Pirates need to reassess who deserves playing, big-league opportunity

Since coming over to the Pirates last month, Manny Bañuelos has been a pretty solid option out of the bullpen. For someone who was picked up for cash considerations after being dumped by the Yankees, he has been a contributor.

That's what makes the sixth inning of Sunday's game at PNC Park tougher, as his out of character four-run outing was the difference in a 9-5 loss to the Reds.

"Just lack of command," Derek Shelton said. "Kind of an outlier."

Bañuelos had a bad game. He could be a good pitcher moving forward, a plus for someone acquired at such a low cost to the team.

But looking at the Pirates' roster, Bañuelos is one of nine players who were acquired via waivers or via trade for either cash considerations or a very low-level prospect after they had been designated for assignment. They are: Bañuelos, Ben Gamel, Greg Allen, Kevin Padlo, Josh VanMeter, Tyler Heineman, Eric Stout, Duane Underwood Jr. and Tyler Beede. Gamel, Allen and Padlo were all part of Sunday's starting lineup.

That doesn't mean all the players were brought in for the same reasons or are being given the same opportunity. Padlo, for example, is with the major-league team because Ke'Bryan Hayes was placed on the injured list earlier this week. All signs point to Hayes being activated Tuesday, which will require a corresponding move, likely to an infielder like Padlo or VanMeter. 

But for a team that is now three years into a rebuild and not all that much better in terms of winning percentage than they were in year one, it raises the question of why the roster is constructed this way this deep into the season.

Padlo was a pivotal player in Sunday's game, not because of what he did, but what he didn't do. Three times he came up with men on base and less than two outs, including two times with a runner in scoring position. Not only did he go 0-for-4 on the day, he failed to even advance a runner up a base in those three trips. The 26-year-old journeyman is now 0-for-11 with the Pirates.

It looks worse when compared to someone like Rodolfo Castro. The rookie has been outstanding at the plate since his promotion back to the majors during the west coast road trip, raising his average to .326 this month after a 2-for-4 performance Sunday, which included a double when he was presented an opportunity with a runner in scoring position. In his 46 trips to the plate, he's homered and tripled twice as well, giving him his most consistent stretch in the majors of showing he can get on base with some pop.

Even if his fortune wasn't kind and he was posting Padlo-like results, there's an unspoken understanding of allowing a rookie to try to figure things out in the majors and see if they have what it's like to be in the Show. If they don't, well, you move onto the next man. You can't make those determinations on small sample sizes.

"I would say you get a way better indication – and there’s no perfect science to this – but a guy’s got to get 1,000 at-bats to where they’re at, to be able to gauge where they’re going to consistently stay, because you’re going to see so many ups and downs throughout it that it’s not fair to really judge in small sample sizes, good or bad,” Shelton said Saturday.

It applies to other positions as well. Gamel is a well-respected player in the clubhouse and has played well since coming to the team. He's also set to hit free agency for the first time this offseason, and while he has expressed that he enjoys being part of this team, another team could potentially offer him more stable playing time, money or a chance to compete. There's a good chance he's in another uniform. Allen's waiver claim made sense this offseason when there was a batch of outfield prospects who didn't look quite ready for the majors opening day, giving him at least some opportunity going forward.

Now? His .187/.291/.267 slash line aside, those outfielders are no longer young. They've been in the majors. They could be here now. Is there any long-term upside in playing Gamel or Allen everyday now?

Could you imagine if Travis Swaggerty pulled off this play where he scored from second on a wild pitch in Pittsburgh?

Or if Johan Oviedo -- one of two young players they picked up in their big trade deadline move from the Cardinals -- was tossing BBs in the majors instead of the minors. He's stretching out to start, and in 2 2/3 innings, he allowed one hit, no walks and struck out five:

Oviedo is stretching out as a starter, but the innings he can give are not much different than Tyler Beede, who himself is converting from a reliever to a starter midseason. Or if they want to continue with Beede, they could piggyback with one in the hybrid, or there could be a six-man rotation. Like we just saw with Roansy Contreras, Oviedo could grow and develop in the minors while building up innings, but for someone who has shown he can get major-league hitters out, shouldn't that be where he is challenged?

As frustrating as a 47-74 season is, it becomes exponentially more frustrating when Twitter is filled with highlights from players who could make an impact on the major-league team right now. 

We could, if not should, see Oviedo in the majors in 2022. The same goes Jack Suwinski, Diego Castillo, Swaggerty, Cal Mitchell and Miguel Yajure, all of whom have received varying levels of major-league reps this year. Other players like Ji-hwan Bae, Cody Bolton and Mike Burrows could also make cameos in September since they need to be added to the roster this winter or be exposed to the Rule 5 draft. It could make for one of the most interesting final months of a season the Pirates have had in some time.

But it doesn't have to wait until September, even if the roster slightly expanding from 26 to 28 players makes those promotions easier to manage. Players and coaches can be upset about Dennis Eckersley's curt "hodgepodge of nothingness" comment this week, but part of the background was the Red Sox had recently played the Royals. That team is struggling, but playing its prospects. There's a clear direction with that organization.

The Pirates see progress, and we saw reasons for optimism and pessimism for that belief this series alone. But if Eckersley is the casual outside observer, one can see why he would think that way.

Individual players' development will, and needs to, play a role in this equation. Suwinski may be one of the Pirates' best major-league hitters this year, but he was demoted amid a nasty slump and has been inconsistent while working on timing up fastballs. Contreras did some mechanical work, making sure he was better directionally in his delivery. 

