///////////////////////// //////////////////////////////////////////////////// SPECIAL SECTION MAJOR LEAGUE PREVIEW

BASEBALL’17 SUNDAY,APRIL 2, 2017

Q&A WITH PIRATESGMNEALHUNTINGTON

KEVIN GORMAN Pirates’ starsmust

Pirates general bounce manager smilesas backwith he watches battingpractice at George vengeance Steinbrenner Field before a game against the Ya nkees oexplainhow the on March 5. Pirates dropped20 Tgames in one season, from 98 wins in 2015 to 78 CHRISTOPHER HORNER|TRIBUNE-REVIEW last year,requires the ex- pertise of abaseball man. Don’t look at me. No,we’retalking about someone whoisinvested in changing the culture of baseball in , someone whohas promised to field ateam thatcan “con- HOPE & tend forchampionships.” Or,you know, just make the playoffsasawildcard. After twodecades of los- ing baseball, we loweredour standards enough to believe Pirates owner Bob Nutting wants to be awinner —even CHANGE if he doesn’t want to,you know, payfor one. But Nutting, whowatched the Pirates qualify forthe 10 YEARSLATER, HUNTINGTON’S playoffs three consecutive seasons from 2013-15, has an interest- ing takeonthe 2016 Buccos: MESSAGEREMAINS THE SAME “Weended up with the season we did because the team and organization by RObbIERTEMPFEL underperformed the levelof talent thatwehad,” Nutting Aroundthe time “hope and change” wasbecomingahip political slogan, Neal Huntington broughtthosewords said. “I don’t think it was intothe lexicon of thePirates’front office. nearly so muchthatwe didn’t have sufficient talent “Wewill systematicallyworktochangethe cultureofthisorganization and to returnittoaconsistentwinner to makethe . We had forthe city of Pittsburgh,” Huntington said after being hiredasgeneral managerSept. 25, 2007. some very good players who As Huntington begins his10thseason, his message remains thesame. did not performuptothe Therewas amelancholiathatshrouded the franchisefor twodecades—epitomized by the “Welcometohell” expectations thatwehad. Ireallythink it’s farmore greetingaveteranPirateonce gave to aguy whohad justbeentradedtothe team. That sour moodwas snapped by execution than what we had threestraight winningseasons from 2013-15. put together.” UnderHuntington, thePirateshaveinvestedheavily in playerdevelopment and have been at theleadingedgeof So,it’s not thatthe Pirates analytics.The restockedfarmsystem hasbeen ranked the bestinthe game.SeveralofHuntington’slieutenants were pitching poorly,relying too heavilyonrookies in have beenrecruitedfor prominent roleswithother clubs. the starting rotation.It’s Yet, the2013 wild-card winoverthe CincinnatiReds is thePirates’onlysignificant postseason victoryofthe not thatthey let go of two Huntington era. Thereremainsworktobedone. former first-round picks and franchise building blocks At theoutset of the2017 season, Huntington looked backonhis time with the Piratesduring aone-on-one with in and Pedro Tribune-Review beatwriter RobBiertempfel. Alvarez,whose replace- ments failed to matchtheir production. Tr ib: When youstarted this job,how much of your plan forhow to build and run the club wasalready in It’s thatthe very good place? And howmuch has it morphed overthe years? players didn’t do their part, asuggestion thatthe Huntington: Alot of it wasconceptualized before struggles fell squarelyon we came in the door.After talking with Bob (Nutting) the shoulders of former and Frank (Coonelly), we bought intothe concept of let’s All-Stars likeAndrew see what the 2008 club could do.They’ddone anice McCutchen, and job (in 2007) and appeared to be ready to take the next . stepforward. Thereweresome established position And youknowwhat? players,although mostofthem were approaching free Nutting is right. agency. Therewasn’tmuch in the farm systemother Of course,it’sall of those than (Andrew)McCutchen, (Neil) Walker and Brad things and much, much Lincoln. We knewweweregoing to have to invest more. ThePirates were heavily in the and in the international market. We flawed, especiallyincom- knewthereneeded to be some changeoverinpersonnel parison to the WorldSeries and some changesinsystems and structures. champion . Unfortunately,2008 did not go well. We were below But if the Pirates want .500 at the trade deadline,sowemade the decision to return to winningways, to move those veteranplayers who were nearing free if they want to compete for agencyand go full force intotalent-accumulation mode. the NL Central Division title So much of that first year wasabout discovering and aspotinthe playoffs, what wasgood and who wasgood and who could be it’s goingtorequirebetter performances. part of the futureonand off the field. The next phase McCutchen and Cole are wastalent accumulation, then talent development, the other former first- then major league team maturation, then “Let’s rounders expected to be the push this thing forwardand figureout away to win a cornerstone players forthe .”Soalot (ofthe plan) wasinplaceearly. CHRISTOPHER HORNER |TRIBUNE-REVIEW Pirates.Their dropoffs last We’veevaluated and evolved overtime,for sure. But season hurttremendously, Pirates general manager Neal Huntington talks with conceptually,alot of it wasinplaceaswewalked in so bounce-backyears are Josh Bell beforeaspring training game March 15 at the door.Maybe that’s part of the reason whyBob and necessary. LECOMPark in Bradenton, Fla. Frank offered me the position. McCutchen’s batting aver- HUNTINGTON·6 age slipped from .317 in his MVP season to .256 last year, his increased »Abreakdown of Huntington’shistory of draftsand trades PAGE 7 by 42 and his stolen bases decreased by 21. INSIDE »Howthe Pirates mustimprove to catchthe Cubs PAGE 2 After being shopped in the offseason, McCutchen is

GORMAN · 6 2 · SUNDAY, APRIL 2, 2017 BASEBALL’17 CATCHINGTHECUBS CLOSINGTHEGAP PIRATES HAVE SEVERAL AREAS TO IMPROVE IN PURSUIT OF CUBS, NL CENTRAL

by RObbIERTEMPFEL Performanceagainst Last season, the Pirates did not finish merelyafew games out of first place in the NL Central standings.They were buried. relief 1 Thechasm between the Pirates and first-place Chicago Cubs was 30 ⁄2 games.Itwas the Pirates’ biggest division deficit since 2010, when the team amassed 105 losses and finished 34 games behind . CAREER ThePirates were eliminated from the NL Central race Sept. 11. Sixteen days later,they were knockedout of the hunt fora BA OPS wild-cardberth. .293 .757 1 Thesecond NL wild-cardspot went to the ,who wound up 8 ⁄2 games ahead of the Pirates. 2016 “Everybodywas trying to give everything they had. We just didn’t have enough,” managerClint Hurdle said. “Sometimes, BA OPS the reality of just not being good enough can reallyinfuse youfor what youneed to do better.” FRANCISCOCERVELLI .274 .684 So what should the Pirates do better in 2017 to makeupground in the NL Central standings and NL wild-cardchase?

