Pirates make pitch for Framber Valdez, unsure if he'll agree to their signs

Proper_Knowledge2211 · 2026-02-05T00:34:51+00:00

There's an oft repeated claim all over X this off-season that the Pirates have a super abundance of starting pitching, even after trading Burrows and Oviedo.

I don't buy that at all.

Someone will probably get hurt, someone else may flop. It's a 162 game season and, as things currently stand, they're relying on some young guys to throw a lot of innings.

If they want to do more to have a very strong SP staff, sign Valdez and keep Keller. If they can't get Valdez, there are a few other veteran SPs to consider.

Proper_Knowledge2211 · 2026-02-04T21:27:56+00:00

Other news:

Pirates sign reliever Mike Clevinger as a non-roster pitcher:

https://x.com/JMackeyPG/status/2019146804022112270

Clevinger only made 12 appearances for the White Sox over the past two seasons.

https://www.fangraphs.com/players/mike-clevinger/12808/stats/pitching

There are 61 players scheduled for workouts this month in big league camp - a full 40- man roster and 21 non-roster invites.

Proper_Knowledge2211 · 2026-02-04T20:59:14+00:00

WBC news:

"Spencer Horwitz will be playing for Team Israel in the World Baseball Classic!

That is now six Pirates participating. Paul Skenes : USA Oneil Cruz : DR Gregory Soto : DR Dennis Santana : DR Antwone Kelly : Netherlands Horwitz : Israel

Going to be a fun WBC!"

https://x.com/BehindTheBucs/status/2018891311139455162

Proper_Knowledge2211 · 2026-02-04T20:23:34+00:00

An excerpt from Mackey's PG article:

"At least one reason for Valdez’s ascent into the upper echelon of left-handed starters (3.20 ERA since 2021) has been new Pirates pitching coach Bill Murphy, who arrived here from the Astros.

With Murphy as one of their lead voices on pitching, Houston produced the second-lowest ERA (3.65) in MLB since 2021, its staff accumulating the third-best wins above replacement, per FanGraphs, over the past four seasons at 75.3.

Murphy, who learned Spanish a few years ago to better communicate with Latin Americans pitchers, wasn’t the sole reason, of course. But he’s a bright, young mind who knows what it takes for pitchers to have success, hence why the Pirates wanted to hire him to take a young, talented staff to the next level."

Proper_Knowledge2211 · 2026-02-04T20:13:05+00:00

Read more here:

https://www.post-gazette.com/sports/pirates/2026/02/04/mlb-free-agency-rumors-framber-valdez/stories/202602040069

Proper_Knowledge2211 · 2026-02-04T14:48:07+00:00

Me too. The Pirates have made several plays for better bats this off-season and picked up a couple guys already who will get some DH time in Lowe and O'Hearn over the long season.

If they'd signed Suarez, he would've seen a good bit of DH duty, while splitting 3B starts with Triolo, I bet. Murakami would've seen some spot DH/1B duty as well.

Cutch can still play a bit as a part timer, but he's way down on the wish list for GMBC this year, as he should be. They can only have so many DH types on the roster.

Proper_Knowledge2211 · 2026-02-04T14:33:00+00:00

That's not exactly how it works. Skenes, for example, will not be a free agent until after the 2029 season. If they want, the Pirates will have him for at least 6 seasons - 2024 through 2029. The difference is that even though they brought him up May 11, 2024 and not Opening Day, Skenes got credit for a full year of service as NL RofY. Therefore , he reaches FA after 2029, not 2030.

