When the Pirates traded Chris Stratton to the Cardinals this week, they didn't only trade their longest-tenured pitcher and a clubhouse leader. They also traded the team's union representative.
Again.
Since January 2021, the Pirates have traded their Major League Baseball Players Association player rep four times. First it was Jameson Taillon last January, then Adam Frazier last trade deadline, Jacob Stallings right before the lockout and now Stratton. As a result, the Pirates will once again need to go through the process of hiring a new representative.
Wil Crowe is going to throw his name in the ring to be that guy, telling me point blank, "I want the job." And it sounds like he has a really good shot at getting said job. The official vote will be in spring training, but an interim will be voted on among the players in the near future.
Ideally, the representative is someone who cares about union matters and is well-respected among teammates. Crowe checks both boxes. He spent most of the lockout learning more about the business side and behind the scenes workings from Stratton, and he thinks he could pick the brains of Gerrit Cole and Max Scherzer on how to do the job since they are all clients of the Boras Corporation.
There's no official timetable for a vote, but it should happen soon. If the clubhouse chooses another player, Crowe says he would take the secondary position, like what Stallings had last year.
MORE PIRATES
2. I heard that the Pirates had inquiries about JT Brubaker and Mitch Keller this week and they were brought up in trade talks before the deadline. Don't know what the Pirates' asking price was and it doesn't sound like they progressed particularly far, but it's still noteworthy. Every team wants controllable pitching, and both Brubaker and Keller have three years of arbitration control remaining. Brubaker's ERA is inflated due to a couple outlier starts and Keller has been solid over his last 11 outings since adding his sinker. Both look to be on the upswing, so it's not surprising the Pirates didn't seem particularly interested in trading either. -- Stumpf
3. One of the prime lockers in the Pirates' clubhouse is right in the center of the room, by a support pillar. That's because there is still a locker behind that pillar that you can't reasonably set someone up there, so the person next to the pillar essentially gets twice the space. That spot is reserved for closers or the team's most distinguished reliever. Felipe Vazquez was there in 2019. Chris Stratton had it to start the year. It's David Bednar's locker now. -- Stumpf
4. While we're on the subject of what's going on in the clubhouse, it's been fun to watch Oneil Cruz come out of his shell more, joking with his teammates and reporters more frequently. He looks more comfortable now than he did a month or so ago. Funny what a couple home runs can do. And to repeat what I wrote in Chicago last week: He's consistently been getting extra one-on-one infield practice. He's motivated to stay a shortstop. -- Stumpf
5. Yoshi Tsutsugo had a bad season. He isn't a bad person. Back in spring training, he gave a lot of his slightly used equipment to Pirates minor-leaguers and told Tsung-Che Cheng, a Pirate A-baller from Taiwan, to reach out to him if he could ever help because he knows what it's like to play minor-league ball in a different country. The word "professional" came up multiple times after his dismissal this week. It was a worthwhile gamble by both parties to bring him back. It just didn't work out. -- Stumpf
STEELERS
6. Pull into the Steelers' parking lot and you'll see a blue, 1993 Geo Tracker that has a tail pipe like a smoke stack sticking up from the back, where the back seat should be. It looks odd parked in a lot with dozens of other high-end cars driven by players. It took me a while during the pandemic to figure out who it belonged to, but I eventually did. Linebacker Derrek Tuszka. Then it all made sense. "I got here to Pittsburgh and I needed a ride," Tuszka told me. "I didn’t want to spend the prices on a used car because they were absolutely ridiculous. So I found that on Facebook Market. I’ve had it for a year-and-a-half now. It’s been great for me." Tuszka, a seventh-round draft pick of the Broncos in 2020, had been released by Denver at the end of camp in 2021 and then signed with the Steelers. Now, the Geo -- a now-defunct auto maker -- is a talking point among his teammates. "Everybody gives me crap about it," Tuszka said of the Tracker, which is three years older than him. "It’s reliable. It was cheaper than a regular used car. It’s probably not as safe. I think I get more attention pulling into the parking lot in that than some of the guys with what they drive." That part is certainly true. "Oh, it’s sweet. I like it. I saw him pulling in in that the other day and I was like, ‘There’s Derrek.’ When he pulls in with it, you know it’s him," Alex Highsmith told me. "I know him every time he pulls it. It definitely fits Derrek’s personality." -- Dale Lolley in Latrobe, Pa.
