BRADENTON, Fla. -- While it’s probably too much to hope for a playoff berth or a winning record out of the Pirates this year, one thing fans can realistically hope for is for Ke’Bryan Hayes to produce more on offense.
Hampered by a left wrist injury he suffered during the second game of the season, sapping him most of his power and having him finish with a .689 OPS. He showed much more promise at the plate the year prior and could be a cornerstone of that next competitive team, so improvement is necessary.
About a month and a half into the offseason, he started swinging again, adopting a couple mechanical changes. Some are in the lower half, ditching his leg kick and focusing on getting his timing during a straight step forward. The other is with his follow-through, holding onto the bat with two hands all the way through to try to protect that wrist.
“When I first started hitting back in the offseason, I went with a two-hand finish to see if I could relieve some of that stress,” Hayes said, referring to the wrist. “I don’t do it every swing because I’m still getting used to it. In all my cage work, I’m really trying to make sure I’m two-hand finishing."
MORE PIRATES
2. Management hasn't approached Hayes about an extension all offseason, Hayes told me. -- Dejan Kovacevic in Bradenton, Fla.
3. One reason management's waiting, I'm told by one source, is that all concerned want to see Hayes demonstrate the drive to be an everyday player -- through pain and discomfort, too -- that's vital toward earning an extension of the magnitude he might command. Don't misunderstand: All acknowledge that the wrist issue was very real, but there are tests he'll still need to pass. -- Kovacevic
4. I reported earlier in the week that Bryan Reynolds won't be traded, and I'll add here that management's very open to an extension his way. The lockout, obviously, prevented any approach. Let's see what the next few weeks bring. -- Kovacevic
5. Reynolds told me Jack Suwinski, a 23-year-old prospect likely to open this season with Class AAA Indianapolis, reminds him of Josh Hamilton. He marveled at Suwinski's swing, stance, everything. Just sharing. That's not a name that'd been on my radar, but it sure is now. -- Kovacevic
6. After catching Mitch Keller's live BP Tuesday, Roberto Pérez understands why everyone is excited about his spike in velocity this offseason. In Pérez's opinion, Keller could emerge as one of the game's "elites," which means something coming from someone who caught multiple Cy Young winners, or future winners, in Cleveland.
“He reminds me of Trevor Bauer," Pérez told me. "Stuff wise, he’s there. It’s a matter of being consistent. Mitch has that. He’s going to be pretty good." -- Stumpf
7. I had a couple players point out that Wilmer Difo will be missed this year. He was a high-energy clubhouse guy, even when things got tough last year. He had a decent year performance wise too in 2021, but given this past winter's roster crunch, the Pirates couldn't really keep a roster spot just for a good clubhouse guy and utility backup. -- Stumpf
8. On Thursday afternoon, Pirates' player rep Chris Stratton had a meeting with Bob Nutting, team president Travis Williams and Ben Cherington. I don't have specific details on what was said, but the general gist I have gathered was Stratton laid out some player concerns and the trio was receptive. -- Stumpf
9. Both the Pirates' radio and TV team are down in Bradenton for spring training, and while not official yet, the TV crew will almost certainly be traveling with the team this year. Travel restrictions were lifted last year, but many stations did not send television broadcasters and crew on the road as a cost-cutting measure. Those days are most likely over. -- Stumpf
STEELERS
10. Kevin Colbert has been a busy guy this week, signing free agents and then hitting pro days. He and Mike Tomlin were both at Georgia's pro day Wednesday and Clemson Thursday.
Thursday, they were at Clemson and Friday Michigan. Colbert is staying busy. -- Dale Lolley on the South Side
11. Where the Steelers remain a little thin is at offensive tackle after Zach Banner's release earlier this week. Obviously Dan Moore and Chuks Okorafor are back, as is swing tackle Joe Haeg.
It wouldn't surprise me if Banner isn't brought back at some point. He won't command much on the open market, not having played much the past two seasons. If the Steelers don't get an offensive tackle at some point in the draft, Banner would be a nice, cheap option, if he can keep his weight in check.
The Steelers just couldn't afford to keep him at his $6.625 cap hit. Certainly now when they could use the $5 million in cap space they gained by releasing him. -- Lolley
12. Before Okorafor signed his three-year, $29.5 million contract to stay with the Steelers, I'm told he was at least weighing an offer from the Steelers for the same term but $24 million. It was that same day, though, that two other teams stepped up their offers and that the Steelers, in turn, felt compelled to match. It'd been Okorafor's wish all along to stay, but that was twinned with a goal of a $10 million salary ... to which he came oh-so-close. -- Kovacevic
13. Now that the Steelers have re-signed Ahkello Witherspoon and brought in Levi Wallace at cornerback, it would appear the potential for Joe Haden to return is gone.
They had the same offer on the table to both. Wallace took it first, then Witherspoon.
It also appears the team could use both Witherspoon and Wallace on the outside in their nickel and dime packages and slide Cam Sutton into the slot again this season.
