Pirates/MLB category, Page 159
Baseball’s back: Catch the Trib’s exclusive online MLB preview section
It’s Opening Day, and the Tribune-Review has you covered from the first pitch to the final out this season. To get you prepped, the Trib has compiled an MLB preview, which can be found exclusively as part of our eTrib offering. If you are a print subscriber, you already have...
U mad, bro?: Readers bubbling over Mitch Trubisky’s future, state of Pirates for Opening Day
I’ve got nothing to be angry about this week. I’m taking off a day early. I’m going to Boston for the Frozen Four. I’ll see some of my family that I haven’t seen since the pandemic hit. I cleaned up at the casino on some Final Four and hockey bets....
Hopelessness springs eternal for Pirates fans
It’s been a winter of discontent for Pirates fans. It started Dec. 1 when the Pirates traded catcher Jacob Stallings, a player beloved by fans and his teammates, not long after he won a Gold Glove award for his excellent 2021 season. It was perceived by the Pirates faithful as...
Pirates sign 3B Ke’Bryan Hayes to 8-year, $70 million deal as franchise cornerstone
The Pittsburgh Pirates made Ke’Bryan Hayes their franchise cornerstone just hours before first pitch on Opening Day, reaching an agreement on an eight-year, $70 million contract that is the richest in club history. The deal, first reported by MLB insider Robert Murray and confirmed by the Tribune-Review, includes a club...
Predicting the World Series champ, award winners for 2022 MLB season
NL MVP Juan Soto, Nationals Soto has the best eye in baseball, drawing an MLB-best 145 walks against 93 strikeouts last season. He didn’t put up eye-popping power numbers, slashing .313/.465/.534 with 29 home runs and 95 RBIs, and finished second in MVP voting. Soto could see more strikes with...
Large bobbleheads give Pirates pause before unveiling at PNC Park
Pittsburgh Pirates management is mulling a lineup change to a set of large bobbleheads that are expected to be featured in PNC Park’s expanded kids area after officials said two of the life-size figurines did not meet their expectations. “We ordered a total of five life-sized, fun, vintage replica-style bobbleheads...
Pirates to serve up Pittsburgh food and drink this season at PNC Park
The Pirates and PNC Park teamed with restaurants and chefs to bring a taste of Pittsburgh into the stadium this baseball season. New menu items include Fat Head’s beer from the South Side, a burger from Station in Bloomfield, and a Reuben hot dog topped with house-made corned beef from...
Q&A with Pirates manager Derek Shelton: ‘I trust that we’re going to win in Pittsburgh’
On the opening day of his third spring training as Pittsburgh Pirates manager, Derek Shelton discussed how nothing about his two-year tenure has been normal — and why it’s made him a better leader. Serving as the steady hand steering a sinking ship, Shelton has endured a roster reconstruction as...
Pirates lefty reliever Aaron Fletcher finds funky delivery suits his style, gives bullpen a new look
Aaron Fletcher will be the first to tell you he’s funky. The left-handed reliever has a low-quarters delivery and relies more on movement than overpowering pitches. Fletcher didn’t share that he throws sidearm when he joined the Pittsburgh Pirates in spring training after being claimed off waivers from the Seattle...
Pirates farm report for April 5, 2022: Indy opens with loss
INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 0-1) dropped its season opener to Omaha (Royals), 4-1. RF Cal Mitchell produced Indianapolis’ only run on a solo homer in the sixth. SS Oneil Cruz went 0 for 3 with two strikeouts and a walk. 1B Mason Martin and LF Canaan Smith-Njigba each went 2 for 4....
Phillies pound Pirates in Grapefruit League finale, as spring training injury toll mounts
The Pittsburgh Pirates limped out of spring training with a loss. The injuries hurt more than the outcome. With the two players vying for the starting job in left field, Anthony Alford and Greg Allen, both headed for the injured list, the Pirates relied upon the positional versatility of their...
Pirates make final cuts of spring training but don’t have a backup catcher on 28-man roster
The Pittsburgh Pirates made their final cuts of spring training, though there are likely more moves to come. The Pirates reassigned five players, including three catchers, to the minor leagues following a 5-1 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies in their Grapefruit League finale Tuesday afternoon at BayCare Ballpark in Clearwater,...
