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Pitching at forefront of Pirates’ Meetings agenda
- Updated: December 1, 2016
PITTSBURGH — The Pirates have only a few major holes to fill this offseason, so there’s no guarantee they will make a flurry of moves at the Winter Meetings. But they should be active, and their moves may be significant.
The baseball world is scheduled to gather under one roof Monday, giving the Bucs’ front office an ideal opportunity to discuss trades and consider their free-agent options. Among the most interesting storylines to follow: the availability of franchise player Andrew McCutchen and the Pirates’ search for starting pitching, especially if they’re active on the trade front.
MLB.com and MLB Network will have wall-to-wall coverage of the 2016 Winter Meetings from the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center outside Washington, D.C. Fans can watch live streaming of all news conferences and manager availability on MLB.com, including the Rule 5 Draft on Dec. 8 at 9 a.m. ET.
• Bucs’ slow offseason may speed up at Meetings
The Bucs were fairly involved at last year’s Winter Meetings, swapping Neil Walker for Jonathon Niese, then signing Juan Nicasio. Here’s a rundown of what may be in store for the Pirates next week.
Club needsRotation: This is their most obvious weakness, and it’s unclear how they will address it. They need a No. 3 starter behind Gerrit Cole and Jameson Taillon. The Pirates targeted controllable starters at the Aug. 1 non-waiver Trade Deadline, but they could use an innings-eating, groundball-inducing veteran. Worst-case scenario, the Bucs will lean on their supply of young starters: Chad Kuhl, Tyler Glasnow, Trevor Williams, Steven Brault, Drew Hutchison, and by midseason, Nick Kingham.
Bullpen: Pittsburgh likes its back four of Tony Watson, Felipe Rivero, Nicasio and Antonio Bastardo, but there is room for improvement. Specifically, the Pirates could use a right-handed setup man between the lefties Watson and Rivero. The market is full of those pitchers, but Brett Cecil’s four-year, $30.5 million deal with the Cardinals may have set an untenable expectation for relief deals.
Bench: The Pirates’ strong …
