Addition of Cahill provides flexibility
Veteran gives Pirates a sixth starter
BRADENTON, Fla. — General manager Ben Cherington said he doesn’t see the Pirates automatically shifting to a sixman starting rotation after finalizing a contract Friday with freeagent pitcher Trevor Cahill.
But they might at least for stretches, depending on what manager Derek Shelton and pitching coach Oscar Marin deem necessary for a specific period of time, determining that based on workload, off days or a handful of other factors.
“We’d like to have six guys on the team who can start,” Cherington said. “That doesn’t necessarily mean we have a six-man rotation, per se. Maybe there are times we go to that. I’ll leave that to Derek and Oscar. But we like the idea of having six starters on the team.”
The strategy makes plenty of sense given what Major League Baseball will encounter in 2021, where last year’s 60-game sprint will be followed by a full 162, likely forcing pitchers to endure an unprecedented jump in innings.
It’s also smart to consider the precedent here. Cahill, a 33-yearold on his ninth MLB team, has made 225 career big- league starts. Mitch Keller, Chad Kuhl, Steven Brault and JT Brubaker have combined for 140, with just 25 of those coming from Keller and Brubaker.
Of the four, only Kuhl in 2017 has made 30 starts in a season, something Cahill and Tyler Anderson have combined to do five times.
By signing Cahill, the Pirates, even in their own way, are girding themselves against potential innings limits or inevitable wear and tear — the realization by everybody that starts will probably be shortened or skipped, MLB clubs trying a variety of things to keep their most prized assets healthy long term.
“Whether we’re actually using all six as starters or using them to come in behind guys and provide length or back-and-forth, we’ll see how that plays out,” Cherington said. “But we just wanted to add as much starting depth as we could after the offseason moves. We feel like Cahill can help us in that regard.”
Cahill also could help the Pirates from a business perspective, should this work out. In his comments, Cherington mentioned Cahill’s ground-ball rate, which was a career-high 35.1% in 2020. He also averaged 11.16 strikeouts per nine, again the tops for the second-round pick in 2006.
It does not look like he’s done. What Cahill did with the Giants may have given the Pirates a bit of a template with which to work, the right-hander making 11 appearances and six starts. Cahill allowed just one unearned run in five innings out of the bullpen.
It’s a small sample size, but perhaps the Pirates see one of eight or nine bullpen spots as a way to complement their rotation, with a fluid piece in and out of that swingman role. And if Cahill works out, there’s always the chance the Pirates could flip him for prospects at the trade deadline.
It’s why we’ve seen the Pirates add several pitchers recently who could be either starters or relievers, depending on circumstances.
“I think there’s value in guys that can do different things and pitch more than one inning,” Cherington said. “We think about that as starters, but relievers who can go past an inning are really valuable, too.”
To that end, Duane Underwood Jr. — acquired Sunday from the Cubs — also fits the bill, a guy who has started and relieved in the past.
And although they have considerably less experience, members of that group of swing starters could also include Wil Crowe, Miguel Yajure and Cody
Ponce — younger pitchers acquired via trades in the past handful of years.
As Shelton described, Cahill is more than just a warm body. He has one of the best curveballs in the sport, which is another thing that was attractive to the Pirates. Its spin rate has routinely been above 2,900 rpm and averaged 2,982 in 2020, a mark bettered by just eight pitchers in both leagues.
Acquiring and properly using spin pitches has been a strength of Marin and the Pirates’ revamped pitching program. No longer are they pounding sinkers at the bottom of the zone. They’ve shifted toward tunneling and more modern-day methods that track with what Cahill does well.
For example: His spin-heavy curve tends to have a sharp, downward break, which can be tough to decipher when paired properly with even a decent sinker. The key for Cahill will be controlling and executing those
pitches.
“What we like about him is he’s a veteran guy,” Shelton said. “The work we did on the person was really good. Obviously the curveball is really good. Has the ability to start, has the ability to pitch in all facets of the bullpen. We’re happy to have him in camp. He’s a really good addition to our group.”
The Pirates aren’t worried about Cahill’s ability to ramp up in enough time, either.
Cherington said Cahill already has been throwing around 60 pitches in simulated games, although the competition is obviously less than it will be here. Nevertheless, Cherington said the Pirates are comfortable with the abbreviated buildup process.
“He should be mostly on track as far as volume is concerned,” Cherington said. “We’ll get him here, get him stretched out, and we’re happy to have him join the team.”
Finalizing Cahill’s contract was obviously bittersweet for
the Pirates. They made room for him on the 40-man roster by transferring Blake Cederlind to the 60-day injured list with a strain to the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow, an injury that could portend Tommy John surgery.
By signing Cahill during a season in which injury risk will likely be greater than ever before, it’s clear that Cherington and the Pirates want to do everything they can to avoid more of these types of issues, especially if it means taking a non-traditional, fungible approach.
“Whether we break camp with 13 or 14 [pitchers], I don’t know yet,” Cherington said. “But we’re certainly going to use a lot more than that as we move through the season, so we just want to build that depth as much as we can here during the spring.”