Buccos Cove

Last season, Jameson Taillon was forced to sit out the entire year due to his second career Tommy John Surgery. It leads to the question, just how effective will he be as he looks to. lead the rotation in 2021. Last season, the Pirates suffered through a long season that saw them finish a disastrous 19-41, the worst record in the MLB. Part of the problem was that the Pirates had several injuries that they had to contend with throughout the season. Three of those injuries were the Pirate's top three starting pitchers. Two of the three are returning for the 2021 season, and leading the list is right-handed pitcher Jameson Taillon. Taillon has spent parts of four seasons with the Pirates and has made more than 30 starts in a season just once. That one season was a successful one as he went 14-10 with a 3.20 ERA over 32 starts during that season. However, it is very hard to come back from one Tommy John Surgery, but a second come back from the surgery is even harder still. ...

On December 31st, 1972, Major League Baseball lost one of its stars and a great man both on and off the field, Roberto Clemente. He went down in a plane crash as he was trying to send aid to the people of Nicaragua following a December 23rd Earthquake. On the night of December 31st, 1972, the baseball world seemed to stop when Pirates legend Roberto Clemente died in a plane crash. Clements was trying to send aid to the people of Nicaragua after a 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck the nation at 12:29 am on December 23rd. Not much aid was being sent to the Nicaraguan people, so Clemente took it upon himself to help the country and loaded up supplies to fly to the people. Clements was an all-around great human being and he felt it was his duty to help the people in their time of need. Clemente's flight took off frame San Juan International airport at 9 pm and by 9:02 pm Clemente and four other people on the plane were dead. Clemente had just collected his 3,000th hit in his ...

When you are in the middle of a rebuild, the most important thing is getting the best prospects you can. For the final Pirates New Year's Resolution, the team is looking to stockpile the farm system to build a winning team in Pittsburgh. The Pittsburgh Pirates made the biggest move of their off-season so far, and many more are coming. With the Pirates rebuilding, some of the team's top players will be moved in hopes of building up the Pirate's depleted farm system. Prior to the 2020 season, the Pirates had the 15th best farm system in the Major Leagues, sitting right in the middle of the pack. While they had a few impact players at the top of the system, the rest were depth pieces that had big question marks surrounding them. When Ben Cherington was hired in November of 2019, his job was to rebuild this farm system and help make the Pirates relevant again like they were from 2011 to 2015. Since taking the job, Cherington has done that adding five prospects to th...

After General Manager Been Cherington traded Josh Bell, it is official that the Pirates are rebuilding for the future. Today, we look at the roster and see who the untouchables are as the Pirates start to try and build a winner here in Pittsburgh. It is no secret that the Pittsburgh Pirates are going through a rebuild of the organization. Over the next year or so, the team will be trading away some of their star players to help replenish a farm system that has been depleted over the last several seasons. Because of this, fans are going to have to say goodbye to some of their favorites, and it started with the trading of first baseman Josh Bell. While almost everyone on the current roster could, and sometimes should, be dealt there are a few players who would be considered untouchable or very hard to move. The Pirate's next window to contend is expected to be around the 2023-2025 seasons and the young guys that will still be under team control at that time are assets the...

Last season, the Pittsburgh Pirates' starting rotation showed almost no stamina, routinely exiting before the fifth inning. In 2021, the young group will look to work deeper into games, helping to save the bullpen for later in the year. To say that the Pittsburgh Pirates starting rotation was not successful last year would be an understatement. The starters weren't going deep into the game, and as a result, the bullpen was being highly taxed throughout the season. On average, the Pirates starters lasted just four innings a start last season, forcing the bullpen to cover innings that the starters couldn't take care of. Add that with injuries and guys being forced into new positions, and it is a recipe that added up to a 19-41 record over the 60-game shortened 2020 season. With some of the Pirate's top starters returning from injury, this is a trend the Pirates are hoping to change. The next New Year's Resolution for the Pirates in 2021 is for the starting...

