1/24 From 1970: Big Joe Dealt; Mack, Bo, Sid, Spanky, Bill, Pops Sign; Crowded Booth; 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. C Milt May also put his John Doe on an agreement, making $24,000 as a backup to Manny Sanguillen. 

Willie Stargell - 2005 Upper Deck Reflections

• 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. 
• 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 arb to settle. 

Sid Bream - 2015 Topps Archives

• 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’s now with the Chiba Lotte Marines after failing to earn a spot with the Dodgers in ‘21. 
• 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, slashing 10-9-1/4.36 in 153 outings between 2002-04. At last look, he was a regional scout for Arizona. 
• 2005 - OF Rob Mackowiak became the last arb-eligible Buc to settle, signing a one-year/$1.5M deal w/$90K in potential bonuses; he and the FO had a 2/10 deadline to beat before his salary hearing. Mack went on to hit .272 w/nine HR before being dealt to the White Sox during the following off season. Veteran OF Ben Grieve also agreed to a minor-league NRI deal with the Pirates but was among the late cuts of camp. 
• 2021 - Joining Starling Marte, Josh Bell and Joe Musgrove, RHP Jameson Taillon became the fourth top gun Bucco to be traded by Ben Cherington, going to the Yankees for RHP Miguel Yajure, 22; RHP Roansy Contreras, 21; INF Maikel Escotto, 18; and OF/1B Canaan Smith, 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 NY, as did a friendly contract and two years of team control (the grapevine had the NYY outbidding Tampa Bay and Toronto). Only Yajure and possibly Contreras were thought to be contenders to play in the show in 2021. None of the four were thought to be future elite players, but all were projected as MLB talent. 

Jason Taillon - 2020 Topps

• 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.