Buccos Cove

The Pittsburgh Pirates welcomed back Phillip Evans off of the injured list last night, but to do so they had to DFA pinch-hitting success Wilmer Difo. While the departure was a little bit surprising, it also offered some more clarity on the roles of Pirates bench players this season. Every year there are some surprises on a Major League roster who you weren't really expecting much from. Some recent examples include the emergence of guys like Evan Meek in the late 2000s, Josh Harrison in the playoff years, and most recently a guy named Phillip Evans who came into his own in 2020 before promptly having his session ended by Gregory Polanco's elbow. In 2022, the early season surprise was a guy named Wilmer Difo, who the Pirates signed as a Minor League Free Agent this off-season. Not much was expected of Difo, but he took advantage of his opportunity when he got the call. He became one of the best pinch hitters on the Pirates, hitting .296 with a home run and three RBI ...

Since the beginning of the 2021 season, one thing the Pittsburgh Pirates have had to constantly deal with his injuries. As those players get on the mend, we look at how their return affects the Pirate's starting lineup. Since day two of the 2021 season, the Pittsburgh Pirates have been experiencing injury problems. They lost arguably their most exciting player to watch when Ke'Bryan Hayes injured his wrist on a swing. Since then, the Pirates have lost Colin Moran, Phillip Evans, Chad Kuhl, Trevor Cahill, and Ka'ai Tom all to injury. The effect has taken a drastic toll on the Pirate's starting lineup and has left then with some very inexperienced hitters getting considerable playing time. Looking at the starting lineup on Sunday, the Pirates only had three players who had batting averages over the .250 mark. The next closest was Jacob Stallings at .248 and after that, it was .209 or lower. When you are constantly throwing out a lineup with underperforming or ...

The Pittsburgh Pirates open up their first interleague series of the year tomorrow when they travel to Detroit. We look at the Pirate's Designated Hitter Options as they try and take their second straight series this week. The Pittsburgh Pirates are riding high right now coming off a series win in Milwaukee, as they continue their nine-game, three City Road trip. However, they move into their first Interleague series of the year tomorrow when they take on the Detroit Tigers for a three-game series at Comerica Park. Last season, the Designated Hitter was implemented universally throughout baseball, but this year hitters were once again hitting in the National League. That means that the Pirates will have to find a designated hitter for this coming series for the first time in 2021. For a team that lacks overall power, there are no clear-cut candidates. However, there are a few players who could fit the bill simply to get more playing time during this stretch. Last season...

Over their first 16 games of the season, the Pittsburgh Pirates have outperformed the expectations of many going 7-9 and winning two of their last three series. We look at how they have been able to exceed expectations, and what they have to do to stay competitive. Before the season began, the Pittsburgh Pirates had already been counted out from being anything that resembles a competitive team. The start of the season also warranted some of these claims as the Pirates stumbled to a 1-6 record out of the gates, and nothing was looking like it would go right for the Pirates. Las Vegas's over/under of 58.5 wins, which I still think is ridiculous, was looking more and more like a possibility. I'll admit even I started to have doubts about my 71-91 prediction and started rethinking if this team could really be that bad. However, they were in front of their home crowd for the first time in over a year and fed off that energy as they tried to prove the doubters wrong. As o...

Once again, Phillip Evans is showing that he can be a constant producer in the Pirates lineup with a hot start to 2021. As Ke'Bryan Hayes soon makes his return from the IL, we make the case to play Evans at second base and move Adam Frazier to the outfield. The long-awaited return of star rookie infielder Ke'Bryan Hayes is upon us. The rookie has been out since April 3rd with a wrist sprain and has been working his way back. He has been doing fielding and base running drills the entire time, but yesterday he finally got to pick up a bat and take some swings. While he was not back for the series with San Diego, it is very likely that he comes off the Injured List sometime this weekend for the series in Milwaukee. Milwaukee has always been a house of horrors for the Pirates, and hopefully getting Hayes back will give a boost to the lineup. However, it also means that there are some tough roster decisions ahead for the Pirates. One of these decisions that have to be ma...

An update from Pittsburgh Pirates Director of Sports Medicine Todd Tomczyk said all signs are encouraging as Ke'Bryan Hayes recovers from a wrist injury. However, the rookie's return leaves the Pirates with some tough decisions ahead. With all the success the Pirates offense has been having as of late, they are about to get a big piece back in their lineup. After being out since April 3rd with a wrist sprain, rookie third baseman Ke'Bryan Hayes was eligible to come off the 10-day Injured List yesterday. Pittsburgh Pirates Director of Sports Medicine Todd Tomczyk said that all signs are encouraging in Hayes's recovery as he is fielding groundballs, swinging a bat, and running the bases. However, he ruled out a return for the Padres series but did not say whether or not Hayes could return to the team in Milwaukee. The Pirates haven't suffered as bad as some thought since Hayes's absence, going 4-6 during that time, but will only benefit from getting a ...

When Ke'Bryan Hayes went down during the second game of the season, it was a big blow to the Pirates team. However, it has opened the door for Phillip Evans, who is quickly proving that the hot start in 2020 was not a fluke. One thing the Pittsburgh Pirates were searching for at the beginning of the season was a consistent bat with some power. They thought that was going to end up being rookie infielder Ke'Bryan Hayes, but Hayes went down with an injury and had to be moved to the 10-day injured list just two days into the season. It was a big blow to the Pirate's starting lineup as they were without their number two-hitter and one of the biggest producers on the team. They would need someone to step up, and turned to a man who had a hot start in 2020. He appeared in 11 games for the Pirates last year, before his season was ended with a broken jaw, and hit .359 with one home run and nine RBI. However, he is starting to show that those numbers aren't a fluke a...

