Buccos Cove

Yesterday, the Pittsburgh Pirates made their first big roster move of the 2020 - 2021 off-season as they designated Trevor Williams and Jose Osuna for assignment. We look at what the release of two key players from 2020 means for the future of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Heading into the off-season, the Pirates front office staff knew there were a lot of moves to be made. No one on the roster was safe as anyone could be moved with Ben Cherrington and his staff looked to rebuild the Pirates into a playoff-caliber team. Cherrington and his staff made their first big move involving key players from 2020 yesterday when he designated right-handed pitcher Trevor Williams and utility guy Jose Osuna for assignment. Both players now hit free agency and can go on to explore other options. For the Pirates, it sends a clear message that the baseball operations staff is focused on the future and letting the young guys grow and develop at the Major League level. The move doesn't come as ...

We continue our position by position grade report as we move to first base, a position that saw a lot of rotation. It was the group that had one of the most impressive and least impressive players on the team this season. When the National League implemented the Designated Hitter for the 2020 season, it set the Pittsburgh Pirates first base situation for a loop. The only clear power hitter on the Pirates was first baseman Josh Bell and the Pirates new there would be a carousel of players rotating through the first base position. In total, five different players cycled through first base for the Pirates, but the two front runners had very different seasons. For one, it was a season full of disappointment while for the other it was a break-out year that might have put him back on the Pirates radar for the future. Josh Bell went through one of the worst seasons of his career, while Colin Moran had one of his best at the plate. While the offense had its ups and downs, the defen...

Infielder/Outfielder Jose Osuna has been up and down between the Majors and Minor Leagues since 2017. We take a look at what the future holds for the young utility player with the Pirates. Last night, the Pittsburgh Pirates recalled another one of their top prospects as #10 Jared Oliva got the promotion. Oliva made his MLB debut, pinch-hitting for Colin Moran in the ninth inning and going down on strikes. With the call-up, another outfielder will be vying for playing time over the final six games of the season. The odd man out this season has seemed to be utility man Jose Osuna, making three different trips between the Major Leagues and the Minor Leagues. Osuna is a guy who has performed well in spurts but has never had a consistent approach at the plate to get the job done every time. In parts of four seasons with the Pirates, Osuna is a career .238 hitter with 22 home runs and 85 RBI. The 27-year-old has never appeared in more than 104 games in a season, and that came dur...

It is official, the Major League Baseball 2020 regular season is set to begin on Thursday, July 23rd, with the Pirates beginning the next day. Now it's time to predict who will be available off the bench for the Pittsburgh Pirates when the season begins in St. Louis. Ever since MLB teams have been getting back to their summer camps, there has been an excitement in the air about the 2020 season. In a 60-game shortened season anything can happen, and every team at least has a shot at catching lightning in a bottle and going on a run. With off-days coming few and far between this year, a team's bench is going to be more important than ever as they will be called upon to give guys a break more often than in years past. With wins being more important than ever, the bench is going to have to be able to step in and keep the lineup going when the starters are out so the team can stay on track. The Pittsburgh Pirates have a ton of options available to fill their bench with a...

As we await the start of the 2020 MLB season due to Corona Virus concerns, we will take a look at every player on the Pirates roster and outline what they will bring to the table and projections for the 2020 season. I hope this brings some positive reading to the current situation and helps us all as we wait for baseball. Ever since playing in 104 games during his rookie season and hitting just .233 with a measly 7 home runs and 30 RBI, Jose Osuna has appeared as a bench player for the Pirates in each of the last two seasons. While for some this would be a discouragement, Osuna took it as an opportunity to get better and has produced solid numbers. He put it all together in 2019, becoming one of the best pinch hitters in the game at one point, and he has become a viable back-up option for Josh Bell over at first base. Osuna once again looks to secure a spot on the Pirates bench in 2020 as he tries to earn another chance at a starting spot. In 2019, Osuna had his best year a...

Trevor Williams had a slow start in his Grapefruit League Debut giving up four first inning runs against the Phillies on Sunday. The offense did battle back, but didn't have enough to overcome the deficit. Entering the 2020 season, one of the Pittsburgh Pirates's keys to success was a bounce back year from Trevor Williams. Williams made his spring training debut in the Pirates split squad game against the Philadelphia Phillies on Sunday and things didn't start out in his favor. Williams pitched his two innings of work giving up four runs, all in the first inning, on four hits while walking a batter in the Pirates 4-3 loss. He had trouble finding the first out of the game as a Roman Quinn double and a JT Realmuto hit by pitch left runners on first and second with nobody out. After getting the first out, Williams would give up three straight hits, including two doubles, that put the Phillies ahead 4-0.  Heading to the second inning. It was like night a...