Buccos Cove

When the Pittsburgh Pirates needed a starter, Chase De Jong stepped in in a big way in yesterday's series finale against the Rockies. He dazzled on the mound and may just shake up the Pirates rotation moving forward. In the early part of the season, the Pittsburgh Pirates have dealt with injuries, especially to their starting rotation. Chad Kuhl has been out since the end of April and recently Trevor Cahill recently went on the IL with a calf strain. Because of this, the Pirates needed a starter for the series final with the Colorado Rockies on Sunday. Going with what the Pirates had done already this season, there was speculation that it would be Miguel Yajure, Cody Ponce, or Chad Kuhl coming back from the IL. Yajure was on four-day rest and Ponce was on five-day rest, making him the most likely option. However, the Pirates surprised everyone when they promoted Chase De Jong to the Major Leagues, and designated Ildemaro Vargas for assignment to male room on the 40-man ...

As it sits right now, the Pittsburgh Pirates have yet to name a starter for the opener of a three-game series with the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday. Today, we look at the Pirates options and who gets the call for that series opener at PNC Park. The injury bug has not been too kind to the Pittsburgh Pirates both on the offensive and pitching side of the ball. In total, the Pirates have 10 different players on either the 10-day or 60-day IL, and it is beginning to expose some of the inexperience on this team. As a result, the Pirates have dropped to 18-28 and just came off a series where they were outscored 37-8 by the Atlanta Braves. However, one injury that the Pirates have yet to address is the one that saw Trevor Cahill exit after just two innings in his last start. He has been placed on the 10-day Injured List and the subsequent move was that Kyle Crick was activated from his 10-day IL stint. The move still leaves Pittsburgh with only four starters and a hole in the rotation ...

With the Pittsburgh Pirates in a rebuild mode, they are going to rely a lot on the depth of their farm system to succeed in the future. There is currently a nice 1-2 punch developing in the Triple-A rotation that could bolster the Pirates rotation sometime this season. We have all heard the old adage that pitching a defense wins championships in baseball. These two areas are where General Manager Ben Cherington has focused most of his resources during this Pirates rebuild. He has brought in a lot of high-upside pitchers, and players who have handled the glove well throughout their careers. Because of his efforts, the Pirates farm system went from one of the worst in Major League Baseball to ranking #7 in the MLB this past off-season. Many of the guys who will impact the next contending Pirates teams are still in the low level of the Minor Leagues. However, there are a pair of pitchers in Triple-A Indianapolis that are putting up good numbers and could impact the team this s...

The Pittsburgh Pirates Minor League teams kicked off their regular seasons yesterday, taking the field for the first time since 2019. Roansy Contreras and Chase De Jong dominated the day turning in career-high starts in Double and Triple-A. After sitting idly for a year due to the Coronavirus Pandemic, Minor League Baseball returned to action last night and all four Pirates Minor League teams were in action. The Triple-A Indianapolis Indians and High-A Greensboro Grasshoppers each got wins while the Altoona Curve and Bradenton Marauders each took losses on Opening Night. There were some great performances throughout the Pirates Minor League system and some anticipated appearances. Travis Swaggerty got his Triple-A career started with a three-hit night and Nick Gonzales got two hits in his pro ball debut. However, it was a pair of starting pitchers that stole the spotlight on Minor League Baseball's Opening Night. Chase De Jong and Roansy Contreras each made their debuts...

When he was signed as a Minor League Free Agent by the Pittsburgh Pirates on January 5th, 2021, Chase De Jong was a name that didn't mean much to fans. However, after a strong showing in Spring Training, he is looking to complete his comeback and make it back to the Big Leagues. At the beginning of Spring Training 2021, there were several names being floated around as possible members of the Pirates starting rotation. Names like Miguel Yajure, Cody Ponce, and JT Brubaker were all floated around to fill the final spot in the Pirates rotation. Of course, things changed with injuries and new signings, and one of those changes was the emergence of Minor League Free agent right-handed pitched Chase De Jong. De Jong has pitched parts of the last five seasons in the Big Leagues with the Seattle Mariners, Minnesota Twins, and Houston Astros without much success. However, he started to turn heads not only in the Pirates organization but with the fan base as well. De Jong went ou...

It is the second full week of Spring Training action and the Pirates are having success sitting at 7-4-1. Today, we name our Buccos Cove Pitcher and Hitter of the week with two guys fighting for a roster spot. Halfway through Spring Training, the Pittsburgh Pirates are showing some fire this season. They are 7-4-1 through the first 12 games of the spring and they are getting some strong performances from key players. While Spring training games don't really have any weight when it comes to actual success, but being able to see the team being competitive in these games is a big improvement over last spring training. Over the second week of Spring action, the Pirates have gone 5-1 and have a run differential of +24. All of this success came on the back of several key players who are fighting for roster spots. This week's Buccos Cove Players of the Week are two players who are trying to make the Pirates Opening Day roster. The Buccos Cove Hitter of the Week is outfield...

In one of the first moves of the new year this off-season, the Pittsburgh Pirates signed pitcher Chase De Jong as a Minor League Free Agent. After bouncing around the last few years, the 27-year-old looks to add some starting pitching depth for the Pirates in 2021. If there is one thing that the Pittsburgh Pirates lacked in 2020, it was starting pitching depth. They had a total of 11 players on the injured list at the end of the year, and of those 11 players, eight were pitchers. This forced some young guys who weren't ready to have to step up and fill those roles. This is not something that General Manager Ben Cherrington was going to let happen again, so he went out and signed some pitching depth. In one of his first moves of the new year, he brought in 27-year-old right-hander Chase De Jong on a Minor League deal. De Jong has been a member of three different teams in the past four years but just hasn't been able to find his footing in the Big Leagues. In 2020, he...

It's that time of year as the Pittsburgh Pirates converge on Bradenton, Florida for Spring Training 2021. With Spring Training games beginning a week from Sunday, we look at who might be toeing the rubber in the first exhibition game against the Baltimore Orioles. Baseball is finally back!! After four long months of wheeling and dealing, it is time for all 30 clubs to begin Spring Training. For the Pirates, that means covering on LECOM Park in Bradenton, Florida. This year's camp features a lot of bright young stars all looking to make an impression on Derek Shelton and his coaching staff. Shelton met with the media yesterday afternoon and was fired up to get back on the field with his team. He said, "We're back, and it's baseball, and it's something I know I've been waiting for all winter long." Coming off of a season where they went 19-41, the team is looking for improvement and looking to develop their future stats as Ben Cherington and ...

On Wednesday, the Pittsburgh Pirates continued to add to their pitching depth by signing right-hander Chase De Jong. De Jong has made at least one Big League appearance in each of the last four seasons and is finally looking for his big break. Every off-season, teams add several Minor League free agents to add depth to their system and create some competition in Spring Training. The Pittsburgh Pirates made one of these types of moves on Wednesday when they signed right-handed pitcher Chase De Jong to a Minor League contract that includes an invite to Spring Training. For De Jong, it is a chance for the 27-year-old to finally break in full-time at the Big League level. Since making his Major League debut back in 2016, De Jong has pitched for three different organizations in the span of four seasons. In each of those seasons, De Jong has not appeared in more than seven games and has made just 15 appearances throughout his career. However, at 27-years-old, there is still time ...