PITTSBURGH _ Everyone agrees this is a rebuilding season for the Pirates, even though general manager Ben Cherington won't use the word. Building, rebuilding, restructuring, tweaking _ whatever, this is a season in which the team won't contend but will try and build a foundation for future success.
As I've written in the past, though, the Pirates' new front office and coaching staff won't get much of a honeymoon period from the fans. This fan base is tired of losing teams, tired of excuses why the owner can't spend money and tired of watching their best players leave when it comes time to pay them.
That's not just an opinion, either, as I have heard from a number of fans who say they are not spending their hard-earned money to watch the Pirates play this year. Many of them were lost with the trades of Andrew McCutchen and Gerrit Cole in recent years, but the trade of Starling Marte has seemingly been the final straw for a number of others.
That's why if the Pirates want to have a chance to regain the trust of their fan base, this can't be a total waste of a season. There has to be some positive developments with the younger players so that fans can see there is some progress being made. If that doesn't happen, there will be no way for this new management team to gain any credibility even though they just arrived on the scene.
I've spent a lot of time thinking of ways the Pirates could be an exciting team this year. And I've also thought of some things the owner could do to throw the fans a bone or two and make it clear that he is indeed serious about winning.
They are in a tough situation right now because fan perception of the franchise is so bad and because the popularity of the owner is at an all-time low.
One easy thing Bob Nutting could do is sign Josh Bell to a long-term deal before the season starts. I know all about the defensive metrics for Bell and how bad he is at first base. I know that he probably isn't ever going to be even an average fielder in a number of ways. I know about his throwing issues. I also know that he has the ability to hit 40 homers a season.
He showed that last year even though he fell just short because he got injured and missed a chunk of the end of the season. Home runs win in baseball these days, as it has become a game of feast or famine. And there aren't enough guys in the league that can hit them, so in some ways, home run hitters are like quarterbacks in the NFL in terms of their value.
And just to add some perspective, Bell played 143 games last year and had 37 home runs. There are only 10 players in Major League Baseball who hit 40 or more and only 14 who hit more than Bell's 37. Bell is also a great clubhouse guy, a fan favorite and he is just entering his prime. If ever there was a player the Pirates should think about tearing up arbitration years and signing a six- or seven-year deal, it would be him.
The rest of the infield of the future appears to be solid defensively, so he shouldn't kill them with his glove. That would be an easy thing to do to show the fans that, yes, Nutting is committed to doing things differently and is trying to win.
Beyond that move, there are a few things that need to happen this season on the field for Pirates fans to have a reason to feel good about the future.
Mitch Keller needs to take a huge step forward this season as a starting pitcher. We have heard about him for seemingly a decade and he was protected by the former front office from any trade discussions as if he were the second-coming of Sandy Koufax. I don't think he needs to win the Cy Young this year, but it would be a good development if he stayed in the rotation all season, made 30-plus starts and had solid, consistent numbers.
I'd say the same thing for Trevor Williams and Joe Musgrove as those three theoretically will be the foundation of which the pitching staff of the future will be built. It would also be a great development if Ke'Bryan Hayes and Cole Tucker could find their way into the everyday lineup by, say, mid-July. And Bryan Reynolds and Kevin Newman just need to show that last season wasn't a fluke and prove they are two more solid pieces for Cherington and company to build on.
This is supposed to be a lost season for the Pirates, but they cannot afford it to be a complete wash out. They need some positive developments to happen with their young players if they want to get their fans interested again.
