Pirates/MLB category, Page 239
Pirates OF Gregory Polanco at ‘100%’ physical health in return from shoulder injuryVideo
Ben Cherington tapped the knuckles of his clenched hand onto a table not once but twice Friday as he was discussing the status of Pittsburgh Pirates starting right fielder Gregory Polanco. The first time Cherington knocked on wood was when he declared Polanco “at 100% right now from a basic...
Pirates’ Derek Shelton gushes about pitcher Chris Archer
In his 59-day reign as Pittsburgh Pirates manager, Derek Shelton ate a Primanti’s sandwich with Joe Musgrove. (Musgrove bought.) Shelton spent some time discussing Broadway songs with pitcher Steven Brault. (“I don’t really know any,” Shelton said.) At the end of a 21-minute chat with reporters Friday, Shelton said he...
GM Ben Cherington: Pirates expect to add another catcher before spring training
Ben Cherington acknowledged Friday the Pittsburgh Pirates went into the offseason knowing it needed to add catchers. Even after signing two with major league experience, Cherington said he isn’t done. “We are continuing to look for more catching,” the Pirates general manager said while speaking to reporters Friday at PNC...
Mt. Lebanon’s Don Kelly’s job safe with Pirates, despite ties to AstrosVideo
Don Kelly’s status with the Pittsburgh Pirates was not impacted by his ties to the Houston Astros, Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said Friday. Kelly, a former Mt. Lebanon and Point Park standout, was named the Pirates’ bench coach Dec. 7, five weeks prior to MLB commissioner Rob Manfred disciplining...
The script is back: Pirates unveil updated road jerseysVideo
It was met with great fanfare and well received when Pitt went back to the Script five years ago. Now, the Pittsburgh Pirates are doing the same. The Pirates unveiled updated road jerseys Friday, and the new aspect is actually an old one. The word “Pittsburgh” across the chest of...
Pirates to replace Steve Blass with Kevin Young, Matt Capps, Michael McKenry on broadcasts
Following Steve Blass as Pittsburgh Pirates broadcaster would have been a tough act for any individual. So three former players will do it. Former Pirates players Kevin Young, Matt Capps and Michael McKenry will rotate as color commentator analysts for games on television and radio this season, the team announced...
New Pirates catcher John Ryan Murphy seeks bounce-back yearVideo
It seems only fitting John Ryan Murphy will be in the Pittsburgh Pirates’ spring training camp next month. The veteran catcher, who signed a minor league contract Jan. 10 as a free agent, was born and raised in Bradenton, Fla. He attended many Pirates Grapefruit League games at what was...
Pitt, WVU baseball will bring the Backyard Brawl back to PNC Park
The Backyard Brawl is returning to PNC Park. The Pittsburgh Pirates and the Pitt and West Virginia athletic departments announced Thursday that the schools’ baseball teams will meet April 29 at the home of the Pirates. It’s the second consecutive season the two rivals will meet at PNC Park. West...
Pirates name Dave Turgeon manager of the Altoona Curve
The Pittsburgh Pirates named Dave Turgeon, who is entering his 10th season as a coach in the team’s system, to manage the Double-A Altoona Curve. He replaces Michael Ryan, who was fired last season. Turgeon spent last season as manager of the Peoria Javelinas in the Arizona Fall League, where...
Pirates’ Josh Bell says he’s looking forward to new cultureVideo
When Josh Bell turned his head and looked out a window of the Clelian Heights School, the sun was shining over Greensburg. Snow was melting. If you didn’t know better, you would think it was baseball season. The Pittsburgh Pirates All-Star first baseman, the bat in his hand looking the...
PNC Park undergoing $1.9M seat rehab ahead of 2020 Pirates seasonVideo
As the Pirates gear up for the annual PiratesFest event this weekend, workers are preparing PNC Park for the upcoming season with a $1.9 million seating rehab. The Sports & Exhibition Authority of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County, which owns the stadium, last year approved the replacement of bottoms, backs and...
Mark Madden: Baseball Hall of Fame voters indulge agendas
One voter left former New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter off his Hall of Fame ballot. It kept Jeter from being the second unanimous choice in the institution’s history. New York is ablaze with outrage. New York should be grateful. The manufactured outrage gives the city a platform to burnish...
First Call: Watt brother to host ‘SNL’, Chris Archer rips Astros, Todd Graham’s new job, Kansas hoops brawl
In Wednesday’s “First Call”: J.J. Watt to host SNL. Chris Archer fires at the Houston Astros. A major basketball brawl. A new home for Todd Graham. Live! From New York … How big of a personality is Houston Texans star J.J. Watt? Big enough to host “Saturday Night Live” on...
John Perrotto: Bonds, Clemens, Ramirez worthy of Hall of Fame
The facts are the facts. Barry Bonds hit 762 home runs, more than any player in major league history. He also won seven National League MVP awards — two with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1990 and ’92 — and was selected to 14 All-Star Games. Roger Clemens won 354 games...
Pirates invite 11 to spring training
The Pirates announced 11 more players who will attend spring training as nonroster invitees this season, including four who pitched for the major league club in limited duty last season. Righties Montana DuRapau, Luis Escobar and James Marvel and lefty Williams Jerez pitched for the Pirates last season. The other...
Pirates’ 1st Hall of Fame class will include Steve Blass, and who else?
This year’s voting results for baseball’s Hall of Fame will be announced Tuesday night, and Derek Jeter almost certainly will headline the Class of 2020. Later this year, at a date to be determined, the first class of the Pittsburgh Pirates Hall of Fame will be announced. Details are scant...
Pirates’ projected 2020 payroll ranks 2nd lowest in MLB at $69M
Bob Nutting, fairly or not, has developed a reputation of being a cheap owner in the eyes of many Pittsburgh Pirates fans. That perception of Nutting likely isn’t going away anytime soon. The Pirates are projected to have a $69 million payroll to open the 2020 season, according to Tribune-Review...
Analysis: Mitch Keller, Ke’Bryan Hayes lead list of top 10 Pirates prospects
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...
Pirates announce CARE-a-van stops will feature All-Star Josh Bell, new manager Derek Shelton
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...
OF Guillermo Heredia might be welcome addition to Pirates
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...
Glenn Sherlock eager to lend his wisdom to Pirates coaching staff, manager Shelton
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...
Mark Madden: MLB’s punishment still not enough for Astros sign-stealing scandal
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...
Will Pirates use 1st-round pick on West Allegheny’s Austin Hendrick?
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...
When it comes to MLB video rules, Pirates are squeaky clean
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...
New Pirates catcher Luke Maile wants to prove he can be good at plate, not just behind it
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...
