Weekly Report: Updated Top 100's, Spring Breakout Booked, PiratesFest, Alike Goes & Exes Move

Pretty quiet...

Pirates Stuff:

• The Bucs released IF Alika Williams. He spent 2025 in Indy after hitting .202 in 83 games for the 2023-24 Pirates.
• Baseball America issued their updated Top 100 prospects list that rank Pirates pups SS Konnor Griffin (#1), RHP Bubba Chandler (#15), OF Edward Florentino (#28) and RHP Seth Hernandez (#38).Two other Bucco babes received votes for the top 100, but fell short: C/1B Rafael Flores and OF Jhostynxon García.
• Not to be outdone, MLB Pipeline dropped their Top 100 Prospects a few days later. Griffin was again #1, Chandler #11, Hernandez #29, Florentino #50 and LHP Hunter Barco joined the club at #96.

Bubba impressed the scouts...2025 Pirates photo

• The Saturday PiratesFest at the Lawrence Convention Center featured over two dozen players from the active roster and another ten noted alumni from Vern Law to Neil Walker, but the event was missing the three stars who connected the dots - prospect-with-bullet Konnor Griffin was on his honeymoon, Paul Skenes was being awarded his Cy Young that night and Andrew McCutchen was unsigned (Cutch seemed a little salty that the team didn't invite him to the party despite his status). Several other players missed the event as the snowstorm cancelled their travel plans, although the Pirates lucked out in that the flakes didn't fall until a few hours after the event closed.
• The Pirates will play the Detroit Tigers at LECOM Park in Bradenton on March 20 with the first pitch set for 7:05 PM in the third annual Spring Breakout Game. The game is a MLB prospect showcase, with the rosters limited to guys who have rookie status or less service time, like Konnor Griffin, Bubba Chandler and a small herd of outfielders who are all pushing for a big league shot. 

MLB Stuff: 

• January musical chairs - Good glove, light bat prospect SS Tsung-Che Cheng was let go by the Bucs and claimed by the Rays on 1/7, then dropped and taken by the Mets on 1/16. On 1/21, New York DFA'ed him. 
• The Twins signed former All-Star closer Taylor Rogers, 35, to a one-year/$2M agreement. The Pirates got Rogers from the Reds as part of the Ke’Bryan Hayes deadline deal, but just for a nano-second as he was flipped quickly to the Cubs for 22-year-old-OF Ivan Brethowr, who finished the summer at High A Greensboro.
• Andruw Jones, a 10-time Gold Glover, and nine-time All Star Carlos Beltrán (20+ HR 12 times, 100+ RBI eight times, 100+ runs seven times) were elected to the Hall of Fame by the Baseball Writers on Tuesday night. They'll join Jeff Kent in the Class of 2026. The trio will be inducted at Cooperstown on July 26.

1/26: Cobra, ElRoy & Maz Sign, Gumbert - Kinslow, Strike Zoning, First Fanfest, USA!; HBD Josh, Jeff & Kaiser

• 1874 - RHP Irvin “Kaiser” Wilhelm was born in Wooster, Ohio. Kaiser tossed one year in Pittsburgh (1903), going 5-3/3.24 before bouncing around between the show and the farm. While in the bushes, he authored a perfect game for Birmingham in 1906 and put together the minor league record (still standing) for consecutive shutout innings with 59 the following year, also as a Baron. And yes, his nickname was thanks to Germany’s Kaiser Wilhelm (it didn’t help that his middle name was Key) - and it was a moniker that Wilhelm absolutely despised. 
• 1895 - RHP Addison “Ad” Gumbert was traded to the Brooklyn Grooms for C Tom Kinslow. The deal stirred some controversy on a couple of fronts. First, it happened four days after a newspaper report (which he denied) claimed he bad-mouthed the Pirates’ Pink Hawley trade. Additionally, the Reds protested, saying they had a prior handshake deal for Gumbert with manager Connie Mack, but that argument was rejected by the league. Ad, only 26, had gone 26-21/5.71 for the Bucs in 1893-94 and Kinslow was a back-up catcher. Neither team got much out of the deal as both retired after the 1896 season. Ad was a local boy who was elected County Sheriff in 1906 & County Commissioner in 1915 (he became Chairman), where he was a key figure in the building of the three Sister bridges. He also headed a variety of benevolent efforts - in fact, Pittsburgh Mayor William Magee once appointed him an Assistant Director of Charities for the City - and belonged to several service groups, including the Masons, Shriners and Odd Fellows. Ad passed away in 1925 from a brain tumor and is buried in Homewood Cemetery. 
• 1942 - The Pirates were “going patriotic” (red, white & blue) with their 1942 uniforms, according to the Pgh Press. The caps were blue, with a red P, visor and top button. The jerseys lost the Pirates Buccaneer logo on the chest and instead featured the nation’s colors. The home unis sported red Pirates across the chest with blue trim and the road tops carried Pittsburgh in red with blue piping. The player’s number on the back would be the opposite, with a blue number surrounded by red trim. The socks and pant stripes were blue and red. Actually, it was keeping with the traditional blue-red combo they had worn in different combos since the turn of the 20th century; they didn’t adopt the current black and gold colors of the City Seal until 1948. 

Billy Maz - 1959 Topps

• 1959 - After hitting .275, winning his first All Star nod and being awarded a Golden Glove, the Bucs rewarded Bill Mazeroski by doubling his contract from a guesstimated $10K to $20K. It was his second year as a starter, and in those two seasons (1957-58) he batted .277 to go with his legendary leather to launch his 17-year Pirates and Hall of Fame career. 
• 1963 - The mid-60s pitcher’s era began when the MLB Rules Committee opened up the strike zone between the top of the batter's shoulders and the bottom of his knees. The hurlers began to dominate, and after the run drought of 1968 (the “Year of the Pitcher”), the league reversed course, lowering the mound by five inches (from 15” to 10”) and enlarging the strike zone to between the bottom of the armpit and the top of the knee for the next campaign. Later changes deformed and reformed the strike zone, though the mound remained thankfully unaltered. 
• 1963 - Elroy Face signed his contract; the amount was undisclosed but put him “in the club’s top bracket” per Press beat man Les Biederman. Although The Baron’s streak of three consecutive All-Star selections was broken in ‘62, he had his best season statistically of the 16 campaigns he worked in the show with a line of 8-7-28/1.88 and a 211 ERA+ despite the lowest K-rate of his career. 
• 1967 - Former Pirates hitting coach Jeff Branson was born in Waynesboro, Massachusetts. A second round draft pick of the Reds in 1988, he spent nine seasons in the show as a utility infielder, mostly with Cincinnati. After his playing days, Branson joined the Bucco minor league staff in 2003, and in late 2012, he was called up to the home club to serve as an assistant hitting coach under Jay Bell; when Bell left after the following year, Jeff was promoted to his position. He held the job until after the 2018 campaign when he was replaced by Rick Eckstein. Jeff coached the Detroit Tigers’ AAA Toledo Mud Hens in ‘21 and the following year was named their minor league hitting coordinator. 