long relieverfor twomonths. STARTSTRONG, Piratesdefensiveefficiency Cubs Pirates FINISH STRONGER Timing matters,too.Acluster CAREER Being at the forefront ofutilizing defensiveshiftshelped the of injuries,evenfor afew days, BA OPS During last Pirates boosttheir defensiveefficiencyratefour yearsago. can be devastating. year,the players and coaches However,they’ve takenbig stepbackward the pasttwo seasons. Twenty-five percent of all .286 .732 kept stressing the importance trips to the DL in the majors 2016 of piling up early-season 68.1% 68.4% 69.2% 70.6% 69.5% 73.2% last year were made by right- victories.In2015, the Pirates 24th 25th 18th 4th 9th 1st BA OPS 75 handed starting . JOSH HARRISON wononly17oftheir first 35 69.4% ThePirates were bitbythat .253 .625 games. 11th 70 buginabad wayasGerrit Cole When they finished two and missed games out of first place in the time.Injurieswrecked Cole’s division, the Pirates looked 65 season, butTaillon was not CAREER backwistfullyatthose 18 losses 67.1% 67.8% 69.7% 69.8% 68% slowedbyhis DL stintand still BA OPS thatslipped away in April and 30th 29th 11th 8th 22nd puttogether asolid year. May. 60 .256 .716 67.9% 68.3% Cole (elbow), Chris Stewart ThePirates beganlastseason 26th 27th (knee surgery), Elias Diaz with 22 games against NL 2016 55 (infected leg), A.J.Schugel BA OPS Central teams and 13 against 201020112012 2013201420152016 (shoulder), Josh Harrison JOHN JASO .237 .703 non-contenders Detroit, Source:baseball-reference.com TRIBUNE-REVIEW (groin strain) and Starling , and Marte (lowerbacktightness) allowed4.68runs per game (the Colorado.They squandered the endedthe season on the DL. ninth-highest average). Piratesdays spent opportunity by going18-17. Also,Neftali Feliz didn’t pitch “Weknowweneed to Worse yet, the Pirates onthedisabledlist after Sept. 3(although he never CAREER improveondefense,” Hurdle staggeredtothe finish line, was placed on the DL) because BA OPS said. “We’retrying to play In terms of totaldayslost, the going 11-24. In thatstretch, they of an arminjury thatthe team fast butnot hurry,and that’s Pirates rank slightly better than .292 .801 were sweptathome by Miami, neverexplained. absorbed three losses against carrying over into our game. the MLB averageofthe past three seasons. Lastyear, they 2016 the Cubs to triggeraneight- They’regiftedathletes. racked up 805 totaldaysonthe ATTACK BA OPS game losing streak and were Sometimes when they makeit DL, the seventh-lowest totalin Compared to the 2015 season, sweptbythe Cardinalsinthe look easy,it’s not.” .272 .793 the majors. the Pirates last year produced season’s final weekend. Being at the forefront of fewercomebackwins(32 to 43), “You need to be peaking at utilizing defensive shifts ’12 506 walkoffwins(11 to 4) and wins the end of the season,” pitcher helped the Pirates boost their in their final at-bat (20to13). said. “Thatstretch defensive efficiencyratefour ’13 1,346 They were 6-69 when trailing CAREER in August and September is years ago. However,they’ve after six ,compared to BA OPS taken big stepbackwardthe when youneedtobeplaying 7-50 in 2015. One reason is most .283 .861 past twoseasons. ’14 409 your best ball.” of the regular position players Also,itwould help if the “When we shift, it creates ’15 had down years againstrelief 2016 Pirates were better abletobeat holes.It’s going to happen,” 938 pitchers. BA OPS teams they should beat. They JordyMercer said. Relievers held National ANDREWMCCUTCHEN .264 .777 went 20-18 against the Reds and “If we can all move as aunit ’16 805 League batters to a.246 average Brewers last season, whichwas and all playour part,the Source: Hardballtimes.com and a.717 OPS last season. onlyamodest improvement percentagesare going to be ThePirates .244 with on their 17-21 markvs. those there. Thebiggest thing is a.712 OPS againstrelief bottom-feeders in 2015. buying into it —and it’s hard of the CAREER medical department, MLB set pitchers. “It’s good to getoff to ahot to buyintoit, trust me —and Therole of bullpens BA OPS start,” Kuhl said. “But it’s also believe in it.” records last season fortotal placements on the disabled has taken on even greater .247 .663 important to be consistent and During spring training, the importance the past few playgood baseball the entire Pirates did moredrills using list (561), days lost on the DL 2016 (31,662) and dollars lost to DL seasons,withmanagers year.” the shift than they had the past dispatching wavesofhard- BA OPS stints (morethan$670 million). fewyears.Therealsomight be throwing relievers to blow YMERCER In terms of total days lost, JORD .260 .718 MAKE MORE PLAYS some different usagesofthe away batters in short-burst ThePirates ranked 27th shift during the season under the Pirates rank slightlybetter outings. in themajors in defensive newcoach than than the MLB average of the Themarkofanelite hitter is efficiency, converting68.3 therewas undercoach Nick past three seasons.Last year, the abilitytosucceed against percent of balls in playinto Leyva. they rackedup805 total days relievers,when the batter CAREER outs. “We’restill going to shift, but on the DL, the seventh-lowest usuallyloses the platoon BA OPS TheCubs were firstwitha Idon’t knowifwe’ll be as crazy total in the majors. advantage and faces sharper, .237 .683 sparkling 73.2 percent rate — about it as we’vebeen the past However,the impact of fresher arms. the best markinthe majors fewyears,” Mercer said. injuries is not felt solelyinthe 2016 since the White Soxhad a number of days missed. RobBiertempfelisaTribune-Review BA OPS 72.8 rate in 1991. STAY HEALTHY Losing asluggerfor 15 days staff writer.Reach him GREGORYPOLANCO .251 .766 ThePirates made 111 errors According to research by would be atougher blow for at [email protected] (thirdmostinmajors) and Stan Conte,the former head ateam than being without a or viaTwitter@BiertempfelTrib. Source:baseball-reference.com

C Y a

G AL Y T SUNDAY, APRIL 2, 2017 · 3 BASEBALL’17 WRITER’SPOLL

Predictedorder of finish JIM DUQUETTE 1. Cubs, MLB NETWORK RADIO BURNING QUESTIONS 2. Cardinals, 3. Pirates,

4. Brewers, 5. Reds COM

Playoff team(s) MLB. NATIONAL WRITERSAND NL BEAT REPORTERSTAKE from NL Central Cubs ACLOSER LOOK AT THE KEYISSUESINNLCENTRAL Bestposition player Predicted order of finish Bryant 1. Cubs, 2Cards, 3. Pirates, 4. Brewers, 5. Reds by RObbIERTEMPFEL TOMHAUDRICOURT Bestpitcher Lester Playoff team(s) TheChicago Cubs aregoing to repeatasNLCentral champs thisyear. MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL from NL Central TheSt. Louis Cardinals and (to alesser degree) the Pirates made some moves I’dpay to watch Cubs and Cardinals Marte this past winter to shoreuptheir rosters,but Idon’t believe either club did Best position player

ITTER McCutchen enough to fullyclosethe gap. Thestuck-in-neutral and Bryant

TW comeback rebuilding Cincinnati Reds areafewseasons away from contending. Yes Best pitcher So,when the boss asked me to forecast theNLCentral standings at the end of Lester 2017, it was easy to say: I’dpay to watch Predicted order of finish Forme,it’s still McCutchen. 1. Cubs, 2. Cardinals, 3. Pirates, 4. Brewers, 5. Reds McCutchencomeback PN Cutchwill bounceback to Playoff team(s) from NL Central ES the form he showedoverhis Cubs final 50 gameslastseason. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. JIM BOWDEN He has figured out what Best position player ESPN.COMAND waswrong with his swing, Alot of people would sayBryant, but Ithink MLB NETWORK RADIO and he’shealthy. WhichNLCentral teams will makethe playoffs? Just the Cubs.(Therest of my Cubsfirst baseman AnthonyRizzo is a predicted postseason picks have afamiliar ring to them: the Los Angeles Dodgers, wizardinthe field as well as the best clutch San Francisco Giants, Nationals and NewYorkMets.) hitter on the team. Best pitcher

