantly all year, going 13-7 with a 3.04 ERA. Liriano finished strongly after struggling early on. He finished with a 7-10 record (but had a respectable 3.38 ERA).

It would not make any sense for the Pirates to let both of them walk, unless of course Huntington and the organization go out and sign two more quality starting pitchers in their place.

So far, that has not appeared to come even remotely close to happening, which leads us to question why Huntington and the Pirates have been so quiet once again this offseason.

*Statistics courtesy of Baseball Reference.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The Pittsburgh Pirates reunited with a familiar friend Friday. Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that they signed starting pitcher A.J. Burnett to a one-year deal.  

Burnett, who will turn 38 in January, is coming off a 2014 regular season in which he performed poorly, going 8-18 with a 4.59 ERA in 34 games started.  

That last statistic is key here, however: Thirty-four starts matched the most games he has ever started in a single season.  

In fact, Burnett has been one of the most durable pitchers in the league throughout the last seven seasons, making 30 or more starts in all seven of those years.  

Burnett spent two seasons with the Pirates from 2012-2013 before signing with the Philadelphia Phillies prior to the start of last season.  In 61 games with the Pirates, Burnett compiled a 26-21 record and a 3.41 ERA—the lowest ERA he has compiled among the five major league teams he has played for in his career.

As it remains uncertain whether the Pirates will reach deals on new contracts with either Edinson Volquez or Francisco Liriano, bringing Burnett back for a season makes total sense.  

Still, the signing of Burnett alone probably isn’t enough to propel the Pirates back into the playoffs for the third straight season in 2015.  

With the level of talent among starting pitchers the Pirates currently have, it would not be surprising to see Burnett penciled into the No. 2 slot in the rotation.

Barring any huge signing, Gerrit Cole will likely head into the 2015 season as the starting pitcher on Opening Day.  Aside from both him and Burnett, the Pirates have Jeff Locke and Vance Worley as two starters with considerable experience in the big leagues.  

While Cole has shown that he can dominate on the mound, Locke has been very inconsistent.  In the 2013 regular season, he owned a 2.15 ERA in the first half before pitching to an ERA north of 6.00 in the second half, but he still finished the season with a 3.52 ERA overall.

Then there is Worley, who has been up and down from the minors to the big leagues.  He pitched well during the time he spent with the club in 2014, going 8-4 with a 2.85 ERA in 18 games.

Still, it will not be easy to win with that rotation in a National League Central Division that is growing tougher and tougher, as teams such as the Chicago Cubs are stacked with rising stars.  Pirates general manager Neal Huntington must continue to work hard during the offseason and pursue a solid starter who can bolster that rotation.  

The signing of Burnett was a smart move by Huntington.  But in order for the Pirates to reach the postseason and be considered legitimate World Series contenders, more work needs to be done.

*Statistics courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Despite frequent insistence to the contrary, free-agent signings are almost always about the money. That’s what it’s all about, you know.

But not for A.J. Burnett. On Friday, he decided to be a very rare exception to the rule. And for good reasons, to boot.

As the Pittsburgh Pirates were all too glad to announce on Twitter, Burnett has signed a one-year contract with them for the 2015 season. And as Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reported, they were able to ink the 37-year-old right-hander for fairly cheap:

In light of how much starting pitchers are going for these days, that’s not such a bad price to pay for a pitcher of Burnett’s caliber. For perspective, his 2015 salary will be exactly the same as Jason Vargas’.

Of course, there is a funny side to Burnett signing for only $8.5 million. He could have made $12.75 million had he exercised his player option to stay with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2015. Here’s Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports with a bit of math and snark:

Indeed.

But quips aside, that Burnett took less money to trade Philadelphia for Pittsburgh isn’t too surprising.

While the Pirates have made the postseason two straight years, the Phillies have missed October three straight years and are now looking to rebuild. Burnett also didn’t have such a great time in a Phillies uniform in 2014, posting a 4.59 ERA and a career-high 18 losses.

Burnett was considerably better in his two seasons with the Pirates in 2012 and 2013, racking up a 3.41 ERA across nearly 400 innings. Also, Joel Sherman of the New York Post has heard from Burnett’s agent that he’s legitimately fond of Pittsburgh:

Given how Burnett had a rough time in New York with the Yankees (4.79 ERA in three seasons) before he had a rough time in Philadelphia, the easy narrative to point to is that the more low-key environment of Pittsburgh is the right place for him.

And there might actually be something to that.

Early on in 2012, Burnett recalled to Anthony McCarron of the New York Daily News the story of the first inning of his first game at PNC Park. The first three batters reached, but the crowd didn’t get anxious.