7. Tuszka was bumped up to take first-team snaps at outside linebacker opposite Highsmith here at Saint Vincent College on Wednesday when T.J. Watt was given a day off. He's battling veteran pickup Genard Avery and first-year player Delontae Scott for the No. 3 and 4 outside linebacker spots. Tuszka held that down last season, picking up a pair of sacks in 247 defensive snaps. Watching Watt work helps. "You never know if he’s going to need a breather in the middle of a series," Tuszka said of Watt. "I’m just always watching for him to give me a signal if he needs a quick breather. I’m always staying locked in on the sideline, watching the tackle he’s going up against, seeing what they’re doing. Even if I’m not going in to give him a breather, when he comes off, I’m able to see something that you’re not able to see on the pictures. We’re able to talk to each other and he’s telling me what he’s seeing. I’m giving him my input on what I’m seeing. It’s good." Talking with Watt, the reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year after every series, is enlightening. He sees the game differently. "His eyes, the progression of his eyes are what separates him from other people," Tuszka told me. "He knows where to look, what to look for. He doesn’t let a lot of the stuff affect his play. When he gets his read, he goes. You can see the success he has doing that." -- Lolley
8. Anthony Miller is a former second-round pick of the Bears who is now with the Steelers. And with Diontae Johnson doing his hold-in while trying to get a contract extension and Chase Claypool out the past week with a shoulder injury, he's gotten a lot of work with the first-team offense. Miller was initially signed by the Steelers at midseason last year after being released by the Texans. He has been one of the stars of this camp, looking explosive, which pairs well with his ability to stop and start on a dime. "I would say I’ve gotten faster over the offseason," he told me. "But definitely my change of direction. I feel like that’s an important part of the game, not just as a receiver, but any position. I feel like I am really good at that." How do you get faster at age 27? "A lot of single-leg squats and explosive workouts," Miller said. "I feel like that’s a part of the game I could improve and I feel like I accomplished that this offseason." That's showed up here. Miller has caught some deep passes out of the slot in this camp, showing good burst and separation. -- Lolley
9. Inside linebacker Ulysees Gilbert missed most of his first two seasons with a back injury, appearing in 11 games over those two years. But he was healthy for all 17 games in 2021 and made an impact, finishing with 13 special teams tackles, a figure that tied him for fifth-most in the NFL. "Missing two seasons pretty much for a back injury for a guy who went all through college and never got injured after coming to the biggest stage and dealing with injuries, it was a bummer," the former sixth-round pick out of Akron told me. "It hurt. To come back last year and have a full season under my belt, playing every game, it’s surreal. Hopefully, I can continue to stack on top of that and get some good games in." It's a crowded inside linebacker room this year, with rookie seventh-round pick Mark Robinson added to a backup group that includes Gilbert, Robert Spillane, 2021 fourth-round pick Buddy Johnson and veteran Marcus Allen. But Allen has missed the past week of training camp with a knee injury. That's big for Gilbert, who is entering the final season of his rookie contract. "I’m approaching it like every other year," he told me. "If I approach it like it’s a bigger year than last year, I’ll get over my head. It’s the game of football, what I’ve been playing my whole life. I know the guy I am. I know I’m going to give 100 percent." -- Lolley
10. Placekicker Chris Boswell got a new four-year, $20-million contract extension earlier this week. By the time he plays that out, the 31-year-old will be the longest-tenured Steelers player. Right now, the only guys on the roster older than him are Tyson Alualu, 35, and Cam Heyward, 33. They figure to both be retired when Boswell's deal runs out. And only Heyward, a first-round pick of the Steelers in 2011, has been with the Steelers longer than Boswell, who joined them in 2015. "It’s weird to say that," Boswell told me. "I came in here 8 years ago and I was the newbie. Eight years later, me, Cam and Tyson are at the top. It’s definitely weird." -- Lolley
11. I'm told Anthony McFarland offers little as a special teams player, something that is kind of a big deal if you're a non-starting player trying to earn a roster spot. That does not bode well for McFarland at all. He has to show he can contribute in some form or fashion on special teams, or he doesn't have a roster spot. -- Lolley
12. One thing that backs on backers also can show, speaking of special teams play, is if a running back is capable of being the personal protector on punts. Rookie Jaylen Warren has passed that test with the Steelers. Marcus Allen had that job in 2021, but is dealing with a knee injury right now. -- Lolley
13. There's been a good amount of talk regarding Claypool's potential impact in the slot. His size and athleticism could really make him an elite threat in the middle of the field. Receivers coach Frisman Jackson is really challenging Claypool to sharpen his route-running and how to better read coverages to maximize his size. Pass catching is obviously a key component here as well, as Claypool is very focused on improving that part of his game. He stayed late after walkthrough Thursday morning and has stayed on the field after practice multiple times doing various drills, even while nursing his minor shoulder injury. His talk of wanting to become a more mature player has been backed up by his actions in camp thus far. -- Chris Halicke in Latrobe, Pa.