Who is the best overall position playerinthe NL Central? Starling Marte could SPN Predicted order of finish be,ifheeverputs afull season together.Until thatbreakthrough happens,the Cubs left-hander .This is close |E becauseJakeArrietaand 1. Cubs, 2. Cardinals, 3. Pirates, crownbelongs to of the Cubs.What’s scary is,Bryant is still just areright therewith him. 4. Brewers, 5. Reds ONI 25 and hasn’t even played400 games in the majors yet. He’ll keep putting up eye- RA Playoff team(s) FA popping numbers foryears. I’dpay to watch Ialmost saidReds Joey from NL Central JOE Thebest pitcher in NL Central is Gerrit Cole ... when he’s healthy. ThePirates Vottobecause when he getsonone of his Cubs and Cardinals right-hander was good butalittle dinged up in 2014, dominated in ’15, then offensiverolls, he’sjustamachine out there. JERRYCRASNICK Best position player ND lurched through an injury-marred’16. If thatpattern holds,he’ll re-establish But Baezhas so much flair and talent,and ESPN.COMA Bryant. The powerisagiven. himself as an ace this summer. he candothings offensively and defensively He also gets on baseatclose that other playerscan’tdo. Themostexcitingplayerinthe NL Central (in other words, the guy I’d payto to a.400 clip,and he’smade McCutchencomeback himself intoasolid defensivethird watchplay) is Javier Baez. TheCubs caught everyone’sattention baseman. One of Bryant’s best attributes,for me,ishis willingness last October with acluster of stunning performances in the NLCS. He is bit of a Ithink he will bounceback becausehe’sstill at an age whereheshould be in his prime, to bouncearound the field and play wherever manager swashbuckler on the basepaths,has good power(although he needs to cut down and nowhewon’thavetoworry about needs him on agiven day.He’sastarplayer with aselfless team on his whiffs) and is astellar defender. covering the cavernous center field in PNC ethic. That takeshim to adifferent level. Will Pirates Andrew McCutchen bounce backfromhis career-worst Park. Ialwaysthought he had to be hurt last Best pitcher season? McCutchen’s numbers will be better than last year,when he batted .256 year becausehedidn’tlook likehimself. Alot of guyscould be in this conversation, but Ithink youhavetogo with a.766 OPS and aminus-2.6 defensive WAR. Moving to right field should boost with Lester becauseofhis track record of durabilityand big-game performance. his defensive numbers.The motivation of showing the front office it’s makinga mistakebytryingtotrade him could help McCutchen rediscoverhis swing. I’dpay to watch But don’t takejust my word on all this.Here’s howother baseball insiders — .This might seem alittle nutty, but I’ve alwayshad ESPN Predicted order afondness forstocky, nonathletic-looking guyswho rake —going veteran national reporters and beatwriters from around the NL Central—see of finish back to and . Schwarber’sinjury comeback the division breaking down this season: 1. Cubs(by awide in October showedwhat aspecial hitter he is. He’sanadventure PN margin), in the field, but that unpredictabilityonlycontributes to his ES 2. Cardinals, entertainment value. I| 3. Pirates, ON 4. Reds, McCutchen comeback C. TRENT ROSECRANS RA Yes. Maybe he’slostastep at age 30,but he logged an .810 FA 5. Brewers Predicted order of finish CINCINNATI ENQUIRER Predicted order OPSinAugustfollowedupbyan.886 OPSinSeptember.Great 1. Cubs, 2. Cardinals, 3. Reds, of finish JOE Playoff team(s) from NL Central playersrespond after down years, and I’msureMcCutchen is super 4. Pirates, 5. Brewers 1. Cubs, 2. Cardinals, Cubs and Cardinals. Ithink the Pirates will motivated after all the criticism and the offseason trade rumors. 3. Pirates,4.Brewers,5.Reds contend foraspot, but theyneed afew things to The morehehearshow much he’s“slipped,”the moredangerous Playoff team(s) fall their way—30 starts(at least) by Cole,130- he becomes.

from NL Central HE ENQUIRER Playoff team(s) plus gamesfromJungHoKang, and areturn to

Cubs |T from NL Central form by Andrew McCutchen. Cubs Best position player Best position player Bryant. The defending MVP is so lethal OGEL Bestposition player Bryant is amonsterwho will continue to GV JAYSON STARK Predicted order of finish

at the plate, and he playstwo defensive ME It’s hardtogoagainst the reigning National League MVP,so benefit from lineup protection in front of him ESPN 1. Cubs, 2. Cardinals, 3. Pirates, positions really well, too. giveittoBryant, notjustfor his bat but his versatilityinthe (Schwarber)and behind him (Rizzoand Ben 4. Reds,5.Brewers field. Thereare better hittersinthe division (barely), better Zobrist). Bestpitcher fieldersand moreversatile players, but nobody comesclose Playoff team(s) from NL Central Cubs right-hander JakeArrieta when combining the three. Best pitcher SPN Cubs Lester,although the challenge will be different |E I’dpay to watch

Bestpitcher forhim this year becausehe’ll be working without ONI Best position player With his speed, younever knowwhat Ifindithardtopick againstArrieta, who canbesodominant. . RA What can’tBryantdo? Wherecan’t theReds’ Billy Hamilton might do on But Iwouldn’tbesurprised if Cardinals rightyCarlosMartinez FA he play?Whataward can’thewin? the bases —and there’sachanceit I’dpay to watch is the answeratthe end of the season. JOE will be something you’ve neverseen Iknowhe’snot adynamic offensiveplayer,but Bestpitcher before. Defensively,heisabletochase I’dpay to watch I’ve alwayslovedwatching Reds outfielder Billy Istill think Cole,ifhealthy, has aCyYoung run in him. down almost anything and makesome Ithink the most exciting play in baseball is the .Icrave Hamilton becauseofhis incredible baserunning amazing catches. that moment when yousee aguy round second at full speed arrogance. Rickey Hendersonwas the last I’dpay to watch and decide if he’sgoing to thirdornot. With Hamilton, you player I’ve seen with that much confidenceand When Schwarber arrives at home plate, Istopwhatever I’mdoing McCutchen comeback get that will he/won’theonwhat is asuresingle forothers, baserunning aptitude.Ijusthope he builds off his to watch. That’s telling me something. Yes, and he’ll turn it intoadouble —oryou start wondering about second half lastseason and generates a.320 or especially McCutchen comeback an inside-the-park homer off the bat. Last year,hescored better on-basepercentage. Yes. Thereisalmostnoprecedent foraplayer this young to be in if he’sless from secondonapassedball. That’s excitement forme. worn out McCutchen comeback serious decline after being as good as McCutchen. Ialso expect him becausehe McCutchen comeback Yes, Ithink so.Itnever looked likehewas an to be incredibly motivated. So 2+2=Great

no longer That’s in theeye of the beholder.Idon’tknowthat he’ll be an aging hitter who wasovermatched, which is playsin MVP candidateagain, but Ithink he’stoo good of aplayer to something yousee in declining players. center MARK SHELDON not come back to some extent.Ihope he does, forthe sakeof It justlooked likehewas anxious and his timing RobBiertempfel is aTribune-Reviewstaff writer.Reach him at field. REDS.COM baseball fans. wasoff. [email protected] or via Twitter@BiertempfelTrib. 4 · SUNDAY, APRIL 2,2017 BASEBALL’17 NATIONALLEAGUE

CY YOUNG MOST //////////////////// PLAYOFF PREDICTION \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ WINNER VALUABLE PLAYER NL WILDCARD NLDS NLCS WORLD SERIES GIANTS CUBS NATS CUBS CUBS BEAT BEAT BEAT BEAT BEAT METS METS DODGERS NATS INDIANS KRIS BRYANT

NL WEST OUTLOOK

Thee DodgerDodgersas arere cocomingming o offff The Giants’ run of even-year Heading intospring training, The Diamondbacks can Executivti echhairmani RRon their fourth consecutiveNL championships ended last the Rockieswereatrendy score—theywerefourth in Fowler said lastyearhe West title and atriptothe season with the pick to makearun at their the NL lastseason with 752 doesn’texpectthe Padres to NL Championship Series, meltdown againstChicago. first playoff berth since2009. runs. The return of CF A.J. be competitivefor at least so theyappear to be the But this squad has all the Theysignedmanager Bud Pollock and RF two seasons. Theyhave biggest threat to theCubs’ ingredientstocontend again. Black to athree-year deal from injuriesshould makethe decided on along-term plan dominance. Having wonthe LH and to take overfor . lineup even moreformidable, to developyoung players,a NL Rookie of the Ye ar award, RH JohnnyCuetoprovide Theybrought in former and 2B could dramatic shift from GM A.J. SS CoreySeager expects to one of the best 1-2punches shortstopand outfielder have abreakout year.1BPaul Preller’swildshopping spree be ready foropening dayafter at the topofany rotation Ian Desmond to learn first Goldschmidt remains one of two offseasons ago.1BWil being sidelined formostof in the majors, and afull base and bulked up their the game’smostdangerous Myers, the only holdover March with astrained oblique. season from LH shakybullpen with RH sluggers. But the pitching from that win-nowattempt The Dodgerssucceeded in after he wasacquired at and LH Mike mustimprove forthis team to that failed, has become an COREYSEAGER keeping much of the roster the trade deadline lastyear Dunn. Theyalready had have anyhope of challenging All-Star and the current face intact, including re-signing from Ta mpa Baymakes San one of the mostformidable the Dodgersand Giantsinthe of the franchise,although RH KenleyJansen, 3B Franciscotougher.The lineup lineups in the league with 3B NL West.RHZack Greinke he could soon be challenged Justin Tu rner and LH Rich is deep,led by CBusterPosey ,RFCarlos battled injuriesthroughout forthat distinction by Hill. The outfield will be a and SS Gonzalez, SS , his first season in Arizona promising youngsters like platoon situation involving and keycontributorslike CF and after the Diamondbacks CAustin Hedgesand RF right-handed hittersYasiel RF Hunter Penceand 1B 2B D.J. LeMahieu.But this signed him to asix-year, .The Padres Puig,Trayce Thompson . Newcloser spring they’ve been hit hard $206.5 million contract. will experiment with using and Scott VanSlykeand has 98 by injuries.Desmond had RH ShelbyMillerwas awful Christian Bethancourt as a left-handed hittersAndre savesthe pasttwo seasons in surgery on his broken left after Arizona gave up two catcher,pitcher and outfielder. Ethier,KikeHernandez,Joc Pittsburgh and Washington hand and will missseveral topprospects to acquirehim SanDiego hasn’thad Pederson and Andrew To les. to lead the majors. weeks. LH Chris Rusin has from Atlanta. awinning season When healthy, therotation is an oblique injury,outfielder since2010and hasn’t strong, but severalpitchers is dealing with made the playoffssince —including aceClayton injured ribs and catcher To m claiming consecutiveNL Kershaw—are coming off Murphycould missamonth West titlesfrom AP injuries. with ahairline fractureinhis 2005-06. right forearm. NL CENTRAL OUTLOOK