Every bullpen needs diversity, and that usually comes in the form of a nasty left-handed reliever. With the Pirates only featuring four lefties on the 40-man roster, we look at the men competing for bullpen jobs. The key to any bullpen's success is a healthy balance of pitchers that help counteract each other. In the most basic sense, that means having a nice balance of right-handed and left-handed pitchers to turn to. The Pirates have been blessed with some good lefties over the years with Tony Watson, Justin Wilson, and Javier Lopez just to name a few recent lefty stars. However, a look at this year's left-handed pitchers pole isn't nearly as impressive as those three names listed earlier. Leading the way is Steven Brault, but he is almost a lock for the rotation, and there are only three other lefties on the roster. All three saw some time in the bullpen last season, and all three once again will be competing for a spot in 2021. Sam Howard, Nik Turley, and Au...

As 2020 comes to a close, the Pittsburgh Pirates are getting ready to make their New Year's Resolutions. Coming off the worst record in Major League Baseball, the Pirates can go nowhere but up during the 2021 season. It is no secret that the Pirate's offense was downright bad during the 2020 season. While offense was down across the league, players who were expected to perform like Josh Bell, Bryan Reynolds, and Adam Frazier ended up producing mediocre numbers at best. The lone stand-out was Colin Moran on an otherwise quiet offense throughout the season. One problem the Pirates have is the fact that they don't hit a lot of home runs or even have a prominent power threat on the team. The last Pirate to hit more than 30 homers in a season was Josh Bell in 2019, but he is now a member of the Washington Nationals. On the current roster, Gregory Polanco is the only player to hit more than 20 home runs in a single season. For the Pirate's first New Year's Res...

The Pittsburgh Pirates reported that outfielder Gregory Polanco broke his wrist in Winter Ball in the Dominican Republic. Reports say that Polanco will be 100% by Spring Training, but it brings up questions about the Pirates outfield. During the off-season, outfielder Gregory Polanco has been working on his game in the Dominican Republic Winter League. He was playing for Leones del Escogido and was hitting .197 with two home runs and nine RBI over 21 games between outfield and designated hitter. However, his season has come to an end as he has a "small non-displaced fracture of the triquetrum bone." Reports say that Polanco will be 100% by the time Spring Training rolls around, but the wrist will have to be immobilized for a short period of time. Polanco has dealt with a few different injuries in recent years and has only played a combined 92 games since September 8th, 2018, and hasn't played in a full season yet. He is in the final year of his five-year, 34 m...

After the first shoe of the Pirates, 2020-2021 off-season dropped on Christmas Eve, the Pirates rebuild is officially on. We take a look at what moves Been Cherrington could be working on next as he begins rebuilding the Pirates. If you haven't heard by now, the Pittsburgh Pirates will be without star first baseman Josh Bell after trading him to the Washington Nationals. It was the first major move of the 2020-2021 off-season by General Manager Ben Cherrington signaling that the rebuild is on. Bell was the final piece from the 2015 Pirates playoff team meaning none of the current Pirates have been in a playoff game with the team. With the movement of Bell, Cherrington brought in two young arms with upside for the future in RHP Wil Crowe and RHP Eddy Yean. While Bell may not have been the first player that fans thought Cherrington would move, it most certainly won't be the last. The Pirates lack depth in their Minor League system, and one of the ways to acquire the t...

The Pittsburgh Pirates made their first major move of the 2020 - 2021 off-season when they traded Josh Bell to the Washington Nationals. The opening creates a battle for the Pirates starting first base job between Colin Moran and Will Craig. On Christmas Eve, the first shoe of the Pirates rebuild fell when the Pirates traded Josh Bell to the Washington Nationals for pitcher Wil Crowe and Eddy Year. With the departure of Bell, it opens up a starting job at first base for the Pirates and a need for a prominent power bat in the middle of the Pirates lineup. With top prospect Mason Martin still years away, the Pirates are either going to have to go on the free agent market and bring in some help, or use what they have inside the organization to fill the void left by Bell. If Spring Training started today, there would be two front runner for the job, each of which showed some potential in the past. With the implementation of the Designated Hitter in the National League last seas...