“I could imagine what (Yankee Stadium) would sound like, and there was about two words that came out of the crowd here,” he said. “So it’s just different. You’re a little less on edge. Some guys thrive in that.”

So, by all accounts, yes, Burnett is returning to a place where he’s comfortable. Nothing wrong with that.

Also worth discussing, however, is that Burnett may have been motivated to return to Pittsburgh to cure what ailed his pitching in 2014.

When Burnett arrived in Pittsburgh, he was coming off back-to-back seasons with an ERA over 5.00 in 2010 and 2011. He had problems with both walks and home runs in those seasons. Meaning, yeah, a lot of work needed to be done.

And a lot of work was done. There are numbers that make that clear, as Burnett went from being a strikeout pitcher with walk and homer problems to a strikeout pitcher who was better at limiting walks, getting ground balls and keeping the ball in the yard.

Courtesy of FanGraphs:

Granted, you can point out that the move to the National League helped. So, too, did the move from Yankee Stadium to PNC Park, one of the most pitcher-friendly parks in the league.

But the Pirates did make one major change with Burnett, and it’s not hard to spot in this graph from Brooks Baseball:

Before Burnett arrived in Pittsburgh, his four-seam fastball was his primary heater. That changed once Pirates pitching coach Ray Searage got a hold of him, and that’s no surprise. As Chris Cwik noted at Sports on Earth, the sinker is kind of Searage’s thing.

For Burnett, de-emphasizing his four-seamer in favor of his sinker worked like a charm. The pitch got ground balls nearly 59 percent of the time it was put in play between 2012 and 2013, making it largely responsible for his improved ground-ball habit.

However, it is notable that Burnett didn’t scrap his four-seamer entirely. It still played a big role in his arsenal. Searage will tell you there’s a reason for that.

“I believe the two fastballs complement each other,” he told Cwik. “The hitter has to respect both unless you’re primarily a heavy sinker pitcher. However, even then, you must keep them honest to both sides of the zone.”

That part about the hitter having to respect both pitches unless you’re a sinker-heavy pitcher? Take another look at the graph, and you can see how that’s relevant to Burnett’s 2014 season.

He got away from the balance between his sinker and four-seamer that he had in Pittsburgh, and he was hurt by it:

Based on appearances, the overuse of Burnett’s sinker essentially watered it down in 2014. That’s something Searage should be able to correct in 2015.

If so, that should get Burnett’s ground-ball habit back on track, as his ground-ball rate sunk to 50.9 with the Phillies in 2014. Even if that’s all Searage is able to fix, he’ll have done enough.

He’ll have done more than enough, however, if he can also patch up Burnett’s command. He went from a 3.0 BB/9 in Pittsburgh to a 4.0 BB/9 in Philadelphia. Per BaseballSavant.com, that was largely a function of fewer of his heaters finding the strike zone.

From the looks of things, the fix for that could be as simple as getting his release point a little lower:

Granted, we’re talking about only a subtle change. But as the drop from where Burnett was in 2011 to where he was in 2012 and 2013 can vouch, a subtle change can make a huge difference.

All told, you’re looking at a couple of makable changes that, if made, could easily wash away Burnett’s lousy 2014 season and get him back to where he was with the Pirates. And even if the Pirates can’t get him all the way back to being the guy he was in 2012 and 2013, at least getting him reasonably close would result in them having a solid No. 3/4-type starter.

If it comes to that, two things will be known for sure: The Pirates will know they made a good investment, and Burnett will know he made the right choice.

Note: Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com unless otherwise noted/linked.  

If you want to talk baseball, hit me up on Twitter.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Starting pitcher A.J. Burnett enjoyed two of his best seasons as a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates, and he will look to recapture that magic in 2015.

The Pirates announced the deal via Twitter:

Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com noted the money involved:

Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review had Burnett’s thoughts:

The Pirates had more Burnett quotes:

Burnett spent the 2014 campaign with the Philadelphia Phillies, going 8-18 with a 4.59 ERA. As pointed out by MLB on Fox, those numbers were a far cry from his production in Pittsburgh:

Although Burnett could have remained in Philly by exercising a $12.75 million player option, he decided to test the open market instead after declining it.

Burnett actually lost money by opting out, but the move means that he will be part of a contending team that has reached the postseason in consecutive years.

He is a volatile pitcher, as evidenced by his career record of 155-150 with a 4.04 ERA, but Burnett experienced a career resurgence in Pittsburgh after a few up-and-down seasons with the New York Yankees.