The Cubs areingreat shape The Cardinals—bolstered Pittsburgh’smargin for Generalmanager David Afterllosingi 9 988 andd 9494 games as they try to become by amostly healthyrotation is small if it wantsto Stearns’ rebuilding project the pasttwo seasons while baseball’sfirst repeat World and the signing of OF Dexter rebound. RH Ivan Nova needs appearstobeonschedule trading away the core of their Serieswinner sincethe New Fowler away from Chicago to sustain themomentum after the team’sfive-win team, the Reds arehoping to Yo rk Ya nkeeswon from —are expectedtomake he built after arriving in a improvement last season. leveloff this year.Theybrought 1998 to 2000.LHMike their division rivals work trade-deadline deal with the Slick-fielding SS Orlando in RH to stabilize Montgomery likely will get a foreverything theyearn in Ya nkees. The young arms Arcia is the first member of an historically bad bullpen, fewstartstohelpkeep LH 2017. Fowler brings anew behind him in the rotation Milwaukee’spotential future which converted only 28 Brett Anderson healthyand element of athleticism to mustmaturequickly,and RF core to arriveinthe majors, of 53 chances and lessen the load on the rest St. Louisoffensively and in Andrew McCutchen needs and topprospects including gave up amajor league- of the rotation. Chicago also the field, and MikeMatheny aquicker startthan the outfielder Lewis Brinsonand record 103homers. The will be cautious with LF Kyle is counting on thecenter sluggish first three months left-handed starter Josh injury setbacks with Schwarber and his powerful fielder to aid what has been that marked his disappointing Hader could get looks by AnthonyDeSclafani left-handed swing after he alargely station-to-station 2016 season. Gerrit Cole September.For now, the top and missed mostoflastyearafter approach by the Cardinals, returning to the All-Star form of the lineup looks intriguing leavethe rotation in major left knee surgery.RH who were last in the National he showedin2015 also would with speedy 2B Jonathan atough spot as the Wade Davisreplaces Aroldis League in steals last season. help. Villar andOFKeonBroxton season opens. CF Billy Chapman as the closer after The Cardinalsmissed the likely hitting ahead of LF Ryan Hamilton had his best the leftysignedwith the postseason forthe first time Braun and 1B . season and reclaimed Ya nkeesinfreeagency. The since2010, thanks in large The pitching staff could be the leadoff role last 6-foot-5Davis waslimited part to injuries that caused bolsteredifGuerraand Davies year.1BJoeyVotto 1 to 43 ⁄3 innings lastyear the pitching staff’sERA to continue to developand showedhe’sstill one with the Royals because of a rise from aNational League- Nelson and Peraltarebound of the league’sbest forearm injury,but RH Hector best 2.94 in 2015 to 4.08 last forafull season. The bullpen hitters. Oft-injured Rondon and RH Koji Uehara season. St. Louisexpects its is abit more of aquestion catcher Devin also have closing experience. rotation to enter the season mark than in recent years. Mesoracoishoping healthyevenwiththe lossof forapart-time hard-throwingrookie Alex role as he recovers KYLE SCHWARBER Reyestoelbow surgery early from his second hip in spring training. operation. GETTY IMAGES NL EAST OUTLOOK

Washington’slineup is The Metshavethe Owner Jeffrey Loriaistrying Aftertwo straight seasons Afterfour straightlosing probably as good as it ever talent to makearun to sell, and he approved with 90-plus losses, the seasons, the Phillieshave hasbeen, especially if RF forathird consecutive increasing payroll by one- Braves aretalking boldly modest expectations. They’re and 1B Ryan playoff appearance. Every thirdtoabout $100 million, about contending fora stillrebuilding and probably Zimmerman bounceback experienced regular besides perhapstomakethe team playoff spot. That might be a ayearawayfromthinking from down yearsand SS Trea CF spent moreappealing to prospective bit of astretch, but the team postseasoncontention. The Tu rner comesevenclose to time on the disabled listlast buyers. But depth remains has improvedoverthe past team added three veterans replicating what he did as season. The primary concern aproblem, and the minor year.General manager John in LF ,RF runner-up forNLRookie of is the overall fitness of a league systemisthin, Coppolella deserves credit for Michael Saundersand RH the Ye ar whilelearning anew young, gifted, fragile rotation meaning injuriescould sink speeding up the rebuilding ClayBuchholz who have position, center field. Tu rner led by RH the season.The Marlins face job by making severalone- postseasonexperienceand will be back at his natural —the only established starter achallengeatthird base, sided trades, including adeal should help Philadelphia win spot, shortstop, andthe team who made it through the whereMartin Prado will miss with Arizona that landed gameswhile holding down a hopesCFAdam Eatonwill full 2016 season. RH Matt openingday becauseofa SS DansbySwanson and fewspotsuntil some of the provide stability. Harvey,RHJacob deGrom, strained right hamstring and CF , as well youngsters areready.The offerspop from both sidesas LH Stephen Matz and RH couldbesidelinedfor several as acquiring OF starting rotation is pretty the newcatcher.IfRHMax arecoming off weeks. 2B Dee Gordon, 1B from SanDiego fornothing deep,though it lacks atrue Scherzerand RH Stephen surgery.New Yo rk quickly Justin Bour and $325 million morethan taking on his ace, and the organization has Strasburgare healthy, the re-signed LF Yo enis Cespedes sluggerGiancarlo Stanton massivecontract. The lineup severalpitching prospects rotation should be quitegood lastfall for$110 million over missed significant playing packs some punch with close to being ready forthe again, maybe even strong four years. The Metsare time lastseason, dooming Kemp sandwiched between majors. Abunch of young enough to prevent bullpen 106-74 with Cespedesinthe Miami’sbid to makethe 1B and RF hitters also areknocking on questions from having much lineup sinceAugust2015. playoffsfor the firsttime . Pitching will the door and could get the of anegativeeffect. since2003. The daily lineup hold the keytohow well call to the big leaguesthis remains thesame forthe the Braves fare this season, summer. thirdyearinarow,and the their first in newsuburban BRYCEHARPER group willget one last chance stadium, SunTrustPark, TEAMS LISTED IN BEAT WRITER ROBBIERTEMPFEL’S PREDICTED to end the longest postseason which replaces Tu rner Field. ORDER OF FINISH IN DIVISION drought in the NL. AP SUNDAY, APRIL 2, 2017 · 5 BASEBALL’17 AMERICANLEAGUE

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// PLAYOFF PREDICTION \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ MOST VALUABLE WINNER ALCS ALDS AL WILDCARD PLAYER INDIANS RED SOX INDIANS ASTROS BEAT BEAT BEAT BEAT RED SOX RANGERS ASTROS ROYALS