14. Calvin Austin III took exception to a hard tackle-and-straddle from Watt earlier this week, and Austin responded in a physical way that could jeopardize his team with a penalty or possible ejection. While Jackson wants to see toughness out of his receivers, that's not the brand he's looking for. "I don't really say a person is being tough because he punched a guy in the face," Jackson told me. "I see the toughness when he's going in there to block. I see the toughness when he has the ball in his hands. To me, that's when you show your toughness, not when you punching the guy in the face or doing some extracurricular stuff that can cost the team, and quite honestly, cost you a ballgame." -- Halicke
PENGUINS
15. After taking some time off to travel across Europe with his family, Jason Zucker is back on the ice and skating with other NHL players in Minnesota. That's a good sign, given his various ailments over the course of last season. Zucker wasn't sure on locker room cleanout day if he'd require offseason surgery, and Ron Hextall told me at the draft that Zucker was making progress on his own and wouldn't need surgery. Being back on the ice again seems to support that. -- Taylor Haase at PPG Paints Arena
16. Things were a little rough for Rickard Rakell and his family after the trade last season. With his wife pregnant and due in June and the couple also having two dogs, it just wasn't feasible for them to follow him to Pittsburgh for the rest of the season. With Rakell signing a six-year extension to stay with the Penguins, he and his wife have already purchased a house in Pittsburgh this summer. The house won't be ready for them to move into until December, but Rakell's wife, newborn daughter Daisy, and two dogs will be living with him in an apartment in Pittsburgh to start the season. -- Haase
17. David Morehouse began taking a step back in his role with the Penguins early last season -- well before Fenway Sports Group was in the picture -- and transferring the duties to his eventual successor in Kevin Acklin. Fenway Sports Group didn't push Morehouse out, or pressure him to leave in any way. Moving from president and CEO of the Penguins to an advisor to the Steelers' Art Rooney II is hardly a lateral move, it's still a step into a role that allows him to spend more time with his family. -- Haase
18. I spent some time with Morehouse on the sideline of the Steelers' practice a couple days ago in Latrobe, and he was in excellent health and spirits, clearly comfortable in every way with his move. He's forever been a football fan, and his relationship with Rooney cemented it. He didn't delve into specifics of the new role, but one of Morehouse's many specialties with the Penguins was building the team's brand within the community, and I'd be big-time surprised if that won't be part of it. -- Dejan Kovacevic in Latrobe, Pa.
PITT
19. Konata Mumpfield has a legitimate shot at becoming Pitt’s No. 2 wide receiver out of camp after transferring over from Akron. The sophomore has always had talent, and he broke free in the Mid-American Conference as a postseason second-team selection last season. He was one of two players to post a 100-yard game against Bowling Green, which had a top-10 pass defense across all of Football Bowl Subdivision. He played in the Panthers’ spring game and had a game-high 59 receiving yards on a pair of catches. One of those went for 55 yards on the first play.
“I felt like I was definitely prepared for this level in high school,” Mumpfield said. “I was definitely overlooked. Being in Gwinnett County (Ga.) it’s a lot of talent down there. I played 7-on-7 with a premier 7-on-7 team, so I played with (North Carolina receiver) Josh Downs, (Georgia tight end) Arik Gilbert, (wide receiver) Porter Rooks at NC State. I always felt like I was ready for that level because I was competing then. And then in my first game of college football against Auburn I felt like the game was slower than I thought it was going to be, and I felt that I could really do this.” -- Corey Crisan on the South Side
20. Four new head coaches are taking over programs within the ACC Coastal Division this year: Miami’s Mario Cristobal, Virginia’s Tony Elliott, Duke’s Mike Elko, and Virginia Tech’s Brent Pry Panthers linebackers coach Ryan Manalac offered insight into his preparation tactics for coaches he hasn’t worked against before:
“After spring ball, every summer, we look at all of our opponents and do a summer scout,” Manalac said. “We look at the stacks and where they come from, what scheme are they bringing to the table, who might be other influences, is the head coach taking a bigger role, or is the coordinator bringing his current scheme or something different, and try to do as much research as we can. Watch old film, project what they’ve done versus our schemes in the past. We’ve done that research, and as we go through the season, we may adjust those initial thoughts, and we’ll keep an eye on it.” -- Crisan
21. Nick Patti is a Jersey kid, through and through. The Panthers quarterback said he spent parts of his offseason vacationing at his girlfriend’s house North of Atlantic City. Patti is from Hillsdale, N.J., which is West of the Hudson River on the opposite side from Yonkers, N.Y., North of New York City.
“I used to go down to Seaside Heights, because it was the easiest -- 17-year-old, high school kid, ‘Let’s go down and crash the (Jersey Shore) boardwalk,’” Patti said. “My girlfriend has a house on LBI (Long Beach Island) in Beach Haven, so we go there. It’s a nice little area over there. It’s a lot of fun.”
Patti even quipped about offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti Jr., a Pittsburgh native, and his affinity for the Jersey Shore.
“Ask coach Cig about the Jersey Shore,” Patti said. “He’s the one guy that I’ve met that loves Jersey more than I do. He’s not even from there.” -- Crisan