Manager: John Russell
Arrivals: RP Elmer Dessens, RP Casey Fossum, SS Chris Gomez, P Byung-Hyun Kim, 1B Doug Mientkiewicz, SP Jaret Wright
Departures: 3B Jose Castillo, RP Shawn Chacon*, RP Saloman Torres
Offseason grade: F
Starting rotation
The Pirates actually have a pretty solid 1-2 combo at the top of their rotation in Tom Gorzelanny and Ian Snell, who both threw over 200 innings and posted ERAs of 3.88 and 3.76, respectively, in 2007.
Pittsburgh needs to get both these pitchers signed long-term if they ever hope to compete in the division. There were rumors flying around in the offseason, however, that the Pirates were considering trading Snell instead of giving him a well-deserved long-term deal.
If you don't think the Pirates have the worst front office in baseball, you're mistaken.
Want more proof?
Last year, at the trade deadline, the Pirates did the Giants a huge favor by trading for Matt Morris and his bloated contract. So now, instead of paying $9 million towards a new contract for Snell or Gorzelanny, the Pirates are paying that $9 million to an aging starter who will struggle to keep his ERA below 5.
Brilliant.
The Bucs' rotation is rounded out by two lefties who appeared to have pretty good potential but have fizzled out, big time.
Zach Duke went 8-1 with a miracle 1.81 ERA over 14 starts in 2005, leading some Pirates fans to think he was going to be the savior of their rotation.
Oh, how wrong they were.
Duke has struggled mightily since 2005, going 10-15 with a 4.47 ERA in 2006 and 3-8 with a 5.53 ERA in just 19 starts last year. It'll be interesting to see if he can ever regain that mojo he had in 2005, but at this point, that seems pretty unlikely.
Paul Maholm put up decent stats for a pitcher in his first full year in the majors in 2006, going 8-10 with a 4.76 ERA. Those seem to be pretty good numbers to build on.
Maholm, however, went 10-15 and saw his ERA rise to 5.02 last year, indicating that he may not be as good of a pitcher as he was billed.
If Duke and Maholm can get their acts together and post good ERAs, the Pirates may have a respectable pitching staff. That's pretty unlikely, though. John Russell will have to heavily rely on Gorzelanny and Snell in 2008.
Starting rotation grade: C
Bullpen
A lack of depth really is going to tax the Pirates' bullpen this year. Matt Capps is an excellent closer with pinpoint control, only walking 16 batters over 79 innings last year.
The often erratic Damaso Marte had a surprisingly good 2007, posting a 2.38 ERA out of Pittsburgh's bullpen.
However, Russell should be wary of relying solely on Marte in the 8th inning to set up Capps. Marte pitched in 65 games, but only threw 45 innings: typical LOOGY stats. He held lefties to a .091 batting average, but righties hit .271 against him. If Marte is relied upon as the 8th-inning setup man, he could run into some problems.
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