Pirates GM Ben Cherington promises to 'attack free agency, trade market' on MLB Network

Ben Cherington wants Andrew McCutchen back, Oneil Cruz healthy, Henry Davis at catcher and promised to “attack free agency and the trade market this offseason” to add starting pitching and offense.

Those were among the topics the Pittsburgh Pirates general manager touched upon in a 10-minute interview on MLB Network’s Hot Stove show Thursday morning from the GM meetings in Scottsdale, Ariz.

The Pirates (76-86) spent 33 days in first place in the first half of the season and finished with a 14-win improvement after back-to-back 100-loss seasons, signaling that their rebuild was over and they were inching closer to becoming a contender. But they finished the season with only two starting pitchers in All-Star Mitch Keller and Johan Oviedo and a minus-98 run differential that was fourth-worst in the National League.

“It was a reminder of how the city and our fans and, really, everyone in the organization is going to rally and respond when we are winning more games,” Cherington said. “Obviously, we also know the 162-game season is going to tell you everything. You’re going to get exposed. Your strengths and limitations are going to get exposed over the course of a long season, and we learned that. We feel like we took a step forward. We’re excited about that, certainly not satisfied and looking to go into this offseason to find a way to keep getting better.”

Cherington expressed hope the Pirates could find a way for the 37-year-old McCutchen to return and said they have had several conversations since the season ended and will continue to keep open dialogue.

McCutchen signed a one-year, $5 million contract last January after a five-year hiatus and batted .256/.378/.397 with 19 doubles, 12 home runs and 43 RBIs in 112 games (98 as designated hitter) before a partial tear in his left Achilles in early September ended his season.

“It couldn’t have gone really better,” Cherington said. “When the opportunity arose last season, got a chance to talk to Andrew about coming back. It just made too much sense. We were so lucky, really, to be able to do it. The reaction from fans, the team, himself, people that work for the team for a long time and have been there, it was just amazing. Credit to him for just how important it was to him, how genuinely he wanted to come back. I think we all hope that we can continue that. … Certainly hope that Andrew can keep wearing black and gold.”

Cherington emphasized the need for the improvement to come from within, starting with a young core of position players and focusing on the full recovery of Cruz. The 6-foot-7 shortstop suffered a season-ending fractured left ankle in April, but is back to doing full baseball activities at Pirate City in Bradenton, Fla.

“He’s good. It was a serious injury and for a guy that big and that athletic who relies on his athleticism and moving fast, we needed to make sure that rehab went well,” Cherington said. “We’re still debating and talking to him about the pros and cons of maybe getting in some games somewhere this winter. Haven’t made a decision on that yet but based on all the information we have and watching him, we feel very good that he’s going to come into spring training ready to continue his progression as a player.”

Cherington also touted the strength of the Pirates’ catchers, with Davis joining Endy Rodriguez and Jason Delay as backstops this spring. The Pirates promoted Davis, the No. 1 overall pick in 2021, to the majors on June 19 as a right fielder because they believed his bat could help. But Cherington said the Pirates were “very clear” in an exit interview with Davis that he’s coming to spring training as a catcher.

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“That’s how he’s doing his training this offseason,” Cherington said. “At the time we called him up, we felt like the bat was just a little bit ahead of the defense. We were in a position at that time of the year where we still had a chance. We were trying to help the team. We felt the bat could help us, so we made that move.

“For a variety of reasons, he really didn’t get a chance to catch much the rest of the year. We still want to give him that opportunity. We believe he can do it. We know the bat’s going to play. So he’ll get a chance to come into spring training back at his normal position. We’re fortunate to have two young catchers in Henry and Endy Rodriguez we feel really good about, and Jason Delay did a great job. We feel good about the strength of that position moving forward.”

Although Cherington said the Pirates are “really excited” about the young starting pitchers in their system, he noted that “not all of them are going to be quite ready to help us win in April, May and June of 2024.” That apparently includes Paul Skenes, the LSU right-hander who was the No. 1 overall pick of the 2023 MLB Draft.

Skenes is working out this winter in Bradenton and will participate in major-league camp for spring training, but Cherington was noncommittal about whether he would pitch for the Pirates next season.

“I think it’s certainly possible. He’s going to tell us,” Cherington said. “Obviously, we don’t want to rush anything. We want him to have every opportunity to be the best version of himself for as long as possible in Pittsburgh.

“We know he’s going to get after it this offseason. … He’s very focused in the way he does his work. Everything we learned about Paul after signing him pretty much affirmed what we thought before. Not only do you see the talent. He doesn’t just wait and meet a challenge. He pursues the challenge. He wants to be challenged. He’s done that his whole life, so we’re not going to put any ceiling on it, that’s for sure.”

Cherington doesn’t want to put any ceiling on expectations for next season, either.

“We’ve got to keep getting better,” Cherington said. “We took a step in 2023. The focus is on taking another step next year.”