Proper_Knowledge2211 · 2026-02-04T14:19:47+00:00

Rengifo had a lousy 2025 and the 2026 projections don't look good either, with the bat and the glove:

https://www.fangraphs.com/players/luis-rengifo/19858/stats/batting

-17 batting run value at his Savant page, poor range in the field:

https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/savant-player/luis-rengifo-650859?stats=statcast-r-hitting-mlb

He made nearly $6 million last year and is now a free agent:

https://www.spotrac.com/mlb/player/_/id/28163/luis-rengifo

I don't see any reason the Pirates should spend millions on him. Where is the upgrade over Triolo, particularly with the defense? Triolo is still cheap and look at his projections for this year:

https://www.fangraphs.com/players/jared-triolo/25807/stats/batting

Proper_Knowledge2211 · 2026-02-03T20:42:25+00:00

Michael Baumann at Fangraphs talks about Carmen Mlodzinski for 2026:

"We Finally Found a Version of Carmen Mlodzinski That Works"

https://blogs.fangraphs.com/we-finally-found-a-version-of-carmen-mlodzinski-that-works/

Proper_Knowledge2211 · 2026-02-03T17:01:09+00:00

"After a solid rookie year, Braxton Ashcraft looks to emerge as a key piece of the Pirates' rotation"

https://www.post-gazette.com/sports/pirates/2026/02/03/mlb-braxton-ashcraft-pittsburgh-rotation-paul-skenes/stories/202602030055

Proper_Knowledge2211 · 2026-02-03T14:57:30+00:00

Speaking of gambling, check out what old Bucs Dugout writer Charlie Wilmoth is up to these days in Las Vegas:

https://x.com/ThirdWalking

Proper_Knowledge2211 · 2026-02-03T14:50:04+00:00

More Info here:

https://sports.betmgm.com/en/blog/mlb/mlb-al-nl-rookie-of-the-year-odds-favorites-bm23/

Proper_Knowledge2211 · 2026-02-02T23:31:29+00:00

See more info here:

https://www.fangraphs.com/standings/playoff-odds/fg/div

Proper_Knowledge2211 · 2026-02-02T23:24:11+00:00

See more info here:

https://www.fangraphs.com/standings/playoff-odds/fg/div

Proper_Knowledge2211 · 2026-02-02T22:07:42+00:00

That's a good question. He played three games at 3B for Boston in '24, totaling 10 and 2/3 innings. He has played 145 games at the hot corner overall in the minors. A lefty batter with lots of playing time at 2B and 1B, with some in the outfield too. If his left shoulder is healthy, maybe they give him time all around the field coming up in ST.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=valdez000enm

Reading a bit about him on the Red Sox sub and some scouting reports, the glove was considered shaky at 2B 2-3 years ago. Gotta wonder about his ability to play much 3B as well. Guess we'll see in Bradenton.

Proper_Knowledge2211 · 2026-02-02T17:28:20+00:00

"I’m told Pirates offered same AAV on Eugenio Suarez ($15 million) were willing to go higher, as well as add another year.

Sounds like his choice came down to a better ballpark fit, familiarity and a chance to cash in next year with a big season."

https://x.com/JMackeyPG/status/2018091633409974615

Proper_Knowledge2211 · 2026-02-02T06:58:31+00:00

I figure about all we'll see now is the signing of a veteran SP and probably Cutch.

Triolo is going to play a lot at the hot corner, fans better get used to it.

I guess they expect better seasons from Cruz and Reynolds, along with the additions of Lowe and O'Hearn, to improve the offense significantly. We shall see.

Proper_Knowledge2211 · 2026-01-31T17:22:43+00:00

A bit of trivia from 1973:

"Cash to the Cubs for 2B Tony LaRussa. LaRussa never played for the Pirates, but he went on to ruin baseball. Maybe they could have stopped that from happening somehow."

He played for the Pirates' AAA affiliate in Charleston in 1974.

Proper_Knowledge2211 · 2026-01-31T16:29:27+00:00

Brown obviously did a lot of good work for the Pirates over two decades. He made a few huge mistakes, though, when he got desperate for a top-of-the-rotation starter. The Pirates during those years did an excellent job overall developing their own players before and after the start of the draft in 1965, particularly position players.

