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Colin Beazley's Pirates chat: 03.20.26
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Colin Beazley
12:13
Hi all and welcome back to my Pirates chat. Sorry for the delayed start. Let's get rolling...
demosthenes98
12:13
Enjoyed your article this past Wednesday about the World Baseball Classic. NHL players participating in international hockey tournaments has become so thoroughly normalized in large part because they all care so much about representing their countries. Do you think that degree of investment by the players is key to the WBC's success?
Colin Beazley
12:14
Thank you, Demosthenes. The World Baseball Classic was awesome. Truly a special, special event. Highly recommend going if you ever get the chance to. It really is baseball at its best.
12:16
I do think that level of investment from players matters. To be clear, this isn't to say that Team USA wasn't trying or didn't care. They did. But a bunch of players from Team USA came out and said they cared more about the World Series than the WBC. A bunch of players from other countries said the opposite. Is either wrong? Not really, and I'm not saying the WBC should matter more than the World Series. But it does show a different level of buy-in.
PhilinCT
12:16
Mr. Beazley, welcome to the beat. First off, Maz and the Baron will be greatly missed this season. I am catching 3 games in PIT in mid-May (say ~45-50 games). One, what is the record at that time. Two, how many at-bats will KG have in the majors. Thanks for your time.
Colin Beazley
12:20
Hey Phil. Please, Mr. Beazley is my father. (I kid.)

But I've been around -- I started in April of last year covering the team with Noah Hiles, then from October onwards with Jason Mackey. So I've been here, just not doing chats.

As for your questions, I expect the Pirates to be around .500 for most of the season. The Nationals/Rays homestand seems like an opportunity to stack some wins in a decently challenging early schedule. So 26-24 off the dome? And with Konnor Griffin, I think it all depends on if he makes the opening day roster. Once he's up, I don't expect him to be sent down.
Dan N
12:20
Hey Colin…Do you feel this team has serious defensive issues especially when Bart catches Cruz in Center and Gonzalez and Lowe up the middle .
Colin Beazley
12:21
Hey Dan. On paper, this team does not look like a particularly strong defensive team. The Pirates sacrificed defense for offensive upside this winter... we'll see if it works out.
demosthenes98
12:21
Do MLB prospect rankings take into account the quality of the prospect's MLB team and its owner? I don't mean to doubt Konnor Griffin's ability, but can the top prospect in baseball really come from Bob Nutting's team?
Colin Beazley
12:22
No, they do not. Maybe a player's ETA differs based upon their team, but the ranking doesn't factor that in.
epiballo
12:22
Hi Colon - thanks for the chats! How many Grapefruit League games have the Pirates played their projected starters together? I know they have to check out fringe players, but it is hard to get a gauge on how good this lineup will or will not be.
Colin Beazley
12:23
Hey epiballo, thanks for being here. Not sure the exact number, but the last couple of weeks have shown their starters (Ozuna/Reynolds/Cruz etc) together. Kind of tough with guys missing for the World Baseball Classic, but there have been some more games of late.
Irish Hymns
12:24
Who do you think winds up in the Pirates bullpen and as the fifth starter?
Colin Beazley
12:26
Hey Irish Hymns, happy belated St. Patrick's Day.
Noah and I are doing a roster projections article that should come out soon, potentially even tomorrow. But I'll tip my hand here: as of now, I think Mlodzinski is the fifth starter, as he's looked most impressive in camp. That creates a hole in bulk relief, so I could see both Urquidy and Clevinger being added to the bullpen to ensure the Pirates can be careful with innings and their young starters.
George T
12:28
Hello Colin, what are the chances Konner Griffin makes starting 26 out of camp.
demosthenes98
12:28
Another Griffin question: don't we already know how this ends? He's going to be kept in the minors to start the season to save a few bucks, even if Nutting has to personally put him there.
One more Griffin question: when Nutting puts Griffin in the minors to start the season, can anyone fight back against him? Can Ben Cherington call him up and dare Nutting to fire him over it? Can Travis Williams, in the name of accountability, instruct Cherington to ignore any attempt by Nutting to overturn what everyone knows is the right baseball decision? Can Rob Manfred declare, "best interests of baseball," and put Griffin on the Pirates without Nutting's consent?
Colin Beazley
12:33
I'm just going to put all three of these Konnor Griffin questions together and answer them at once.

I don't currently know if Griffin will make the team out of camp. I don't think the Pirates know if Griffin will make the team out of camp. There's just a lot to figure out, even with just days left in spring training. Is he ready? Can he stick, even at 19? Could an extension still be possible, which would change the calculus? The Pirates could even — and I'm not saying they're doing this — say Griffin's not starting in the majors unless he signs an extension. That's not to say an extension has been offered or what the numbers are or anything like that, just saying there's a lot that can go into that decision. (continued...)
12:35
As for the latter two, I don't expect service time manipulation to play into this decision. The Pirates were burned when Paul Skenes earned a full year of service time by winning rookie of the year, so they have incentive to sign Griffin and insure that doesn't happen. I also think the upcoming CBA is a factor, as free agency and arbitration could change.

