Hello, Pirates fans. Welcome to my first mailbag in this role. It’s something I plan to do regularly, as I love the connection it forms with readers. Plenty of excellent submissions this week. If you have a question for a future mailbag, I’m at Jason.Mackey@pirates.com.
Burt Macklin (@Pirates_Insight): Which non-roster invitee has the best chance to make the 26-man roster?
Jason Mackey: There are two sides to this question, Burt. Konnor Griffin and everyone else.
If we’re looking specifically at Griffin — there’s obviously a ton of discussion surrounding him at the moment — then it goes something like this: Has he forced his way onto the roster?
He’s shown incredible talent. Sure looks like he’s going to be a star. I have zero questions about his ability, off-field makeup or whether he’ll contribute a lot to the Pirates in the very near future.
Where I have pause with him making the Opening Day roster is the organization wanting to do right by Griffin and being realistic about his 98 plate appearances at Double-A, none at Triple-A.
If there’s a sliver of doubt that he could need more time, I think they’re going to exercise caution, even if it means getting criticized in the short term.
To move it along here, that’s why I’m not projecting him — at least as of this writing — to make the Opening Day roster. Maybe an extension or a strong pushback to recent trends changes the calculus. That would be great.
To the second part …
I’d probably go with Mike Clevinger or Alika Williams. Clevinger would increase that mid-range pitching depth — longer relievers or secondary starters to facilitate non-traditional pitching usage. I’ve been impressed with Clevinger at various times this spring.
Williams is a longer shot, but he’s had a solid spring. He’s hit more. There’s zero question about the defense. He’s played multiple spots. If they want Nick Yorke to get regular at-bats, this could be a route they go.
Phil G (@pjgiannaris): Why do you think the Pirates have not added another arm to help cover innings? Understand they still could, but the arm would most likely not be ready by Opening Day.
Jason Mackey: You’re likely right on the second part, Phil. Even for someone who’s been throwing regularly, that’s a big ask. But I do still think it could happen. There’s also nothing prohibiting them from making a trade.
As for why they haven’t, it could be fit: opportunity, cost versus projected results, the usual stuff. There’s also an argument — not saying this is why they’ve avoided the move — for taking the arms they have and deploying them differently.
Meaning, have Carmen Mlodzinski, Hunter Barco, José Urquidy or Clevinger available to go multiple innings. You could think of pitching construction more like this: four starters, four middle men and five true relievers.
That strategy would help manage innings for Bubba Chandler and Braxton Ashcraft while not putting the team in a tough spot. I also think they can scheme ways with Mlodzinski, Urquidy, Barco and Clevinger to go through the lineup once and have success.
Richard Fellinger (@rfellinger): Should we be overly concerned about the catcher position?
Jason Mackey: Couple of questions about catching, and I certainly get it. Those guys haven’t hit this spring. That said, experience has taught me that we’re wasting our time overreacting to Grapefruit League results.
In recent years, if I type Kevin Newman, Diego Castillo or Canaan Smith-Njigba, you know what I mean. It’s an absurdly small sample size.
Now, obviously they need more offense from that position. Pirates catchers hit .210 with a .606 OPS last season. Both ranked among the bottom 20% in MLB. Neither Henry Davis nor Joey Bart was happy with their offensive output, nor should they have been.
Davis has become a top-tier defensive catcher. Bart’s year was strange. His on-base percentage went up, but his power numbers dropped. Under the hood, looked more to me like an aberration than some sort of trend.
So, again, is it an area worth watching? Absolutely. But I’m not reaching conclusions after two-thirds of a Grapefruit League schedule.
sctom (@Tom_72454): What’s the probability Alika Williams stays on the roster as the 26th man?
Jason Mackey: I’ll go with non-zero. How about that?
As mentioned before, he could be a defense-first, utility backup. If you start Griffin in Triple-A and Nick Gonzales at shortstop, I would also like Williams as a late-inning defensive replacement.
The issue just becomes Williams not being on the 40-man roster and requiring the Pirates to open a spot. I could see them using the next 7-10 days to gather more intel.
Largie Condios (@waywaylarge): Three-pack. Does Triolo end the year as the starting third baseman? Does Cruz go 30-30? Over-under for Griffin’s MLB plate appearances this year.
Jason Mackey: Will do my best here. Would think yes on Triolo. Only change I could see is maybe if Tyler Callihan winds up hitting and enabling Triolo to be a bounce-around type.
I’m definitely buying stock in Cruz. None of us have seen him look like this — mature, focused, etc. He’s got a great personality, so this is not a knock. But in the past there’s been a lot of smiling, goofing around, etc. Again, zero wrong with it. It’s a long season. Not criticizing.
It’s just not how Cruz was acting before he left for the World Baseball Classic. He was super focused. There was a lot of work done this offseason, and I’ve heard about him being extremely proud of that. There’s been a nice edge developing where he knows he has something to prove. Certainly has the tools to do it.
As for Griffin, I’m not going to throw out some arbitrary number. But I do know this: He’s close enough that I certainly think he’ll get enough plate appearances to be in the National League Rookie of the Year conversation.
Anthony Scherer (@anthony_scherer): Who do you think is the next Pirates player to get an extension? I know the thinking is Griffin, but curious if there is someone else we aren’t thinking of.
Jason Mackey: I appreciate the question, Anthony. None that I can foresee right now. But I am curious about someone like Brandon Lowe, who’s in a contract year. If he produces, do the Pirates approach him about adding a couple years?
Need to see more play out. But he’s been a solid fit in the clubhouse, and it’s left-handed power at PNC Park. In other words, definitely not the worst thing to have on the roster.
Randy Gearhart (@RandyGearhart): Why is Nick Gonzales getting the negative treatment? He was the Pirates’ top hitter for much of the season before a slump and was hurt/recovering.
Jason Mackey: Hard to speak for how you’re reading something, Randy. May just be the result of wanting to see Griffin, which I get. But I’d urge people to not look past Gonzales, if that is indeed what is happening.
There’s an important role to be filled here. And it starts with hitting.
Gonzales had a .661 OPS last year, down from his career mark of .675. He was a first-round pick who’ll turn 27 in May. Gonzales isn’t a dummy. He knows he needs to hit.
If Griffin starts with the big club, it changes things. Maybe Gonzales becomes a backup, occasionally spelling Triolo at third and Lowe at second. Or maybe the Pirates make Triolo more of a super utility type and start Gonzales at third.
Lot of ways this can go. But it starts with hitting. If Gonzales hits, the Pirates will find a way for him to play.
There’s also nothing wrong with having depth and providing an opportunity when someone gets hurt rather than scrambling to cobble together a solution. I think that could be one noticeable difference with this year’s roster.
GMBC Superfan (@GMBCSuperfan): What is the biggest difference you’ve found since joining the Pirates in this role? What is the formal and informal model of influence the team exerts over your journalistic process? Can you walk through that transparently?
Jason Mackey: The team largely leaves me alone, trusting me to conduct myself appropriately. I’m also aware of my situation and what it entails — no, I’m no longer external media.
Some people might dislike that, and that’s fine. Same as the Post-Gazette, you’ll never please everyone. But media is rapidly changing, as evidenced by my previous employer’s announced closure May 3.
While no, I won’t be hammering them like an external columnist, there are sizable advantages to storytelling in this role — deeper access, a different level of cooperation, the heft of an MLB organization amplifying content, etc.
I don’t know if this directly answers your question, but I’ve been covering pro sports for going on a dozen years. I have yet to encounter a professional coach or player who gets upset when you stick with facts. That’s what I plan to do here.