Ben Cherington did what he set out to do at the trade deadline, at least on the surface. The Pirates added four relievers - Luke Weaver, Camilo Doval, Kirby Yates, and Lake Bachar - and three of them have plenty of closing experience. That was a clear attempt to attack the bullpen’s biggest problem and reshape the late-inning mix.
But Pittsburgh never had just one issue. The other glaring hole was the offense, which had spent the season looking for a right-handed impact bat. That need only became more urgent after Marcell Ozuna was mercifully released.
And on Wednesday, that missing piece showed up in the worst possible way. Against Kyle Harrison in a crucial matchup with the NL Central-leading Milwaukee Brewers, the Pirates were lifeless at the plate. They struck out 10 times in five innings against the left-hander, finished with only one hit and one walk, and never found a rhythm in another rough offensive night.
That same problem has been hanging over the club all year, and it’s especially noticeable now that Esmerlyn Valdez has cooled off. The rookie was a force early, posting a 176 wRC+ in his first 41 MLB games and a 235 mark against southpaws. But he has gone hitless in his last six games and is 2-for-his-last-41, with a 34.5% strikeout rate.
When Valdez isn’t producing, Pittsburgh has a hard time doing much of anything against left-handed pitching. The Pirates rank 24th in the league with an 89 wRC+ in that split, and the strikeouts are a big reason why. Their 25.5% strikeout rate against lefties is the third-highest in baseball.
Only four players on the roster have been above-average against southpaws: Valdez, Oneil Cruz, Bryan Reynolds, and Konnor Griffin. Two of those names are on the 60-day injured list, Valdez is in his current slump, and Reynolds - while clearly an excellent player - has been in a mini-slump since the end of June and can’t carry the lineup by himself.
The Pirates did try to address the problem by calling up Ronny Simon. His 1.057 OPS against lefties in Triple-A this year at least gives the club a reason to believe he can help. But depending on a player with -0.6 career fWAR to solve a major lineup weakness by himself is a risky bet.
With the deadline now in the rearview mirror, Pittsburgh’s only options are to wait on health and hope the bats wake up. That’s a thin plan, and it’s already looking like the kind of decision that can come back to haunt a team.
In Other News...
Termarr Johnson Just Suffered A Brutal Setback For The Pirates
Termarr Johnsons latest step forward in the Pirates system hit a painful pause Friday night in Triple-A Indianapolis, where the young infielder went down with a serious left knee injury against Iowa. Johnson had been showing better offensive form in recent months after a difficult stretch earlier in the season, making the injury sting all the more for a player trying to build momentum at an important stage of his development.
The scene on the field suggested this was more than a routine setback, as Johnson had to be helped off after the injury and could not leave under his own power. For Pittsburgh, the concern now goes beyond his recent progress at the plate and shifts to the bigger question of how long the organization may be without one of its more closely watched prospects. [Read more 🡒]
Pirates Enter A Pivotal Stretch With Their Wild Card Hopes Fading
The Pirates just came through a brutal 17-game grind in 17 days, and the results left little room for comfort. They went 5-12 over that stretch, dropped all five series and had to keep patching things together while injuries piled up and both the offense and pitching staff slipped at the wrong time.
Mitch Kellers season-ending injury only deepened the strain on a team already searching for stability, even as recent moves were made to bolster the bullpen. The bigger problem now is the calendar ahead, because the Pirates need to find traction quickly to keep their fading postseason hopes from slipping any further away. [Read more 🡒]
Pirates Bullpen Decision Is Getting Harder To Ignore In The Playoff Race
The bullpen churn around the Pirates has only grown harder to ignore as the club tries to stay in the NL Central race. Ron Marinaccio arrived from San Diego on July 23, got into four games for Pittsburgh and was gone before August arrived in a more complicated way than anyone expected, with the reliever putting up a short stint that included four runs allowed in 5 1/3 innings.
His last outing for Pittsburgh came against the Reds, and the sequence of moves since then has created an awkward little footnote for both teams. For the Pirates, it is another reminder that every bullpen decision gets magnified in a tight division chase, while Cincinnatis claim adds another layer to a transaction that may end up mattering more for what it says about timing and roster fit than for the numbers alone. [Read more 🡒]