AL WEST OUTLOOK

Texaswon an AL-high 95 games The Astros appear to have The Angelscome off the The Marinerscompleted the The A’sare comingoff a last year and hastaken the allthe pieces necessary to worstseason of manager Mike second phase of their remodel second straight last-place divisiontitleinboth seasons makeadeeppostseason run Scioscia’s long tenurewith thispastoffseason. GM Jerry finish and the worsttwo-year under Jeff Banister. But over and possibly contend fora hopesfor aquick turnaround. Dipotowanted alineupthat run forthe franchise since the course of 162games,the championship after narrowly CF is the center of waslessreliant on the long 1978-79, beforeBilly Ball, the Rangers outscoredtheir oppo- missing the playoffslast everything after winninghis ball and betterdefensively in Bash BrothersorMoneyball. nents by only eight runs in 2016. seasonfollowinga7-17start. second MVP award, and he theoutfield. SS Aftermovingtop players like Theylostthe big batsofIan The already-powerful lineup intends to steal more bases. and LF Jarrod Dysonlegitimize , and Desmond, MitchMoreland and ledbylastyear’sALbatting Despite salary constraints the topofthe orderand can Coco Crisp lastseasonbefore Carlos Beltran in the offseason. champ2BJose Altuveand caused by ownerArte be speedytable-setters for2B losing them in free agency, The return of 1B 2015 Rookieofthe Ye ar SS Moreno’sfree-spending past, RobinsonCano,DHNelson this doesn’tappear to be the should help.CJonathan Lucroy gotaboost GM Billy Epplerpluggedtwo Cruz and 3B Kyle Seager. The year the A’swillvault back into and OF Carlos Gomezwerebig with theadditionofslugging holes by puttingthe athletic keys to scoring more will be 1B contention. The offense does acquisitions late last season. veterans Carlos Beltranand in left field, DannyValencia and RF Mitch have some powerled by LF Adrian Beltregoesintohis 20th 3B Josh Reddick. Akey for withBen Revere backing him Haniger.Their production will Chris Davisand SS Marcus major leagueseason58hits Houstonwillbefor LH Dallas up,and OrangeCounty native determine whether Semien, and the bullpen ADRIAN BELTRE shyof3,000,and Elvis Andrus Keuchel, the2015 AL Cy Yo ung DannyEspinosaatsecond actually lengthened itslineup is prettydeepwithseveral is coming off his best offensive Awardwinner,toreboundfrom base. The lineupappears to be or it essentiallyends at No. former closersavailable to set year.Withahealthy adisappointingand injury- improved, and if thestarting 5. RHP FelixHernandez up RH closer Ryan Madson. and ,the Rangers shortened 2016 season to lead rotationstayshealthyand appearsdeterminedto But the rotation is mostly built areset at the topofthe rotation, the rotation. The Astros will pitchesreasonably well,a rebound from last year’s on youngpromise behind the and LH MartonPerez started 33 also look formorefromRH return to playoff contention average performance, and banged-up RH SonnyGray. games last season.IfRHTyson LanceMcCullers afterhewas might not be completely outof LH wasacritical Ross and/orRHAndrewCashner slowedbyinjuriesaswell. And the question. winteracquisition. Seattle cancontribute, the rotation will they’ll need RH Collin McHugh has thelookofateamthat getaboost. SamDyson excelled and RH CharlieMorton to could improve by afew wins, as the closerlastyear, while shoreupthe back of the which might be enoughto RH MAtt Bushand RH To ny rotation if they hope to beat end baseball’slongest playoff Barnetteestablishedthemselves outTexasand Seattle forthe drought. withstrongperformancesas AL West crown. 30-something rookies. REUTERS AL CENTRAL OUTLOOK

With perhaps the league’s Royals GM Dayton Moore The Tigershavemade no This season looks likelotsof The TwT insi rankedk d a deepest pitching staff including thinkshis starting rotation is secret of the fact they’ll need losses and trades. LH Jose respectable sixth in the RH CoreyKluber, RH Carlos thebestithas beenduring his to cut costssoon, but they’ve Quintana and 3B To dd Frazier American Leagueintotal Carrascoand RH Danny tenure,evenifjustabout every generally put off doing so.RH likely will be shipped out at basesand eighth in OPS Salazar, the Indians areanAL spot is tenuous. He also thinks ,1BMiguel some point this season, and despitetheir abysmal record favoriteand appear poised Kansas Cityhas more powerat Cabreraand 2B RH David Robertson also lastyear. CF ’s to return to theWorld Series. the plate this year thanks to 3B areback, and Detroit is ready couldbeonthe move in the sparkling September,following Lastyear, they exceeded MikeMoustakas’ return from to makeanother bid fora right deal. The WhiteSox asecond straight frustrating expectations and built a3-1 atornACL and the signing of postseason spot. Verlander seem fully committed to a summer,restoredhis and the Seriesleadagainst the Cubs DH . Butthere and Cabreraare stillproducing major overhaul, and they club’sconfidenceinthe 2012 beforelosing three straight — areplentyofquestion marks likestars,and RH Michael added severalprospects when second overall draft pick. 2B including adramatic Game 7at up anddownthe lineup,not to Fulmer wonRookie of the Ye ar theytraded away Chris Sale Brian Dozier probably hit his home.This season, the Indians mention on the pitchingstaff. honorslastyear. If the Tigers and Adam Eatonoverthe powerceiling in 2016, but if will try to finish the job.There LH DannyDuffyshowedsigns aregoing to take another step winter.The WhiteSox still Buxton and 3B Migual Sano areinjury concerns with LF of blossoming intoanace late forward, they’ll probably need have SS , who canstrikeout less and get on Michael Brantleyand 2B Jason lastyear, butisyet to putit RH and wasimpressiveinhis first base morethere’sthe potential Kipnis, who won’tbeready for alltogether forafull season. LH to perform majorleague stint lastyear. in placefor aproductive the start of the season because RH was well afterboth dealt with injury 1B Jose Abreu is going forhis offense.The resuscitation of of shoulder inflammation. signed after the tragicdeath problems aseason ago. fourth straight season of at the team with the worstrecord 3B Jose Ramirez could slide of RHP Yo rdanoVentura in a least25homersand 100 RBIs. in the majorslastseason CARLOS CARRASCO overtohelpfillinatsecond caraccident in theDominican mustbegin with starting base.But the addition of DH Republic. pitching that ranked Edwin Encarnacion finally gives 30th out of 30 in wins Cleveland the intimidating, (37), ERA(5.39)and middle-of-the-order slugger strikeouts(655). the club has covetedsince the glory days of , MannyRamirez andAlbert Belle.

GETTY IMAGES AL EAST OUTLOOK

It will take awhile to get used Afterlosing in the ALCS each With starting shortstopDidi The Oriolesintendtoonce The Rays have missed the to lifewithout , of the pasttwo seasons, Gregorius expectedtomiss again pound the opposition playoffsinthree consecutive but ’syoung core of To rontohopestotakethe the first month of the sea- intosubmission, hoping seasons, but abudget-mind- RF Mookie Betts, CF Jackie next stepin2017. To get to son with ashoulder injury, their power-laden lineup is ed front officefeels spending Bradleyand SS Xander Bo- the Fall Classic, Theywill have Ronald To rreyes figures to enough to overcome aques- modestly in free agencyto gaertscertainly putsthe Red to overcome the lossof1B/ fill in. Ateamintransition, tionable starting rotation. sign CWilson Ramosand OF Soxamong the early favorites DH Edwin Encarnacion, the the Ya nkeesplan to start That’s whyExecutiveVP ColbyRasmus, trading forOF in the .How slugger who signed with AL three youngplayers in CGary of Baseball Operations Dan Mallex Smith and pitching fartheygowilldepend upon champion Cleveland. The Blue Sanchez, 1B Greg Birdand RF Duquettebrought back DH prospectRHJose De Leon, howwell the new-look rota- Jays will hope forabounce- AaronJudge and await the Mark Tr umbo and paid heav- and giving defensivewhiz CF tion performs, how3BPablo back year from RF Jose emergenceoftop prospects ily to retain 1B KevinKiermaier asix-year, Sandovallooks after sitting Bautista,hobbled by foot ,JustusSheffield, one year earlier.Fivestarters $53.5 million contractwill out nearly all of lastseason and knee injurieslastseason, JamesKaprielian and Gleyber hit at least25homerslast help theclub escape the AL and whether the lineup and apowerboostfromDH To rres.OF/DH season forateam thatearned East cellar.Alingering ques- remains as potent without KendrysMoralesashemoves should provide moreoffense aplayoff berth forthe third tion is whether Ta mpaBay Ortiz’sgame-changing left- into hitter-friendly Rogers than AlexRodriguezdid time in fiveyears.The theory has done enough to improve XANDER BOGAER handed bat. LH Chris Sale’s Centre. To rontohas reason to before his Augustrelease last is that the ascension of LF the overall talent around team TS addition brings an instant feel good about itsrotation, year.After his hot start, San- Hyun Soo Kim to the leadoff leader 3BEvanLongoria, es- boosttothe pitching staff, arguably one of the strongest chezcooled in lateSeptember spot and the acquisition of RF pecially sinceRamos, SS Matt giving them apowerful 1-2-3 in theAmerican League, but and mustshowhecan adjust will improve the Duffy Duffy and RH Brad punch that includesRHRick doesn’thavemuchdepth when pitcherspound his weak team’sabilitytoput run- Boxberger figuretobegin the Porcello and LH , should anyofits projected spot. Judge mustcut down nersonbase ahead of those season on the disabled list. the 2012 AL Cy Yo ungwinner startersgodownwith an on his strikeoutsand Bird long balls. If the starterscan who has been injured mostof injury.Despite struggling for needs to establish himself as keep the Oriolesinthe game spring training. Mexicointhe WorldBase- an everydayplayerafter miss- through six or seveninnings, ball Classic, the youngRH ing all of 2016. the formidable bullpen should RobertoOsuna is adepend- be able to finish up nicely. able anchor at the back of the bullpen. AP

