STATE OF THE PIRATES

Click here for the Pittsburgh Pirates 2010 team page

UPDATE 1/13/10 - 12:19 PM PST
The Bucs have signed outfielder Ryan Church to a one-year, $1.5M deal, giving the team another option for the starting job in right field. The 31 year-old played in only 111 games last season between the Braves and Mets because of various injuries, finishing with a .273 BA and 4 HR's. Church had his most productive season with the Nationals back in 2007 when he hit .270 with 15 HR's, 43 2B's, and 70 RBI's in 144 games.

If Jeff Clement wins the first base job in spring training, Garrett Jones will play right field and Church will be the fourth outfielder. Under this scenario, Rule V pick John Raynor, Steve Pearce, and Delwyn Young will likely battle it out for the final roster spot.

UPDATE 12/14/09 - 8:57 AM PST
The team created an opening for a closer when they decided to non-tender Matt Capps, a move that was not unexpected after he posted a 5.80 ERA in '09. Now the question is, who takes his spot? Joel Hanrahan is the only player on the roster with experience closing out games and while he pitched well after being acquired in late June (1.72 ERA, 7 holds in 33 relief appearances), he blew 5 out of 10 save chances with the Nationals before losing his job. Jesse Chavez might've gotten a look but he was traded to Tampa Bay in the Akinori Iwamura deal. So who's it going to be? I'd have to guess that they're already shopping for their 2010 closer.

UPDATE 11/18/09 - 9:45 PM PST
LINEUP - Center fielder Andrew McCutchen arrived in Pittsburgh in 2009 and quickly established himself as the face of the franchise, posting an .836 OPS with 22 SB's in 108 games. Outfielder Jose Tabata and 1B/3B Pedro Alvarez aren’t far behind, although they could probably use at least another half-season in the minors. 3B Andy Laroche (.731 OPS) and LF Lastings Milledge (.728 OPS in 58 games w/PIT) are both former top prospects who were acquired by the Pirates after their stock had dropped some. Both players still have much to prove and will be under pressure with Alvarez and Tabata on the fast track. Ronny Cedeno, acquired from Seattle in the Jack Wilson deal, will enter the season as the starting shortstop and Jeff Clement, acquired in the same deal, will be in the mix for the 1B job. The biggest surprise of the ’09 season was 28 year-old journeyman Garrett Jones, who hit .293 with 21 HR and 10 SB’s in 82 games after being recalled from the minors. He’ll play either RF or 1B and will hit behind McCutchen and newly-acquired second baseman Akinori Iwamura, who was acquired from Tampa Bay. Catcher Ryan Doumit could be on the trade block this winter but the combination of Jason Jaramillo (.673 OPS) and Robinzon Diaz (.664 OPS) is a huge drop off in offensive production.

ROTATION - The projected rotation will all be 26 or 27 years old at the start of next season although lefties Zach Duke and Paul Maholm have been fixtures in the rotation since 2005. With their paychecks getting bigger and closing in on free agency, look for both pitchers to be popular names on the Hot Stove this winter. Duke, who will be entering his 6th big league season, made his first All-Star team in '09 after going 8-8 with a 3.29 ERA but he finised with just 11 wins and his second half ERA was well over 5.00. Maholm had a breakout season in 2008 (9-9, 3.71 ERA in 206.1 IP) but regressed slightly in '09 (8-9, 4.44 ERA in 31 starts). Ross Ohlendorf's first season as a starter was a success (11-10, 3.92 ERA in 29 starts) as he solidified his spot in the Pirates rotation for 2010 and Charlie Morton, acquired in the Nate McLouth deal, should be the #4 starter despite an up and down debut season with the Pirates. Kevin Hart struggled as a starter (1-8, 6.92 ERA in 10 starts) after being acquired from the Cubs and will have to hold off Daniel McCutchen (4.21 ERA in 6 starts in '09) and Donald Veal, who has impressed as a starter in the Arizona Fall League (1.89 ERA in 6 starts).

BULLPEN - Closer Matt Capps is likely to be shopped this offseason, although his trade value is not high coming off of season in which he went 4-8 with a 5.80 ERA. Joel Hanrahan pitched his way out of Washington but turned it around after being acquired by the Bucs (1.72 ERA in 33 relief appearances). This performance gives him the edge for the 8th inning setup role although Evan Meek (3.45 ERA in 41 relief appearances) and Steven Jackson (3.14 ERA in 40 relief appearances) are also coming off of strong seasons.