Jeff Branson - 2014 photo Jeff Layton/Getty

• 1979 - Dave Parker of the Pirates became the first $1M per year player in sports when he signed a five-year/$5M contract after winning consecutive batting crowns and being named MVP. He didn’t get to enjoy it long - he had three straight All-Star seasons, but missed half of the 1981 and 1982 campaigns with injuries before having a full-time but meh, by his standards, year in 1983. Fans behaved even more poorly when they tossed batteries and other assorted trash at him in the field. He signed with Cincinnati when the deal expired. As Lennon and McCartney so aptly observed, “Money Can’t Buy Me Love.” (Note: the contract payout was worth at least $7.75M in all but was spread out over 30 years, so he never received $1M in any single campaign but rather $775K per season for five years. How the financial breakdown was finally worked out is unknown; the Pirates took him to court to void the deal due to Cobra’s coke use, and an undisclosed settlement was reached in 1988 before trial. In 1980, Nolan Ryan became the first actual $1M/season player with the Houston Astros.) 
• 1981 - RHP Josh Sharpless was born in Beaver. Josh went to Freedom Area HS and was drafted by the hometown nine in the 24th round of the 2003 draft out of Allegheny College, where he still ranks in the top five in several career pitching categories. He blew through the Pirates minor league system in three years, pitched in the Futures game, and tossed briefly for the Bucs, going 0-1/4.41 between 2006-07 cups of coffee in the show before being released and joining the Giants. Sharpless still lives in the area and gives pitching lessons while helping coach the LaRoche College Redhawks. 
• 1990 - The Buccos held their first Pirates Fest at the Monroeville Expo Mart, drawing 9,000 fans. It lasted two days and featured GM Larry Doughty, skipper Jimmy Leyland, Bobby Bonilla, Jay Bell, RJ Reynolds and Billy Maz among others, along with an exhibit of Buc memorabilia. The Fest was an annual fan favorite, but the Bucs unplugged it for the 2023 offseason. It quickly returned in 2024, drawing a large and enthusiastic crowd to the Convention Center.

1/25: Sid, Jeff, Dann, Dale & Roberto Inked, Stuper - Sandt, Joe & Hank HoF, Werle No Seer; RIP Mooney, HBD Dan, Gregg & Buddy

• 1936 - IF Harold “Buddy” Pritchard was born in South Gate, California. The Pirates signed him in 1957 out of Southern Cal for a $30,000 bonus w/$6,000 salary for each of the next three seasons, and as a bonus baby he had to spend his first year with the Buccos. He went 1-for-11 in 23 games and played just 34 innings in the field. Pritchard was sent to minors after the campaign and played eight seasons in the Pirate farm system with a .256 BA. Buddy managed and scouted for Pittsburgh, then bird dogged for the Cubs and the Major League Scouting Bureau. 
• 1950 - LHP Bill Werle, recovered from a muscle pull and angling for a raise, predicted that “given a share of the breaks” that he would finish the year with 20 wins after a 12-13/4.24 rookie campaign. He misspoke by a bit; he finished the season 8-16-8/4.60, splitting time between starting and the pen. In fact, he won just 18 more MLB games between 1950-54 after his prediction. 
• 1956 - SS Joe Cronin and OF Hank Greenberg were elected to the Hall of Fame. Both were considered to be among the top righty hitters of their era and had brief stops in Pittsburgh. Cronin started as a Pirate in 1926-27 and played sparingly before breaking out for Washington and Boston, while Greenberg spent 1947, his last MLB season, as a Bucco, hitting 25 HR and serving as a mentor to up-and-coming slugger Ralph Kiner. They were inducted on July 23rd. 
• 1964 - Former Pirate coach Gregg Ritchie was born in Washington DC. Ritchie played in the Giant system, topping out at AAA, and then went on to coach in the White Sox organization for a decade before joining Pittsburgh. In 2006, Ritchie became the Bucs' roving minor league hitting coordinator and later the hitting coach for the big club during the 2011-12 seasons. He left to take George Washington University’s baseball manager job and is still the Colonial’s pilot. 

Roberto & Joe Brown have a deal - 1/26/1967 BC Times/UPI Photo

• 1967 - Roberto Clemente signed a $100,000 contract, then the highest in Pirate history, topping Ralph Kiner’s $90,000 deal of 1952. He joined the MLB’s top shelf of players with a six-figure deal; the others paid at that rate were Willie Mays, Henry Aaron, Mickey Mantle, Ted Williams, Frank Robinson, Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale. His salary helped boost the total Pirates payroll for the year to an estimated but unverifiable $800,000, considered by the Pittsburgh Post Gazette to be an “elite” amount for a third place club. It was certainly a different era - the combined total payroll of MLB in 1967 was estimated to be at about $9.5M, with at least 10 of the 20 clubs topping out at $375,00 or less (Kansas City’s entire roster came in at $190,700!). The average player’s salary was $19,000 for the ‘67 campaign, with the minimum set at $6,000. 
• 1967 - Catcher and manager George "Mooney" Gibson passed away in his hometown of London (Ontario) at the age of 86. Mooney played for the Bucs from 1905-16 and was considered one of the top defensive catchers of the deadball era , making up for his .238 BA as a Pirate. He was a workhorse with Pittsburgh, leading NL catchers in games played for four consecutive seasons between 1907-10. His final two seasons were with the NY Giants, spent as a player/coach, and the time served him well as he had two stints as the Pirates skipper, from 1920-22 and again from 1932-34. The clubs went 401-330 (.549), finishing under .500 just once with three second-place finishes. George, who hailed from Ontario, was celebrated north of the border - he was named Canada's baseball player of the half century in 1958, the first baseball player elected to Canada's Sports Hall of Fame and entered the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame & Museum in 1987. 
• 1974 - LHP Dan Serafini was born in San Francisco. Though he got just 104 appearances in parts of seven big league seasons (he was a Pirate in 2000, going 2-5/4.91 in 11 starts), he deserves a tip o’ the cap for perseverance. Drafted out of HS, he pitched from 1992-2013 professionally from the age of 18 until he was 39, with nine AAA seasons, 10 years in foreign (Mexico, Japan, Venezuela) leagues and even a couple of years of indie ball; that’s one dedicated ball tosser. Sadly, he wasn’t as stellar in real life. He was found guilty of murdering his father-in-law, the attempted murder of his mother-in-law and burglary in 2021 over a long-simmering argument over money; he’s spent the last year trying to get a retrial. 