d G 6 · SUNDAY, APRIL 2, 2017 BASEBALL’17 ONTHEPIRATES

Q&A WITH PIRATES GM Pirates

HUNTINGTON·FROM 1 in termsofevaluating very quickly from being able tospend not the Tr ib: Yo ur first trade came need to what type of evaluatorsand topofthe international pool but in December 2007, when you Tr ib: When were youable instructors we had. Thereisno alot morethan we had in the sent pitcher Salomon To rres that first week on the job questionthat by year three of the pasttothe newruleschanging to theBrewers.Whatdid that to really evaluatewhat you draft and year three of trading, the amount we canspend. Now, teach youabout the trade had to work with, wasthe we hadabetter comfort level we have some of the smallest process? perform challenge about what you with each of our evaluatorsand budgetsinthe international pool expected? instructors. overthe lastthree or four years. Huntington: Our intent was The mistakesare mine.Iown That’s become achallenge. purely to create some moneyto Huntington: About aweek in them. But that’s been advice Even the old systemgot us. allowustoattack some other GORMAN · FROM 1 waswhen one of my counterparts I’ve given to newGMs —really Thereweremultiple picks …that areas. We knewweweretaking told me I’dhavebeen better off dig deep on your evaluators we had drafted in the seventh some risk on the return because moving to right field, against his taking overanexpansion franchise and instructors.Maximizetheir round or the 18th round with the Salomon wascoming off anot- wishes.Hevowed to USA Today because we could have built from strengths. In hindsight, Idon’t intent to signfor well above slot. greatyearand was owedwhat to have a“monster year,whether scratch. (Laughs) knowifwemaximized that. Three yearslater,theycame out at that time wasalotofmoney it’s in Pittsburgh or somewhere But, really,there were so many It wasacombination of, as first-orsecond-orthird-round forthe role he wasin. He wasa else.” good people in place. Iprobably that first draft, implementing picks. If we had (signed) them, very good major-league pitcher. Here’s hoping it’s at PNCPark, wasoverlycritical when Iwalked asystemwewanted on the we essentially would have added The call …it’sone thing to watch thatCutchplays with aven- in the door.Wealso knewthere amateur side —and, yes, it’s awhole otherdraft. That wasour someone else makethe call to tell geance and returns to All-Star needed to be wholesale changes evolved overthe years—but also intent and our mindset. But the aplayerhe’sbeen traded, and it’s form. in personnel areasand some on the proside, implementing system got us. By the time we another to makethat call yourself. Cole won10, 11 and 19 games in strategic areas—certainly,in asystemwewanted and the could move forwardwithoffers I’dmade it as afarm directoron the analyticsarea. We needed to his first three seasons butwent typesofplayers we’relooking for, on those typesofplayers,they occasion to aprospect. But until 7-10 with a3.88 ERA last season. pour resourcesintodifferent place not having areallyfull, strong had shiftedtheir mindset and then, I’dnever called amajor ThePirates need Cole to be the than they’dbeen investedbefore. foundation understanding of what committedtogotocollege. league player. Thereweregood people here, but our evaluatorsand instructors So,while the old systemworked SalomonlovedPittsburgh, and ace of ayoung rotation thatin- we knewweneeded to add to that strengths and challengeswere forus, therealsoweresome flaws he wasnot happythat we traded cludes Jameson Taillon and Ivan group.Weknewweneeded to because we inherited (them). We that worked againstus. Then the him. His intent wastofinishhis Nova,the kind they envisioined makesome tough changes. tried to implement it very quickly newsystemcompletely altered career in Pittsburgh, and he made upon drafting him No.1overall The one regret Ihaveabout my and we made some stridesvery howyou go about drafting players that very clear to me.Itwas ahard in 2011. entry is Iwas overlyharsh and quickly.Itdidn’tgot as well as and really put alimit on what you call.You talk about an eye-opener But it’s not just those two. overlycritical. Thereweresome others.Asweshifted intotalent- cando. We respectwhy that was that players do get attached to ThePirates need catcher Fran- things Iprobably should have kept accumulation mode full force,that done.Ifmorelarge-market clubs teammates,fans and situations. cisco Cervelli to stayhealthyand quiet. Thereweresome areas first and second trade deadlines had figured out what the RedSox He wasvery unhappythat we at least hit foraverage.They need wherethings were much worse became important. We weren’t and some of the small-market traded him. rookie Josh Bell to provehecan than Ianticipated coming in and giving up All-Star caliber players, teams had figured out, they It’s onething to tell a21-year-old makethe move to first base and otherswereitwas better than but we were giving up good probably would have exploited that you’ve tradedhim because providesome power. anticipated. major league players and we were their strengths overthe small he doesn’treally know aboutthe They need the Harrison of hoping to bring back as much marketsanyway. So the system worldyet and he mightnot have 2014, when he hit .315 with 13 Tr ib: Howmuchresistance as we could. In some cases, we probably needed to be changed. createdrelationshipswith abunch did youget —maybe succeeded. In others, it didn’tgo We’veevolved. Te ams do have of different people.But when you home runs andpossibly play morefromoutside your the waywebelieveditwas going success finding players late in trade agrown manand hisfamily’s multiple positions,and shortstop organization than inside it to go. the first,second,third and fourth got tiestothe city from which JordyMercer to hit better than —about your application of rounds. We need to be that team. you’ve traded him, it’s hard. .256. advanced analytics? Tr ib: As MLB keeps We need to be ateamthat has ThePirates need Jung Ho changing the rules success picking lateinthe draft Tr ib: Yo u’re signed through Kang, denied avisaafter his Huntington: Fortunately forthe draft and because we want to be 2017withacluboption for thirdDUI in SouthKorea, to forus, we had people who’d free agency, how picking lateevery year. next year.What’sleftfor you clean up his act offthe field. If ventured down that path before, difficult is it to do in Pittsburgh and where Kang returns this season —the and theyhad success.Weworked to adapt and do yougofromhere? Pirates areoptimistichewill— really hardtoblend modern- keep the same they need himtostartatthird dayanalyticsand modern-day organizational Huntington: Ilove what I and continue hitting home runs thought with some old-school, philosophy? Pirates general do and the people that Iget an (21last year and 36 over 229 tried-and-true traditions. The manager Neal opportunityIget to do it with. games) at the cleanup spot. challenge became truth over Huntington: Our Huntington. Ilove thechallengesthat are tradition and what worked in the first four years, we inherent in asmall market. It’s the ThePirates need two-time Gold pastmay not work going forward, invested moreinthe only thing I’ve ever known. Glove winner Starling Marte to what we think is going to work draft than anybody, CHRISTOPHER HORNER In Montreal, we were asmall stayhealthy, shine in center and going forwardactuallyisnot. and we doubled and TRIBUNE-REVIEW market and working in Dave hit -digit home runs again Accurateself-evaluation and the tripled our international Dombrowski’slegacy, then after smacking nine last year. abilitytotakeastep back and (free agent) budget. It working with DanDuquette. What They need Gregory Polancoto figureout whysomething worked allowedustobring in agreat learning opportunity. makeasmooth transition to left or didn’twork wasimportant. alot of very good When ImovedtoCleveland, field and finallyliveuptohis bill- Therewerepioneers on the players.Wefelt we were alarge-revenue team, ing as the Next Big Thing. analyticsside of it beforewe liketherewere because local revenuesdrove the ThePirates need David Freese jumped in. It’s interesting, that it timeswe boat at the point in time,but we to fill in forKangand forPhil if you’dasked mostpeople who were able evolved quickly back intowhat Gosselin and to knewmewell when Itook thejob, to get two we were,and that wasasmall- providebatsoff thebenchto theywould have said Iwas more first round- market team.Tolearn under replace Matt Joyceand Sean scouting-development oriented. caliber Mark Shapiroand learn with Chris Rodriguez. Very quickly upon rampingup players Antonetti wasanoutstanding our analyticsapproach, Ibecame or two opportunity. ThePirates need their young known as an analytics guy.That’s second- or My goal is to continue to pitching stafftogrowupquickly, agoodthing,because we want third- put us in aposition to bring a theirbullpen to become sharks to be abalanced organization— round World Serieschampionship and to showhecan strong old-schoolbaseball, strong caliber hereasconsistently and be comfortableasthe closer. in scouting and development, but players frequently as we can. That’s alot to ask, especially also strong analytically.Webelieve because of Ahuge part of my goal when they didn’t break the bank we’reonthe right path. the amount is also to help othersto to makemajor roster upgrades or of money reach their goals —tohelp makehis remaining cornerstone Tr ib: What wasmore we invested people become major league players happythispastoffseason. challenging: getting through in the draft. managers, farm directors But these areyour Pirates, your first amateur draft (when The new and scouting directors,minor aballclub one baseball man — youtookPedroAlvarez in the system league coordinatorsand scouting Bottom-Line Bob Nutting —ex- first round) or learning the took that supervisors. That’s as much what pects to be a“very good baseball processofmaking tradesand away.The fuels me as anything because if signing free agents? better team we do that, that processshould team.” youare, create winning baseball in This is theshiphe’s built, sink Huntington: One of the things the smaller Pittsburgh. I’mstill challenged by or swim,and it’s up to the players that wasachallenge wassomuch your (signing that everyday. to performtohis expectations, of the staff wasinherited. We bonus)pool is, realistic or not. made afew changesinscouting and it becomes RobBiertempfel is aTribune-Review and in development, but primarily that much more staff writer.Reach him at KevinGormanisaTribune-Reviewstaffwriter. we went with what already was challenging. [email protected] [email protected] here. It made forsome challenges, We’vegone via Twitter@BiertempfelTrib. orviaTwitter@KGorman_Trib. SUNDAY, APRIL 2, 2017 · 7 BASEBALL’17 DRAFTS/TRADES

