The Pittsburgh Pirates ended the 2015 season on a down note. They lost the one game wild card play-in to the Chicago Cubs. The Pirates are perennial playoff contenders now and should be acting like it this offseason. Their 98 regular season wins were only second to the NL Central champion St. Louis Cardinals.
Let’s look at what the Pirates wanted to get done this offseason. Their primary task was replacing free agent Joakim Soria and rebuilding the middle parts of their bullpen. They have signed Juan Nicasio and Neftali Feliz to one-year deals. That’s a good start. They also needed to replace A.J. Burnett in the rotation and see if they could upgrade first base. They traded for Jon Niese from the New York Mets and signed Ryan Vogelsong in free agency. That covers the Burnett situation. John Jaso was signed to help out at first and play backup left field.
What else did the Pirates do this offseason? They have tried to stay busy. They traded outfield prospect Keon Broxton for first base prospect Jason Rogers. They traded Charlie Morton to give themselves some financial flexibility. Neil Walker was moved in the Niese deal, helping both teams afford what they need. The contracts of Allen Webster and Kyle Lobstein were bought to add to the starting pitching depth.
What’s left to do? That really depends upon what you think of their current bullpen. Mark Melancon and Tony Watson are a solid backend, but the rest of the bullpen is somewhat up in the air. The Pirates could use at least one more left-handed specialist and possibly two so that Watson can stay in the eighth.
The Pirates have become masters at correcting their offseason issues into successes. They have addressed their main issues with the signings of Jaso and Vogelsong. Their bullpen still looks awfully thin for a playoff contender.
GRADE: B
