Pirates finally heading in the right direction
All-Star left fielder Bryan Reynolds requested a trade from the Pirates in December. On Tuesday, he agreed to an eight-year, $106.75 million extension.
The Pirates were in first place in their division and tied for the best record in the National League when the deal was formally announced at PNC Park. The players, coaches, and staffers in the back of the room started applauding.
There’s been a lot to celebrate.
In the last 12 months, Pittsburgh general manager Ben Cherington has locked up Reynolds and third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes (eight years, $70 million) to long-term contracts.
Shortstop Oneil Cruz, who is on the injured list with a fractured left ankle, and righthanders Roansy Contreras and Mitch Keller are good candidates for extensions down the road.
So is closer David Bednar, a Pittsburgh native who played at Lafayette College and was obtained from San Diego in 2021 as part of the trade that sent Joe Musgrove to the Padres.
He was an All-Star last season and through 12 appearances this season had surrendered one earned run over 12 innings while striking out 15.
Center fielder Jack Suwinski, 24, has taken a big step forward after an uneven rookie season in 2022. His defense has been outstanding.
“I’ve been saying it since spring — the talent we’ve got, the young talent that’s still coming and just talking about the culture that we’ve been building,” Reynolds said.
“All those things combined and that combined too with the city, the fans, everything. It’s just something that, since I’ve gotten here, it’s what I’ve wanted to be a part of for a long time.”
The trade demand proved to be posturing. The sides kept talking and eventually came to a deal that didn’t include an opt-out clause, which the team was insistent against, but did include some no-trade protection.
A three-game sweep at Fenway Park early in the season was no fluke. The Pirates play with energy, a sense of purpose, and a deep rotation and bullpen.
Cherington also built a roster that creates platoon advantages throughout the lineup. That’s usually a recipe for continued success.
Rodolfo Castro, 23, has filled in well for Cruz, and Cherington made a smart move in bringing 36-year-old Andrew McCutchen back after a five-year absence.
McCutchen has hit well as the DH and occasional right fielder while providing leadership.
Cherington became GM after the 2019 season. He started by rebuilding the baseball operations staff with a focus on player development. That’s paying off.
Cherington was GM of the Red Sox from 2012-15. His tenure included the 2013 championship but also living through some failed moves foisted on him by ownership.
He’s been able to do it his way in Pittsburgh and what has been a wayward franchise is pointed the right way.
“Bryan is the reason that we all kept coming back to the table to try and figure out a way to get this done,” Cherington said. “We’re going to work our tails off to build the team we both envision.”
It’s also significant that Bob Nutting, an absentee owner for much of his tenure, has become more involved. He played a big role in getting the Reynolds deal to the finish line.
“We’re in a wonderful spot right now,” Nutting said at the news conference. “We are moving in a very clear direction. We’re doing what we said we’d do when [Cherington] came on board.”
The Pirates are 20-8 and have won 11 of their last 12 games after sweeping a doubleheader against the Nationals in Washington on Saturday and scoring 22 runs on 27 hits.
“You look at the quality of play, that’s the thing that stands out the most,” manager Derek Shelton said. “If you’re consistent with what you do on the mound and you catch the baseball, you give yourselves opportunity.
“Because we are athletic, there are things that we can do that should be able to maintain it.”
For years the only good thing about the Pirates was their beautiful ballpark. Now, the team on the field is worth a look, too.
Sale comes to a crossroads
The Red Sox won the World Series in 2013 then badly mishandled contract negotiations with star lefthander Jon Lester during spring training in 2014.
Their lowball offer led to acrimony and eventually Lester being traded to the Athletics. He then signed with the Cubs and led them to a World Series title in 2016.
Lester had a 3.64 ERA and 1.28 WHIP in 242 games for the Red Sox over nine seasons. He had a 3.68 ERA and 1.27 WHIP in the 210 games and eight years that followed.
Principal owner John Henry vowed not to make the same mistake in 2019 and signed Chris Sale to a five-year, $145 million extension after the Sox won the 2018 Series.
I wrote then that the Sox had gotten it right and should build their rotation around Sale.
That was a bad read as good intentions went awry.
