MLB Team Report – Pittsburgh Pirates – INSIDE PITCH
BRADENTON, Fla. — Andrew McCutchen does not plan to rest on his shiny 2013 National League Most Valuable Player trophy.
The Pirates center fielder arrived at spring training vowing to have a better season than last year when he became the first Pirates player since Barry Bonds in 1992 to win MVP honors. McCutchen hit .317 with 21 home runs and 27 stolen bases in 157 games.
“I’m just trying to continue the things I’ve been doing, every facet of the game,” McCutchen said. “I’m going to focus even more on baserunning, because I know I can get better at it. I’ll get on base, and everyone will know I’m going to second, but I’ve still got to do it. You’ve got to work on it. Being consistent at the plate, being consistent with my throws and defense, all of that.”
McCutchen actually regressed a bit last year from his 2012 season when he had a .327 batting average with 31 homers and 20 steals in 157 games while also winning an NL Gold Glove. The difference last season was team success as the Pirates had both their first winning season and postseason appearance since 1992.
“He usually comes to spring training with a couple focus points,” manager Clint Hurdle said. “We’ll get his thoughts on the work he’s done this winter and where his focus is this spring, and we’ll see if it matches up. Every year I’ve been here, it pretty much has. His game continues to get better and more consistent. He sets the bar pretty high for himself.”
McCutchen also set the bar pretty high for any guy thinking of proposing to his girlfriend. In December, he popped the question in front of a national television audience on “The Ellen Show.”
The proposal caused McCutchen to gain more national notoriety than his considerable baseball exploits.
“I knew that after I proposed, people would totally forget about the MVP award,” McCutchen said with a smile. “That’s as it should be.”
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MLB Team Report – Pittsburgh Pirates – NOTES, QUOTES
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–INF Brent Morel, designated for assignment by the Blue Jays on Feb. 21, was claimed off waivers by the Pirates three days later. Morel, 26, spent most of 2013 with Triple-A Charlotte in the Chicago White Sox’s organization. In 194 career major league games, he has a .229 average with 13 home runs and 54 RBIs.
–INF Chase d’Arnaud, 27, was designated for assignment by the Pirates on Feb. 24 to clear a spot on the 40-man roster for newly acquired INF Brent Morel. After opening last season on the major league disabled list as he recovered from left thumb surgery, d’Arnaud spent the entire season in the minors, hitting .231/.287/.346 with four homers, 21 RBIs and 19 stolen bases in 67 games for three teams in the Pittsburgh farm system. He appeared in a total of 56 games for Pittsburgh in 2011 and 2012, hitting .208/.232/.275 with no homers, one RBI and 13 steals.
–LHP Francisco Liriano was tabbed to start the season opener March 31 against the Chicago Cubs in Pittsburgh. Liriano went 16-8 with a 3.02 ERA in 26 starts last season and was named the National League Comeback Player of the Year by MLB.com. A year earlier, Liriano went a combined 6-12 with a 5.34 ERA with the Minnesota Twins and Chicago White Sox. It will be the second time Liriano started on opening day as he also had the honor in 2009 with the Twins.
–RHP Jason Grilli has had fewer throwing sessions than the rest of the Pirates’ pitchers during the early days of spring training, but the closer says that is by design and not because of any lingering effects of the strained forearm that sidelined him for nearly six weeks during the second half of last season. “It’s a long spring and I’m just pacing myself, taking my time,” the 37-year-old Grilli said. He converted 33 of 35 save opportunities last season and had a 2.70 ERA in 54 games.
–LHP Wandy Rodriguez has been throwing off a mound without pain. “I was a little nervous the first time I threw but I didn’t feel anything,” he said. Rodriguez did not pitch after June 5 last season because of a strained left forearm, finishing the year 6-4 with a 3.59 ERA in 12 starts.
–OF Travis Snider had his activity limited Tuesday during the Pirates’ first full-squad workout because of a cut on his left hand. Snider suffered the injury Monday while chopping sweet potatoes. The injury is not expected to set Snider back in his competition with OF Jose Tabata for the starting right fielder’s job.
–RHP Kyle McPherson has progressed to throwing off flat ground from 120 feet as he continues his recovery from Tommy John reconstructive elbow surgery performed last July. He is expected to start throwing off a mound during the first week of March.
QUOTE TO NOTE: “I told the men that if you have one foot in the past and one foot in the future that you’re likely to crap all over today.” — Pirates manager Clint Hurdle on his message to the Pirates before their first full-squad workout.
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MLB Team Report – Pittsburgh Pirates – ROSTER REPORT
PROJECTED ROTATION:
LHP Francisco Liriano
RHP Gerrit Cole
LHP Wandy Rodriguez
RHP Charlie Morton
RHP Edinson Volquez
Liriano is being counted on to replace RHP A.J. Burnett, who left as a free agent, as the ace of the staff after going 16-8 with a 3.02 ERA last season, but he has never put together good back-to-back seasons during his eight-year career. The hard-throwing Cole went 6-2 with a 2.28 ERA in his last 11 starts last season as a rookie and the sky appears to be the limit for the 23-year-old.