Tommy Sandt - 1990 Homers

• 1979 - The Pirates traded RHP John Stuper to the St. Louis Cardinals for IF (and later coach) Tommy Sandt. Stuper, a RHP who twirled for Point Park College, was drafted by the Bucs the year before and was plucked from Class A Charleston. He spent three years in the Redbirds system, and carved out a four-year MLB career, winning 32 games, including a brilliant rookie playoff run in 1982. He took over the reins at Yale in 1993, where managed into 2022. Sandt, like Stuper, never played for Pittsburgh, but began his coaching career as a minor league skipper for the Pirates in 1982 before joining Jim Leyland, Gene Lamont and Lloyd McClendon. 
• 1984 - SS Dale Berra signed a five-year contract worth nearly $3M, avoiding arbitration and putting to bed rumors that he was on his way to the Yankees, where his dad Yogi had just been named manager, in exchange for Roy Smalley. His middle-of-the-infield partner, 2B Johnny Ray, also signed a five-year agreement two days later. But Berra hit just .222 during the ‘84 campaign and joined his pap in New York as part of the Steve Kemp deal. 
• 1989 - Pittsburgh agreed to terms with a trio of players. They met 1B Sid Bream in the middle, signing him to a one-year/$510K deal. The Pirates then signed RHP Jeff Robinson to a two-year/$1.675M deal, with the Pirates meeting his salary demands after he went 11-5-9/3.03 and led the majors in bullpen work with 124-2/3 IP. Both were arb-eligible. C Dann Bilardello inked a minor league contract. Dann hung around for two seasons, hitting .171 in 51 games and spending most of his Buc career in AAA Buffalo, not an uncommon occurrence during his career - he spent all or part of 16 seasons in the minors as a big league insurance policy.

1/24 Through the 1960s: Mr. Swat & Rizzo Sign, Yo-Yo Leppert; HBD Ross, Tim, Wally, Brute, Ugly Johnny, Stu & Dave

• 1879 - IF Dave Brain was born in Hereford, England. Brain was a jack-of-all-trades player who spent a bit of his seven big league years (three months of 1905) in Pittsburgh. He hit .257, about his career average, and was a player with a rep for some power & speed (his versatility in the field was probably a matter of finding a spot to hide him; he booted 22 balls in 82 games as a Pirates infielder). He’s noteworthy in two aspects: after the season, he was part of the package that brought Hall-of-Fame hurler Vic Willis to town, and he was one of the earliest native-born Englishmen to play for Pittsburgh. 
• 1906 - IF William “Stu” (for middle name Stuart) Clarke was born in San Francisco. He spent his entire career in Pittsburgh, albeit one that lasted just from 1929-30. The backup infielder hit fairly well, putting up a .273 BA over his 61 big league games, but finished out his time in the bushes, where he compiled a more telling lifetime .238 average before retiring after the 1933 season. 
• 1910 - OF “Ugly Johnny” (he gave himself the moniker) Dickshot, whose given name was John Oscar Dicksus, was born in Waukegan, Illinois. He played for the Bucs from 1936-38, mainly as a bench outfielder. Johnny was a feared hitter in the minors, putting up a .318 BA in 14 seasons, but was just a .250 batter with Pittsburgh, although his career MLB average was .276 after six seasons. When he retired after the 1945 campaign, he opened a bar in his hometown. John Ducey, an actor who appeared quite often in TV sitcoms, is his grandson. 
• 1913 - C Josh “Brute” Johnson was born in Evergreen, Alabama. Raised in the Pittsburgh area, he caught for the Homestead Grays in 1934-35 (he was taught “the book” on hitters by Smokey Joe Williams) and then returned in 1939-42. He took over the starting catcher’s job during the 1940 season when Josh Gibson, along with several other stars, jumped to the Mexican League, and responded with his best campaign, batting .429 in league play. He was drafted during WW2 and returned from serving with the “Red Ball Express” in Europe to become a teacher and coach with a degree from Cheyney State/masters from Penn State. 

Wally Judnich - 1949 George Durrill/photo

• 1917 - OF Wally/Walt Judnich was born in San Francisco. Wally was a touted HS player with speed and some power who started his MLB career with three strong seasons with the St. Louis Browns, batting .299 as a starting center fielder. But WW2 took three years from him and he lost his edge after he was discharged. He spent four more seasons in the league, but hit .259 over that span and finished his career with a 10-game swan song as a Pirate in 1949, batting .229. He was sent to the PCL and closed out his pro days with six seasons on the coast, where his stroke returned (his MiLB lifetime BA was .288). Wally retired in 1955 at age 39. 
• 1940 - The Pirates received OF Johnny Rizzo’s signed contract; the amount was undisclosed but though to be close to $10,000. He shined as a rookie, hitting .301 in ‘38 to finish sixth in the MVP vote and was solid enough the next year, banging out a .261 BA. He struggled with the Bucs in 1940, batting just .179 before he was sent to the Reds in May for Vince DiMaggio. He recovered his stroke over the summer, but posted a .223 average in the next two years between Philly and Brooklyn and enlisted in the Navy after the season, never again to play MLB. Rizzo was 33 when he returned to the sport in 1946, spending four years in the minors. 
• 1941 - OF Ralph Kiner signed with the Pirates when scout Hollis Thurston pulled him away from the Yankees by citing a better opportunity to play and then inked Ralph to a deal after he graduated from Alhambra (CA) HS. It took Kiner until 1946 to crack the lineup after serving as a Navy reconnaissance pilot in the Pacific theater during WW2 and missing two-plus years, but he made up for lost time. In eight Bucco seasons as a Pirates drawing card (the fans would often stream out of Forbes Field after his last at bat), he smacked 301 homers, drove in 801 runs, hit .280 and walked 250 times more than he fanned, posting a 157 OPS+. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1975. 

Tim Jones - 1978 Topps Rookies

• 1954 - RHP Tim Jones was born in Sacramento. He only tossed three games in his MLB career, all during a September call up from the Bucs in 1977, but at least he left the league on a high note. After a pair of mop-up details, Chuck Tanner let the 1972 fourth-round pick start on the last day of the season. Jones tossed seven shutout innings against the Cubs, surrendering just four hits, to win his one and only MLB start to finish his big league cup of coffee with a 1-0/0.00 slash in 10 IP. He’s the only player in MLB history to have pitched at least 10 career innings and not allow a run. Tim was traded to the Montreal Expos for Will McEnaney as camp broke in 1978, had a terrible year at AAA Denver and after reading the tea leaves called it a career at the tender age of 24. 
• 1965 - The Pirates conditionally purchased the contract of C Don Leppert, who had caught for them from 1961-62 but was with Washington’s minor league Hawaii club thanks to bursitis. He received a camp invite, but was returned to the Senators after the Jim Pagliaroni - Del Crandall pairing claimed the job. Still, the Bucs brought him to Columbus in the following season and then launched Don on a long minor league coaching career that started in Pittsburgh before making stops in the Toronto Blue Jays, Houston Astros and Minnesota Twin systems. 
• 1968 - LHP Ross Powell was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Powell spent 48 games over three years in the show, closing out his MLB stand with Pittsburgh in 1995 when he was sold to the club by the Astros in late July. Jim Leyland worked him mostly from the pen, though he did give him three of his four major league starts. He didn’t impress in either role (0-2/5.23) and was released.

