Pirates/MLB category, Page 195

One of the primary reasons Ben Cherington was hired as general manager by the Pittsburgh Pirates in November was because ownership believes he can build a strong player development system. The Pirates certainly can use help in that department. They generally are considered to have one of the weaker farm...

The Pittsburgh Pirates announced the schedule for the Pirates CARE-a-van, which will have stops at 35 public and private community events in 18 cities from Jan. 22-24 leading up to PiratesFest on Jan. 25 at PNC Park. The CARE-a-van features four busloads of Pirates players, including All-Star first baseman Josh...

In a three-day span at the MLB winter meetings last month, teams spent a combined $814 million on three free agents: Gerrit Cole, Anthony Rendon and Stephen Strasburg. The Pittsburgh Pirates’ largest expenditure on the free-agent market so far this offseason is the $1 million, one-year they gave outfielder Guillermo...

Many career paths in professional baseball eventually intertwine, especially for veterans of the game like Derek Shelton and Glenn Sherlock. Sherlock was working as a catching instructor in the New York Yankees farm system in 1992. That same year, Shelton was beginning his brief professional playing career as a catcher...

The Houston Astros were heavily punished for using technology to steal signs during their march to a World Series win in 2017. Their GM and manager were suspended for a year, then fired. They lost first- and second-round draft picks this year and in 2021. The club was fined $5...

West Allegheny baseball star Austin Hendrick, ranked as the top high school bat in the country, is expected to hear his name called early in this summer’s MLB Draft. How early? Well, Baseball America released a mock draft on Monday that predicted the left-handed hitting outfielder going seventh overall to...

On the same day the Houston Astros were penalized heavily by Major League Baseball for stealing signs electronically, Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Trevor Williams had a funny story about MLB’s video monitoring system. MLB assigns someone to each clubhouse during games to monitor the type of video players and coaches are...

The Pittsburgh Pirates have 22 pitchers on their 40-man roster. By the time they complete the list of nonroster players who will be invited to spring training, that number almost certainly will exceed 30. So Luke Maile has plenty of work in front of him when he arrives in Bradenton...

Bad baserunning seemingly has become an epidemic around the major leagues. Rarely does a game go by without an egregious baserunning error. The lack of acumen players sometimes show can be galling, especially to traditionalists. However, Tarrik Brock isn’t ready to say baserunning is a lost art. In fact, it...

Former Pirates catcher Hal Smith, whose eighth-inning home run in Game 7 of the 1960 World Series made Bill Mazeroski’s heroics possible an inning later, died at the age of 89 Thursday in Columbus, Texas. With the Pirates trailing 7-6 with two outs in the eighth, Smith hit a three-run...

Josh Bell followed an All-Star season with a big bump in pay. The Pittsburgh Pirates first baseman agreed to a $4.8-million contract Friday for the upcoming season. That represents an 817% increase over his $587,000 salary of last year. Spurring Bell’s salary growth is the fact he had the necessary...

The catcher’s position was an offseason concern for the Pittsburgh Pirates, especially after they decided not to bring back Elias Diaz. The new management team addressed that personnel shortage by signing two free-agent catchers, including the most recent addition, John Ryan Murphy, 28. He signed a minor-league contract and will...

The Pittsburgh Pirates started shoring up their outfield depth Thursday — and perhaps preparing for a trade of center fielder Starling Marte — when they signed light-hitting Guillermo Heredia to a one-year contract. General manager Ben Cherington announced the signing Thursday evening. Heredia, a four-year veteran who will turn 29...

Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Trevor Williams and his wife, Jackie, welcomed a new addition to their family Tuesday, baby boy Jude Michael. He will be the brother to Isaac and JoJo. The family will have two toddlers in the house as JoJo was born and adopted by the family last year....

The Pittsburgh Pirates made the final appointment to their coaching staff Tuesday when general manager Ben Cherington named Mike Rabelo assistant hitting coach. Rabelo, 39, was a manager in the Detroit Tigers’ farm system for six seasons, most recently with the Double-A Erie SeaWolves in 2019. He led the SeaWolves...

Spring training is five weeks away. Pittsburgh Pirates pitchers and catchers will begin undergoing physical examinations Feb. 10 at Pirate City. Baseball front offices come back from their de facto holiday break Monday, and things should heat back up on the transaction front. Of course, there hasn’t been much warmth...

Much like a year ago, the 2019 Steelers season ended in disappointment when the team fell short of reaching the playoffs. Also like 2018, the past year was filled with captivating storylines in Pittsburgh sports. Here’s a few of the most memorable: 1. Quarterback carousel Life without Ben Roethlisberger was...

Andrew McCutchen and his wife, Maria, welcomed their second child, Armani X McCutchen, on Christmas Eve. The former Pittsburgh Pirates All-Star shared a link to Maria’s Instagram page which announced the baby’s birth. “Armani X McCutchen Born on Christmas Eve.” she shared on the post. “The X signifies 10 years...

The 2010s were filled with ups and down for the Pittsburgh Pirates. They bookended the decade with last-place finishes, going 57-105 in 2010 and 69-93 in ‘19. Those awful seasons brought the end of the managerial tenures of John Russell and Clint Hurdle. General manager Neal Huntington was also axed...

Ben Cherington has the reputation of being deliberate with his decisions. He has lived up to that during his first six weeks as the Pittsburgh Pirates’ general manager. Cherington has made just two player moves of note. Catcher Elias Diaz was for designated for assignment, and catcher Luke Maile was...

Glenn Sherlock, a 35-year veteran in professional baseball, will join the Pittsburgh Pirates coaching staff, the organization announced Monday. Sherlock’s primary focus will be run prevention and coaching the team’s catchers. He also will assist manager Derek Shelton and bench coach Don Kelly with game preparation and management. Sherlock, 59,...

The 2019 Pittsburgh Pirates provided a fine example of new-age baseball thinking that batting average is an overrated statistic. The Pirates hit .265, which was sixth in the major leagues. Yet they had a 69-93 record and finished last in the National League Central for the first time since 2010....

Pittsburgh Pirates manager Derek Shelton filled another vacancy on his coaching staff Friday, as the team announced the hiring of Tarrik Brock as its new first base coach. Brock, 45, has been minor league outfier/baserunning coordinator for the Los Angeles Dodgers for the past three seasons. Before that, he was...