Rodriguez is being counted on to pitch in the middle of the rotation despite being limited to 12 starts last season and missing the final four months because of elbow stiffness. Morton fits in well with the Pirates’ philosophy of extensive defensive shifting with their infielders as he led the major leagues with a 62.9 percent ground-ball rate last season. Volquez was signed to a one-year, $5 million contract as a free agent more because of the 4.18 ERA he posted in his last six starts with the Los Angeles Dodgers last season than the 6.01 mark he had in 27 games with the San Diego Padres.
PROJECTED BULLPEN:
RHP Jason Grilli (closer)
RHP Mark Melancon
LHP Tony Watson
LHP Justin Wilson
RHP Vin Mazzaro
RHP Bryan Morris
RHP Stolmy Pimentel
Grilli had 37 saves last year in his first season as a closer, but there is at least some cause for concern as he is 37 and had late-season forearm problems. Melancon is the closer in waiting following a season in which he had 16 saves, 20 holds, a miniscule 1.39 ERA and a spectacular 70-8 strikeout/walk ratio.
Watson quietly was one of the best lefties in the major leagues last season with 22 holds, a 2.39 ERA and a 0.88 WHIP. Wilson’s fastball averaged 95.3 mph last season but he needs to cut down on the walks if he is to become a truly dominant reliever. Mazzaro was a very effective middle and long man last season, posting a 2.81 ERA in 72 2/3 innings.
Morris and Pimentel are both hard throwers who are out of minor league options, which greatly increases their chances of making the Opening Day roster.
PROJECTED LINEUP:
1. LF Starling Marte
2. SS Jordy Mercer
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3. CF Andrew McCutchen
4. 3B Pedro Alvarez
5. 2B Neil Walker
6. C Russell Martin
7. 1B Gaby Sanchez
8. RF Jose Tabata
Marte suffered a finger injury last Aug. 19 that limited him to just 27 at-bats for the remainder of his first full major league season but he still wound up hitting .280 with 12 home runs, 35 RBIs, 41 stolen bases, a .343 on-base percentage and a .441 slugging percentage. Mercer hit .285 in 333 at-bats last season and had a .410 batting average in 78 at-bats against left-handers but his defense is erratic and the Pirates re-signed veteran SS Clint Barmes as insurance.
McCutchen could well win the National League MVP for a second consecutive season as he is just 27 and coming off a year in which he hit 21 home runs, stole 27 bases, scored 97 runs and posted a .911 OPS. Alvarez led the NL with 36 homers last season and drove in 100 runs but his lack of consistent contact remains a concern after he had an NL-high 186 strikeouts. Walker has become a switch-hitter in name only as all 16 of his home runs last season came batting left-handed.
Martin hit just .138 in his last 109 at-bats last season as his batting average fell from .255 on Aug. 15 to .229 but the Pirates believe they will be able to keep him fresher with more days off this year after acquiring backup C Chris Stewart from the New York Yankees in the offseason. The right-handed hitting Sanchez raked left-handed pitchers to the tune of a .897 OPS in 102 at-bats last season but had a .619 OPS in 162 at-bats against right-handers. Tabata hasn’t turned into the player the Pirates have hoped and will need to hold off a challenge to his starting job from Travis Snider, but he did hit .300 in his last .263 at-bats in 2013.
TOP ROOKIES: Barring a trade or free-agent signing, left-handed hitting OF/1B Andrew Lambo will get a chance to earn a platoon at first base with right-handed hitting Gaby Sanchez after hitting .280 with 32 home runs and 99 RBIs in a combined 120 games with Triple-A Indianapolis and Double-A Altoona. Though he has been a starting pitcher throughout his career, RHP Stolmy Pimentel impressed with a fastball that averaged 94.7 mph during five September relief appearances last season and will likely make the team as the long reliever.
MEDICAL WATCH:
–LHP Wandy Rodriguez (arthritic left elbow) reported to spring training with no restrictions after making his last appearance of 2013 in early June. Rodriguez has been throwing off a mound without pain. Rodriguez did not pitch after June 5 last season because of a strained left forearm, finishing the year 6-4 with a 3.59 ERA in 12 starts.
–OF Travis Snider (left foot surgery in October 2013) had bone spurs and the sesamoid bone removed. He is fully recovered for the start of spring training. Snider had his activity limited Feb. 18 during the Pirates’ first full-squad workout because of a cut on his left hand. Snider suffered the injury Feb. 17 while chopping sweet potatoes.
–RHP Jason Grilli had fewer throwing sessions than the rest of the Pirates’ pitchers during the early days of spring training, but the closer says that is by design and not because of any lingering effects of the strained forearm that sidelined him for nearly six weeks during the second half of last season. “It’s a long spring and I’m just pacing myself, taking my time,” the 37-year-old Grilli said.
–RHP Kyle McPherson has progressed to throwing off flat ground from 120 feet as he continues his recovery from Tommy John reconstructive elbow surgery performed last July. He is expected to start throwing off a mound during the first week of March.