Pirates/MLB category, Page 225
Tim Benz: Steelers ‘optimistic’ fans will be in Heinz Field this fall
The Pittsburgh Steelers are still holding out hope that they will be able to play home games in front of their fans during the 2020 season. Last week, The Athletic’s Daniel Kaplan wrote that the NFL is going to allow teams an opportunity to work out their own seating volume...
Pirates Steven Brault, Josh Bell hope to hit high note off the field, too
Pittsburgh Pirates players Steven Brault and Josh Bell will resume their baseball careers this week at PNC Park, but during the covid-19 break, they showed off another skill in a recording studio. Brault and Bell joined former players Ozzie Smith, Bernie Williams and Nick Swisher and Sharon Robinson, daughter of...
Pirates sign 4th-round draft choice Jack Hartman
The Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday signed right-handed relief pitcher Jack Hartman, the team’s fourth-round selection (108th overall) in the 2020 draft. Hartman was 1-0 with four saves, a 3.00 ERA and 22 strikeouts in 10 appearances (12 innings) at Appalachian (N.C.) State. He is one of four right-handed pitchers the...
Odds on another Pirates/Yankees World Series: 300/1
If you believe anything’s possible in a 60-game baseball season, you can bet on World Series matchups involving the Pittsburgh Pirates. With fresh enthusiasm generated by first-year manager Derek Shelton, the Pirates resume camp at PNC Park on Wednesday in preparation for the first game in about three weeks. BetOnline.ag...
Kevin Gorman’s Take 5: Taking a look at the top position battles for Pirates training camp
When Ben Cherington submitted the 60-man training camp roster to MLB, the Pittsburgh Pirates general manager turned in only 59 names because of the late development of reliever Edgar Santana’s suspension. In truth, the Pirates actually have 38 players competing for a job on the 30-man Opening Day roster that...
Pirates include top position prospects Ke’Bryan Hayes, Cole Tucker on training camp rosterVideo
The Pittsburgh Pirates set their 60-man roster for the shortened season Sunday afternoon, despite a surprise suspension, and notable names were missing from the major league roster and taxi squad. The 39 players who will report to training camp starting Wednesday at PNC Park included top position prospects in third...
Pirates’ Edgar Santana suspended 80 games for positive PED test
Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Edgar Santana has been suspended for 80 games, without pay, after testing positive for Boldenone, a performance-enhancing substance, in violation of Major League Baseball’s Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program. Santana, 28, missed the entire 2019 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery at the end of 2018....
How Logan Hofmann defied odds and bet on himself to become Pirates’ 5th-round pick
Logan Hofmann never wanted to be known as the short pitcher from the small town, but as a 5-foot-9 right-hander who was raised in Muenster, Saskatchewan (population: 430), he proudly owns it. Well, mostly. “I’m listed at 5-10,” Hofmann said, “because it looks a little better on the roster.” His...
Pirates continuing restructuring, laying off 15 members of baseball operations department
The Pittsburgh Pirates had another round of layoffs on Friday, this time letting go 15 members of the baseball operations staff in a restructuring of the department, a source confirmed to the Tribune-Review. The employees were informed they would not be involved in the organizational plans following this season, so...
From ‘fringy’ to fabulous, one tool turned Pirates 1st-round pick Nick Gonzales into the NCAA batting champ
Many Pirates fans have become familiar with the story of Pirates first-round draft choice Nick Gonzales. From underrecruited walk-on at New Mexico State to NCAA batting champ to Cape Cod League MVP to seventh overall pick in the MLB draft in just three years. But his former coach at New...
Kevin Gorman’s Take 5: Predicting the Pirates’ 30-man roster and taxi squad
If you listened to Derek Shelton’s weekly appearance on 93.7 FM, the Pittsburgh Pirates manager dropped a bit of a bombshell when he discussed potential designated hitters. Oh, Shelton has warned us before that he has no plans to designate one player as DH, as much as that might be...
MLB rule changes give new Pirates manager Derek Shelton flexibility with pitching staff, DH
Now that MLB has decided to play a 60-game season featuring regional matchups, new Pittsburgh Pirates manager Derek Shelton is switching his strategy from a marathon to a sprint and preparing for rule changes. Shelton believes that benefits him, given the Pirates will be playing opponents from the NL Central...