1/24 From 1970: Mack, Bo, Sid, Bill, Spanky & Pops Sign, Jamo - Roansy, PiratesFest, Booth Trio; HBD Enny & Q

• 1970 - 29-year-old Bucco banger Willie Stargell signed his contract. He hit .287 with 29 homers in 1969 and was rewarded with an estimated (by the Pgh Press) $35,000 deal. Pops would bop 31 homers during the ‘70 season, although hitting just .264. Milt May also put his John Doe on an agreement, making $24,000 as a caddy to Manny Sanguillen behind the dish. 
• 1989 - The Bucs reached agreements with a pair of vets, C Mike Lavalliere and RHP Bill Landrum. The arb-eligible Lavallier inked a one-year contract worth $482,500 after hitting .261 in ‘88, the mid-point between his ask and the Pirates offer. Landrum was a FA signing; he had been hurt with the Cubs for most of the ‘88 campaign and settled for a $75K salary, quite a bargain as he posted 26 saves and a 1.67 ERA in 56 outings during the season. They also settled at midpoint with arb-eligible LHP Bill Krueger for $150K, who they had acquired via an off season trade with the Dodgers after he had won 15 games at AAA Albuquerque. Krueger was in a rotation battle for a starting spot and was a late camp cut; Milwaukee claimed him and he went on to have some solid seasons, eventually pitching for seven teams through the 1995 campaign as a long man/spot starter. 
• 1989 - LHP Jose Quintana was born in Arjona, Colombia. Pittsburgh signed him to a one year/$2M deal during the 2021 off season. Q was a 10-year veteran coming off an 0-3/6.43 campaign with the Angels and Giants that started off with Quintana on the IL until June with shoulder inflammation, but still managing a career best 12 whiffs per nine innings. The Pirates were looking for some stability in the rotation, or at least a placeholder until the young guys got their feet wet pitching in AAA, and the southpaw was already familiar with the division, having spent four years (2017-20) with the Cubs. He tossed well for the Bucs (3-5/3.50) and served as a mentor for a young staff. Jose was traded to St. Louis Cardinals at the deadline, continuing to toss solid ball, and was with the New York Mets and Milwaukee Brewers through 2025; Q is now a free agent. 

Jose Quintana -2022 Pirates/photo

• 1990 - 1B Sid Bream settled for the midpoint of his arbitration request and the Pirates offer, signing a one-year deal for $520K (a $10K bump over 1989’s rate) to avoid a showdown hearing in February. He was the second player of 11 who had filed for an arb hearing to settle on his wage. 
• 1991 - LHP Enny Romero was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. After three years at Tampa Bay and another with the Nationals, the Bucs picked up Romero when he was DFA’ed by Washington in mid-April of 2018. The mid reliever fit into the Pirates profile of a big-armed, flame-throwing wild child, but only got two outings as a Pirate before being released. The Royals picked him up, gave him four calls and cut him three weeks later. Enny tossed winter ball in the Dominican and then signed on with Chunichi of the Japanese League, where he spent the two seasons while also tossing in the Dominican Winter League. He next took his services to Korea, where he was injured, and then returned stateside by signing in December ‘24 with the Giants system. 
• 2002 - The Pirates signed RHP Brian Boehringer to a minor league contract, and he made the club during the spring, leading to a two-year MLB deal worth $2.175M. Bo spent the final three seasons of his 10-year career in Pittsburgh, working 167-1/3 IP while slashing 10-9-1/4.36 in 153 outings between 2002-04. 
• 2005 - OF Rob Mackowiak became the last arb-eligible Buc to settle, signing a one-year/$1.5M deal w/$90K in potential bonuses. Mack went on to hit .272 w/nine HR before being dealt to the White Sox during the following off season. Veteran outfielder Ben Grieve also agreed to a minor-league NRI deal with the Pirates but was among the late cuts of camp. 

Rob Mackowial - 2003 Topps Total

• 2021 - RHP Jameson Taillon joined Josh Bell, Starling Marte and Joe Musgrove in the Pirates teardown exodus when he was traded to the Yankees for RHP Miguel Yajure, 22; RHP Roansy Contreras, 21; IF Maikel Escotto, 18; and OF/1B Canaan Smith-Njigba, 21. JT, 29, only managed one full season with the Bucs after a pair of TJ surgeries and another for cancer, but the prospect of him being healthy with a #2 rotation slot potential sold New York, as did a friendly contract and two years of team control (the grapevine had the Bronx Bombers outbidding Tampa Bay and Toronto). None of the four youngsters were considered elite players, though Yajure and possibly Contreras were thought to be contenders to play in the show in 2021 (Yajure did). All were projected as eventual MLB talent, with Roansy on the rotation bubble and Smith-Njigba getting a decent look in 2023 after making their ‘22 debuts. Since that time, Contreras has been DFA’ed by the Bucs and several other clubs; he’s working in Japan. Smith-Njigba was let go in ‘24, picked up by the White Sox and is a free agent now. Yajure was DFA’ed after floundering in a swingman role, tossed in Japan last year and is now a FA while Escotto was released after the ‘25 campaign. 
• 2021 - Steve Blass proved to be a hard man to replace in the booth; AT&T SportsNet announced that former Pirates Kevin Young, Matt Capps and Michael McKenry would alternate as color commentators for games aired this season in his stead. The trio joined game analysts Bob Walk and John Wehner along with play-by-play guys Greg Brown and Joe Block. To add to the competition, ex-Buc Neil Walker also claimed some booth love later in the year. 
• 2026 - The Saturday PiratesFest at the Lawrence Convention Center featured over two dozen players from the active roster and another ten noted alumni from Vern Law to Neil Walker, but the event was missing the three stars who connected the dots - prospect-with-bullet Konnor Griffin was on his honeymoon, Paul Skenes was being awarded his Cy Young that night and Andrew McCutchen was unsigned.  Several other players missed the event as the snowstorm cancelled their travel plans, although the Pirates lucked out in that the snow didn't hit town until a few hours after the event closed.

1/22: Aroldis, Jim & Sixto Sign, Ad-verse, Mr. Swat All-Star, Pie's Staff Back, Dream Week; HBD Jimmy, Fred, Diomedes, Huck & Warren

