General manger Neal Huntington's contract expires at the end of this season but there have been reports the Pirates will offer him an extension. He's earned it. He's been with the organization for 10 seasons, rebuilding it from the ground up into competitiveness. He's been a miracle worker, given his resources.
That's why Huntington shouldn't sign an extension unless he receives, in writing, assurances from owner Bob Nutting that he will have more financial resources to work with. He should make it clear he's no longer interested in trying to build a competitive team with one hand tied behind his back. Nutting would probably tell Huntington he can't guarantee that, at which point Huntington should look for a job elsewhere. He deserves better than what he's gotten over the past three seasons. He had to operate on a shoestring budget while watching the 98-win team he built get torn apart.
True, the Pirates don't have the resources to compete with the payroll and overall spending of the top teams in the league. They should, however, compete with teams in similar markets. Kansas City is a small market, yet the Royals are 14th in payroll. More importantly, their payroll is $46 million more than the Pirates'. The Twins' payroll is $26 million more than the Pirates', and the Indians' payroll is $20 million more. The Pirates are even behind the Reds, who are in the midst of a massive rebuilding project and have sold off almost all of their expensive veterans over the past two seasons. The Pirates are 25th in payroll this season _ they were 25th in 2016, 23rd in 2015, 28th in 2014 and 26th in 2013.
Huntington has had to be a master at finding bargain basement players who play above their ability. He has had to consistently search for reclamation projects and find ways to keep the payroll down while adding players who can help win. He would be wise to politely decline an extension and ask the Pirates not to pick up his club option for next season. He would be a hot commodity on the open market and wouldn't have a hard time finding another job.
Who wants to operate like he has been asked to? He deserves to have resources to build a World Series champion and make moves without having to worry about the bottom line. He's earned that right, and so has, for that matter, Clint Hurdle.
Huntington has been a company man, taking the heat for decisions he can't possibly fully endorse. The frustration was clear in his voice this week when he talked about another trade deadline at which he was handcuffed by the budget. That isn't to say that Huntington has been perfect _ he's made some mistakes. He made some bad trades and seems have an unhealthy obsession with hoarding prospects. In Huntington's case, the good decisions outweigh the bad. How many of his bad decisions were made because he was given a directive to cut or hold the line on the budget?
The Pirates could add to their payroll. Maybe not $46 million to catch the Royals or even $26 million to catch the Twins, but even a bump of about $10 or $12 million would help. That doesn't seem like a ton of money, but it would at least allow Huntington to have a little bit of margin for error. He also could sign a couple of bench players and maybe a reliever or two. Hurdle gets hammered for using players such as John Jaso, Max Moroff, Jordan Luplow and Danny Ortiz, but if Huntington had a few more dollars to work with, Hurdle would have a better bench to work with.
Huntington is loyal, so he will probably sign an extension. He will likely continue to make the most of it and see if he can catch lightning in a bottle and lead the Pirates to the World Series. That's admirable but also not in his best interest. He needs a bigger budget, and if Nutting can't or won't provide it, Huntington should work for an owner who will.
