Bucs build with 'urgency' at the Trade Deadline

PITTSBURGH -- The gap between the Brewers, who stand atop the NL Central, and the Pirates, who reside at the bottom of the NL Central, is currently measured in miles. With a 5-3 win over Milwaukee on Tuesday at PNC Park, Pittsburgh still sits 17 games behind. The shrinking, the eliminating, of that gap cannot be done in one, two, five moves. Another dealing of arms and of bats has passed, and the Pirates can only hope that the decisions made in recent weeks will inch them closer to building their next contender.

With the Trade Deadline officially over, the work of general manager Ben Cherington and company can be evaluated in full. Daniel Vogelbach, José Quintana and Chris Stratton are out. Colin Holderman, Johan Oviedo (optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis) and Malcom Nunez (assigned to Double-A Altoona) are in. Internal support could soon be on the way.

“It’s our job to change it, change the order,” Cherington said. “We’d much rather be talking about adding players for a playoff chase. … So the best way we can change things quickly in our favor is to just keep doing all the things we’ve set out to do and keep doing them better, whether that’s acquiring players at the right time or helping players get better at a faster rate, or whatever it is. We’ve just got to stick to that, keep getting better. Assuming we do that, then that division order and behavior at the Deadline will start to look different.”

With Vogelbach now in New York and Quintana and Stratton headed to St. Louis, the Pirates have lost a triumvirate of respected, veteran leaders. Quintana has 10 years of service time. Stratton and Vogelbach have been in the league for seven seasons. Their respective presences aren’t easily replaceable. To manager Derek Shelton, Quintana’s mentorship, in particular, cannot be matched, period.

“In terms of replacing a guy that’s played for 10 years and done a bunch of different things, we will not be able to replace that,” Shelton said.

Quintana’s on-field production will not be easily replaceable either. By both fWAR (2.1) and bWAR (2.0), Quintana was, far and away, Pittsburgh’s best pitcher. The question of who fills his shoes, for now, remains ambiguous.

Tyler Beede will start in Quintana’s spot on Wednesday, but he will likely serve as an opener instead of a traditional starter. Roansy Contreras is a clear option once he has properly built back up with Indianapolis. Miguel Yajure and Jerad Eickoff, currently on Indianapolis’ staff, have started for the Pirates this season. Cody Bolton and Mike Burrows are options as well. There’s also the matter of Oviedo, though his starting days may not come until next spring.

Cherington described Oviedo as someone who possesses “a starter’s body, starter’s delivery, starter’s repertoire,” adding that the team would like to build him up as a starting pitcher at some point. Cherington also noted that Oviedo, who has only started one game this season after starting 13 last season, is “not quite a finished product” and “there are specific things that we think we can help him with.”

“We do see some things that we want to try to collaborate with him on,” Cherington said. “At least temporarily, we felt like Indy is the best place to do that.”

Along with Oviedo, Cherington was complimentary of Nunez’s hit and power tools. Nunez, who became the Pirates’ No. 11 prospect per MLB Pipeline, slashed .255/.360/.463 with 17 home runs and a 13.7 BB% for Double-A Springfield, and Cherington added that the team is excited to “see if we can help him tap into even more of that offensive potential.”

As important as the players who have been added are the players who have remained. Bryan Reynolds and David Bednar have been the perpetual subject of trade speculation, but the Deadline has come and gone and both are still Pirates. There are several holes Pittsburgh needs to fill, but as of now, center field and closer are gravy.

“We feel like the word is 'urgency,’” Cherington said. “We just want to be urgent about getting better all the time. … I'm really glad they're Pirates today and tonight, and we're thrilled that we get a chance to keep building not just with those two guys, but with many others in this organization.”

Keep building, indeed. The Pirates have slices of a winning team. Bednar and Reynolds are All-Stars. Oneil Cruz, who hit a three-run home run off Corbin Burnes, possesses an über-rare combination of power and speed. Ke’Bryan Hayes is one of the game’s best defenders, regardless of position. Go up and down the roster and there are more names that could apply.

The Pirates are still building. The coming months and years will reveal what this building amounts to.