Buccos Cove

Michael Feliz was looking to establish himself as a dominant reliever in 2020, but injuries derailed him. He is back and healthy in 2021 and looking to once again stake claim to the back of the bullpen. When the Pirates traded Gerrit Cole to the Houston Astros back in 2018, they were looking for young and controllable Major League-ready talent. Three of the four pieces they acquired covered that and one of those was reliever Michael Feliz. Feliz was just 25-years-old at the time of the trade and was just establishing himself at the Big League level. He had high promise, with a fastball that could reach triple digits, but he didn't have the experience at the Major League level yet. His debut with the Pirates in 2018 was lack-luster at best, but he came back in 2019 and put together a career-year. He appeared in 58 games that season and went 4-4 with a career-low 3.99 ERA in a career-high 56.1 innings of work. With that success under his belt, he was looking to take his g...

The non-tender deadline came and went last night and the Pirates agreed to contracts with three of their arbitration-eligible players. Erik Gonzalez, Michael Feliz, and Jameson Taillon all agreed to deals while the rest will go to arbitration. Wednesday's non-tender trade deadline came and went and the Pirates kind of skidded around the date. They agreed to contracts with three of their arbitration-eligible players and decided to go to arbitration with ten others. The three players who agreed to contracts for the 2021 season were infielder Erik Gonzalez, Right-Handed Pitcher Michael Feliz, and Right-Handed pitcher Jameson Taillon. The other ten players who were arbitration eligible will head to the arbitration process, which runs through January 15th, 2021. The Pirates did lose one player on Wednesday as they decided to non-tender reliever Clay Holmes, making him a free agent. The three players that the Pirates have already agreed to contracts with will not have to go t...

The non-tender deadline is coming up on December 2nd, and all players on the 40-man roster must have a 2021 contract by that time. Today, we look at Pirates who might not make the cut for the 2021 season. When people think of off-season moves, they normally think of the big free agent signings and the blockbuster deals that see stars go from one team to another. However, possibly the bigger part of the off-season is arbitration season where players receive performance bonuses before they hit their years of free agency. Coming into the off-season, the Pittsburgh Pirates had 19 arbitration-eligible players accounting for nearly half the roster. Some of those have already been cut out, with the designation of guys like Trevor Williams, Nick Burdi, and Luke Maile. Even with the cuts, 13 arbitration-eligible players remain for the Pirates to tender contracts to. However, it is likely that not all 13 players will get contracts by the non-tender deadline on December 2nd, making th...

The Pittsburgh Pirates lost one of their top closer candidates over the weekend when they designated reliever Nick Burdi for assignment due to another injury. Now, looking at the pitchers the Pirates have left, who is going to step into the closer's role in 2021? In recent history, the Pittsburgh Pirates have always had a good closer to come in and shut down the opposition. It started in the early 2000s with Jose Mesa and has continued with Matt Capps, Jason Grilli, Joel Hanrahan, Mark Melancon, and even Felipe Vazquez (before all the legal trouble). Even entering the 2020 season, the Pirates had a pretty good idea that Keone Kela was going to be there closer. As for 2021, there is no clear candidate to assume the role and it is going to be a position that is going to have some competition in 2021. There are several highly regarded back-end relievers on the roster, but manager Derek Shelton is going to have to find out which ones thrive in the ninth inning. At the end o...

The Pittsburgh Pirates made what initially looked like a surprise move when they designated reliever Nick Burdi for assignment. However, it was discovered that he needed a second Tommy John Surgery and will miss the 2021 season-ending his Pirates career. The Pittsburgh Pirates made a flurry of moves during the first full weekend of the 2020 - 2021 off-season to clear room on the 40-man roster. One of the initial surprise moves was when the team designated reliever Nick Burdi for assignment. However, it was later found out that Burdi would miss the entire 2021 season after doctors determined he would need a second Tommy John Surgery. This is the third elbow injury that Burdi has suffered in the last two seasons and is just another major setback for the former 24th round draft pick out of Downers Grove South High School in Illinois. Burdi was one of the Pirates closer candidates for the 2021 season after the departure of Keone Kela in free agency. He has a fastball that can r...

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. Of the four players acquirred in the deal that sent Gerrit Cole to the Houston Astros, the one fans probably didn't know much about was prospect Jason Martin. He was just a double A outfielder when he came to the Pirates in 2018 and had a lot of room to develop. However, he was the first Pirates prospect called up to the show and he made an immediate impact in his first couple games. He helped the Pirates in a time of need, and now has all the tools he needs for success as he continued to develop in Triple A. Martin appeared in just 20 games for the Pirates last season, hitting .250 with no home runs and two RBI. The numbers don't jump off the page...

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. With all of the bullpen struggles the 2019 Pittsburgh Pirates had, one pitcher that flew under the radar was Michael Feliz. He quietly had a career-year and helped bring some good fortune back to his name in the eyes of Pirates fans. After starting the year at Triple-A Indianapolis, Feliz was up and down trough the first two months of the season, but stuck with the Major League roster from June on. He appeared in 58 games for the Bucs pitching to a 3.99 ERA in 56.1 innings of work while walking 27 and striking out 73. His 3.99 ERA was 44 points lower than his previous low and was a good sign for Feliz's future in Pittsburgh. Feliz came to t...

The Pittsburgh Pirates opened their 2020 spring training schedule when they took on Minnesota on Saturday falling 2-1. Mitch Keller led the way on the mound while the offense struggles to get going. Baseball is officially back as all 32 major League teams have taken the field to open the 2020 Grapefruit and Cactus League Schedules. With the start of a new season comes intrigue and excitement as fans and players alike get ready for the next eight months of action. For the Pirates they got a strong showing on the mound from their future ace as they took on the Minnesota Twins. They fell 2-1 to the defending AL Central Champions, but got a strong showing from Mitch Keller in his Grapefruit League debut. Keller started the game and threw two scoreless innings allowing just two hits and facing one over the minimum. Both hits he allowed came with one out and he was able to work out of the jam each time. Keller didn't walk anyone and only got into one one ball count all aft...