Buccos Cove

Even after the 4 pm Trade Deadline passed, the Pittsburgh Pirates were busy completing two different deals. They added to both their Big League roster and Minor League roster as they continue to build towards the future. Coming into Friday, the Pittsburgh Pirates were expected to be one of the most active teams in the market. However, as the day trickled on the only move the Pirates made sent Minor Leaguer Braeden Ogle to the Philadelphia Phillies for Minor League catcher Abrahan Gutierrez. There were several teams linked to guys like Richard Rodriguez and Chris Stratton, but nothing was materializing. 4 pm came and went, but with deals still coming in, there was still a chance that the Pirates would end up making a move. It came in at around 4:15 pm, but in the end, the Pirates made their moves shipping two relievers to contending teams, with one move expected and the other not. The first of the two moves was the one everyone was expecting. The Pirates sent closer Richard ...

The Pittsburgh Pirates bullpen has been roughed up as of late after being overworked early in the season. A shake-up is coming with the Trade Deadline approaching and guys will have to be ready to take over some new roles. Rewind the season back to April, and one of the only strengths to this Pittsburgh Pirates team was the bullpen. It started with the back-end of the bullpen, as closer Richard Rodriguez and set-up man Kyle Crick were on fire, and it resonated throughout the rest of the group. Sam Howard, Clay Holmes, and David Bednar were strong in middle relief and Duane Underwood Jr. was a reliable long man. As a result, the Pirates were able to shorten games and it helped them finish the month at 12-10 and way above expectations. However, Pirates starters weren't going deep into games and you knew something had to give. Fast-forward to present day and we are starting to see some of the consequences of the starters not going deeper into games. The bullpen ERA has ris...

After sustaining a left elbow sprain at the end of February, Austin Davis made his return from the Injured List in yesterday's loss. It was a long battle back, but the hard work paid off as he came through with a scoreless inning of work. For many people, 2020 was a whirlwind of a year that we want to forget, and that goes for the Pittsburgh Pirates season as well. However, one move the Pirates made that may have gone unnoticed was a move aimed at strengthening the bullpen. They made a deal with the Philadelphia Phillies on August 26th, 2020, that brought Austin Davis to the Pittsburgh Pirates for cash and a player to be named later (which turned out to be Joel Cesar). Davis had struggled during his time in Philadelphia, posting a 5.04 ERA in 46 appearances, and ended up being DFA'd by the Phillies, leading to the trade. However, at the time, the Pirates had just one lefty in the bullpen, Sam Howard, and were trying to add another southpaw to the pen. When he got to...

The Pittsburgh Pirates only have two left-handed pitchers on the 40-man roster entering Spring Training, and one of them is left-hander Austin Davis. He looks to be more than a lefty specialist coming out of the Pirates bullpen in 2021. Left-handed pitching is hard to find at any level of baseball from little leagues all the way up to professional baseball. To find a good left-hander is even harder, but is one of the keys to a successful pitching staff. For the Pittsburgh Pirates, their current 40-man roster only has two left-handers and only one in the mix for a spot in the Pirates bullpen. That man is Austin Davis, who was acquired from the Philadelphia Phillies in a trade last year. Davis struggled in his first four appearances with the Phillies, so he was sent to the Pirates alternate training site at first. Once he was ready he joined the team in September and gave the team a preview of what he can offer. Davis appeared in just five games for the Pirates at the end of ...

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...