With spring winding down, it is our final edition of the Buccos Cove Players of the Week, Spring Training addition. Today, we honor an infielder trying to earn his way onto the roster and a pitcher who has made an impressive debut this far. The final three spring training games are upon us and the Pirates have shown some upside during this 12-12-1 schedule so far. However, as the regular season draws near competition is heating up for the final few spots on the roster. Because of this, players are elevating their game in the hopes of being with the club when they head up to Chicago on April 1st. It is our final edition of Buccos Cove Players of the week for Spring Training, and today we are honoring two guys who are hoping to claim those final two spots. Both players have elevated their games and are showing that they can perform for the Pirates during the regular season. The Buccos Cove Hitter of the Week is infielder Phillip Evans and the Buccos Cove Pitcher of the Week i...

Yesterday, MLB Beat Reporter John Heyman announced that Todd Frazier had opted out of his contract and has become a free agent. Today, we look at how losing Frazier affects the Pirate's Opening Day roster and what opportunity this awards players. If you haven't heard by now, the Pittsburgh Pirates will not get to use the services of Todd Frazier in 2021. After signing the 12-year MLB veteran to a Minor League contract on February 20th, Frazier had come in and helped guide many of the Pirate's young players. One guy he had a big impact on was third baseman Ke'Bryan Hayes. Frazier was quoted as saying that Hayes is going to be "a beast" at the Major League level. He was even quoted as telling Jameson Taillon in a Spring Training game "Don't worry I'll take care of your guys." However, in a surprising move, Frazier was told on Friday after the game that he would not be making the Major League club. Because of this, Frazier opted out ...

We are now less than a week away from Opening Day 2021, and the Major League rosters are beginning to take shape. However, the Pittsburgh Pirates are going to be looking at some tough cuts before they break camp and head to Chicago on April 1st. With just six days left until the Pittsburgh Pirates open the 2021 season in Chicago, fans and players alike are getting excited. However, there are still moves that need to be made as the Pirates cut their roster down to the 26-man roster that will travel north for Opening Day. There have already been some surprising cuts to this point, with Cole Tucker and Edgar Santana being optioned, and some devastating injuries, with Steven Brault and Blake Cederlind both missing significant time. Both of these situations have a significant impact on how the roster will look and what moves the Pirates will make before the season begins. This may mean some surprising moves are on the way as the team deals with Minor League Options, veterans not...

One of the most interesting Pirates players entering camp this season is infielder Phillip Evans. He impressed Pirates fans with an impressive debut before breaking his jaw last season and is looking for a full-time spot on the roster once again in 2021. If you watched the Pittsburgh Pirates early in the season last year, there is no doubt you heard the name, Phillip Evans. The Pirates signed the former New York Mets product to a Minor League free agent deal last season and invited him to Big League Spring Training. He made a big impression on the coaches, hitting .333 with two home runs and nine RBI in 18 games, and ended up earning his first spot on an Opening Day roster. However, he would have to earn his playing time as a utility man like so many Pirates before him. He ended up playing right field, left field, third base, and first base for the Pirates and his bat kept him in the lineup. He hit .359 with a home run and nine RBI in his 11 game showing. Now that he is ful...

As 2020 comes to a close, the Pittsburgh Pirates are getting ready to make their New Year's Resolutions. Coming off the worst record in Major League Baseball, the Pirates can go nowhere but up during the 2021 season. It is no secret that the Pirate's offense was downright bad during the 2020 season. While offense was down across the league, players who were expected to perform like Josh Bell, Bryan Reynolds, and Adam Frazier ended up producing mediocre numbers at best. The lone stand-out was Colin Moran on an otherwise quiet offense throughout the season. One problem the Pirates have is the fact that they don't hit a lot of home runs or even have a prominent power threat on the team. The last Pirate to hit more than 30 homers in a season was Josh Bell in 2019, but he is now a member of the Washington Nationals. On the current roster, Gregory Polanco is the only player to hit more than 20 home runs in a single season. For the Pirate's first New Year's Res...

With so many middle infielders on the Pittsburgh Pirates 40-man roster, there are several combinations the Pirates could use in the middle infield. Today, we look at those possibilities and see who the Pates double-play combination will be in 2021. Dick Groat and Bill Mazeroski, Tim Foli and Rennie Stennet, and Jack Wilson and Freddy Sanchez. These are just some of the great second base/shortstop combinations that have graced the Pittsburgh Pirates middle infield. For a defensive first team like the Pirates, having a solid showing up the middle is going to be key to the team's success. However, with so many different middle infielders on the 40-man roster, the Pirates will be forced to narrow it down to two starters. Last season, it was Kevin Newman at shortstop and Adam Frazier at second base as the double-play combination. By the end of the season, neither of the two were still in their positions and both sports were open. Adam Frazier's name has been circling the...

Infielder Phillip Evans burst onto the scene for the Pirates in the early part of 2020, proving to be a utility man with a good glove and power in his bat. Looking at the make-up of the 2021 Pirates roster we look at where Evans fits in the Pirates plans this season. Before Ke'Bryan Hayes ever graced the PNC Park field in 2020, there was another infielder who was making his mark on the Major League club. After being released by the New York Mets in 2018 and Chicago Cubs in 2019, the Pirates took a chance signing Minor League free agent Phillip Evans. They gave him an invite to Spring Training, and he impressed the Pirates coaching staff hitting .333 (11-33) with two home runs, nine RBI, and six total extra-base hits. He earned his way onto the Big League roster for Opening Day and was a bench player through the early part of the season. He was never guaranteed playing time but ended up earning his way into the Pirates lineup. He filled in at first base, second base, thi...