Pirates/MLB category, Page 199
Pirates option Cole Tucker in roster moves, turning shortstop job into 2-man race
The Pittsburgh Pirates’ shortstop competition became a two-man race when Cole Tucker was optioned Wednesday, leaving Erik Gonzalez and Kevin Newman left to fight for the starting job. Tucker, the Pirates’ 2014 first-round pick, had returned to the middle infield this spring after spending last season in the outfield for...
Pirates starting rotation suffers as lefty Steven Brault shut down for a month
In a blow to the Pittsburgh Pirates starting rotation, left-handed pitcher Steven Brault is being shut down for a month from throwing because of a “moderate” lat strain. Pirates director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk said Wednesday morning that Brault could be out for at least 10 weeks before he...
Phillip Evans puts violent collision behind him, focuses on finding a role for Pirates
At the best time of his career came the worst moment, one Phillip Evans would rather not revisit. The Pittsburgh Pirates infielder can’t forget the collision that he didn’t see coming until it was too late. As Evans chased a pop fly into foul territory in shallow right field, he...
New pitchers shine as Adam Frazier homers, Pirates score a shutout over Twins
Derek Shelton loved everything about the way the Pittsburgh Pirates ended their Grapefruit League game against the Minnesota Twins, with three consecutive strikeouts to seal a shutout. What got a shout-out from the Pirates manager was the brevity of the 1-0 victory over the Twins on Tuesday afternoon at LECOM...
Pirates Rule 5 pick Luis Oviedo confident he can make leap from Class A to major leagues
Luis Oviedo can laugh now, but on that December day, it was mostly confusing. His agent called to tell the right-hander the New York Mets had selected him from the Cleveland Indians in the Rule 5 Draft, telling Oviedo he was free to contact family and share the news. “And...
Another ugly stat line for Mitch Keller, but this time Pirates see progress
The line in the box score for Mitch Keller’s fourth start of spring training wasn’t significantly better than it was for any of the previous three. Monday, eight of the 17 batters he faced reached base. But the precocious Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander and his manager insist that the 71-pitch outing...
Pirates knuckleballer Steven Wright unafraid to confront his ‘dark past’
Steven Wright can talk at great length about the knuckleball. • How he doesn’t recommend it for a young pitcher: “Ain’t nobody going out there trying to draft a knuckleball guy,” he said. • How it saved his career: “I was 26 years -old, in Double-A for the fifth year....
Jared Oliva, Edgar Santana among those removed from Pirates’ spring roster
After entering spring training viewed as sleepers for roles for the Pittsburgh Pirates’ regular-season roster, Jared Oliva and Edgar Santana were among those officially dropped from consideration Monday. Outfielder Oliva and right-hander Santana were optioned to the minor leagues and infielder Kevin Kramer and right-hander Shea Spitzbarth were reassigned to...
First Call: Was Philadelphia trying to sign JuJu Smith-Schuster or not?; Pirates said to have ‘top 10’ farm system
Monday’s “First Call” examines the alleged level of interest in Steelers receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster before he decided to stay in Pittsburgh. Specifically, from the Baltimore Ravens and Philadelphia Eagles. Alex Highsmith has a plan to replace Bud Dupree at outside linebacker. And at least one outlet seems to think that...
Wil Crowe focused on winning job on Pirates’ pitching staff
Wil Crowe didn’t mind talking baseball Sunday afternoon, but he preferred to keep the conversation focused on his outing against the Boston Red Sox. He was the starting pitcher in the Pittsburgh Pirates’ 9-4 victory at JetBlue Park in Fort Myers, Fla., working 3 2/3 innings and allowing one run,...
Pirates sign 36-year-old ex-Red Sox knuckleballer Steven Wright
The Pittsburgh Pirates took a low-risk chance on knuckleball pitcher Steven Wright on Sunday, signing him to a minor-league contract, with an invitation to big-league camp. It sounds like just another spring training transaction until you hear the rest of the story. Five years ago, Wright was considered a promising...
Hoping Kevin Newman’s hot bat is contagious, Cole Tucker triples in Pirates’ loss
In the thick of the shortstop competition with Kevin Newman and Erik Gonzalez, Cole Tucker has found Newman’s play to be infectious. Tucker is so convinced Newman’s hot bat can be contagious that he joked about following his Pittsburgh Pirates teammate around the cafeteria to see what he’s eating for...
