Buccos Cove

The 2020 Rule 5 Draft is scheduled to take place on December 10th, 2020, as part of the Winter Meetings and the Pirates have some interesting prospects eligible. We will break down all the Rule 5 players and whether or not the Pirates should worry about losing them or not. When he first entered the Pirates Minor League system, Shea Murray was already put behind the eight-ball. He suffered an injury that forced him to miss the entire 2017 season and pushed his development back a full year. Now, with the suspension of the 2020 Minor League season, the Pirates had another year of delay with Murray and his development. While his results haven't been the best Murray has gone quickly through the Minor League system, pitching as high as Double-A Altoona during the 2019 season. Murray has had a ton of obstacles to clear in his career, and he is looking to make all that hard work pay off with a career at PNC Park. However, in his first year of eligibility for the Rule 5 Draft, h...

When you think of the name Kirk Gibson, you most likely think of his big home run in the 1988 World Series that the Los Angeles Dodgers eventually won. However, he wore the black and gold for one year during the 1992 season and made a small impact on a playoff team. It was Game one of the 1988 World Series and the Los Angeles Dodgers were trailing the Oakland Athletics 4-3. Dodgers light-hitting catcher Dave Anderson was coming to the plate, but Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda switched to pinch hitter Kirk Gibson instead. Gibson wasn't expected to play because he injured both of his legs, but he ended up winning the game for the Dodgers with a two-run home run. It was his only appearance of the World Series and the Dodgers would win four games to one. That is probably one of the most famous at-bats in Gibson's career and what most people remember him for. However, at the end of his career, Gibson wore the Black and Gold for a season in 1992. It may have lasted just 16...

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 ...

The 2020 Rule 5 Draft is scheduled to take place on December 10th, 2020, as part of the Winter Meetings and the Pirates have some interesting prospects eligible. We will break down all the Rule 5 players and whether or not the Pirates should worry about losing them or not. With the Pittsburgh Pirates bullpen struggling in 2020, the spotlight has been put on the Pirates up and coming relief prospects. One of those prospects that have been in the spotlight is right-handed pitcher Beau Sulser. Sulser's professional career didn't start out too well, but as he has climbed the Minor League ladder he has gotten better and better at each level that he pitched in. He has been working as a late-inning reliever with some closing experience but doesn't bring the high velocity that you usually see from a dominant closer. His fastball only averages between 88 and 92 miles per hour, and he has a change-up with good movement that he uses to back it up. He made it to Double-A Al...

From 2011 to 2016, Jared Hughes came charging out of the PNC Park bullpen as part of the Pirate's famous Shark Tank. Now that he is a free agent, could a reunion bring the 6'7 reliever back to Pittsburgh to help the current Pirates bullpen? During the Pittsburgh Pirates playoff seasons of 2013 to 2015, one of the big parts of the team's bullpen was reliever Jared Hughes. He was the guy that former manager Clint Hurdle would call on when there was trouble on the base paths and, more often than not, Hughes would strand the runners and get the team back to the dugout. Now that he is a free agent, a reunion could help strengthen the Pirates bullpen for 2021, an area that struggled mightily during the 2020 season. Even entering his age 35 season, Hughes has shown that he can he an effective reliever, and get the big outs when you need him too. Since he left the Pirates following the 2016 season, Hughes has played for four different teams and has continued to post an ...

The 2020 Rule 5 Draft is scheduled to take place on December 10th, 2020, as part of the Winter Meetings and the Pirates have some interesting prospects eligible. We will break down all the Rule 5 players and whether or not the Pirates should worry about losing them or not. Over the last three years, relief pitcher Blake Weiman has been on the move in the Pirates organization. He has played for five teams over the last two seasons, going from Short-Season West Virginia all the way to Triple-A Indianapolis. At 25-years old, he is on the verge of becoming Major League ready and is developing into a mid to late-inning reliever. The shut down of the Minor League season in 2020 slowed his progress slightly, but he was one of the many pitchers who worked at the Pirates satellite camp during the 2020 season. He is a left-hander with good control, which is hard to come by, and you can never have enough left-handed pitchers available in your bullpen.  On the Pirate's current rost...

Last season, the National League implemented the Designated Hitter role allowing both Josh Bell and Colin Moran to be first basemen. With that rule gone, we look at who will be the primary first baseman in 2021. Entering the 2020 season, there was no question as to who the Pirate's first baseman was going to be. Josh Bell was coming off a career-year and looked like he was going to be a real face of the franchise. However, he fell flat on his face in 2020, hitting just .226 with eight home runs and 22 RBI. His struggles were even worse at the beginning of the year as he looked really uncomfortable at the plate. However, Colin Moran, who was on a Major hot streak at the beginning of the year, showed he could handle first base and took over part-time for Bell. With the designated hitter implemented in the National League, it allowed the more defensive sound Moran to play first while Bell worked his way through the struggles as a DH. However, the Designated Hitter is leavi...