A roster overhaul was expected this month, but not much has been done outside of cutting ties with Yoshi Tsutsugo. The moves were going to be partially dependent on a player in Indianapolis was doing

"We think about it as we've got 26 players here, we've got another 26-plus at Indy, and part of our job is making sure that we're distributing playing time between those two teams in the most optimal way that we can with an eye on winning, giving ourselves the best possible chance to win here, but also with an eye on how can players get better at the fastest rate," Ben Cherington said on his 93.7 The Fan radio show Sunday afternoon. "So there might be cases where we decide that right now there's a better opportunity for this player to play at Indy, better opportunity to develop there. It might mean that somebody else gets an opportunity here, and sometimes that might switch. So it just depends."

And that's not to discredit any players who are acquired through waivers, minor-league free agency, minor trades or any way. Gamel has been a fine player. Bañuelos can be. Just about everyone in that group of waiver wire claims has had several moments in the sun this year, and some could be a part of this team going forward. 

But Cherington has used the word "urgency" of late describing the mindset of the organization. There is an urgency to win at the major-league level. As the franchise draws nearer to its worst three-year stretch since 1952-54, that urgency is very justified. The hope is that some difficult major-league trades and results in the majors paved the way to acquiring many good, young players that they are able to properly develop.

Play them.

MORE FROM THE GAME

• Jake Fraley had himself a ball game for the Reds. He set the pace with a leadoff homer in the first, walked a couple times and drove in a two more in a four-run game.

This is one day after Fraley put a ball in the Allegheny River.

"It’s incredible what he’s been able to do," Reds first baseman Mike Moustakas said to reporters about Fraley. "He’s on fire. I haven’t seen anything like that in a while, so hopefully, he keeps it going. It’s fun to watch when a guy gets that hot and anything that gets thrown, he’s smoking."

• Walks told the story Sunday. It certainly hurt Bañuelos, who walked the first two of the sixth and never found his footing. Fraley drove in two, Jonathan India tripled after Gamel whiffed on his dive at a sinking liner, setting the stage for a Donovan Solano base hit through a drawn-in infield.

The Pirates would walk six in the game and hit another. Six of those runners would come in to score.

• As for Sunday's starter, Zach Thompson, his future role with the Pirates is still yet to be determined. Shelton has discussed the possibility of him moving to a hybrid role down the stretch, and his five innings of three-run ball didn't move the needle one way or the other on changing that.

"We'll continue to talk through that," Shelton said. "We have a rotation set for the Atlanta series and then we can work off that."

"I said this in spring, whatever they want me to do, I’m here for it," Thompson said. "If that's bullpen, starting, whatever they want, I'm here for it.  I think I have to get back into the groove of it. But really no big deal to me."

Thompson allowed plenty of traffic on the basepaths, walking three and allowing eight hits, but he minimized the hard contact. The problem was the hard contact was in the air, like Moustakas'

• The Pirates' historic struggles with runners in scoring position has been documented this season. So credit where credit is due, a 4-for-10 day in those situation is a good team showing, even if they were contained to just a couple crooked numbers against Mike Minor in the first and sixth innings.

"It's something that we're continuing to work on and we're kind of seeing the benefits of that," Shelton said. "I think it's really important and our guys need to keep going."

They did miss out on building a big first inning lead when Allen lined a ball to the drawn-in shortstop Matt Reynolds. Gamel made a break towards home on the batted ball, and was easily doubled off at third to end the rally prematurely. 

• As stated before, Vieaux had his contract selected Sunday. Yohan Ramirez was optioned to Class AAA Indianapolis, and José Godoy, who was with Indianapolis, was designated for assignment.

Vieaux pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings Sunday. He allowed one hit and struck out a pair.

• With the loss, the Pirates fall to 47-74. Their .388 winning percentage puts them on pace for a 63-99 record. They need to go 16-25 down the stretch to avoid their second straight 100-loss season.

THE ESSENTIALS

• Boxscore
• Live file
• Standings
• Statistics
• Schedule
• Scoreboard

THE HIGHLIGHTS

THE INJURIES

• 10-day injured list: 3B Ke'Bryan Hayes (strained mid-back muscle)

• 15-day injured list: RHP David Bednar (low back), LHP Dillon Peters (left elbow inflammation)

• 60-day injured list: RHP Yerry De Los Santos (lat), OF Canaan Njigba-Smith (wrist), RHP Blake Cederlind (elbow), RHP Max Kranick (elbow), C Roberto Pérez (hamstring)

THE LINEUPS

Shelton's card:

1. Kevin Newman, SS
2. Bryan Reynolds, DH
3. Michael Chavis, 1B
4. Ben Gamel, RF
5. Rodolfo Castro, 2B
6. Greg Allen, CF
7. Kevin Padlo, 3B
8. Tucupita Marcano, LF
9. Jason Delay, C

And for David Bell's Reds:

1. Jake Fraley, DH
2. Jonathan India, 2B
3. Donovan Solano, 3B
4. Mike Moustakas, 1B
5. Nick Senzel, CF
6. Matt Reynolds, SS
7. TJ Friedl, LF
8. Arisiteds Aquino, RF
9. Michael Papierski, C

THE SCHEDULE

The Pirates will play host to the defending World Series champs starting Monday. Roansy Contreras (3-3, 4.02) will take on Jake Odorizzi (4-5, 4.15) with first pitch coming at 7:05 p.m. I'll have you covered.

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