Sale was 29-12 with a 2.56 ERA in his first two regular seasons with the Sox. He is 12-15 with a 4.53 ERA in only 41 starts since the extension, having missed approximately 40 starts because of injuries.
Sale is 1-2 with an 8.22 ERA and a lofty 1.74 WHIP in five starts this season.
Some of that can certainly be attributed to his having pitched only two games in 2022. But some percentage is a product of his losing velocity off his fastball and slider and not being able to adapt how he pitches.
Unlike Lester, whose sturdy frame and pitching acumen allowed him to pitch effectively into his late 30s, Sale has had a series of injuries and is still attacking hitters with primarily fastballs, sliders, and a few changeups.
Sale is signed through 2024 and to what degree he can be a top-of-the-rotation starter remains to be seen. Well-intended as the Sox were, this deal has blown up on them.
Other observations on the Red Sox:
■ The continued presence of Kaleb Ort in the bullpen didn’t make sense and he was optioned on Saturday.
Ort has put 74 men on base over 41 innings in his time with the Red Sox, 22 in his first 12‚ innings this season. Opponents have an .885 OPS against him dating to 2021. This was the pitcher they hung on to while letting 26-yearold Thaddeus Ward go to the Nationals in the Rule 5 Draft?
Ort is 31. For all the vaunted “stuff ” the Sox claim he has, not much has changed since he was first called up. At some point results have to matter.
■ That Masataka Yoshida and other Japanese free agents are considered “rookies” by MLB is insulting to Nippon Professional Baseball and should be changed.
Nevertheless, Yoshida is the first rookie to hit two homers in the same inning since Joe Pepitone of the Yankees in 1962.
He also was the first player to hit two homers in an inning with one being a grand slam since Edwin Encarnacion of the Blue Jays in 2013.
■ One of the best features at Camden Yards are the small metal plaques on Eutaw Street that commemorate those rare home runs that sailed over the stands and landed on the street that’s part of the ballpark.
Rafael Devers accomplished the feat on Monday. He will be the first Red Sox player with a plaque since Jackie Bradley Jr. in 2017.
The other Sox with plaques are Mo Vaughn (1996), Troy O’Leary (1999), Carl Everett (2000), and David Ortiz (2003, 2012).
■ As the Red Sox run through middle infielders at an alarming rate, Adalberto Mondesí is back in Fort Myers, Fla., and updates on his return from knee surgery are rare.
Mondesí is on the 60-day injured list and not eligible to return until May 30.
Early in spring training, Chaim Bloom said he “wouldn’t rule out” Mondesí being ready for Opening Day. Perhaps Mondesí will be a factor in the second half of the season. But it’s starting to feel like Trevor Story will be back sooner.
■ The Franchy Cordero Era was paused Friday when the Yankees optioned him to Triple A.
The former Red Sox outfielder started the season 7 for 25 with four homers and 11 RBIs in seven games. He was 1 for 25 with no extra-base hits and 13 strikeouts in his next 10 games and had a few misadventures in right field.
■ Former Red Sox reliever Matt Strahm said during the 2022 season that he wanted another shot at starting. That didn’t seem likely considering the lefthander was 4-10 with a 5.08 ERA in 25 starts with the Padres from 2017-21.
But when the Phillies experienced a series of injuries, Strahm started building up in spring training and has a 2.42 ERA with 12.5 strikeouts per nine innings in five starts since.
Strahm has shown command of four pitches and is approaching the assignment like a reliever, throwing as hard as he can for as long as he can.
■ Tanner Houck was one of nine players named as an ambassador to the Players Trust, the charitable arm of the MLB Players Association. In addition to his own projects, Houck will serve as a conduit between teammates and the Players Trust staff.
■ Former Red Sox minor league development coach Katie Krall is now senior product manager for baseball strategy with Hawk-Eye Innovations. That’s the company behind the tech that powers Statcast.
Brewers honor storied past
The home clubhouse at American Family Field in Milwaukee is a mini museum.
There are four lockers with glass fronts that have uniforms and memorabilia from Hall of Famers Hank Aaron, Rollie Fingers, Paul Molitor, and Robin Yount.
Those four players also have the only retired numbers in franchise history, along with No. 1 for longtime owner and former commissioner Bud Selig.
