The Pirates are rebuilding again. But this time, they better keep some of their burgeoning young stars. Otherwise, the process will be useless, and only generate more fan apathy.
General manger Ben Cherington inherited a team bereft of talent at the major and minor league levels. He's proceeded to tear down the operation, leaving Pittsburgh with the second-lowest Opening Day payroll in baseball, pegged at slightly more than $43 million.
In theory, there's nothing wrong with hitting bottom on the way back up. The Astros engineered this formula all the way to a modern dynasty, losing more than 90 games for four straight seasons, and picking up an abundance of top picks along the way, namely George Springer, Carlos Correa, Alex Bregman.
The Pirates were on a similar path six years ago. They posted 98 wins (their most since 1991) and qualified for the playoffs for the third straight season. While they never advanced past the divisional round, they were undoubtedly on the rise. Finally, years of dormancy were paying off.
Then they got rid of everybody. The Pirates have traded the following players since then: Gerrit Cole, Andrew McCutchen, Starling Marte, Charlie Morton, Tyler Glasnow, Neil Walker, Mark Melancon, Francisco Liriano, Daniel Hudson, Josh Bell, Joe Musgrove and Jameson Taillon.
Some of these moves were understandable, and more of a reflection of MLB's broken economics than mismanagement. Cole, for example, wound up signing a contract worth more than $324 million in free agency. There's no way Pittsburgh would've been able to match that.
That's not the case for everybody who's been shipped out of town, however. Taillon was Pittsburgh's No. 1 pick in 2010, and appeared ready to break out following a strong 2018 campaign, only to go down with Tommy John surgery. He's poised to return this season for the modest sum of $2.25 million, but the Pirates dealt him to the Yankees.
Looking at Pittsburgh's roster, there are only a few players who are likely to produce any sort of numbers: Ke'Bryan Hayes, Adam Frazier, Gregory Polanco and Kevin Newman. Hayes is especially promising, featuring a dynamic skill set of power and speed. But will he stay for a while, or move on once he hits his prime?
Nearly every member of the Fan staff is picking Pittsburgh to lose more than 90 games. Once again, the Pirates are the favorites to land the No. 1 overall pick, giving them another chance to add elite talent to the organization. They're picking No. 1 this year as well.
But will the Pirates be picking their next great star, or another piece of eventual trade bait? Rebuilds get tiring when there's no end in sight.