RobBiertempfelisaTribune-Reviewstaffwriter.Reachhimatrbiertempfel@tribweb.comorviaTwitter@BiertempfelTrib.

HUNTINGTON’S Wasted pick: RHP GERRITCOLE SIGNIFICANT the Nationals forJoel fiveseasons. In 2012,he Rays forSeanRodriguez. DRAFTSSINCE Stetson Allie (second TRADESBY Hanrahan andLastings reinvented himself as areliever. Borden is still in the Rays’ BECOMINGGM round) got a$2.25 million HUNTINGTON Milledge. Valdezspent sevenmonths in the farm system. Rodriguezbecame bonus and wastouted Burnett became adecent Pirates’systembeforebeing sold asolid super-utilityplayerand hit 2008 as apowerarm with big 2007 relieverr, and Morgan wasa to the Marlins. 16 homerslastseason. upside.Hewent 0-3with First pick: PedroAlvarez Dec. 7: Salomonn speeedy outfielder with an a7.76ERA in 17 minor 2011 2015 (second overall) signed To rres to outgoingu personality. league starts beforebeing July 30: Aaron Baker to Jan. 27: to fora$6million bonus Brewersfor HHowever, the Pirates won switched to aposition the Oriolesfor . the Oriolesfor Stephen after along, unpleasant Kevin Roberts thih sdeal simply because player. The move wasmade with an Ta rpleyand . negotiation process. and Marino Hanrahan became a Others: RHP Nick eyetowardgetting aplayoff spot. Ano-lose move.Snider Alvarez hit131 homersbut Salas. big-time closerwith Kingham (fourth round), Although that bid failed, Lee eventually wasreleased and wasjustas(in)famousfor This was SALOMONTORRES 82 saves overfour RHP Brandon Cumpton lived up to his end. He played the re-signed with the Pirates.Brault his feeble defensiveskills. Huntington’s seasons. (ninth), RHP Jared Lakind final 28 gamesofhis career with made his big league debut this Best pick: SS Jordydy first trade.Torres wasastarter, July 22: Adam LaRoche (d(23rd), RHP Casey the Pirates and batted .337with pastseason. Tarpleylater was Mercer(thirdroundd) middle relieverand eventually a to the RedSox for Sadlerd (25th). sevenhome runs. dealt to the Yankeesfor Ivan has been an part-timecloseroversix seasons Argenis Diaz and Hunter Nova. everydayplayer 2011 with the Pirates.Henotched 28 Strickland. 2012 the pastthree LaRochenever becamme July 30: JaCobyJones FiF rst pick: RHP savesfor the Brewersin2008, Feb. 19: Exicardo to theTigersfor Joakim seasons. He is a GerritG Cole (first then retired. In 2008,Roberts the slugger the Pirates Cayonesand Diego reliable (albeit hopedfor but did finish Soria. oveo rall)made just pitched at Double-A, and Salas MorenoM to the Four months after the trade, not flashy) sixth in the MVP YYa nkeesfor A.J. JORDYMERCER 383 startsinthe LoLostst pick:ick CCRReese put up an 8.47 ERAin13relief Joneswas suspended 50 games defender with minorsbefore voting in 2012.He Burnett.B McGuire(second round) outings forthe Pirates. Both after afailed drug test.Soria acareer .257 being called up to retired after the ’15 Huntington has average and .691 OPS. wassenttothe Blue Jays were gone from theorganization pitched well down the stretchas the Pirates.Healready has season. Strickland aright to be proud Lost pick: Negotiations last summer in the Drew by 2009. asetup reliever. earned an All-Star bid and became akey FREDDYSANCHEZ of this one.Burnett with RHP Ta nner Hutchison trade. 2008 July 31: Jose Ta batato will head the rotation thisthis FtFast-rising pick: relieverfor the wore out his Scheppers(second round) season. July 26: Damaso Marte the Dodgersfor Michael were strained from the RHPChad Kuhl Giants,whoclaimed welcome in NewYork, and the Morse. Mostaggressive and to him off waiversfromthe Pirates Pirates got him forapair of outset, and he did not sign. joined the Ya nkeesfor , Double clunker. pick: OF Josh Bell PPirates rotation in 2013. low-levelminor leaguers. Burnett The Rangerstook him in waslured from afree Daniel McCutchen, Ross July 31: Adrian Sampson the first round in 2009, inJn une and July 29: Freddy Sanchez stabilized the rotation and wasa to theMarinersfor J.A. ride to the University Ohlendorf and Jose to the Giantsfor Tim and he’shad aho-hum ppitched well Ta bata. positiveinfluenceinthe Happ. of Texasbya$5 ennough(5-4, Alderson. career as areliever. million bonus, the Martespent threeseasons clubhouse. This one worked out better Others: SS Chase JOSHBELL 44.20 ERA, 1.32 Aformer NL battingg champ,p, JulyJuly 24:2 Colton Cain, than anyone could haveimagined mostevergiven to a WHIPW )toearn with the Yankeesand wona Sanchezwon aWorlld d’Arnaud (fourth round), second-rounder. Robbbie Grossman and at the time. first crack at the World Seriesring in 2009.Nady Seriesring in 2010. LHP (fifth), Lost pick: OF/INF Ruudy Owens to the Dec. 9: Neil Walker to the OF Robbie Grossman No.4spot this year. hung around the majorsthrough Aldersonnever AsA tros forWandy Trea Tu rner (20th round) 2014 as abench guy.Karstens, Metsfor . (sixth), 3B Matt Hague Others: OF JaCobyJones made it out of the RoR driguez. In hindsight, Huntington did not signand instead (thirdround), SS Adam McCutchen and Ohlendorf (ninth). went to N.C. State. The minors. Although he wononly admitted he should havetaken Frazier (sixth round). combined for44wins with the July 29: Ian 11 of his 30 startswiththe 2009 Padres took him in the Pirates.Tabatanever lived up to the twominor leaguersthe Mets first ror undin2014, Snell and Jack PiratP es,Rodriguezgave First pick: CTony 2014 hishype and eventually became JACKWILSON offered instead of Niese.Then andhd e’snow Wilson to theth rotation aneeded Sanchez(fourth First pick: SS Cole Tu cker again, salary dumpsrarely work anen merging toomuch of aliabilitytokeep the Mariners boost. overall)was taken (24th overall) missed out well. sts andout with the around. forBrett Lorin, Aaron Dec. 26: ahead of Mike mostof2015after having Dec. 17: and Nationals.N July 31: Jason Bayto Pribanic, Nathan Adcok, and to theRed Leake, A.J. Pollock, shoulder surgery but came Keon Broxtontothe Others:O 1B Alex BostonRed Soxfor Andy RonnyCedeno and Jeff Soxfor Ivan De Jesus, ShelbyMiller back strong lastseason. Brewersfor Jason Rogers. DickersonD (third LaRoche and Clement. Mark Melancon, Stolmy and MikeTrout. Lost pick: RHP It seemed likeadecent gamble NCHEZ round), RHP (from Dodgers) and Craig Neither team got much out of Pimentel and Jerry Sands. Sanchezplayedin TONYSA Trey Supak (second, at the time,but it has not worked Colten Brewer Hansen and Brandon this deal. From apublic relations Hanrahan pitched in justnine 51 gameswith the supplemental) wastraded, out that way. Broxtonstarted 58 (fourth), RHP Ty ler Moss(from RedSox). standpoint, it wasaclunker for gamesfor Boston before Pirates andhit .259. along with , games, batted .242 and stole 23 Glasnow(fifth), RHP Clay This three-team dealalwwasas thPihePiraates.Wilson was afan suffering career-ending arm Best pick: 2B Brock Holt in December 2015 to the bases beforebreaking his wrist Holmes(ninth). Huntington’sfirst favorito e. Cedeno oftenwas injuries. Melancon quickly (ninth round) hit .292in24 Brewersfor Jason Rogers. blockbuster. Bay hit latelastseason. Rogershit .080 gamesasarookie in 2012. Others: OF Connor Joe crriticizedfor alackof became adominant closer. 