• 1876 - LHP Warren McLaughlin was born in Plainfield, New Jersey. He had an 11-game MLB career over three seasons; the middle year (1902) was spent briefly with the Pirates. The Bucs plucked him from New Haven in the Connecticut League, where he had tossed a no-hitter, for an audition as they were evaluating pitching to build a B List of arms during the days of inter-league raids. He did well, going 3-0/2.76 with three starts in 11 days, all complete games, and Pittsburgh inked him to a deal. The club did lose a couple of guys to American League marauders, but still had nine pitchers under contract for 1903 and so sold McLaughlin to Philadelphia. He had back woes there and fizzled, ending his big league days. He worked in the minors until 1908 and semi-pro leagues for a while longer before returning home to become a tin knocker. 
• 1895 - In a little blowback from the Red Ehret-Pink Hawley pitcher swap made the week before, a newspaper article claimed that Pirates hurler Ad Gumbert was taking bets that Ehret would win two games for St. Louis to every one that Hawley won for Pittsburgh. When asked to elaborate, Gumbert cried foul and claimed that he wasn’t throwing shade at his club but was instead the victim of a frame-up. He contacted the Pittsburgh Press the next day and asked to “Kindly deny the statement...the story was originated by a mischief-maker to hurt me with all Pittsburgh people…” Despite the denial, he was traded to Brooklyn four days later for reserve C Tom Kinslow. Ad was a poor prognosticator - Hawley won 31 games for the Bucs in 1895; Ehret won six for the Cards. Gumbert himself lasted two more years in the league, slashing 16-23/4.84. 
• 1917 - SS Eugene “Huck” Geary was born in Buffalo. His MLB career was spent as a Pirate reserve from 1942-43, as Huck could only muster a .160 BA in 55 games. A takeout slide may have had more to do with his short career than his stick, though. The Chicago Cubs’ Eddie Stanky launched a hard slide into second that cut Geary down, breaking his leg on the play, and that was the last season that Huck spent in the majors. Mike Buczkowski, Huck’s grandson & minor league executive, says Geary got his nickname as a kid because of his Huck Finn-like habit of hanging his glove from a bat propped on his shoulder. 
• 1919 - LHP Diomedes (aka “Guayubin”) Olivo was born in Guayubin, Dominican Republic. He was the second oldest rookie to pitch MLB when in 1960 he got a September call-up at age 41 after being plucked from the Mexican League (Satchel Paige made his debut on the mound as a 42-year-old). He spent the following season in AAA, then all of 1962 in Pittsburgh, going 5-1-7/2.78 in his 66 big league games with Pittsburgh. He was traded to St. Louis in 1963 and retired after the season at age 44. He scouted for the Cardinals afterward and later held a position in the Dominican Ministry of Sports until his death at age 58. 

Jewel Ens, Pie Traynor & Hans - 1938 International News photo

• 1938 - Pie Traynor’s coaching staff returned intact when Jewel Ens, Honus Wagner and Johnny Gooch signed contracts. Hans, who played for 18 years in Pittsburgh, began coaching in 1933, Ens, who was beginning his 13th season with the Bucs with a stop or two between stints, came back in 1936 and Gooch, who caught for the Pirates for eight campaigns, was starting his second season. 
• 1948 - Ralph Kiner was the only Pirate named to the 1947 Sporting News All-Star team (no mystery there - the Bucs finished tied for last in the National League with 62 wins) after slashing .315/51/127 in his second MLB campaign, although oddly he wasn’t named to the NL All-Star squad during the season. He did earn his AS recognition for six straight years starting in ‘48. 
• 1948 - RHP Fred Cambria was born in Queens, New York. A Pirates third-round pick in 1969 out of St. Leo College, he tossed a perfect game for the AA York Pirates in 1969 and debuted with the Bucs in 1970. Fred was 1-2/3.51 during his five-start audition, but that would be his only MLB line. Bursitis ended his career after the 1973 campaign; even a last-resort altered submarine delivery didn’t restore his chops on the hill. Since he’s retired, he’s coached for San Diego and college while also serving as the executive director of a couple of indie leagues. 
• 1976 - LHP Jimmy Anderson was born in Portsmouth, Virginia. After being drafted in the ninth round of the 1994 draft, he pitched the first four years (1999-2002) of his six-season career in Pittsburgh, going 24-42 with a 5.17 ERA, working later for the Reds, Cubs and Red Sox. The southpaw then made minor league stops with the Twins, Astros, Cubs, Devil Rays and Marlins before he retired in 2006. Now he runs the Jimmy Anderson Baseball Training Academy and coaches a traveling team, the Mid Atlantic Pirates, that play out of his facility. 

Sixto Lezcano - 1985 Fleer Update

• 1985 - The Pirates signed free agent OF Sixto Lezcano, 31, to a two-year/$925K contract. Pittsburgh was one of seven teams after Lezcano, but his contract ended up a Pyrrhic victory. Lezcano hit just .207 in 1985 and was released at the start of the 1986 season, ending his MLB career after 12 seasons. The Bucs ate $500K of his deal, part of $3M in dead money spent that year for players no longer with the club. Lezcano then played a bit in Japan and in the Florida-based Senior League before beginning a run as a Braves minor league coach. 
• 1989 - The Pirates opened their first “Dream Week” camp at McKechnie Field in Bradenton with 46 fantasy players ponying up $2,995 for the week-long exercise. Bill Virdon ran the program with help from Manny Sanguillen, Steve Blass, Dave Cash, Jim Fregosi, Dave Giusti, Jim Rooker, Bruce Kison and Milt May. The fee covered travel, a Holiday Inn room, breakfast & lunch, skills coaching, daily intrasquad scrimmages, a final game against a Bucco alumni team, a vid, Pirates uni and your very own baseball card. It remained popular and is still a thing today. 
• 1992 - Jim Leyland agreed to a three-year contract extension worth $3.1M (it included restructuring of his remaining two years) that tied him to Pittsburgh through 1996. The deal was his last in the Steel City as he jumped to the Marlins in 1997 after the Bucco ship had been effectively scuttled by the losses of Barry Bonds, Doug Drabek, Bobby Bonilla and company. 
• 2024 - The Pirates and lefty reliever Aroldis Chapman agreed on a one-year, $10.5M deal, with the FO moving an unexpected direction considering the Pittsburgh bullpen looked fairly solid while the rotation was thin. The seven-time All Star, who would turn 36 in a few weeks, averaged almost 16K/nine IP in ‘23, but was showing signs of fray, blowing five-of-11 save opportunities. Widely expected to be a rental (and he was), he provided another eighth-inning bridge and experienced closer behind David Bednar, who he replaced after The Renegade was traded to the New York Yankees at the deadline. He did well, posting a 5-5-14/3.79 line with 14.3 K/9 IP, and then signed with Boston for ‘25. It took a spell, but his contract became official on 1/31, after he passed his physical. To clear roster room, the team DFA’d OF Canaan Smith-Njigba.

1/21: Waite Signed, Danny Not, Frankie HoF, No TV, NYC Bucs, Hot Card; RIP Clyde, HBD Chase, Wil, Jeff, Danny, Fern & Jimmy

• 1895 - RHP Jimmy Zinn was born in Benton, Arkansas. Zinn worked three years for the Bucs (1920-22; 8-7-4/3.54), with the last year being his only full season with the club. But he was a minor league legend, tossing for nine different farm clubs over 25 campaigns (mostly with San Francisco and Kansas City), collecting 279 wins while compiling a 3.49 ERA. 
• 1913 - OF Fernando “Fern” Bell was born in Ada, Oklahoma. He spent his brief MLB career in Pittsburgh from 1939-40, batting .283. Fern was a minor league lifer (he started in organized ball as an 18-year-old) when he got the call to Pittsburgh, and after cooling off from a red-hot start in ‘39, he was sold early in the 1940 season to the Toronto Maple Leafs club. Fore: After baseball, Fern continued to make his living by swinging a stick - he became a golf pro in California. 
• 1927 - IF Danny O’Connell was born in Paterson, New Jersey. As a Buc rookie in 1950 he hit .292 and finished third in the NL-ROTY voting. He spent the next two years in the Army during the Korean War but came back strong for Pittsburgh in 1953, hitting .294. The Pirates traded him in the off season to the Milwaukee Braves in one of MLB’s biggest deals, netting six players (Sid Gordon, Sam Jethroe, Curt Raydon, Max Surkont, Fred Waters & Larry Lasalle) along with $100,000. O’Connell hit .279 for the Braves in ‘54, then never batted over .266 during the rest of his career, finishing with a career BA of .260 over 10 years. 
• 1933 - Future Hall of Fame RHP Waite Hoyt was signed by the Pirates after being waived by the New York Giants. Working mostly out of the bullpen (156 outings, 45 starts), he went 35-31-18/3.08 in his five-year Bucco career before being sold to the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1937. Hoyt was called “Schoolboy” because he signed with the Yankees as a 15-year-old. Waite was also known as "The Merry Mortician" - in the off season he was a funeral director by day and a vaudevillian by night, sharing the stage with the likes of Jack Benny, Jimmy Durante, and George Burns. 