Burnett will be 38 when the 2015 season starts, so he may not have much time remaining as an MLB pitcher, but the Pirates may have a steal on their hands if they can catch lightning in a bottle twice.

Follow @MikeChiari on Twitter.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

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.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

While all eyes will be on the marquee players like Andrew McCutchen, Buster Posey and Madison Bumgarner in Wednesday’s National League Wild Card Game at PNC Park, there are a few players who may steal the spotlight and have huge games to help their team advance into the division series. 

One of them is Pittsburgh’s Josh Harrison.

It’s easy to ignore what Harrison has done this season with McCutchen right next to him, but Harrison’s .315 batting average, which was just four points lower than that of NL batting champion Justin Morneau, is something the Giants should be taking seriously.

Consistently the catalyst for the Pittsburgh offense this season, Harrison batted .328 from the leadoff spot and seemed to get even better whenever a clutch hit is needed.

Harrison’s .360 average with one out and .359 average with two outs on the season are impressive enough alone, but what is even more extraordinary is his .392 average with two outs and runners in scoring position. All of those numbers are better than the ones put up by McCutchen this season (.320/.284/.283).

Harrison also seems to enjoy playing against Bumgarner and the Giants.

In five career at-bats against the Giants ace, Harrison has collected four hits, including a homer. In the six games he played against San Francisco this year, Harrison went 6-for-18 and belted three of his 13 homers on the season (including the one off Bumgarner), the most against any opposing team this year.

With more and more teams starting to pitch around McCutchen, it’s important for Harrison to set the tone at the top of the order to take off some of the pressure and ease the tasks for the heart of the order, especially when McCutchen is 2-for-10 against Bumgarner in his career.

Look for Harrison to create some chaos for the Giants on Wednesday in front of what is sure to be a raucous crowd at PNC Park and send the Pirates into NLDS against the Washington Nationals.

Statistics courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com unless otherwise noted.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The Pittsburgh Pirates have one chance to get it right if they want to advance to the National League Division Series.

As reported by ESPN, the team announced Monday that Edinson Volquez will start the Wild Card game Wednesday against the San Francisco Giants in front of what’s sure to be a raucous crowd at PNC Park. But is that the right choice?

As with any situation, there are two sides to every story.

Some fans see Volquez as the man who had the highest earned-run average of any starter in Major League Baseball last year. He posted a 5.71 ERA while pitching most of his games for the San Diego Padres in Petco Park, a cavernous stadium known to favor pitchers.

They also see a man who, in his only previous playoff start, allowed four runs in 1.2 innings against the Philadelphia Phillies in the 2010 National League Division Series.

Those old stats are history, although history does have a way of repeating itself.

Fans would be a lot more concerned if Volquez, who signed for $5 million before this season, didn’t put together a spectacular year for the Pirates in 2014.

He leads the team in wins (13), earned run average (3.04) and innings pitched (192.2). That’s not to mention Volquez is currently engaged in a career-best scoreless-innings streak that is up to 18 innings.

That scoreless-innings streak has gone a long way in helping him record a 1.08 ERA in September, a number that is the second-lowest in the National League in September.

Volquez is the third starter on the team behind Francisco Liriano, who won last year’s National League Wild Card game against the Cincinnati Reds, and Gerrit Cole.

However, Cole pitched on Sunday when the National League Central was still up for grabs, and Liriano pitched the day before, giving up three earned runs in five innings.

That means Volquez is the only viable option left who has the traditional five days of rest.

But that doesn’t mean there’s not concern.

Charlie Wilmoth of Bucs Dugout made the case that Volquez’ secondary numbers aren’t nearly as good as his ERA suggests.

That’s not to mention Volquez is walking 3.3 batters per nine innings to go along with his league-high 15 wild pitches and 14 hit-batters.

Wilmoth is of the opinion that the Pirates should have held Cole out of the game Sunday and saved him for Wednesday.

The take here is that starting Cole was the right choice, as the team still had a chance to tie the St. Louis Cardinals for the division title. Things didn’t work out that way, and it’s always easy to second-guess in hindsight.

Tom Singer of MLB.com also agrees with the team’s decision to give the ball to Volquez, given his stellar performance in the second half of the season.

Keeping the ball in the park is one element that makes Volquez the Pirates’ hottest pitcher, and a logical choice for the first postseason assignment,” Singer said. “He has fashioned a 1.78 ERA across his last 12 starts, and has not lost since his first outing following the All-Star Game.

Volquez is the right call, if only for the fact that he’s rested and has pitched brilliantly as of late.

Let’s just hope his brilliant September carries over in to October.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com