Pirates face uncertain present while eyeing future Sabres fire coach Krueger in midst of 12-game skid
PITTSBURGH (AP) — The centerpiece of the Pittsburgh Pirates' future likes what he sees, down the road at least.
“Once we add guys and we have younger guys in the system that are really good, and once we get all that together and the chemistry is good I think we’re going to be really good,” third baseman Ke'Bryan Hayes said.
At some point. At least in theory. When, exactly, no one knows. Including the brain trust still in the early stages of a top-to-bottom remodel.
While general manager Ben Cherington and second-year manager Derek Shelton stress they are intent on taking the field each day with a roster capable of competing, the team's offseason moves suggest they're more focused on some blurry spot down the road when the day-in, day-out struggle at the major-league level is more of a fair fight.
First baseman Josh Bell and four major league starters — including Jameson Taillon and Joe Musgrove — are gone. Most of them flipped over the winter for prospects whose arrival time in Pittsburgh is still very much up in the air.
“We made some trades this offseason,” Cherington said. “Whatever improvement we’ve seen in our overall organizational talent, and I think we have seen some in the last year, it’s not enough. We’ve got to keep going. We’ve got to be one of the stronger organizations just in terms of overall talent to give ourselves the best chance to win.”
Where that leaves the Pirates heading into 2021 is basically a self-induced purgatory. There are players like Hayes — a revelation when he hit .376 in 24 games after being called up last September — left fielder Bryan Reynolds and pitcher Mitch Keller who figure to be part of the long-term plans.
Then there are veteran vagabonds like first baseman Todd Frazier and outfielder Brian Goodwin who signed one-year deals in hopes of keeping their careers alive and providing an example to the younger players on what it takes to become a long-tenured major leaguer.
“It’s a good core group of fun-loving guys,” Frazier said. “They like to joke around. But when it’s go time they click it on. So, so far so good. We’ve been working hard. Now we’re at the time of trying to get acclimated again with the new parts of it and figuring out where to go.”
There's nowhere to go but up for a team that finished with the worst record (19-41) in the majors during the truncated 2020 season. The Pirates welcome back fans to PNC Park this summer. How far the team climbs this summer will likely depend on if Hayes can build upon his promising debut and whether a patched-together pitching staff will find a little bit of momentum in pitching coach Oscar Marin's second season.
NEW LOOK Frazier's prime — when he was a twotime All-Star third baseman in Cincinnati — is long gone. Still, “The Toddfather” has developed a reputation as a vibrant clubhouse presence. Goodwin is on his fifth team in six years but is hoping to stabilize a wide-open race in center field.
Left-handed starter Tyler Anderson went 4-3 with a 4.37 ERA in San Francisco last season and gives the Pirates a second lefty option after Steven Brault. Relievers Trevor Cahill and Duane Underwood join a bullpen that is likely to get plenty of work considering the starting rotation figures to be treated with kid gloves, particularly early in the season.
ROOKIES TO WATCH
The Pirates are still so early in the build-up stage that the high-impact prospects figure to still be a year or more away from playing in the majors, save for Hayes.
The son of longtime major leaguer Charlie Hayes finished sixth in the NL Rookie of the Year race in 2020 and is eligible for the award again in 2021. The 23-year-old is the closest thing Pittsburgh has to a “face of the franchise."
“(I plan on) just helping being a leader and just each day just making sure just kind of checking in on like everyone in the clubhouse and being able to build chemistry,” Hayes said. "I feel like chemistry within your clubhouse is one of the bigger things with winning teams.”
POLANCO'S FUTURE
Right fielder Gregory Polanco is the last link to the group that reached the playoffs each year from 201315. The 29-year-old is also making $11.5 million this season, nearly a quarter of the payroll. That's a lot for any player, let alone one who hit just .153 in 2020.
His eighth season in Pittsburgh figures to be his last with the club holding the option for both 2022 and 2023. The best-case scenario for all involved is hope Polanco returns to his 2018 form when he hit a career-high 23 home runs, which would let the Pirates flip him at the trade deadline and allow the relentlessly optimistic Polanco kick start his career elsewhere.
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Firing Buffalo Sabres coach Ralph Krueger on Wednesday represents just the beginning of what could become Kevyn Adams’ major overhaul of an overpriced, underperforming team in the midst of a 12-game skid.
In laying only part of the blame on Krueger, the first-year general manager openly challenged his players’ accountability and pride, while suggesting changes to the roster are looming.
“We’re open to anything and everything,” Adams said, when asked whether he’d consider moving forward Taylor Hall, who is completing a one-year, $8 million contract. Adams said he's been in discussions with numerous teams leading up to the NHL's trade deadline on April 12.
“This is my job to make sure not only that I’m proactive but listening, as well doing everything I can to move this thing forward,” he said.
The Sabres are starting fresh yet again with Krueger becoming Buffalo’s sixth coach fired in just over eight calendar years. Krueger failed to make it through the second season of his three-year contract.
He was fired a day after Buffalo’s winless streak grew to 0-102 following a 3-2 loss at New Jersey, and against a Devils team that snapped an 11game home skid. Buffalo has been outscored by a combined 49-19 (not including a goal allowed in a shootout loss) in matching the third-longest winless streak in franchise history.
At 6-18-4, the Sabres have as many wins as times they’ve been shut out, rank last in the league in victories, points and goals scored, and are in jeopardy of extending their playoff drought to an NHL record-matching 10th season.
“This is about results that haven’t been good enough,” Adams said. “This is about how do we improve. I believe every crisis is an opportunity for change. And this is a chance for us to move forward and begin to get this thing pointed in the right direction.”
Assistant coach
Don Granato takes over on an interim basis, with Buffalo opening a two-game home series against Boston on Thursday. Assistant Steve Smith was also fired.
Krueger is the third NHL coach fired this season, after Montreal dismissed Claude Julien and Calgary replaced Geoff Ward with two-time Stanley Cupwinning coach Darryl Sutter.
Adams’ decision comes two weeks after announcing he was evaluating the entire operation. After attempting to hold off dismissing the coach until the end of the season, Adams was left with little choice especially following a sloppy 6-0 loss to Washington on Monday.
Adams characterized the team’s performance “not good enough,” and said he will stress a message of accountability when meeting with his players on Thursday.
“I don’t care where we are in the standings right now. If we do not show up at the rink tomorrow and for the rest of the season having that characteristic about our team, it’s going to be unacceptable,” he said. “There has to be pride that goes with putting on a Buffalo Sabres’ jersey.”
The Sabres have lurched from one crisis to another this season.
Injuries to key players have been a factor. Captain Jack Eichel hasn’t been healthy all season and is out indefinitely with an upper body injury. The Sabres also endured a twoweek COVID-19-forced pause, leading to the team having to squeeze in its final 46 games over an 83-day stretch, while challenged to compete in a reformatted and ultra-competitive East Division.
Krueger attempted to remain upbeat as the losses mounted.
“All I can say is I continue to enjoy doing this job also in a difficult time,” Krueger said, following the loss at New Jersey. “It’s easy to stand here when things are going well. It’s not that easy to stand here right now in this adversity. But I know we are we are learning and growing as an organization and we will take strength out of this in the future.”