The Fordham Flash - 1945 Play Ball

• 1947 - The Baseball Writers selected Frankie Frisch to the Hall of Fame. Although the Fordham Flash spent his playing career with the Giants and Cardinals, he managed the Buccos from 1940-46. Five of his seven Pittsburgh clubs had winning records but finished higher than fourth just once when the team went 90-63 in 1944, coming in second to St. Louis, which won 105 games. 3B Pie Traynor fell short by two votes; he would be elected into the Hall the following year. 
• 1949 - It was a busy day for the Pirates front office. First, they confirmed they would be the only MLB team to not televise any home games. They noted the decision could change for later seasons, but for now, they were sticking with WWSW Radio as their only outlet. Next, Danny Murtaugh announced that he rejected the FO’s first contract offer, saying “I feel I’m worth more to the club...” but adding “I feel I can adjust this matter in short order.” He did, agreeing to a deal 10 days later. On the bright side, 1B Clyde McCullough said he was “very happy” with his contract and signed it, so the day wasn’t totally shot. 
• 1958 - After the departure of the New York Giants and Brooklyn Dodgers to the west coast, the Pirates agreed to broadcast their games against the two former Gotham clubs back to New York City to provide a National League presence. It was the first time the Senior Circuit didn’t have a NYC-based squad since 1876; the hole was filled by the Mets in 1962. The St Louis Cards reached the same deal while the Phils one-upped both squads by airing 78 games in the Big Apple. 
• 1970 - RHP Jeff McCurry was born in Tokyo. His dad was a serviceman stationed there before the family moved to Texas a few months later. A Pirate draft pick in 1990 out of San Jacinto JC, Jeff worked his 1995 rookie campaign in Pittsburgh, then returned for the 1998 season (he also pitched for Detroit, Houston and Colorado during his five big league seasons). McCurry was a big ‘un at 6’7”, but pitching downhill didn’t help his counting numbers noticeably as the reliever was 2-2-1/5.38 in 71 Bucco outings. At last check, he’s a coach at his alma mater, Houston’s St. Thomas HS, where his number was retired in 2024. 

Jeff McCurry - 1995 Signature Rookie

• 1980 - 3B/OF Clyde Barnhart died in Hagerstown, Maryland at age 84. Clyde spent his entire nine-year career as a Pirate, starting out as a third baseman and then moving to the outfield after Pie Traynor’s arrival at the hot corner. Clyde was a dependable hitter with a lifetime BA of .295 and collected 12 hits in the 11 World Series games he played in 1925 and ‘27. His most famous feat was being the last player credited with hits in three straight games - on the same day! The 24-year-old rookie, 10 days past his debut, got a knock in each of the three contests played against the Reds in 1920 during the last MLB tripleheader. His son, Vic, also played here. He was a backup SS for the Pirates from 1944-46. 
• 1981 - LHP Wil Ledezma was born in Valle de la Pascua, Venezuela. Ledezma was entering his 11th campaign in pro ball with a spotty eight-year record in MLB when the Pirates signed him in the 2009-10 offseason. He looked like a steal when he tossed to a 0.94 ERA at Indianapolis w/1.017 WHIP to start 2010, but the tables turned when he got the call back up - he went 0-3/6.86, in 27 Bucco outings. He was DFA’ed and claimed by Toronto where he ended his MLB days in 2011. 
• 1987 - IF Chase d’Arnaud was born in Torrance, California. A fourth round pick of the Pirates in 2008 out of Pepperdine, he debuted for the Bucs in 2011. He got a good look but hit just .217 with some questionable leatherwork, afterward being given a couple of courtesy calls in 2012 and ‘14 before being DFA’ed and claimed by the Phils. Chase bounced around as a depth guy with Atlanta, Boston, San Diego, San Francisco, Texas and KC before retiring in 2020. 
• 2025 - Topps announced that an 11-year-old from LA pulled Paul Skenes 1/1 Chrome Update Patch Debut baseball card. The Pirates had a standing offer of two season tickets, two autographed Skenes jerseys; a softball game for 30 people at PNC Park with alumni coaches; a meet-and-greet with Skenes plus BP and warmup with the Pirates at their Bradenton complex for the card. The cash value was estimated to be worth six figures on the baseball card market. Try seven - it went for $1.1M to Dick’s Sporting Goods, with the money being stashed for a college fund for the kid and his bro

1/20 Through the 1950s: Hans, Lloyd & Heinie Sign - Big Poison Holds Out, Roberto On Radar, Dapper Dale; RIP Josh, HBD Carl, Jesse & Denny

• 1904 - OF Denny Sothern was born in Washington. Originally, his last name was Southern, but it changed, along with his age, so he could enlist in the Marines while underage. Sothern had been a fairly effective leadoff hitter for Philadelphia going into his fourth season (.289 BA) and the Bucs sent OF Fred Brickell to the Phils in August of 1930 for him. Denny’s bat went cold (he hit .176) and the Pirates sold him to Baltimore, who flipped him to Brooklyn. He played 17 games for the Robins in 1931, ending his MLB career at age 27. Brickell didn’t set the world afire, either, but he did last three plus seasons with the Phillies, hitting .258. 
• 1933 - RHP Heinie Meine stopped by the Pirates office and signed a $10,000 contract. It was feared that the 34-year-old workhorse, who had notched 31 wins and 450+ IP in 64 outings (60 starts) during the 1931-32 campaigns, would be difficult to sign after holding out in ‘32, but he came back and anchored the staff with a line of 15-8/3.65 during the season. Heinie was the poster boy for pitch-to-contact hurlers. In six seasons here, he averaged 1.8 strikeouts per nine innings. 
• 1936 - C Jesse Gonder was born in Monticello, Arkansas. Jesse caught the final two seasons (1966-67) of his six-year career in Pittsburgh, batting .209 while backstopping 70 games. He came to Pittsburgh as a Rule 5 pick from Atlanta hoping to win the starting spot from Jim Pagliaroni, and although he didn’t, Jesse did see a lot of action in 1966 (59 games). Relegated as the third man the following year, he faltered and the curtain dropped on his stint in MLB. 