2012 .293overthe rest of foocus, such as when he in 32 games, wasdropped from That winter,hewas part of (first round, supplemental), 2008 with the Red 2013 the 40-man roster andnolonger First pick: RHP Mark RHP (third), wwore the wrong jerseyin asix-playertrade with the Sox, then lost his Aug. 27: fitsinthe Pirates’long-term Appel (eighthoverall) RHP Ty lerEppler (sixth), theh 2010 season finale. RedSox that brought Mark turned down an $3.8 and VicBlack to theMets plans. Melancon to Pittsburgh. RHP FrankDuncan (13th). form. LaRochewas Julyu 30: To m million offer and woundup giveneveryopportunityy JASONBAY Goro zelannyand forMarlon Byrd, John 2016 Lost pick: RHP being the only unsigned Buck and cash. (first round, supplemental) 2015 to be theeveryday thirdd JJohn Grabowtothe Aug. 1: ReeseMcGuire, first-rounder.Facing baseman but failed. Cubs forJose Ascanio, Byrdand (toalesser degree) wasthe compensation First pick: SS Kevin Buck played rolesinthe team’s Harold Ramirez and restrictions on bonuses, Newman (19th overall) Mossdidn’tdiscover hispower Josh Harrison and Kevin FranciscoLiriano to the pick forthe failuretosign the Pirates opted against push toward itsfirst Scheppers. Black pitched is abig-time threatwith stroke untilhejoined the A’sin Hart. Blue Jays forDrew sweetening their offer thethe bat,bat but some 2012. Morris wasareliable Grabowwas asolid reliever postseason berth in 20 Huutchison. in three gamesfor the Fast-rising pick: SSM ax Pirates,thenwas traded scoutu swonder if relieverwho ultimately became a butwas out of the game by 2012. years. Another salary Moroff (16th round) heee ventually Harrison became atop-notch Aug. 31: Duke with Dilson Herreratothe made his big league trade chip. dumpd ,spurred by Metsfor Marlon Byrdand willw move to Aug. 21: Jose Bautista utilityman and lastseason was Welker and debut lastJuly.He AlexPresleyto LiL riano’srapid decline. . seconds or third to the Blue Jays forr tthheever ryday second There’sstill time could be in line for base.b the Tw ins Wasted pick: RHP Zach another callup at some Robinzon Diaz. baseman. forHutchison to VonRosenberg(sixth Others: 3B Bautista hit265 forJustin OLIRIANO point this year. 2010 Morneau. FRANCISC develop intoa round) got a$1.2million Ke’Bryan homers in nine seasons Intriguing pick: KEVINNEWMAN Morneau useful starter. signing bonus but never Hayes(first with the Blue Jays. JJuly 31: Javier 3B Eric Wood (sixth LLopeztothe wasn’tmuch help down the Aug. 1: Stephen Ta rpley climbed higher than round, Diaz got 135at-bats round) blossomed GGiantsfor John stretch(.260/.370/.312) and and TitoPolo to the High-A Bradenton. supplemental), SS Kevin overtwo yearswith Ya nkeesfor Ivan Nova. lastsummer at Double-A Kramer (second) Bowker and Joe neverseemed to fit in the Others: RHP Brooks Altoona and had apower thePirates. TA This year’sversion of the Pounders(second round), JOSEBAUTIS Martinez. clubhouse. surge in the Arizona Fall 2016 2009 At the time of the Dec. 2: Kyle Haynes Happ trade.Nova RHP Phil Irwin (21st). League. First pick: 3B April 15: Minor leaguers trade,Lopezwas one of the best to theYankeesfor blossomed with the 2010 Others: OF Barrett Barnes (22nd overall)was abig leftyrelievers in thegame.He Chris Stewart. Pirates and in December (first,supplemental), RHP Harvey Garcia and Eric First pick: RHP Jameson bopper at Wake Forest (16 pitchedin68gamesfor the Agreat fit as the No.2 re-signed with Adrian Sampson (fifth), Krebs to the Dodgersfor Ta illon (secondoveraalll)l) HR,32extra-base hitsin catcher,Stewart them on a CJacobo Stallings Delwyn Yo ung. Giantsin2016. Bowker and wasthe first pitcher 275PAasajunior). three-year, (seve enth). Young had twomediocre Martinezare both outof eventually was takeninaclass Lost pick: LHP Nick seasons with the Pirates,then baseball. rewarded with a $26 million that included Drew 2013 Lodolo (first round, neverplayed again in the majors. July 31: two-year contract. supplemental) did not sign. Pomeranz, Matt FiF rst pick: OF June 3: NateMcLouth and cash to theDodgers contract. Harvey,Chris Sale, Others: RHP Travis to the Braves forGorkys forAndrew Lamboand AustinA Meadows MacGregor (second round), 2014 (ninth overall) Hernandez, Jeff Lockeand JamesMcDonald. and Noah SS Stephen Alemais . Dotel’sfour months in June 27: JAMESONTAILLON has crushed (third). Syndergaard. minor The best part of this deal for Pittsburgh marked his final As to the Angels Best pick: league pitching the Pirates wasitcleared the way stretchasacloser,although he arookie lastyear, Ta illon forErnesto Frieri. (.300/.368/.480)the past forAndrewMcCutchen to reach ppitched another three seasons. went 5-4 with a3.38 ERA Another case of four years. He’ll begin this the majors. Morton and Lambob and McDonald in 18 starts. addition by subtraction. season at Tr iple-A Indy but Lockehad some good weerebusts. NEILWALKER should reach Pittsburgh and bad stretches NNov. 24: Zach Grilli’sdeparturecleared the by September. before being sent DDuketothe wayfor Melancon to become away. DDiamondbacks for the full-time closer. Frieri was June 30: Sean CCesar Valdez. released Sept. 2. Burnett and Duke putupgood Dec. 1: Buddy PEDROALVAREZ to ZACHDUKE numbers over his first Borden to the

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