Hello, Pirates fans. Welcome to my weekly mailbag. With Opening Day around the corner, no surprise we had a bunch of great questions. If you want to get involved next week, email me at Jason.Mackey@pirates.com.
PB (@mrpbody9): There have been a lot of rumors on Konnor Griffin extension talks. Some say the two sides have talked. Some say no talks have happened. What have you heard, and what are the chances of it actually happening?
Mackey: Might as well start big, right? Let’s break down where we’re at with Griffin. And if you’ve read my chats, I hate addressing unnamed online rumors. But the topic here is obviously important and much-discussed.
We know three things about this situation: Spring Training is generally when these conversations happen, there was reported interest in those talks happening with Griffin, and it’s pretty much impossible to not like the kid — either based on ability or his personalty.
In other words, it makes a bunch of sense to at least have the discussion.
Does something get done? I don’t know. I’m not in the room. Anyone speculating on it isn’t in the room.
But Griffin remains in big league camp, he could sign an eight-year extension and still be a free agent in his late-20s, and the Pirates have incentive; committing to Griffin now could mean smart business compared to what he’d make in arbitration. It would also send an important message to fans.
My opinion, if it was off the table, we would’ve heard something indicating as much. But the fact that there’s been so much silence and he’s still here, makes me think there’s at least a chance.
Sko (@sko0024): Has Henry Davis made any adjustments to his swing this year? Is he trying to work on taking the ball the other way? It just seems like he tries pulling everything.
Mackey: Yes, Davis has changed his swing. He has his hands away from his body, he’s more upright and has tweaked his load. It’s been a process and one that has probably affected Grapefruit League results. Davis is hitting just .120 in 11 games.
The pulling everything dynamic is interesting. No, he’s not trying to do that. Actually talked about that with him at Pirate City. But it does look that way, and that’s why he made the changes he did. Davis felt he was too lower-half dominant and needed to better control his center of mass.
I’m also not willing to formulate any hard-and-fast opinions here based on spring results.
Clint Jones (@ClintLJones): Who from the Minor Leagues could we see help the pitching staff?
Mackey: There are a few, Clint. The Pirates have done a nice job with building pitching depth, as evidenced by some of their 40-man roster adds this offseason, guys who likely would’ve been lost in the Rule 5 draft. The top names I’d put in that category: Antwone Kelly, Evan Sisk and Brandan Bidois.
You could put Thomas Harrington in there. Ryan Harbin is hurt. Mason Montgomery would be on my Opening Day roster. Cam Sanders had a 2.12 ERA at two Minor League stops in 2025 and made his MLB debut.
The pitcher in that conversation with the most upside might be Kelly, who pitched for Team Netherlands at the World Baseball Classic. Kelly logged just 48 innings at Double-A last season, so he’s a little further out than Bidois or others. But he has 100-mph velocity with a very good slider and changeup.
David Katz (@WestKatz): When is Edward Florentino’s ETA?
Jason Mackey: We learned Thursday that Florentino injured his left ankle in mid-February, but he’s back to full baseball activities. The Pirates expect him to return to games in late March or early April.
Exciting prospect, too. Big year ahead for Florentino.
J P (@JoeyPicksIt): Don’t you think there are too many unknowns in this rotation? Behind Paul Skenes and Mitch Keller they’ve got two unproven young arms in Braxton Ashcraft and Bubba Chandler and a TBD fifth starter.
Mackey: I don’t, Joey. I like their rotation. A lot.
To explain my point, I’ll cite some of the questions — which are fair. I just think this group is very much equipped to answer them.
Mitch Keller hasn’t had a second-half ERA lower than 5.59 the last three seasons. Ashcraft and Chandler will face innings limits. Carmen Mlodzinski struggled as a starter last year. Mike Clevinger and Jose Urquidy have been hurt a lot. Hunter Barco has thrown three MLB innings.
At the same time, the talent meter is very high, including the best pitcher in the sport.
When Chandler has been on, he’s been flat-out dominant. Ashcraft’s concerns have nothing to do with ability; they involve volume. He’s healthy and has remained that way. Puts a tremendous amount of thought and care into his preparation.
I’m pretty sure Keller doesn’t acquire pitching amnesia after the All-Star break. It’s likely a physical adjustment. Mlodzinski didn’t have the curveball or splitter when he encountered difficulties as a starter.
Anyway, I get the questions. I just think there’s more than enough ability to answer them because I get to see it every day.
Aside from physical stuff, there’s a really good process with this group. Leadership on the player and coach side. Talented players who take this seriously and want to be challenged. It could not be a healthier environment in that regard.
Connor Williams (@Wins_Williams): The best stretch of Yohan Ramirez’s career came with Pittsburgh in 2022-23. He’s since changed his arm angle and pitch mix and struggled. What went into re-signing him to an MLB deal, is he more than just depth, and has there been specific work done to help him be consistent enough to stick?
Mackey: Couple parts to this. And great question.
Not sure anyone who has watched Ramirez would question the quality of the stuff. I do think you’ll see more sinkers out of him this season. It’s odd how that percentage dropped to a career-low 6.6% in 2025.
When Ramirez has been at his best, that was a regular part of his arsenal. He threw it 55.8% in 2022 and 70.4% in 2023. Pitching coach Bill Murphy seems to be a proponent of sinkers if guys can actually throw them, and Ramirez fits that bill.
Ramirez struck out 45 in 33 1/3 innings last season and for his career has averaged more than a strikeout per inning (218 in 202 1/3 innings). The issues have been homers (1.1 per nine innings) and walks (4.5 per nine).
If the Pirates can get Ramirez consistently in the zone, he’ll have success. This is probably obvious, but I believe he’ll be on the Opening Day roster. I think he deserves it, too. Great teammate. High-energy guy. And could wind up occupying a fireman role.
Just comes down to throwing more strikes.
Aaron “D man” Donald (@aaronDmanDonald): Does this seem like a valid Opening Day lineup? Cruz, Reynolds, Lowe, O’Hearn, Ozuna, Horwitz, Triolo, Davis, Griffin.
Mackey: Couple thoughts, Aaron. And thank you for your many football contributions to our city.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Reynolds hits third. He’s done it a bunch this spring. We’ve also seen a lot of O’Hearn hitting second. I think Ozuna will ultimately hit cleanup.
Lowe and Horwitz would extend the lineup nicely by hitting fifth and sixth — that’s the way I’d go — and there’s obviously the looming Griffin question, which was addressed above.
One element we could see change, though, is something that has bothered Pirates fans for years. Given the type of players they have — both in terms of Major League tenure and ability — I expect less shuffling and more consistency than we’ve seen in the past few seasons.
That would certainly be a sign of the offseason additions working.