Notes from Pirates general manager Ben Cherington on his radio show prior to Sunday's first pitch ...
• Cherington said seeing the positive turnaround for Rowdy Tellez Saturday was "something else." He said Tellez has been working really hard to getting back on track so he could contribute and he has continued to put the team first, even through his slump.
• "There's no perfect science to this stuff," Cherington would say. He added that there's a fine balance between having patience and deciding to move forward on something.
• Cherington said they saw better at-bats for Tellez in Detroit and Toronto.
• On his comments from Saturday about the Pirates being challenged at first base, he stressed every team has "some spot" on the roster that the have trouble filling. Cherington said Carlos Santana gave them good stuff last year and Connor Joe has done so this year, which has allowed him to earn more playing time.
• Is first base one of the more difficult positions to draft and develop? Cherington doesn't think so, but he says that is the position the Pirates will "keep figuring out."
• "It seems like more the norm than not these days" that it takes more of a transition from hitters adjusting from Class AAA to the majors, which Cherington claims Jack Suwinski and Henry Davis went through. He added that offense is down across the league, and players could be doing the exact same things but the league is evolving.
• Regarding the July 30 trade deadline, it's typical that teams pick up the phone more to share information about who might be willing to buy or sell. Right now, the Pirates are in the stages of making preliminary calls and see who could and would be available or unavailable. He said the Pirates are also focused on seeing what could be solved internally.
• Things build further once July begins, Cherington added. Overall he says when the Pirates struggled it was "sometimes" about inconsistent bullpen performances. He maintains he believes the bullpen can compete with any team out there.
• Cherington said team defense has been about "moments of brilliance" but recognized the defense wasn't great in the first 10 to 15 games.
• The direction of the offense is "positive" and Cherington thinks that can continue. He stressed some players are not "at their norms" right now. They're open to adding offense at the trade deadline, if the opportunity presents. He said he would look to add for 2024 and beyond.
• "A run scored is a run prevented," Cherington said about the offense.
• "We're certainly able to, we're certainly willing to" add to the offense at the trade deadline. He said it would have to make sense "from a cost perspective."
• Justin Bruihl's acquisition was brought about from the time Ryan Borucki went on the injured list. The Pirates were looking for another left-handed specialist that could pitch before Aroldis Chapman would have to. They're still optimistic on Borucki coming back this season.
• The Pirates tried to sign Bruihl to a minor-league deal this past offseason, Cherington said.
• Ben Heller was in an inverse situation to Bruihl in that it became "very clear" that another major-league team was going to try to come poach him with the run he went on in Class AAA Indianapolis. Cherington said the Pirates wanted to ensure they selected him before that happened.
• Quinn Priester (lat muscle) is going through the injury on a smaller scale. Cherington said it didn't make sense to push this kind of thing in early June, which is what landed him on the IL. Cherington said this kind of injury is something a veteran would have pitched through if this injury occurred in the thick of a postseason chase in September or October.
• Martin Perez (left groin) is expected to throw a full bullpen soon. If he gets through that clean then they'll map out progression from there.