Jesse Gonder - 1966 East Hills SC Promo

• 1937 - The Waner brothers didn’t do everything in tandem. Club President Bill Berswanger announced that Lloyd’s contract was returned signed, with a salary guesstimate of $10K or so, while big bro Paul returned his unsigned. No worries, though - Big Poison, like Hans Wagner, was a notorious malingerer as spring camp approached, but always returned to the flock. He played all 154 games in 1937, eventually inking a deal estimated at $15-16,000. Veteran lefty Ed “Dutch” Brandt, newly obtained from Brooklyn, also agreed to his terms (the amount was undisclosed) and the next day shortstop Arky Vaughan signed for $12,500. 
• 1940 - Honus Wagner, 65-years-old, signed his 29th Bucco contract as he joined Frankie Frisch’s staff for his eighth season as a Pirates coach He played until 1917, took some time off from baseball and then returned to the coaching ranks in 1933 before retiring for good in 1951. Hans joined with holdovers Jake Flowers and Mike Kelly as Frisch’s aides returned intact. Young southpaw Ken Heintzelman also returned a signed agreement and joined the rotation in ‘40. 
• 1944 - UT Carl Taylor was born in Sarasota, Florida. He caught, played first and pinch hit for the Bucs in 1968-69 and was brought back again in September of 1971 for their pennant drive from KC; he returned to the Royals after the title run to complete the final two years of his career. His best season far and away was 1969, when he slashed .348/.432/.457 in 221 AB. 
• 1947 - Homestead Gray and Pittsburgh Crawfords C Josh Gibson, the “black Babe Ruth,” died of a stroke at the age of 35. The future Hall of Fame catcher was put to rest in an unmarked grave in Allegheny Cemetery. In 1975, Negro League teammate Ted Page, Puerto Rican baseball scout/exec Pete Zorrilla, Bucco Willie Stargell and Commissioner Bowie Kuhn paid for a red granite marker that read: "Josh Gibson, 1911-1947, Legendary Baseball Player," a prototype for SABR’s Negro Leagues Grave Marker Project to memorialize lost players. 

Roberto Clemente - 2022 Topps Heritage Minor League

• 1954 - The Sporting News first mentioned Roberto Clemente in a notes column that read “Three major league organizations - the Giants, Braves and Dodgers - are attempting to sign Roberto Clemente, Santurce (Clemente’s Puerto Rican club) outfielder.” The Dodgers may have won that early tussle, but quickly lost The Great One in November’s Rule 5 draft to Pittsburgh. 
• 1957 - Dale Long won the Dapper Dan Man of the Year honor for his eight-game home run streak and was presented with the award at the annual dinner at the Penn-Sheraton Hotel. He became the sixth Pirate to receive the DD and the first to be recognized since pitcher Murry Dickson in 1951.

1/20 From 1960: DJ, Octavio & Adam Sign, Al For Barry, Osborn Joins Booth, MLB Shares $; HBD Ali, David, Brian & Cecil

• 1963 - OF Cecil Espy was born in San Diego. He hit .254 in his two Bucco campaigns of 1991-92, part of Jim Leyland’s title clubs’ bench corps. Cecil was a highly touted guy who never quite panned out; the speedster was the eighth overall selection in the 1980 draft. The Pirates had originally landed Espy in 1985 as part of the Bill Madlock deal with LA. He spent the next season in AAA Hawaii, then the Rangers took him in the Rule 5 draft before Cecil reunited with the Pirates as a free agent in early 1991. His last MLB campaign was with the Reds in 1993. 
• 1970 - The Pirates announced the hiring of Gene Osborn to replace Jim Woods in the KDKA booth after Woods left to join the Cardinals crew. He joined Bob Prince and Nellie King for both radio and TV broadcasts. Osborn had experience as an MLB voice in Detroit with Ernie Harwell from 1965-66 and was doing college announcing when Pittsburgh beckoned. He lasted a year as the Pirates went to a two-man radio booth from 1971-84, keeping the three-man format for TV only. 
• 1971 - RF Brian Giles was born in El Cajon, California. In five years with Pittsburgh (1999-2003), he put up a line of .308/.426/.591 with 165 HR/506 RBI/158 OPS+ and two All-Star berths. A power guy who hit 35+ homers for four straight Bucco seasons, Giles also had a great eye, walking nearly 350 more times during his career than he whiffed. He retired in 2010 after a rough season with San Diego while trying to play through an arthritic knee at age 38. 
• 1975 - Pirates former Special Assistant David Eckstein was born in Sanford, Florida. He played for a decade in the show for the Anaheim Angels, St. Louis Cardinals, Toronto Blue Jays, Arizona Diamondbacks and San Diego Padres, winning the 2006 World Series MVP with the Cards and a WS title with the Angels in 2002. The Bucs hired him in early 2019, a few weeks after his bro Rick was picked as batting coach, with David placed in player operations; he’s had teaching experience in the Anaheim and Arizona organizations. The brother act broke up quickly as David left in early 2021 to dedicate time to his family while Rick was dismissed a few months later. 

Al Martin - 1993 Fleer Ultra (reverse)

• 1993 - The Barry Bonds era officially ended with Jim Leyland’s announcement that rookie Al Martin, 25, would man left field as Bond’s replacement after Barry took his heart (and bat) to San Francisco in the off season. “I’m not really looking at it as replacing Barry,” Martin said. “Hopefully, I can start a name for myself.” Al had gotten a September cup of coffee in ‘92 and went on to have a solid rookie campaign, batting .289 w/18 HR, coming in fifth in the Rookie of the Year voting. His Achilles heel became apparent though, as the lefty swinger had a big L/R divide (.191 v LHP, .302 v RHP), a gap that would prove consistent over his career. Even with that daunting split, he posted 113 games/425 PAs or better in six of his eight Bucco campaigns and hit .280. 
• 1997 - C Ali Sanchez was born in Carora, Venezuela. The Pirates signed him as a free agent in December, 2023 as a depth guy; he had seven MLB games under his belt from 2020-21 while with the Mets and Cards. The Pirates had Sanchez briefly in 2022 when they claimed him off waivers from the Tigers in October, but a few weeks later they tried to slip him through the wire and lost him to the D-Backs. But Ali was DFA'ed as the season started, cleared the wire and then declared free agency. He spent ‘2024-25 on four rosters and is now part of the New York Yankees organization. 
• 2000 - Big league baseball does occasionally think forward. The team owners voted to cede their digital rights to the Commissioner's office, allowing for the creation of a new cash cow, mlb.com. Bud Selig split the new pot of cyber gold equally among the franchises, in effect tossing the low-revenue markets that were treading water financially a fiscal life preserver. 