Lawyer for suspended Pirates pitcher Felipe Vazquez says evidence of child sex assault should be thrown out
The lawyer for suspended Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Felipe Vazquez said evidence collected by police during an investigation into sexual assault allegations were the product of an illegal search and should be barred from use by prosecutors in an upcoming trial. Vazquez, 28, has been in jail since September, when he...
Pirates let go more than 2 dozen employees in restructuring of business operations
In a move made to restructure the business operations of the organization under new leadership, the Pittsburgh Pirates on Thursday laid off more than two dozen employees, including select department heads, a source told the Tribune-Review. The decision to make staff changes came just two days after MLB and its...
Pirate Parrot, other MLB mascots now permitted in parks
Pirate Parrot, phenomenal. Mr. Met and Mariner Moose, marvelous. Wally the Green Monster, welcome back. Mascots are getting a reprieve from Major League Baseball. A month after being tossed out of stadiums because of health concerns over the coronavirus outbreak, the fuzzy and funny creatures will return as inside-the-parkers. “The...
Pirates to use Altoona Curve stadium as alternate training facility
The Pittsburgh Pirates announced Thursday that Peoples Natural Gas Field, home of their Double-A affiliate, the Altoona Curve, will be used an alternate training facility this season. “The Pirates organization is appreciative of the longstanding relationship we have had for over two decades with the Altoona Curve,” Pirates general manager...
How will MLB reboot rules impact fantasy baseball interest, Pirates DH, roster strategy
Major League Baseball is coming back! In real life. We think. So that means it’s coming back for fantasy sports players as well. Jeff Erickson of RotoWire joins us to discuss if he’s seeing many leagues canceling because there is only going to be a 60-game season. For those that...
Taking the mound takes Pirates pitcher Jameson Taillon’s mind off MLB negotiationsVideo
For someone sidelined this season, Jameson Taillon had a baseball-filled Tuesday — a day that will go down for its monumental moments. Taillon threw off the mound for the first time in his recovery from a second Tommy John surgery, firing 15 fastballs after making mechanical changes to shorten his...
‘Burgh’s Best to Wear it, No. 67: Francisco Cordova pitched an all-time classic for ’97 PiratesVideo
The Tribune-Review sports staff is conducting a daily countdown of the best players in Pittsburgh pro and college sports history to wear each jersey number. No. 67: Francisco Cordova Mention the name Francisco Cordova, and one phrase pops into any baseball fan’s head: Combined no-hitter. For one magical night in...
Signing with Pirates, seeing PNC Park for 1st time ‘jaw-dropping’ for top pick Nick Gonzales
Nick Gonzales knew that the number he wore at New Mexico State wasn’t a consideration for the Pittsburgh Pirates, going so far as to remove images of himself wearing a Pirates jersey with No. 21 out of respect for the late Hall of Fame right fielder Roberto Clemente. “I kind...
Pirates ‘excited to return to play baseball,’ expect every player to report to training campVideo
The Pittsburgh Pirates expect every player projected to be on their 30-man roster for MLB’s 60-game season to report by July 1 to training camp — which new manager Derek Shelton has nicknamed “The Deuce” — and plan to use “every square inch” of PNC Park. That was the biggest...
Analysis: What’s on deck with new MLB seasonVideo
NEW YORK — So, where were we? Mid-March, a spring training exhibition between the St. Louis Cardinals and Miami Marlins at Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter, Fla. Even before the final out, both sides had gotten the official word: MLB was shutting down immediately because of the coronavirus pandemic. “It...
Baseball’s back: MLB sets 60-game sked, opens July 23 or 24
NEW YORK — Major League Baseball issued a 60-game schedule Tuesday night that will start July 23 or 24 in empty ballparks as the sport tries to push ahead amid the coronavirus pandemic following months of acrimony. A dramatically altered season with games full of new rules was the final...
Oddsmakers set over/under for Pirates’ wins at 25½ in shortened season
Based on MLB’s 60-game regular season, the oddsmakers at BetOnline.ag set the over-under at 25½ wins for the Pittsburgh Pirates, projecting a last-place finish in the NL Central. With the shortened season, the oddsmakers expect many teams to have the same records. The teams projected to have the best records...
Kevin Gorman’s Take 5: Looking at the Pirates’ potential lineup over a 60-game season
Baseball is back, so the Pittsburgh Pirates are returning to PNC Park. That’s the good news for the sport’s fans. The bad news is MLB and its Players’ Association wasted weeks of preparation by having a labor dispute amid a pandemic. In the time the two sides spent negotiating over...