The Pittsburgh Pirates made their first major move of the off-season on Christmas Eve when they traded Josh Bell to the Washington Nationals. They brought in two of the National top 10 pitching prospects as they retool for the future. If it wasn't clear before, it is now that Pittsburgh Pirates General Manager Ben Cherrington is rebuilding the organization. He made his first major move as Pirates GM yesterday when he traded first baseman Josh Bell to the Washington Nationals. In return, the Pirates are receiving RHP Will Crowe and RHP Eddy Yean. Crowe has Major League experience, he made his MLB debut in 2020, and Yean was signed as an international free agent and is one of the best young arms at just 19-years old. Both are ranked as top 10 prospects in the Nationals organization and will both hopefully make an impact on the Pirate's future. However, to obtain those pieces, the Pirates had to give up one of the most prolific bats in their lineup, and the only player...

It is a tradition every year in houses across the country to read "'Twas The Night Before Christmas." Now, we are putting a twist on the tradition with a Pittsburgh Pirates "'Twas The Night Before Christmas." 'Twas the night before Christmas and all through PNC, not a creature was stirring not even a Pierogi. The bats and gloves were all hung in the lockers with care in hopes that Spring Training soon would be there. Ben Cherrington was nestled all snug in his office, with hopes that he could find a deal that would make the team flawless. With Nutting down the hall and Travis Williams in his nook, working together to balance the books. When out on the field there arose such a clatter, the three ran down the hall to see what was the matter. They sprinted down the stands and into the dugout, and what they saw almost made them freakout. The grass was freshly cut and the dirt was pulled tight, it looks primed and ready for a Thursday night. The l...

With so many middle infielders on the Pittsburgh Pirates 40-man roster, there are several combinations the Pirates could use in the middle infield. Today, we look at those possibilities and see who the Pates double-play combination will be in 2021. Dick Groat and Bill Mazeroski, Tim Foli and Rennie Stennet, and Jack Wilson and Freddy Sanchez. These are just some of the great second base/shortstop combinations that have graced the Pittsburgh Pirates middle infield. For a defensive first team like the Pirates, having a solid showing up the middle is going to be key to the team's success. However, with so many different middle infielders on the 40-man roster, the Pirates will be forced to narrow it down to two starters. Last season, it was Kevin Newman at shortstop and Adam Frazier at second base as the double-play combination. By the end of the season, neither of the two were still in their positions and both sports were open. Adam Frazier's name has been circling the...

One of the worst position groups for the Pirates in 2020 was the bullpen. For the last item on the Pirates Christmas Wish List, the team is looking for help in the bullpen as they try to secure more wins during the 2021 season. One of the most important parts of any competitive team is the bullpen that they build. The starting pitchers can't go forever in this day and age, and when they tire they need a strong back-up to hold down the fort. For the Pirates, their bullpen was not able to hold a lead in 2020 and blew several games throughout the season. As the team gets ready for 2021, many of the same characters from last season are back in the bullpen mix. With Richard Rodriguez being the only real lock for 2021, there are six other openings for the bullpen as Derek Shelton and Been Cherrington try to get the team back on track.  There are plenty of free-agent veteran pitchers available on the open market who could come in and help lead this young group of pitchers. How...

The 2020-2021 off-season, much like the regular season, has been unlike any other we have seen. No major moves have been made as players look for money that teams don't have, and it might benefit the Pirates. Like just about everything else in 2020, the Major League Baseball off-season has been like no other in history. By late December, several major moves have usually been made with some of the top free agents already signing. However, here we are on December 23rd and guys like Trevor Bauer are still on the market looking for their next teams. The players are expecting the lavish contracts that they are used to seeing, but the owners don't have the money to dish out. It has led to a stalemate with both sides seeing who is going to blink first. For a team on the rebuild like the Pirates, this could open the door for a healthy trade market, as teams look to add to their roster.  The Pirates have several players that would fit a competitor's needs in almost every...