New general manager’s big swap was well-timed
Ben Cherington spent the 1998 season as an advance scout for the Cleveland Indians. The following year, the Boston Red Sox hired Cherington, then 24, as an area scout. Since then, Cherington has worked for the Red Sox and Toronto Blue Jays, meaning that before he took the job as Pirates general manager late last year, he hadn’t worked for a small-market team in more than 20 years.
During the interview process and immediately after his hire, Cherington said, he researched how small-market teams found success and reached out to friends in those front offices.
“If we look at teams that have somewhat similar circumstances to the Pirates, and teams that are in situations similar to that, that have done a good job, built winning teams, sustained that winning, one thing seems pretty clear that those teams have done well, and that is to pick the right time to trade players,” Cherington said.
Cherington put that lesson to the test with his first major move. By trading Starling Marte to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday, Cherington turned a 31-year-old with a PED suspension and history of injuries in his dossier into two young prospects.
Marte’s value might never have climbed higher. He hit .295/.342/.503 with a careerhigh 23 home runs last season. So while we can debate the value of the Pirates’ return — and because both players, shortstop Liover Peguero and right-hander Brennan Malone, are 19, that’s all we can do for a while — Cherington nailed the timing.
Doing the same with Josh Bell will be trickier.
Cherington is smart. He understands leverage. When asked last week about what direction he’d take the team this year, he said: “Just getting better. Every kind of resource you can imagine, whether it’s time, energy or dollars, will go into getting better. That’s not always a straight line.”
Regarding the upcoming season, he said, “Excitement.”
Cherington knew better than to declare his Pirates contenders for 2020, disingenuous considering the state of the roster, or to announce that he’s open for business, thus reducing leverage in trade negotiations. The closest he came to tipping his hand came when asked about trading Marte:
“If we think about building that team I described, a team that has a good chance to play meaningful games in September and October, has a chance to sustain winning, we need more players with more collective upside. We’re really excited about the players we have, we’re really excited about working with our current players to find ways to tap into more upside, but we need more of them.”
The implication was, if you have the chance to turn one good player into multiple players who could be good, you consider it. He did with Marte, and chances are he’ll have to do it with Bell, too.
The quickest way for Cherington to infuse the organization with talent was to trade Marte and/or Bell, 27, who hit 37 home runs, posted a .277/.367.569 line and made his first All-Star game. But Bell hit 27 of those home runs before the All-Star break, and his OPS dropped 244 points after the break as opposing pitchers figured out how to attack him. Trade him now and hope his second half doesn’t diminish his return too much, or hold on to him, hoping he builds his value rather than decreases it by regressing?
Two more factors complicate the equation. Despite hours of pregame work — on this, the efforts of both Bell and the Pirates remain unimpeachable — Bell’s first-base defense remains subpar. This could limit potential suitors to the American League, the land of the designated hitter.
And the Pirates control Bell for three more years before he reaches free agency after the 2022 season. His salary in 2021 and ’22 will build, in arbitration, off the $4.8 million he’ll make this year; power-hitting Scott Boras clients don’t come cheap, and owner Bob Nutting has not shown a willingness to extend contracts of players as they approach free agency; and does Cherington believe the Pirates will be competitive in time for Bell to help them?
“You don’t have to swing hard to hit a home run,” Yogi Berra said. “If you got the timing, it’ll go.”
The outcome of Cherington’s first big swing won’t be known for a while, but he nailed the timing.
Doing the same with Bell? Now, that one might leave the park.