The Pittsburgh Pirates Who Wil Walk the Plank
When people think of off-season moves, they normally think of the big free agent signings and the blockbuster deals that see stars go from one team to another. However, possibly the bigger part of the off-season is arbitration season where players receive performance bonuses before they hit their years of free agency. Coming into the off-season, the Pittsburgh Pirates had 19 arbitration-eligible players accounting for nearly half the roster. Some of those have already been cut out, with the designation of guys like Trevor Williams, Nick Burdi, and Luke Maile. Even with the cuts, 13 arbitration-eligible players remain for the Pirates to tender contracts to.
However, it is likely that not all 13 players will get contracts by the non-tender deadline on December 2nd, making them free agents. With the Pirates going for a rebuild, it makes sense to let some of their veteran players walk away to make room for the next generation of Pittsburgh Pirates. But, which ones do you end up keeping and who do you let go? That is the decision that General Manager Ben Cherrington and his staff will have to make over the next two days. There are several players who are almost guaranteed to get a contract, but today we are looking at what players may end up walking the plank this off-season.
RHP Kyle Crick
After impressing fans and coaches alike in his first season with the Pirates in 2018, Kyle Crick has gone downhill over the last two seasons. While his 2020 stats don't look awful, a deeper look will show how much injury and ineffectiveness plagued the right-hander. Crick pitched in just seven games during the 2020 season and went 0-1 with a 1.59 ERA in 5.2 innings of work. However, of the six runs he allowed this season, only one was earned. He also had a significant decrease in velocity, with his fastball dropping from 97-98 mph to 91-92 mph. He had two different stints on the injured list, which combined forced him to miss almost a month and a half of the three month season.
Before the season even began, you could tell something wasn't quite right with Crick. In his first appearance on July 18th in the exhibition game with Cleveland, Crick lasted just 0.1 innings giving up four earned runs on two his while walking two batters. It was a discouraging performance from the man who was supposed to be closing games for the Pirates. He didn't look any better in his second exhibition appearance giving up one run in one inning of work on two hits. Then the regular season hit, and he gave up four unearned runs in 0.2 innings in his first appearance. He only lasted 0.1 innings his next time out before hitting the injured list for the first time. He allowed just one more earned run in his final five appearances, but pitched mostly in low-pressure situations.
With the Pirates having several late-game pitching prospects available down in Triple-A Crick might be one of the odd men out. He turned 28-years-old today and hasn't shown many signs of life these past two seasons. MLB Trade Rumors predicts him to make just under a million dollars in 2021, and his performance just hasn't guaranteed him a roster spot for the future. With guys like Matt Eckelman and Max Kranick waiting in the wings, it is likely that Crick will have to find another home in 2021. The only benefit of bringing Crick back is that he is an affordable late-inning option. However, if he continues his struggles from the last two seasons it might be better for the Pirates to just cut their losses.
RHP Michael Feliz
Another reliever who has underwhelmed since coming to Pittsburgh is middle-reliever Michael Feliz. He struggled in his first year with Pittsburgh, posting a 5.66 ERA over 47 games pitched during the 2018 season. He was already part of the Gerrit Cole trade, which gave him a bad name already, and he would have to turn it around if he wanted to win over the fans. He had the best season of his Major League career in 2019, posting a 3.99 ERA in 58 games. However, he couldn't stick in the Major Leagues and was sent down to Triple-A two times during the season. 2020 was going to have to be his year, and two bad outings at the beginning of the year, plus an early season-ending injury killed that momentum.
After thrown a scoreless outing in his season debut, Feliz was knocked around in his second start giving up four earned runs on two hits in 0.2 innings. He was tagged for two more runs his next time out and didn't record an out before being removed from the game. It turned out that Feliz would suffer a right forearm strain and had to miss the rest of the 2020 season. The injury did not help his stats as in three games he went 0-0 with a 32.40 ERA in 1.2 innings of work. The injury ruined any chance of getting Feliz back in the Pirate's good graces, and with a more than one million dollar payday looming, he might have injured himself out of Pittsburgh.
Last season, Feliz made 1.1 million dollars and is expected to get about the same in arbitration for the 2021 season. A million dollars is a lot for a middle reliever who hasn't been too effective, especially for a low-market team like the Pirates. With more bullpen options available in the Minor Leagues, and cheaper/more effective options available on the free-agent market, I just don't see the Pirates tendering a contract to Feliz for 2021. With Clay Holmes returning and Chris Stratton developing into a dominant long-relief man, the Pirates can afford to part ways with Feliz and cut their losses for one part of the Gerrit Cole trade.
IF Erik Gonzalez
One of the most interesting names on the arbitration-eligible list for the Pirates this season is infielder Erik Gonzalez. In his two years with the team, the Pirates haven't gotten to see much from Gonzalez. He broke his collar bone and missed almost all of 2019, and last season was shortened by the pandemic. Gonzalez did show some positives last season but finished the year hitting just .227 with three home runs and 20 RBI. With the current roster make-up, he doesn't have a guaranteed starting job and is set to make almost two million dollars in 2021. With Cole Tucker most likely returning to the infield this season, it puts Gonzalez's status in question.
He is entering his age 29 season and hasn't shown much offensive ability, aside from a two-week stretch in August where he was killing the ball. At one point, he was the team's leading hitter with a batting average of .349 on August 14th. However, after that, he hit just .181 the rest of the way and dropped his batting average by more than one hundred points. With Ke'Bryan Hayes, Kevin Newman, and so far Adam Frazier locked down for 2021, Gonzalez will once again be delegated to a back-up infielder role this season. With so much middle-infield talent in their Minor League system, if the Pirates don't see trade value in Gonzalez it may be time to let him go.
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