Buccos Cove

In one of the first moves, the Pirates made this off-season, the team claimed right-handed pitcher Sean Poppen off waivers from the Minnesota Twins. He looks to add bullpen depth for the Bucs while fighting for a shot to contribute at the Big League level. Every year teams around the MLB end up making waiver claims as they try to add either to their Major League club or to the Minor League teams. A lot of these waiver claims end up going unheard of by fans, but there are occasionally the few that end up working well for their teams. Last season, Sam Howard was the surprise for the Pirates coming from two rough seasons in Colorado and becoming a top performer in the bullpen. In one of the first moves of the 2020-2021 off-season, the Pirates were trying to duplicate that success when they claimed Sean Poppen off waivers from the Minnesota Twins. Poppen only has ten games of Major League experience under his belt but has shown to be a mid-level starter in the Minor Leagues. La...

On Thursday, the Pirates made their first off-season move, acquiring pitcher Sean Poppens off waivers from the Minnesota Twins. To make room, they designated infielder/outfielder JT Riddle for assignment. General Manager Ben Cherrington has a lot of work ahead of him this off-season as he tries to get the Pirates back on track after being the worst team in Major League Baseball in 2020. He made his first official move of the off-season when he claimed right-handed pitcher Sean Poppens off of waivers from the Minnesota Twins. The move helps add to the Pirates pitching depth and gives them a guy who has experience both in a starting role and coming out of the bullpen. In a subsequent move, the Pirates designated infielder/outfielder JT Riddle for assignment to make room for Poppen on the Pirates 40-Man Roster. Seeing Riddle go is not a move that is not going to upset many Pirates fans after the team signed the utility man last off-season. Riddle's time here was not memora...