North Shore Nine

The Pirates have come out of the All-Star break on a roller coaster. They have won 3 of the 5 series played since the break, however the two they lost were to the team ahead of them in the Wild Card picture. The rest of the month is not going to be easy with series against the Padres (2), Dodgers, Mariners, Rangers, Reds, Cubs and Guardians. The Pirates were active at the deadline adding Bryan De La Cruz, Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Jalen Beeks. Not to mention the trio they stashed in AAA including Nick Yorke, Billy Cook and Josh Walker.
The Pirates have scuffled both in the bullpen and at the plate for stretches this season. They have two players in Jack Suwinski and Ke’Bryan Hayes they expected much more from offensively. David Bednar, Aroldis Chapman and Colin Holderman have either been shutdown machines, or they’ve imploded. The staters have been amazing, all have ERA below 4 all have WHIP below 1.2 and while bad starts happen all have been very good for most the season. All of this has led the Pirates to an winning record and a 2nd place spot in the division. However, with the deadline come and gone any needs moving forward will need to come from internal options.

Pitching:
This is where 40 man roster spots will come into play the most as currently only 3 pitchers are on the 40 man who are not injured. There are 4 on the 60 day IL and are unlikely to be back this season, with two on the 15 day IL who could be back in the next few weeks. Those last two are Jared Jones and Carmen Mlodzinski, Jones should be back by mid to late month, with Mlodzinski returning at best a week or two after that. Which leaves just three internal options without creating a roster spot, Josh Walker, Mike Burrows and Braxton Ashcraft. Walker is freshly over from the New York Mets. He pitched 12.1 innings for the Mets this year giving up 7 earned runs walking six and striking out 11. He did pitch much better for their AAA club throwing 28.2 innings giving up 9 earned runs walking 21 and striking out 39. He has made one appearance for Indy giving up two runs in one inning pitched. He is a lefty, so the chances of him coming up will rely on if Chapman gets injured or if Beeks falters as it is hard to imagine the Pirates carrying three lefties in their bullpen. The next option is Burrows who has been a top prospect sidelined by injuries, throwing only 6.2 innings last year before surgery, and having thrown a total or 21 this year on his way back from it. While you shouldn’t look at his stats in his rehab starts, they have been bad. Though it needs to be noted that he has looked to settle in at Indy. Even with his last start only lasting 3.1 inning while giving up four earned he did strike out 7 and only walked 1. His issue in the last game was the two home runs he gave up. As someone with the pedigree he has coming of off an injury and already on the 40 man he is the most likely to get the call if needed. The last option, from the 40-man, is Ashcraft. He started the year in AA where he made 10 starts, followed by a recent promotion to AAA where he has made 3 starts. So far in Indy he has thrown 18.1 innings giving up a whopping 1 earned run while walking 4 and striking out 13. It would be a bit aggressive for the Pirates to then promote him again to the big league squad. However, considering how he has pitched he might be an option as a long man out of the bullpen. But it will heavily depend on what the big league squad needs and how they are managing workloads. Some other options, though 40-man space would need to be created. Domino German, Justin Bruihl, Ryder Ryan, Aaron Shortridge or Finn Del Bonta-Smith could be options there if the Pirates become desperate.

Hitting:
Whereas the Pirates have limited options on the pitching side when it comes to the 40-man, the opposite is true on the hitting side. The options here for the Pirates are, Henry Davis, Jason Delay, Liover Peguero, Alika Williams, Tsung-Che Cheng, Edward Olivares and Jack Suwinski. They also have Joshua Palacios and Nick Gonzales on the IL both who could potentially be back before the end of the season. Cheng is easy, he will not be an option for the Pirates this year. He is still in Altoona and has scuffled a bit at the plate this year. He is a guy that could end up being part of a trade package this offseason, even with the down year he has some value and appears to be blocked from joining the Pirates anytime soon. Same could be said of Peguero, while he is in AAA and has been there all year he isn’t playing well. He has not been able to get it going offensively and has not been bad defensively but at the same time not good enough to make up for the bad offense. He will have another shot next year, probably at AAA again, to show what he can do else he will be at risk for being shown the door. Sadly, the same goes for the two OF options, Suwinski and Olivares, neither were good this year in the Majors, and neither have separated themselves in the minors. That leaves just the battery of D&D, Davis and Delay. Delay is great, it was surprising the Pirates did not try to get something out of him at the deadline. The reason they didn’t is probably the amazing organization depth he provides. He is a good defender, a nice game caller and a solid bat when not overused. It is unlikely he will be recalled unless Yasmani Grandal goes down. Davis on the other hand seems more likely to get the call. He has been tearing it up lately in AAA, which is on surprise it has been what he has always done. He also brings the flexibility to play RF in a pinch, regardless of if he has not done so this season to date. Davis is nearly at sink or swim time, so calling him up, even if not until roster expand, makes all the sense in the world. Outside of those folks there are a few guys the Pirates could turn to even though they are not on the 40-man. Nick Yorke, Billy Cook, Seth Beer and Billy McKinney all could be in the mix if needed. McKinney and Beer both have MLB experience, though Beer is limited due to his defensive limitations. Whereas McKinney can play all three outfield spots as well as 1B. Both has hit well in AAA this year though neither stood out there like Gonzales did or even Ji Hwan Bae. Either could be an option if an Outfielder is needed and the Pirates do not want to recall Olivares or Suwinski. The two newly acquired prospects Cook and Yorke both can play 2B as well as OF. Their versatility and hitting pedigree in the minors might push them as options for the Pirates down the stretch. Yorke, who came over in the Quinn Priester trade comes in as the Pirates #5 prospect according to Pipeline. He has played only 43 games in AAA across the two systems this year and while he has been making great defensive plays and hitting well it seems like a stretch that this 22 year old will make his debut this year. It is much more likely that Cook does however, if the Pirates need someone. Cook already will need to be put on the 40-man unless they Pirates are willing to lose him in the Ruel 5. He has played well in AAA both in Norfolk and in Indy, he plays 2B and CF which are two spots the Pirates are weaker at with injuries. Also, at 25 near 26, it is about time to see what he can do against Major League hitting. He was blocked in Baltimore but does not have the same restrictions in Pittsburgh. If the Pirates need a call up over the next two weeks it will likely be Cook if its for a infielder or outfielder. Else he will likely be one of the September call ups.
The Pirates probably will not be making many moves before roster expansion, unless the injury bug bites again. However, it is important to look at what is in the system along with the 40-man limitations for what cavalry is available. The Pirates are in the thick of things, and these players are the ones that will be there to help them stay there.