There’s also an open locker that 89year-old Bob Uecker uses when he’s at the ballpark working as a broadcaster.
Also impressive in Milwaukee: The team had six players standing on the warning track signing autographs before the Sunday afternoon game against the Red Sox last week.
MLB has struggled for years seeking ideas for how to get kids interested in baseball. Autograph sessions are an easy way to start.
Mauricio Dubón offers proof that success can be a winding road. Once a well-regarded Red Sox prospect, Dubón had a .653 OPS over 262 major league games with the Brewers, Giants, and Astros over his first four seasons in the majors and to that point had been traded three times. But with Jose Altuve out of Houston’s lineup with a fractured thumb, Dubón entered the weekend hitting .315 with .742 OPS; he had a 20-game hit streak end Friday night. Dubón, 28, has always had 80-grade makeup. The production is catching up . . . Vladimir Guerrero Jr. said in November that he would never play for the Yankees. “I like to play in New York, I like to kill the Yankees. I would never sign with the Yankees, not even dead,” he told a radio station in the Dominican Republic. He reiterated that last week when the Blue Jays played in the Bronx. “It’s a personal thing. It goes back with my family. That’s my decision,” he said.
The rift appears to go back to the Yankees deciding not to sign Vladimir Guerrero Sr. in 2003 . . . The Angels are down to their third and fourth catchers with Logan O’Hoppe (torn labrum) out for the season and Max Stassi away from the team with a hip injury and what manager Phil Nevin has said is a “severe family emergency.” Career backups Matt Thaiss and Chad Wallach are handling the position. The American League West is such that the Angels don’t have immediate concerns about falling out of contention. But O’Hoppe was a major loss . . . It seems
J.D. Martinez has given up playing the field. He has not played defense since the final game of the 2021 regular season . . . Japanese businessman Soichiro “Swimmy” Minami, a Tufts graduate who played soccer for the Jumbos, became a limited partner of the Yankees earlier this month. He aspires to own his own MLB team someday. John Henry was once a minority partner of the Yankees, so you never know . . . That the Twins took two of three from the Yankees doesn’t seem like a big deal. But it clinched Minnesota’s first season series victory against New York since 2001. The Twins were 35-75 in regularseason games against the Yankees from 2002-22 and 2-16 in the postseason . . . Strange doings by the struggling Cardinals, who demoted star prospect Jordan Walker on Wednesday then resigned infielder Taylor Motter, who had been designated for assignment only three days before. Motter has played for seven teams over parts of six seasons, including the Red Sox for three games in 2021 . . . The White Sox are in crisis under new manager Pedro Grifol, losing 18 of their first 25 games because of poor pitching and losing Tim Anderson to a knee injury. “I really didn’t anticipate it being this way,” Grifol said. “But you don’t control the cards you’re dealt. You control how you respond to it. I’ll reflect and work and make adjustments and be hard on myself, but I’m definitely not going to panic.” GM Rick Hahn is taking the blame. “Put it on me. That’s the job. It’s the absolute gig,” he said. “Let’s make this real clear: It sure as heck isn’t on Pedro and his coaching staff.” . . . With Brewers outfielder Garrett Mitchell out for the season after shoulder surgery, a door could eventually open for former Lexington High and Boston College star Sal Frelick, who is off to a slow start in Triple A . . . David Price opted out of the 2020 season, but the Dodgers gave him a World Series ring regardless. Earlier this month Price donated that ring to the Players Alliance to be auctioned off. The proceeds will go toward creating opportunities for young Black players . . . What does Rich Hill have in common with Babe Adams and Diomedes Olivo? They’re the only Pirates pitchers to win a game after turning 43. Adams did it in 1925 and Olivo in 1962. No, Hill didn’t play against them . . . Jeff Dooley has called minor league games for 25 years, in recent years with the Double A Hartford Yard Goats. He got his own long-awaited call to the big leagues last weekend when the Rockies needed an announcer to fill in for two games on their radio broadcast. Dooley, a Rhode Island native, has worked in the Hartford area for years. Minor league announcers often double as the public relations director and take on other jobs the team needs to be done. His promotion was well deserved . . . Happy birthday to Jose Peraza, who is 29. The infielder played in 34 games for the 2020 Red Sox and pitched part of an inning.