Musgrove trade was on the table
Cherington says discussions typical
Ben Cherington insisted that he wasn’t trying to push Joe Musgrove out the door. The Pirates general manager was simply having a conversation, the same as dozens that happen leading up to every trade deadline.
But last week, after the deadline had passed and the Pirates did nothing aside from trading Jarrod Dyson to the Chicago White Sox for international bonus pool money, a report surfaced that a deal sending Musgrove to the Toronto Blue Jays “fell apart at the 11th hour.”
Speaking on his Sunday radio show on 93.7 The Fan, Cherington addressed the Musgrove rumor and how it’s really no different than many conversations he has this time of year.
“Most teams at a time like the trade deadline or the winter meetings, you’re literally talking to 29 other teams and talking about all kinds of things, all kinds of players, both sides,” he said. “First of all, 99 out of 100 times, it doesn’t go anywhere. It’s just a conversation, and you’re learning about each other. Even in those cases where maybe there is a little bit of traction or there’s more discussion, usually those see the light of day, and often those don’t come to fruition.
“Every once in a while a conversation will be made public. I don’t really know why that particular one was between Joe and the Blue Jays.”
Milwaukee- based freelancer Robert Murray reported the news, and it’s important to note that Cherington didn’t say it was wrong. But it is true that GMs talk about a lot of things, and the public only ever learns about a small fraction of them.
When this one leaked, Cherington said he
immediately called Musgrove to tell him what was discussed, what wasn’t and to reinforce that the Pirates enjoy having Musgrove around.
“I think that’s all you can do in that situation is just be transparent and tell him what happened,” Cherington said. “And also tell him, as I said, that really glad he’s a Pirate.”
Speaking earlier this week, Musgrove said he thanked Cherington for doing that. “I really appreciate Ben for giving me a call and filling me in on where they were at, the whole situation and how it broke down. I told Ben that I understand, it’s a business, and there are no hard feelings. It’s not going to change the way that I work or anything. I’m happy to be here.”
Another interesting nugget involved Ke’Bryan Hayes, who made his Major League Baseball debut Tuesday, the day after the trade deadline.
The Pirates picked that date for a couple of reasons, Cherington said. One, they wanted to offer playing time to anybody who might be traded ( and net return). It also came after a road trip; with COVID- 19, MLB teams are trying to limit commercial travel.
“We wanted to get through that,” he said of he trade deadline. “This year, having a player join a team on the road isn’t as easy as it used to be. Having a player join at home seemed easier. Sept. 1 fit both those criteria.”
As for the promotion, Cherington took a neat extra step in calling Charlie Hayes, Ke’Bryan’s father who had his own MLB career, to break the news and let the family know the Pirates felt bad that they couldn’t attend their son’s big game.
“I think there are probably a lot of emotions going on,” Cherington said. “Imagine your son about to make his debut. … I just wanted to acknowledge that we’re aware that there are a lot of things that are different about this year. That’s just one of them.”
As for the future, Cherington said Ke’Bryan Hayes will “get every opportunity to be” the Pirates’ everyday guy at the hot corner. “I think we want to continue to push him because we know how good he can be.”
There was also some talk about development, specifically involving the Altoona group. Cherington said he expects the satellite camp to disband around Sept. 18 and for those players to splinter off in a number of areas.
Some will come to Pittsburgh as a permanent taxi squad. Others will go home, and a third group could report to Pirate City in Bradenton, Fla., for some type of development opportunity.
“That’s our hope, that we can get into some instructional league programming in Bradenton, including some players who may be in Altoona right now and others,” he said. “We’re also conscious of our players in the Dominican Republic and trying to find a way get some programming put together for them.”
Cherington hopes there might even be a schedule of instructional league games involving other teams around the same area, provided everything can be done safely.
Around the horn
• The Pirates placed Anthony Alford ( fractured right elbow) on the 45- day injured list and called up Jason Martin from Altoona. It’s a hugely disappointing injury for Alford, although Cherington said the athletic outfielder should recover and be given another shot in spring training 2021.
“I saw the X- ray. It’s a very clean break,” Cherington said. “Just gonna have to heal. Prognosis should be good. He’ll recover. It’s gonna take some time. And he was disappointed, for sure.”
• Cherington said that reliever Jandel Gustave, who had a 2.96 ERA with the Giants last season and recently reported to Altoona, signed a contract with the Pirates that actually runs through 2021, an indication he might be given a chance soon.