Pirates shift priority to '19, young players

ATLANTA -- A pair of trades late Friday night and a round of callups on Saturday afternoon made it clear the Pirates are shifting their focus toward next season.
The Pirates traded veteran infielders David Freese and Adeiny Hechavarría on Friday. Before Saturday's game at SunTrust Park, they called up super-utility man Pablo Reyes, infielder José Osuna, catcher Jacob Stallings and right-handers Dovydas Neverauskas and Nick Burdi, the team's No. 20 prospect, according to MLB Pipeline.
A month ago at this time, Pittsburgh was hoping to push into the postseason. But those hopes faded as the Pirates went 10-17 in August, so they now must look forward.
"Unfortunately what we did in August, it pushed us into a situation where the focus on '19 became more apparent," general manager Neal Huntington said. "Not certainly what we were expecting to do or hoping to do as we went into the Trade Deadline, but the club that I put together, we just simply weren't good enough to continue that run."
Over the next month, Pittsburgh will prioritize its younger players -- those who will return after this season -- and evaluate where the club can improve next year. Without Hechavarria, Kevin Newman will play more often. Adam Frazier will continue to start at second base. Osuna will essentially assume Freese's role as a backup corner infielder, and the versatile Reyes will play all over the field.
"We're not mathematically eliminated. We're definitely going to go after it with a different group," manager Clint Hurdle said. "There's nobody rolling over or throwing up a 'We're done' sign. We've got things that we want to get done. I think we showed it last night, and I think we'll show it again as we continue to play."
The Pirates likely will add more young players later this month. When Triple-A Indianapolis' season ends, Pittsburgh could call up infield prospect Kevin Kramer, who can play second and third base, along with outfielder Jordan Luplow. Their pitching staff is mostly set heading into next year, but they will want to get another look at Triple-A arms like Clay Holmes.
But the Pirates are not completely moving on from their veterans. Huntington said shortstop Jordy Mercer and second baseman Josh Harrison will continue to play as they near free agency.
"We don't want to just abandon them," Huntington said. "From their perspective, they want to play every day. From a club that's shifted to next year's perspective, you play the young player every day. … The young players will get the majority of the playing time."
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Osuna, Stallings and Neverauskas have been up and down with the Pirates over the last two years, but Burdi and Reyes received their first callup on Saturday. Burdi was activated from the 60-day disabled list, where he had spent the entire season recovering from Tommy John surgery. Reyes, who would have reached Minor League free agency at the end of the season, was also added to the 40-man roster.
Burdi must spend 90 consecutive days on the Pirates' active roster to have his Rule 5 Draft restrictions removed. Thirty of those days will come this month. The hard-throwing 25-year-old has only made five appearances in Triple-A, so he will likely be limited to mop-up duty out of the bullpen.
"It's definitely exciting, but this was kind of always part of the rehab goal," Burdi said. "Mine was to be healthy and be back with the team at some point this season. It feels good to get through that."
Reyes, signed out of the Dominican Republic in 2012, was hitting .289/.341/.435 with eight homers, 36 RBIs and 13 steals in Triple-A. The Pirates are particularly intrigued by his defensive versatility as he can play all three outfield positions, shortstop, second and third.
"Now that I'm here, I can't believe that I am," Reyes said. "I'm so excited for that."
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• Stallings will be catcher Francisco Cervelli's primary backup while Elias Díaz (right hamstring discomfort) is sidelined for a few days. Hurdle said Diaz was feeling better on Saturday after leaving Friday night's game early.
• Right-hander Nick Kingham will come out of the bullpen to start Sunday's series finale against the Braves. Iván Nova is away from the team due to a personal matter, Hurdle said.
• The Pirates placed Sean Rodríguez on unconditional release waivers for the purpose of granting him his release. Pittsburgh designated Rodriguez for assignment on Wednesday, clearing a spot on the 40-man roster.
• The Pirates are covering all of Hechavarria's remaining salary other than the prorated league minimum. They essentially sent the Yankees the remainder of what they received from the Rays, who included cash to cover Hechavarria's salary in the original deal that brought him to Pittsburgh.
• Hurdle said it was "bittersweet" to trade Freese, a valuable veteran leader in Pittsburgh who will now have a better chance to reach the postseason in Los Angeles. Jameson Taillon and Joe Musgrove also tweeted about their appreciation for Freese.

"I think there's a part of him that wanted to stay here and finish the drill and help us win a championship, there's no doubt about that," Hurdle said. "He played really well this year in the role that we had him in. This provides an opportunity to get with a good club and potentially get back to the World Series."