There is one thing I am fully confident in: Rob Manfred will not call up Konnor Griffin because it's "in the best interests of baseball." That's not how this works.
epiballo
12:35
Less than a week from opening the season - who won the camp battles? Do we know the answers to all of the questions - who starts at third, will Konnor start at short, who are the starting five, who won a spot in the bullpen, will Horwitz platoon at first, and, of course, what about Cruz? Thanks!
Colin Beazley
12:37
Addressed Griffin, but the others:

We don't know the answers, but we do have pretty good guesses. I expect Jared Triolo to start the majority of games at third. Maybe Tyler Callihan can eventually be a platoon, but I haven't seen enough from him to say that yet. Starting five: Skenes/Keller/Chandler/Ashcraft, fifth still TBD (I'd say Mlodzinski as of now). Bullpen depends on the fifth starter and how they construct. Horwitz will platoon at first with O'Hearn. Cruz is Cruz — upside is such that he's still important to this team, though results are crucial this year.
JollyRoger8
12:37
Endy Rodriguez deserves to be on the Pirates 26 man roster. How soon do you think he will be recalled and who do you think will be dropped or traded to make room?
Colin Beazley
12:39
Endy Rodriguez has played 28 games of baseball over the past two seasons combined. He was never going to start on the opening day roster — he needs to play, and can do more of that (with lower stakes) in Triple-A Indianapolis. That said, he did impress this spring, so I think a path exists to the majors. I think it depends on Joey Bart and how he performs to start the year,
epiballo
12:40
I saw a projection having the Pirates winning 84 games and losing the division to the Cubs by only two games; how packed will PNC Park be if that happens?
Colin Beazley
12:41
Packed. Buctober. Hoist the Cone and all that. (For those of you who aren't on Twitter, I don't get it either.)

I think there's a real chance that happens. A lot has to go right, plus the Cubs and Brewers would both have to regress, but the Pirates could certainly be playing meaningful baseball in late 2026.
Smokey Burgess
12:42
How much will our poor defense affect us? Only Triolo is above average. All of the rest are average or below, correct?
Colin Beazley
12:45
Henry Davis is also above average, which is part of the reason he's important. And both O'Hearn and Horwitz are perfectly capable at first. Frankly, defense is a huge "we'll see" with this team. The pitching was excellent and the defense was good last year, but it still ended in a 71-91 record. The Pirates traded off some pitching and a lot of defense to upgrade their offense — we'll see if that improves the record.
Jake
12:45
Whos ur breakout candidate for this seasons bucs?
Colin Beazley
12:46
I tried to come up with an under the radar answer, but the answer is Oneil Cruz. The Pirates need him to be better. He did a lot this offseason, we'll see if it leads to results.

I'm also higher on Bubba Chandler than most. I think he could be really, really good this year, potentially even a rookie of the year candidate good. I feel like he doesn't get talked about enough.
Smokey Burgess
12:47
Who goes North? Urquidy and/or Clevenger? If Clevenger, who is removed from the 40 man?
Colin Beazley
12:47
I think it's possible, especially if Carmen Mlodzinski ends up as the fifth starter. I'd rather not speculate on who could possibly go.
Cody
12:48
Anything on the konnor griffin extension possibility
epiballo
12:48
Do you know if negotiations are happening between the Pirates and Konnor Griffin on an extension? If he signs and extension, all this talk about when he is brought up becomes moot. I think he should start in Indy to build his at-bats and confidence. Too many blue chip QBs have been ruined by shattering their confidence by starting them right away (see the Browns).
Colin Beazley
12:50
I'll put these both together. I don't have anything to report. Think it's certainly something that can make sense for both sides.
Ryan
12:50
Good afternoon Colin what do you think about the play of Bryan Reynolds i think he has looked good first time coming to Bradenton for final 3 games This weekend LETS GO BUCS
Colin Beazley
12:52
He's been fine. Two hit game yesterday was a good step, bringing his average up, though I'd like to see a little more power from him. That said, Bryan Reynolds wasn't someone to watch super closely this spring. You know (roughly) what you're going to get from him.
Jimbo
12:53
Does Callihan make the team as a left handed platoon with Triolo.
Colin Beazley
12:54
I don't know about a full platoon yet — Callihan hasn't showed me enough offensively to fully take away Triolo's glove. That said, I do think there's a role for him as a lefty off the bat, with room to grow if he performs well and/or Triolo struggles.
Thomas Renda
12:54
What are teams expectations for Jared Jones once he returns in May/June? Rotation, bullpen, pitch limit?
Colin Beazley
12:56
I haven't heard anyone inside the org mention him as a bullpen possibility. They'll need to be careful with him (definitely a pitch count), but he'll also get the opportunity for a number of rehab starts so he'll probably be somewhat built up. I think he'd be the fifth starter, though he'll probably have one of Mlodzinski/Clevinger/Urquidy or even Barco piggybacking with him to manage innings and keep him healthy.
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