Adam LaRoche - 2009 Topps Allen & Ginter

• 2009 - 1B Adam LaRoche, 29, signed a one-year/$7.05M contract to avoid arbitration. Adam then hit .247 with 12 homers, 40 RBIs and 81 strikeouts in 87 games, slumping badly after a hot ‘09 start, and was shipped to the Red Sox on July 22nd for SS Argenis Diaz and RHP Hunter Strickland. The Pirates also agreed to one-year deals with LHP Zach Duke for $2.2M, LHP John Grabow ($2.3 million), and RHP Tyler Yates ($1.3M). Like LaRoche, neither Grabow (traded to the Cubs on July 30th) nor Yates (injury/TJ surgery) made it through the season. 
• 2010 - Free agent RHP Octavio Dotel was signed to a one-year/$3.5M deal w/an option by the Bucs, the only team that offered the right-hander the opportunity to save games rather than be a set-up guy (they needed a replacement for Matt Capps). The 36-year-old reliever hadn't been a closer since 2007 with Kansas City, but reclaimed the role, saving 21 games (in 26 opportunities w/4.28 ERA) before being traded at the deadline to the Dodgers for Andrew Lambo and James McDonald. Dotel worked into the 2013 season and appeared in two WS after leaving the ‘Burg. J-Mac showed early promise that remained unfulfilled while Lambo couldn’t carry his minor league production over into the show. 
• 2010 - RHP DJ Carrasco was signed to a one-year/$950K contract. The reliever stuck around (2-2/3.88) until the deadline, and was packaged as part of a deal with Arizona. His last MLB gig was in 2012 with New York. Carrasco was a part of the Pirate organization from 1999 - 2002 before Kansas City took him in that year’s Rule 5 draft from Pittsburgh’s High A Carolina League club, Lynchburg.

Weekly Report: RIP Dave Giusti, International Signings, More NRI's, Honors & Notes, Camp Opens 2/11, Ol' Bucs Find New Homes

Still work to do....

Pirates Stuff:

• Ol' Bucco reliever Dave Giusti passed away at the age of 86. Danny Murtaugh converted the palmballer from a starter to the pen in 1970 and it paid off big time - in 1971, he was named TSN's reliever of the Year when he helped take home a World Series crown (seven post-season outings - 10-2/3 IP, zero runs, four hits, three saves) after leading the majors with 31 saves during the regular season. Dave spent seven of his 15 big league seasons twirling for the Pirates (47-28-133/2.94; he's third in saves for the Bucs) and lived in Mount Lebanon when his pitching days ended. 

Dave Giusti - 1971 Arco

• The Pirates traded DFA'ed RH reliever Chase Shugart to the Phillies for 18-year-old 3B prospect Francisco Loreto.
• Pittsburgh signed 16-year-old shortstop Wilton Guerrero Jr., #17 on MLB.com's Top 50 International Prospects list, for $1.95M. If the name sounds familiar, it's because he's the son of utility guy Wilton Sr., who spent eight seasons in the big leagues with four different clubs, featuring a strong run with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Montreal Expos and Cincinnati Reds from 1997-2001. Junior is also the nephew of Hall of Famer Vlad Sr. and cousin of All-Star Vlad Jr. They also inked the #7 player on the list for half the price when they reached agreement with the hit-with-power OF prospect Jeancer Custodio, 17, for $900K; both are from the Dominican Republic. MLB Pipeline's Jesse Borek took a look at some of the Pirates top international signings while Austin Bechtold of Bucs Dugout has put together a list of the Bucs '26 international class.
• OF/1B Edward Florentino was selected as the top corner outfield prospect by Baseball America. The 19-year-old lefty was signed from the international ranks in 2024 and hit .290 with 10 HR for Class A Bradenton last year. He's in MLB Pipeline's Top 100 (#81) and ranked among the Bucs Top Five prospects.
• The Pirates announced their NRI camp gang to date: SS Konnor Griffin, 2B Termarr Johnson, IF Duce Gorson, C Omar Alfonzo, C Shawn Ross, RHP Noah Davis and RHP Chris Devenski.
• The Bucs had two guys land in MLB Pipeline's 2026 Top 10 RHP Prospects: #2 Bubba Chandler, who went 4-1/4.02 in a seven-game look last year, and #5 Seth Hernandez, who has yet to throw a pro pitch.

Esmerlyn Valdez - 2025 MLB Pipeline

• A guy who may not be on your radar but may be part of the Pirates future, OF/1B Esmerlyn Valdez, 21, announced he'll be at Pirates Fest. He was added to the 40-man this year after hitting .286 w/26 HRs between A+/AA ball last year and went on a rampage in Arizona, hitting .386 w/8 HR and 27 RBI in 19 games to earn the Arizona Fall League Offensive Player of the Year honor. 
• A storyline you may want to watch: Carmen Mlodzinski, who the Bucs converted to the pen, wants to return to a starting role and has been stretching out during the offseason to try to reclaim that role per MLB's Alex Stumpf.
• Spring is officially in the air!...the first workout for Pirates pitchers and catchers is Wednesday, Feb. 11 with the first full squad workout on Monday, Feb. 16. They're bringing in the WBC players early for their rust removal - 2/9 for Ps & Cs, 2/12 for the non-battery World players. Paul Skenes is playing for the US; ex-Bucs David Bednar, Clay Holmes and Bethel Park's Mason Miller are also on the staff.
• Pirates prospect Konnor Griffin had a pretty whirlwind 2025; 2026 is off to an equally momentous start as Konnor married his high school sweetie Denby Hogan in Mississippi last weekend.

MLB Stuff:

• The Mets claimed SS Tsung-Che Cheng off waivers from the Rays who had claimed him from the Pirates in December.
• OF Marco Luciano, 24, has had a busy off season - the Bucs claimed him from the Giants in early December, then the O's picked him up a month later after he was DFA'ed following the Brandon Lowe trade and the Birds DFA'ed him after they claimed P Jose Saurez. Luciano was once a BA Top 15 Prospect...
• The White Sox have agreed to a minor league deal/spring invite with LHP Ryan Borucki. Ryan spent 2023-25 with the Bucs, getting into 87 games and posting a 5-3/4.17 line. He put up strong numbers in '23, but was diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome in '24 and hasn't shown the same stuff since.

Ryan Borucki - 2025 Pirates

• Nick Solak, who was hot with the stick at Indy last year as an insurance-policy type utility guy but only got into four games with the Bucs (1-for-11), has signed with the San Diego Padres.
• The Mets signed ex-Buc prospect LHP Trey McGough to a rare two-year minor league deal. After a breakout 2024 campaign, he retired last May after a brutal AAA outing; apparently he's finally gotten over it.
• The Toronto Blue Jays released IF Rodolfo Castro, who they had recently claimed from Philly, so that he can join the NPB’s Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters. Rudy was with the Bucs from 2021-23, batting .219 w/22 HRs in 180 games, mostly at 2B but with plenty of time at SS and 3B, too. 
• RHP Ovaldo Bido has been on the move. The 30-year-old debuted with the Bucs in '23, spent the following two years with the As, was claimed and DFA'ed by the Tampa Bay Rays in the off season, and now is with Miami.
• OF Jared Oliva, who got his taste of MLB in 2020-21 as a Bucco, has signed a minor-league deal with the Giants. It's his fourth organization since leaving Pittsburgh to go with Dominican and Mexican stints.
• Knuckleballer Wilbur Wood, who never found his groove in Pittsburgh (1964-65), passed away. He was shipped to the White Sox, where he found greener pastures. The Sox used him in the pen before converting him to starter (12 years - 163 wins, 57 saves, 3.18 ERA) and teased out the talent that Pittsburgh couldn't unlock.