Previewing the Pirates: Creativity with pitching staff could lead bullpen to take on bigger role
The transformation of the Pittsburgh Pirates pitching staff has involved such turnover the past two seasons that only four pitchers — two starters and two relievers — remain on the active roster. The Pirates are counting on JT Brubaker and Mitch Keller to serve as anchors for their rotation and...
PNC Park continues to rank among MLB’s top ballparks
Of all the baseball stadiums in all the towns in all the world … PNC Park is among the best. Regularly. Hold your head high, Pittsburgh. You’ve got one of the best Major League Baseball parks there is. And while the team that plays there has rarely been viable after...
Previewing the Pirates: With Bryan Reynolds at center of outfield, questions are in corners
Last year, the Pittsburgh Pirates started spring training with Bryan Reynolds locked into the lineup at left field and Gregory Polanco in right, so the question was who would win the starting job in center field. This year, it’s the opposite. Reynolds shifted to center field late last April after...
Diego Castillo makes Opening Day roster, then hits 6th homer as Pirates top Orioles
Diego Castillo attended his first MLB game at PNC Park last summer after he was acquired by the Pittsburgh Pirates and assigned to the Double-A Altoona Curve. His next will be on Opening Day. The sensation of spring training, Castillo earned a spot on the Pirates roster for Thursday’s season...
PNC Park getting enhancements in advance of Pirates’ season opener
Pirates fans will see something new at PNC Park for the home opener April 12 — starting at 4:12 p.m. to mirror the 4/12 date — against the Chicago Cubs. In what the team is calling “the continued evolution of PNC Park,” there will be new social gathering spaces in...
First Call: Phil Kessel grabs active consecutive games streak lead; Pirates face nemesis on Opening Day
Monday’s “First Call” shows us how former Pittsburgh Penguin Phil Kessel took over the NHL’s consecutive games streak. A pair of Metropolitan Division teams suffered home losses. The Eastern Conference has its first team locked into the playoffs. And the Pirates will be facing a familiar opponent on Opening Day...
Pirates OF Greg Allen leaves game with left hamstring discomfort in loss to Rays
The Pittsburgh Pirates already were down one outfielder when they played the Tampa Bay Rays in their spring training home finale, then lost another who was projected to be a starter. Left fielder Greg Allen, who hit a leadoff triple, was removed because of left hamstring discomfort after sliding in...
Pirates tab RHP JT Brubaker as Opening Day starter at St. Louis, their 7th in as many years
JT Brubaker will be the Opening Day starting pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates when they visit the St. Louis Cardinals on April 7, manager Derek Shelton announced Sunday during the AT&T SportsNet telecast. Brubaker is the seventh different pitcher to start the opener in as many years. The 28-year-old right-hander...
Pirates preview: Versatility valued from infield featuring several Gold Glove candidates
When Derek Shelton discusses the Pittsburgh Pirates infield, the only things set in stone is that Ke’Bryan Hayes will be playing third base and Roberto Perez will be behind the plate. The rest is written in pencil, with a big eraser at the ready. That has more to do with...
Michael Chavis snaps out of slump with homer as Pirates beat Red Sox
Michael Chavis doesn’t know which position he will play for the Pittsburgh Pirates, given that he has played games at first, second and third base and even right field since being acquired from Boston last July. So long as he is in the lineup, Chavis is happy. “My preference is...
For Pirates’ Ke’Bryan Hayes, staying healthy is key to winning Gold Glove
BRADENTON, Fla. — Ke’Bryan Hayes started spring training with the goal of being available to play every game this season, knowing a left hand/wrist injury was one of two things that stood in the way of the Pittsburgh Pirates third baseman winning a Gold Glove as a rookie. The other,...
Despite spring statistics, Jose Quintana on track for starting job as Pirates tie Toronto
When the Toronto Blue Jays turned a pair of plays that glanced off the gloves of Pittsburgh Pirates infielders into a pair of runs, they counted against Jose Quintana’s spring training statistics. That didn’t faze the 33-year-old left-hander, who signed a one-year free-agent contract with the Pirates for the opportunity...
Ranking Reynolds: Pirates CF Bryan Reynolds earns MLB top 10 ranking, tops trade wish lists
BRADENTON, Fla. — When MLB Network ranked the top 10 center fielders in baseball, Bryan Reynolds was thrilled to see he was at No. 4 after playing the position for only one season with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Reynolds was ranked behind Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels, George Springer...