That said, if Haden is still available after the draft, the Steelers might give him a call. You can never have enough cornerbacks -- or leaders. -- Lolley
14. Tomlin and Colbert took defensive tackle Jordan Davis and linebacker Nakobe Dean to dinner Tuesday night before Georgia's pro day on Wednesday.
That kind of treatment is typically reserved for players the Steelers are seriously interested in selecting in the first round of the draft.
The signing of Myles Jack makes the selection of Dean at 20 a little less likely. But Davis? The massive nose tackle is clearly on the Steelers' radar. And despite what everyone keeps saying, there aren't necessarily a lot of landing spots for Davis in the picks ahead of the Steelers.
He's not likely to go in the top-10. And the only teams that at high risk to take him in the teens are the Ravens and Chargers. The Chargers, however, have signed three defensive tackles in free agency. They're more likely to take an offensive tackle. -- Lolley
15. A lot of fans were concerned about the Steelers waiting until after the draft to replace Colbert, following his retirement from the GM position.
The argument was why would the Steelers stick the new GM with what Colbert does in the draft or in free agency?
Of the free agent deals given out in the past week, only the ones handed out to Daniels and Okorafor were for more than two years. And Daniels and Okorafor only received three-year deals.
The new GM, whoever that will be, can easily get out of any of these deals after the 2022 season. But if they work out, he also can easily extend the deals. -- Lolley
16. The Browns have backed themselves into a corner with their failed pursuit of Deshaun Watson. Now, Baker Mayfield wants to be traded and that will mean Cleveland will have to trade for a veteran quarterback, draft one and start him or sign one of the remaining free agents and also draft one -- unless they're ready to punt on this season.
The Watson chase was always that -- a chase. And it was going to be a costly one for a player who expected to be suspended for some period of time in 2022 once all this is over. And he costs $35 million and a bunch of draft picks and players.
All those reasons are why the Steelers weren't interested -- in addition to not wanting to bring in a player with 22 accusations of sexual assault of varying degrees. But boy did the Browns blow that situation. -- Lolley
PENGUINS
17. The Penguins reeled in one prominent college free agent a week ago, when Princeton forward Corey Andonovski agreed to contract, and they're still trying to sign others. Director of player personnel Chris Pryor leads what president of hockey operations Brian Burke describes as a "group effort" to attract college free agents.
He added that it's not tough to make a compelling case for those players to join the Penguins: "Fifteen straight years in the playoffs, for one thing, and three Cups," Burke said. "World-class sports town. World-class facilities. Great travel. One of the best coaches in the league. It's not a hard sell." -- Dave Molinari in St. Louis
18. It's no surprise that the Penguins' Big Three unrestricted-free-agents-to-be -- Evgeni Malkin, Bryan Rust and Kris Letang -- have gotten most of the attention so far this season, and that isn't likely to change anytime soon, but trying to re-sign them won't be Ron Hextall's only big challenge in coming months. One that has gone largely unnoticed is the three potential restricted free agents -- Danton Heinen, Kasperi Kapanen and Kasper Bjorkqvist -- who have arbitration rights. One seriously unfavorable ruling there could wreck their entire salary structure.
"That's another level we have to worry about," one team executive said. "But not today." By the way, Mark Friedman and Anthony Angello would have been part of that group, but will be a Group 6 unrestricted free agents instead because neither appeared in 80 NHL games by age 25. -- Molinari
19. Any move the Penguins pull off before the trade deadline Monday at 3 p.m. presumably will be made to fortify their major-league roster for the stretch drive and playoffs, but it seems conceivable that some trading partner might try to expand a deal by by offering Hextall a draft choice or two in exchange for a larger return from the Penguins.
Given that the Penguins have made it clear that they're intent on expanding their prospects pool, it might be prudent for a GM who's willing to part with some picks to dangle them in front of Hextall as a possible sweetener. -- Molinari
20. The Penguins' first two stops on their current road trip, which ends Saturday in Arizona, have been in Nashville and St. Louis, cities where the only people who consistently wear masks are goaltenders and bank robbers. Oh, and people who might interact, even from a distance, with players or coaches.
Per NHL regulations, that includes media members, some of whom end up in the same room as team personnel during group interviews after practices or games. -- Molinari
21. Goalies who catch with their right hand are a real rarity. Of the 111 goaltenders to play at least one game in the NHL this season, only seven catch right-handed, including Louis Domingue. Domingue is actually one of three goaltenders who catch right in the Penguins' system, with the others being Alex D'Orio and Taylor Gauthier.
Do goaltenders who catch right have any advantages? Andy Moog, who won three Stanley Cups as a (left-catching) goaltender with the Oilers and now serves as the Portland Winterhawks' goaltending coach, told me he doesn't think so.
"I don't think there's enough shooters in the game that pick their heads up and realize that at release," Moog said. "The thing with right-handed catchers is that typically the right wing players on the team get more of his rims and his pucks coming up the ice. So the right side guys get a little bit more action than the left side guys on a typical left-catching goalie." -- Taylor Haase at PPG Paints Arena
