Pirates
Source: Pirates Front Office Was ‘Furious’ With Bob Nutting’s Comments
When Bob Nutting last addressed the media on June 21, the Pittsburgh Pirates owner provided fans with hope.
Nutting sounded like he was willing to expand the Pirates’ payroll – at least, within reason – so general manager Ben Cherington could bolster the team’s offense in hopes of making a run at the postseason this year.
“I’m not at all sure that we won’t have opportunities well in advance of the deadline,” Nutting said, referring to MLB’s July 30 deadline to make trades. “I think we should be prepared to move early. I think we should be prepared to take advantage of opportunities when they arise. I know Ben has that flexibility to look across a broader range of alternatives, options but also a timeline of when it makes sense to strike.”
The comment made many members of the Pirates’ front office “furious,” one member of the team’s baseball operations told Pittsburgh Baseball Now. They felt Nutting’s comments were “misleading, at best.”
“Bob implied we’re going to have money to spend, and he got the fans excited,” the person said under the condition of anonymity so he could speak freely without facing repercussions. “But he told us we don’t have any money to make any significant additions.”
According to Cot’s Contracts, the Pirates’ $86.9 payroll on opening day was the second-lowest in the major leagues behind the Oakland Athletics ($64.4). The Athletics are a special case as they are leaving Oakland at the end of the season and plan to spend three years playing in a Triple-A facility in Sacramento before moving into a new ballpark in Las Vegas in 2028.
The Pirates will likely have to offload a salary to add an impact hitter. Multiple executives from MLB teams told Pittsburgh Baseball Now that left-handed reliever Aroldis Chapman is available in trade talks. Chapman has a $10.5-million salary.
Nutting has faced fan criticism for his unwillingness to spend on player payroll for years. Even when the Pirates reached the postseason three years in a row from 2013-15, they did not make any major acquisitions at the trade deadline.
The Pirates, though, have signed left fielder Bryan Reynolds (eight years, $106 million), third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes (eight years, $70 million) and starting pitcher Mitch Keller (five years $77 million). There is speculation within the industry that the Pirates might be willing to offload Hayes’ contract.
The Pirates improved their record to 43-47 with an 8-2 victory over the New York on Monday at PNC Park. They are four games out of the third wild-card berth in the National League standings.
The Pirates have a promising starting rotation that includes rookies Paul Skenes and Jared Jones along with Keller, who won his 10th game of the season on Monday. However, the Pirates are scoring 4.11 runs a game, which ranks 19th among the 30 MLB teams.
The Pirates hired general manager Ben Cherington during the 2019-20 offseason to rebuild the organization. The Pirates finished last in the NL Central in each of Cherington’s first three seasons before going 76-86 last year, which was good for fourth place in the five-team division.
The understanding when Cherington was hired was that the Pirates would eventually no longer annually be among the bottom five teams in player payroll. Yet five years into Cherington’s tenure, the franchise is 29th in the league in payroll.
Two industry sources told Pittsburgh Baseball Now earlier this season that Nutting has not provided Cherington with the expected dollars for payroll.
“Ben in is a tough spot in Pittsburgh but he doesn’t say anything because he’s not an excuse maker,” said one of the sources, who has a longstanding relationship with Cherington. “He’s a good baseball man and a bright guy but he’s not able to do the job the way he needs to do it in Pittsburgh. His hands are tied. You can win without spending a lot of money now and again. but you can’t win when you spend no money.”