Pirates hitting coach Rick Eckstein took 2020 woes personally, made Gregory Polanco a pet project
When the Pittsburgh Pirates finished last in the major leagues in on-base and slugging percentages and in the bottom five of most other major offensive categories, Rick Eckstein took it personally. How could he not? The Pirates finished with the worst record in baseball, had a pair of starting outfielders...
Steven Brault leaves after 2nd inning with left arm tightness as Pirates lose to Orioles
The alarming part for the Pittsburgh Pirates wasn’t that Steven Brault allowed allowed three hits, threw two wild pitches and hit a batter in the first two innings Friday night against the Baltimore Orioles. It was that the left-hander threw only 33 pitches in his fourth start before he was...
Adjustments have Pirates infielders Adam Frazier, Kevin Newman swinging with success
Start with the premise that spring training statistics are meaningless and don’t translate to the regular season, that a hot start is more symbolic of hitters being ahead of pitchers who are fine-tuning a grip or delivery. Then consider that batters also have spent the offseason working on their stance...
How Chase De Jong’s comeback has made him the Pirates’ best storyline of spring training
After some serious soul searching, Chase De Jong decided he wasn’t ready to quit baseball. But he had nowhere to train, and no one to train with. That brought about a my-way-or-the-highway moment. The Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher’s way hadn’t worked. De Jong had gone from second-round draft pick by the...
U mad, bro?: Steelers fans are brash despite offseason concerns. So are … Pirates fans?
I expect Steelers fans to get froggy with me this time of year. I’m used to it. Every March, I tell you the Steelers roster is in decline. You call me “hater” and say Mike Tomlin has never had a losing season. I tell you they’ve gone eight out of...
Execution dooms Mitch Keller in Pirates’ loss to Tampa Bay Rays
The stuff is good. The execution is poor. That was the brief but dead-on description of Mitch Keller’s pitching from Pittsburgh Pirates bullpen coach Justin Meccage during Wednesday’s Grapefruit League game against the Tampa Bay Rays. The right-hander continued his spring struggles as he was knocked around for eight runs...
Pirates reliever Blake Cederlind to seek 2nd opinion on elbow
Todd Tomczyk recognized something was wrong with Blake Cederlind when the Pittsburgh Pirates reliever walked a batter with the bases loaded against the New York Yankees on March 10. The 25-year-old right-hander left the game with two outs in the eighth inning and was later determined to have a strain...
Pitching newcomers create competition for roles, roster spots in Pirates’ bullpen
For as much as Derek Shelton detests any discussion midway through spring training of who will be the closer, it’s because that decision is on the backburner for the Pittsburgh Pirates manager. “When you tell me who’s in our bullpen I’ll have that answer for you because I have no...
Pirates delay general public ticket sales until allowable capacity at PNC Park is determined
In hopes of opening up more seating at PNC Park for fans after Gov. Tom Wolf eased covid-19 restrictions at venues, the Pittsburgh Pirates announced that they are delaying their general public ticket sale planned for Wednesday. The Pirates had planned to sell all remaining tickets for the first 12...
Kevin Newman’s hot bat leads Pirates past Twins as he tries to reclaim starting shortstop job
Kevin Newman has been vocal about trying to reclaim the starting job at shortstop for the Pittsburgh Pirates, but he’s letting his bat do most of the talking. Newman continued his hot streak at the plate this spring by going 3-for-4, scoring a run and driving in another as the...
Pirates option Oneil Cruz, reassign 3 former 1st-rounders in 1st spring cuts
The Pittsburgh Pirates made their first cuts of spring training, optioning five players and reassigning 10 others to minor league camp. The most notable moves involve four of their top-five prospects, optioning infielder Oneil Cruz and reassigning their past two first-round picks, infielder Nick Gonzales and right-handed pitcher Quinn Priester....
Pirates prospect Quinn Priester battles nerves, big league hitters in spring debut
Quinn Priester had many things running through his mind during his first Grapefruit League game Monday, from wearing a Pittsburgh Pirates uniform to hearing the starting lineups announced to seeing fans in the stands at Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota. “There’s an added adrenaline and excitement with being in a...
Tyler Anderson strikes out 7, Quinn Priester debuts as Orioles pound Pirates
Tyler Anderson was still in spring training mode, feeling his way through his delivery when Austin Hays and Freddy Galvis hit back-to-back home runs off the Pittsburgh Pirates left-hander. That forced Anderson to switch into regular-season mode in an outing he believed was better than it looked on the scoresheet:...
