Bob Nutting was the first to proclaim the Pirates weren't rebuilding, then Travis Williams, then Ben Cherington, then Derek Shelton, then everybody in Bradenton, and now we're seeing it with our own eyes here at PNC Park.
Unless, of course, anyone can explain why soon-to-be-36-year-old Jarrod Dyson will start in center, why a static commodity like Colin Moran will "be at third most of the time" per Shelton, why Jose Osuna still isn't assured of steady work even with a DH rule and, above all, why kids like Cole Tucker and Ke'Bryan Hayes might not make it onto the field at all.
That's not for show, my friends. That's real.
A lower payroll doesn't signify a rebuild. A younger, more future-focused lineup does. And all of the above points powerfully in the opposite direction.
What's the exact direction?
I'm not sure. Infinitely more important, I'm not sure if the front office and coaching staff knows yet, either.
The impression I've gotten for months, particularly from Cherington, is that he'd prefer patience. He wants to see what he's got in Pittsburgh, what he's got in the system -- as much as that's even possible when it's just a couple dozen prospects camping in Altoona, but I digress -- and then choose the course he feels is best to get the organization closer to real contention as opposed to occasionally bobbing above water. That's why he took two 19-year-olds in the Starling Marte trade. That's why he drafted riskier, high-ceiling types last month.
But then ... there's this.
And being blunt, I don't like it.
Yes, I think more of this team's chances in 2020 than most do. And I very much grasp that when your cleanup guy's capable of putting on this extraordinary exhibition in batting practice, as Josh Bell did yesterday ...
... it's fair to think at least a little about the now. There are only 60 games ahead. To repeat from yesterday, it's hardly inconceivable that they'll contend.
As the same time, it's easy to envision not one but two potential benefits from Shelton being open-minded about players he might not currently perceive as immediate contributors:
1. The Pirates need upside. Now.
Surprises like the Pirates contending need to be built on individual surprises. Just as there were Bryan Reynolds and Kevin Newman in 2019, there needs to one or two in 2020. As Tucker put it here a couple days ago, “We all want to be a guy like a Reynolds or a Newman who can come in and make a difference.”
Maybe he can. Maybe he can't. But no one will know if he doesn't get some kind of chance.
Remember, Reynolds needed to hit like Tony Gwynn to keep the Pirates' management from sending him back to the minors to preserve service time. He got his chance because of injury, but he blew through the door, then ripped out the hinges to ensure he'd stay.
Being kind here, the current Pirates can't afford that approach. Not for later, but also not for now. To be the best they can be, they've got to get better.
2. Why waste the year?
If there's ever been a year to not fret over lost service time, this is the one.
I don't care if Tucker earns a year of service time and moves closer to free agency in half a decade. I do care that Tucker just turned 24 last week, and he's got only 147 big-league at-bats. Watching and waiting won't help, and neither will farming him out to the satellite camp in Altoona.
Same goes for Hayes. He's the organization's top prospect, but he's also 23 and still hasn't made his debut. He's won the minor-league Gold Glove at third base three years in a row, he's smoked liners everywhere he's been, and he's worked in the past year on his launch angle in hopes of converting all that hard contact into production. Watching and waiting won't help him, either.
Look, players at all levels of baseball will be damaged by losing a year of development. These stories won't be original. But that doesn't mean the Pirates have to partake by shelving two of their top younger guys.
They need to play.
And to play, they need a chance. Which is where the figurative baton gets passed from Cherington to Shelton, because it'll be the manager making the moves on the field. And, while being careful here not to criticize Shelton for something he hasn't yet done, it'll be fascinating to see how this unfolds.
If anyone would ask me -- and they won't and shouldn't -- here's the three-point checklist I'd submit:
✓ Try Tucker in center
Not necessarily in games. But maybe now, in these scrimmages and exhibitions that'll begin soon, Shelton and his staff will see something they'd like.
Shelton balked a bit when this was brought up here, but he also acknowledged Tucker has 'the pure athleticism' to play anywhere on the diamond. Tucker, predictably, offered, "I'll play anywhere they ask. I want to help this team win games," and he didn't bristle at all at leaving his lifelong position.
To me, this isn't all that complex: No one cares to see Dyson in center and, candidly, I don't think Dyson cares to be here beyond collecting a final few paychecks on his career. Newman needs to play every day at short. Adam Frazier needs to play every day at second. Tucker only gets on the field if one of those two gets hurt, which, being that both are also young, isn't likely. So try Tucker in a spot where he can make a meaningful difference, for now and for the future.
Again, I'll emphasize: Try. At least try.
Not trying makes no sense.
✓ Platoon Hayes/Moran
One hits right-handed, the other left-handed. One catches everything, the other ... doesn't. One has a bright future, the other is who he is.
Shelton's statement of support for Moran, made a week ago, gave off the impression his mind's set on the matter, especially when he also noted that Hayes still has to overcome some obstacles. The latter might've sounded like a developmental reference to Hayes' continuing work on lifting his liners over infielders' heads, but I'm betting it was something else.
See, the Pirates need to demote Hayes for a grand total of six days to preserve his full six years of service time. That's it. And you can bet those six days will come right at the season's outset. Which is fine. No problem there.
But beyond that?
For Shelton to say of third base, "I don't think it's an open competition," as he did?
It isn't now. It can't be now. But it sure should be soon.
✓ Play Jose ... anywhere!
The bat will play, as those in the game are wont to say.
So let Jose Osuna play.
If that's DH, so be it, even though he's a superior defender at both infield corners where he can spell a starter. In 2019, mostly coming off the bench, he slashed .264/.310/.456 with 10 home runs in just 261 at-bats. Half of those home runs came as a pinch-hitter, most of anyone in Major League Baseball.
He can hit ice-cold. He can hit rolling out of bed.
Here's a ball he blasted off the facade beyond the first tier of bleachers yesterday:
And here's what he had to say afterward about being as productive as he was in 2019: “I think the hardest job in baseball for a hitter is coming from the bench. That’s one reason I have to say, ‘Thanks to God,’ because last year I had a really good year coming from the bench. You have to prepare yourself for when you’re able to play a couple positions. You have to make a routine. You’re like, ‘OK, today I have to work at first and right field. Tomorrow, I have to practice at just third.’ I try to bring my routine every day.”
And the bat. Osuna actually hit righties far better than lefties, even though he's a right-handed batter, with an .849 OPS vs. righties compared to .612 vs. lefties. Which makes Shelton's recent mentions of Osuna being part of some DH "mix," along with someone named JT Riddle -- who batted .189 for the Marlins last season! -- seem silly, almost surreal.
Shelton basically repeated it after this session, saying of Osuna, "He did a nice job last year off the bench, so there's definitely an opportunity. I think he's a guy that we've talked about how we rotate through that DH spot."
Rotate? With the .189 banjo bat?
Whatever stigma anyone once attached to Osuna, one would hope it's gone by July 24. He absolutely should be the DH against the Cardinals' righty, Jack Flaherty, or even starting at third ahead of Moran.
It feels nuts to even have to express this one out loud.
Anyway, I didn't mention the pitching at all, you might've noticed, if only because there's no need. The only youngsters needing a chance -- Mitch Keller in the rotation, Nick Burdi in the pen -- are guaranteed to get one. And if Keone Kela doesn't climb a mound soon, given his unexplained lack of participation to date, the closer slot might open, and the way Burdi was firing bullets in Bradenton ... we'll see.
For these others, keep it simple: Eyes open. Eyes forward.
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