35 Days From Spring Training: Where Do The Pirates Stand

With the Pittsburgh Steelers falling to the Cleveland Browns last night, all eyes turn to the Pittsburgh Penguins and Pirates as they get ready for their 2021 seasons. We look at where the Pirates stand just 35 days away from reporting day.

Last night, the Pittsburgh sports world watched as disaster unfolded before their eyes. With a bad snap just seconds into the game, the Steelers ended up falling to the Cleveland Browns 48-37 in the AFC Wild Card Round ending their season. However, for Pirates fans that means all eyes turn to Spring Training. We are just about 35 days away from pitchers and catcher reporting, but where do the Pirates stand? It has been a pretty uneventful off-season for the Pirates, and pretty much every other team in the league, with the only major move being the trade of Josh Bell to the Washington Nationals. Other than that and a few minor signings, the roster looks pretty much the same as it did a season ago minus the clean-up hitter.

The Pirates do get a couple of their starting pitchers back for a full season, but is that enough to put more wins on the board? Surely after a season that saw the Pirates go 19-41 the only way that they can go is up. There are still some talented players on this club, and with 35 days to go anything can still happen. We look at the team as a whole as we try to identify who are going to be the key contributors on each side of the ball. The Pirates realistically won't be contending for the playoffs in 2021, but Been Cherrington and his staff are looking to build the foundation of a team that can win in years to come. That starts with talent evaluation and the Pirates have some talent on this year's team that could help them as they begin the rebuild.

The Starting Rotation

The biggest difference between the 2020 Pirates and the 2021 Pirates is going to be the starting rotation. Injuries killed this group last season, as they missed their top four starters for a majority of the season. Jameson Taillon and Chris Archer were out for the year and Joe Musgrove and Mitch Keller were each limited by injuries. Archer is gone, but the other three are back to lead the top of the rotation. As a team that averaged just four innings per start last season, they are relying on this group to pitch better. It starts with the top as Taillon is being relied on to bounce back stronger. It is hard to come back from one Tommy John Surgery, but two is almost unheard of.

Before his injury, Taillon came off the best season of his Major League career that saw him go 14-10 with a 3.20 ERA over 32 starts. His fastball hits in the mid-90s, and he has held opponents under a .250 batting average for the last two seasons. This season, Taillon will likely be eased back into things, but he says he is feeling 100% following the surgery. Behind him, Musgrove and Keller each showed major improvements last season. In five starts for Keller, he turned in three quality starts and pitched to a 2.90 ERA while striking out 16 batters over 21.2 innings of work. Musgrove pitched some of his best baseball at the end of the season, posting a 2.17 ERA over his final five starts. With three solid arms atop the rotation, the Pirates should be able to grind out some more wins in 2021.

The Bullpen

While the starting rotation is the group with the most upside, the bullpen is the group with the most questions. After a dismal 2020 season, the group is looking to rebound and provide support to their starting pitchers. There is a lot of inexperience out there, with Richard Rodriguez now being the elder statesman, but there are also some promising arms in that group. Blake Cederlind, Sam Howard, and Geoff Hartlieb are representing the next generation of Pirates relievers. Rodriguez is set to be the team's closer in 2021, but the rest of the bullpen positioning is very much up in the air at this point.

When Rodriguez was in as the closer last season, he played pretty well. He converted four of his five save opportunities, and finished the year with a 2.70 ERA in 23.1 innings of work. However, the bridge to him will feature a group of guys who could be the closer of the future. Blake Cederlind made his MLB debut last season and pitched to a 4.50 ERA over four innings of work. Cederlind served as a closer in both Advanced-A and Double-A and has gone 8-16 in career save opportunities. The other former closer in the back of the Pirates bullpen is reliever Geoff Hartlieb. Hartlieb had a career-year in 2020 that saw him go 1-0 with a 3.63 ERA in 22.1 innings of work. All three pitchers are going to be cornerstones for a bullpen that is looking to turn the corner.

The Offense

The offense is going to look a little bit different this year without all-star Josh Bell in the clean-up role. However, there are still players who have shown flashes of success that can take his place. The most notable of the group is Colin Moran, who had a break-out year in the COVID-19 shortened season. Moran was the only Pirate to hit double-digit home runs last season, with 10, while hitting .247 and driving in 23 RBI. When the Pirates acquired Mora in the 2017 Gerrit Cole trade, it was his power that was the most enticing for the team. Moran began showing it in 2020, and will more than likely be the team's clean-up hitter in 2021.

As for the support around Moran, Bryan Reynolds and Ke'Bryan Hayes are looking to prove they are the next generation of talent. Hayes burst onto the scene in 2020 with his .354 average, five home runs, and 11 RBI over his first 24 Big League Games. He looked comfortable at the plate, and best of all came through in big situations. He will likely be in the two or three hole this season hitting in front of Moran as he looks to continue that production. Reynolds had a down year all-around in 2020 hitting just .189 with seven home runs and 19 RBI. However, he has had a .300+ batting average at every level of the Minor Leagues, and he is looking to rebound in 2021. He will most likely hit in the five-hole behind Moran as protection.

Overall, 2021 should be a year of growth for the Pirates. You will start to see some of the older guys get moved in the first half of the season, making way for some of the up and coming prospects of the future. Guys like O'neil Cruz, Wil Craig, and Quinn Priester will be making their way to the Big Leagues in the next couple of years with the hopes of building a winner in Pittsburgh. However, there is still a lot of off-season to go, and a lot can happen before the start of the season on April 1st. Despite the subtractions this off-season, the Pirates still have some talent on this 2021 team. It will be fun to watch them grow and develop as they try to bring a winner back to the Burgh.

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