Pirates/MLB category, Page 99

Barry Bonds has rarely groused publicly about his exclusion from the Baseball Hall of Fame. But he presented his case thusly on a recent podcast: “I was vindicated. I went to court, I was in federal court, and I won my case, 100 percent. Where is the vindication of me...

The Pittsburgh Pirates have five players in Baseball America’s new Top 100 Prospects list, including two new additions. The Pirates’ new top prospect is Paul Skenes, the LSU right-hander selected with the No. 1 overall pick of the 2023 MLB Draft. Skenes is ranked sixth by Baseball America, behind Cincinnati...

Between now and the Aug. 1 MLB trade deadline, one topic figures to be the subject of plenty of debate amond Pittsburgh sports fans: Should the Pirates trade All-Star closer David Bednar? MLB.com got the ball rolling Thursday, naming Bednar one of the six All-Stars most likely to be dealt...

The Pittsburgh Pirates transferred the option of struggling right-handed pitcher Roansy Contreras from Triple-A Indianapolis to their Florida Complex League team. After going 5-5 with a 3.79 ERA and 1.27 WHIP in 21 games, including 18 starts, last season, the 23-year-old Contreras entered the season expected to be one of...

If the answer is “Roberto Clemente and Adam Hyzdu,” what the heck could the trivia question possibly be? In a little more than a week, Clemente and Hyzdu will be the only players to have their numbers retired by the Altoona Curve, the Double-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. The...

The Pittsburgh Pirates will begin their season on the road for the eighth straight year in 2024 when they visit the Miami Marlins for a Thursday, March 28, opener. The team announced its full 2024 schedule Thursday. After four games in Miami and three in Washington, the Pirates will face...

The Pittsburgh Pirates open the second half of the season Friday with more questions than answers, especially after winning 20 of their first 30 games followed by winning only 21 of the next 60. Let’s start with this: Was April an anomaly? If so, is another late-season collapse inevitable? When...

The Pittsburgh Steelers’ Minkah Fitzpatrick had spent most the offseason so far picking up plenty of figurative silver medals in the ultimately meaningless realm of “Best Of” lists. • In May, it was Pro Football Network that rated Fitzpatrick as the NFL’s second-best safety behind the Los Angeles Chargers’ Derwin...

The Pittsburgh Pirates took LSU pitching phenom Paul Skenes with the first pick of the MLB Draft. That’s step one. Step two is to not screw it up. Don’t keep Skenes in the minors till June next season by way of manipulating an extra year of team control via Super...

After the Pittsburgh Pirates won the inaugural lottery for the No.1 overall pick in the MLB Draft, general manager Ben Cherington intentionally decided not to see any of the top prospects play live. “That was because I don’t trust myself to not bring bias into the room when I do...

There surely have been more than a few instances of Zoom calls originating in Western Pennsylvania that have included the words “Flyers (stink)” and another word that begins with the same letter. But Tuesday, it happened on a call staged by Philadelphia Flyers employees themselves. During a live stream of...

In an All-Star Game defined by a pair of catches at the wall in the first inning, Mitch Keller had no such luck. The Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander gave up the game’s first run on a solo homer by Tampa Bay Rays first baseman Yandy Diaz to give the American League...

When the Pittsburgh Pirates owned the No. 1 overall pick in 2021, they employed a strategy to sign Louisville catcher Henry Davis to a below-slot bonus and used the savings to entice four top-100 prep prospects to bypass college scholarships with over-slot bonuses. This year, after the Pirates selected LSU...

Pitt right-handed pitchers Logan Evans and Dylan Simmons were chosen Tuesday in the 12th round by the Seattle Mariners and 15th round by the Cincinnati Reds on the third day of the MLB Draft. They were the 367th and 458th players drafted. Evans (6-foot-4, 215 pounds) transferred from Penn State...

Leading up to the MLB Draft, there was speculation that the Pittsburgh Pirates would bypass the top two prospects in favor of someone who would sign a below-slot bonus so they could spread their savings. That’s a strategy Pirates general manager Ben Cherington employed with the No. 1 overall pick...

When the Pittsburgh Pirates made a run on college pitchers by selecting seven consecutive on the second day of the MLB Draft, it was influenced by their scouting and the success of a 2022 pick. Call it the J.P. Massey Effect. The Pirates took Massey out of Minnesota in the...

The Pittsburgh Pirates selected Vanderbilt right-hander Patrick Reilly in the fifth round of the MLB Draft on Monday, adding a reliever with high strikeout and walk numbers. The 6-foot-3, 215-pound Reilly made 14 career starts for the Commodores but pitched mostly out of the bullpen, averaging 11.7 strikeouts and 5.8...

The Pittsburgh Pirates selected West Virginia right-hander Carlson Reed in the fourth round of the MLB Draft on Monday afternoon, adding a pitcher who has been both a starter and a closer in his college career. The 6-foot-4, 200-pound Reed has a three-pitch mix featuring a mid-80s changeup, a slider...

The Pittsburgh Pirates selected Oregon State first baseman Garret Forrester in the third round of the MLB Draft, adding a slugger at a position of need in their system. The 6-foot-1, 208-pound Forrester batted .341/.485/.522 with 12 doubles, 10 home runs and 52 RBIs in 61 games for the Beavers...

When no single topic jumps out, refreshing sports notes are the best option. Just like the Pirates, I made the obvious choice. • Concluding that 2 + 2 = 4 shouldn’t get you congratulated. But, regardless, be glad that the Pirates drafted pitcher Paul Skenes. They have botched simpler. •...

Sometimes, individual accomplishments come in unique circumstances. Take the manner in which the Pittsburgh Pirates’ Osvaldo Bido picked up his first MLB win Sunday for example. Bido, who was one of seven pitchers the Pirates utilized in Sunday’s 4-2 win over Arizona, was the winning pitcher, delivering 1⅓ innings over...

Paul Skenes already was college baseball’s best two-way player when he made what he calls the hardest decision of his life, leaving the U.S. Air Force Academy to transfer to SEC powerhouse LSU. Skenes concentrated on pitching, and the 6-foot-6½, 260-pound right-hander delivered one of the most dominant seasons in...

INDIANAPOLIS (Triple-A, 40-46) was knocked around by Memphis (Cardinals), 13-5. Indianapolis used seven pitchers in a bullpen game. RHP Luis Ortiz (2-2, 2.94), making his first Triple-A appearance since being sent down Wednesday, allowed five runs, three earned, on no hits and four walks in 1.1 innings. RHP Brad Case...

The Pittsburgh Pirates selected Michigan State shortstop Mitch Jebb in the second round of the MLB Draft on Sunday night in Seattle. Jebb, 21, batted .337/.438/.495 with 15 doubles, seven triples, one home run and 36 RBIs this past season for the Spartans. He also shined in the wood-bat Cape...

That Paul Skenes possessed a special mix of pitches was obvious, as the LSU right-hander relied on a triple-digit fastball and wicked slider to dominate college baseball in a way few others have ever done. What impressed the Pittsburgh Pirates was the combination of character off the field and competitiveness...