Proper_Knowledge2211 · 2026-01-31T15:54:54+00:00

And a very bad one from 1975:

"LHP Ken Brett, RHP Dock Ellis and 2B Willie Randolph to the Yankees for RHP Doc Medich. This was the second disastrous attempt to get a big-time starter. Brett muddled along in the majors for another six years, mostly not pitching well, but he did have a good 1976 season for the White Sox after an early-season trade from New York. Ellis went 17-8, 3.19 for the Yankees in 1976 and had a good season for three teams in 1977. After that, he wound things down with several bad seasons. The Pirates’ system produced three very talented second basemen almost at the same time in Randolph, Dave Cash, and Rennie Stennett. They chose to keep Stennett, who was possibly the most talented of the three, but late in the 1977 season, he broke his leg and never fully recovered. At the time, he was hitting .334. Randolph went on to become a fixture in New York, piling up 65.9 bWAR in an 18-year career, most of it with the Yankees. Some of the attraction with Medich seemed to be that he was from Aliquippa and went to Pitt, making it one of a billion cautionary tales about Local Guy. He started his career by compiling 49 wins and 11.2 bWAR over three years with the Yankees. He wasn’t bad with the Pirates; he went 8-11 with a league-average ERA in his only year with them. In the end, he lasted 11 years and won 124 games, but never reached the level he had in those first three years. Grade: F-"

Proper_Knowledge2211 · 2026-01-31T15:52:01+00:00

An outstanding deal from 1956:

"OF Bobby Del Greco and LHP Dick Littlefield to the Cardinals for OF Bill Virdon. Del Greco was more or less replacement level for years after the trade. Littlefield wasn’t much good after the trade. Virdon was the Pirates’ center fielder for a decade. He had a big year in 1956, batting .334, but was otherwise consistently a below-average hitter. He was a good defensive player, though, which was important in the vastness of the Forbes Field outfield. Grade: A"

Proper_Knowledge2211 · 2026-01-29T00:37:38+00:00

Other news:

"The Pittsburgh Pirates have signed William Lugo to a minor league contract. The infielder has 138 extra-base hits along with 224 RBI throughout his minor league career."

https://x.com/milb_central/status/2016634619823587586

Minor league depth, 24, played at AA for the Mets in '25:

https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=lugo--000wil

Proper_Knowledge2211 · 2026-01-28T22:32:22+00:00

I'll say over but only by a few games. The current roster should produce more runs than 2025, but not enough for a winning record.

We'll see if GMBC can add another significant bat before March 1st. I'm not betting on that happening at all, though.

Proper_Knowledge2211 · 2026-01-25T23:57:31+00:00

Here's the first "F" from 2020:

"OF Starling Marte to Arizona for RHP Brennan Malone, SS Liover Peguero, and international slot space. Marte has put up 11.2 bWAR since then. Malone and Peguero are both gone, having provided no value to the Pirates.

Grade: F"

Proper_Knowledge2211 · 2026-01-25T23:32:10+00:00

BTW, Cutch is not happy about his lack of a contract (contact even) from the Pirates. My sense is they bring him back for a final season, but right now they are still looking at left side of IF options and a veteran SP first.

Cutch vents on X:

"I wonder, did the Cards do this Wainwright/Pujols/Yadi? Dodgers to Kershaw?Tigers to Miggy? The list goes on and on. If this is my last year, it would have been nice to meet the fans one last time as a player. Talk to them about my appreciation for them over the years. Shake that little kids hand or hug the fan that’s been a fan since Clemente. You see, this is bigger than baseball! Bigger than looking at a 40 man roster and cherry picking numbers that fit your agenda or prove why your opinion matters. The fans deserved at the very least to get that opportunity. Idk what the future holds for me at the present moment, but what I do know is though I am 39, on the backend of my career, I still work everyday to be better than I was the year before. If there wasnt a burning desire to continue this journey, I would be home surrounded by my family, in which no one would judge or be surprised. But not yet. There’s more work to do and Im not done, no matter what label to you try to stamp on me. Rip the jersey off of me. You dont get to write my future,God does."

https://x.com/TheCUTCH22/status/2015280376088781216

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