Grading The Pirates Bullpen

By John Franco

One of the keys to small market success is a knack for assembling a cheap, successful bullpen. Luckily for the Pirates, Neal Huntington has done a good job of mining for talent, leaving no stone unturned in his search.

Bullpen arms for clubs like the Pirates need to meet three criteria: they need to be cheap, they need to be valuable enough to trade or draw attention in the off-season while netting their old club some draft picks, and they need to be effective. Some teams would argue that this is the correct order for these three requirements, with effectiveness ranking a distant 3rd.

In 2010, the Pirates signed Octavio Dotel with the knowledge that he could be a good trade candidate at the deadline. He brought back James McDonald in a trade – so it’s safe to say that worked out.

In 2009, the Pirates traded Sean Burnett and Nyjer Morgan to the Nationals for Joel Hanrahan. Burnett has been pretty good for the Nats, but I’d also consider this deal to be another win for the Pirates.

In 2009, the Pirates signed DJ Carrasco and flipped him to Arizona for Pedro Ciriaco and Chris Snyder. Well… you can’t win ‘em all. Similarly, the Pirates signed Javier Lopez in the offseason and flipped him to the Giants. He played a key role in the Giants’ bullpen down the stretch and the Pirates got back John Bowker and Joe Martinez. OK, so maybe you can’t even win most of them. But if the Pirates can develop a reliever or two every year and flip another one or two, they’ll be exploiting the market in a way that a lot of teams miss.

So what do the Pirates have now, and what might they be able to do with it? And is the shoe on the other foot this year, with the Pirates looking at other teams’ cheap relievers to improve their own bullpen?

Closer: The Pirates are all set with Hanrahan for a while. I don’t believe the rumors that they would trade him, but if the next 8 days go badly and the offers are something like Dominic Brown or Colby Rasmus, I’m guessing Huntington will listen. Short of a godfather offer, though, the Pirates’ pursuit of the pennant and a winning season are too important. Hanrahan has been everything the Pirates need, but I’m going to ding him a bit for his low strikeout rate. Grade: B+

Setup: Since Evan Meek went on the DL with shoulder tendinitis, the Pirates’ 8th inning role has been a bit shaky. Meek was recently placed on the 60-day DL to make room for Jason Grilli on the 40-man roster, and has only recently started a throwing program. He is probably a month away – the earliest he could return is August 7, but I’m skeptical. In his absence, Clint Hurdle has relied mostly on Jose Veras and Chris Resop. Both have good strikeout rates and somewhat shaky control, are capable of doing an adequate job at task 1 (being cheap) but aren’t likely to bring a lot in return if they leave. There’s a reason the Pirates are looking at relief help on the market, but given what setup relievers cost in the 2011 market, it’s hard to fault Huntington for a middling grade. Grade: C

Middle Relief: The Pirates recently added Grilli, a fireballing veteran who fanned 43 batters in 32 innings for the AAA IronPigs. He walked just 12 batters in the minors, and brings another arm in the Veras/Resop class. It’s hard to believe that a guy who couldn’t crack the Phillies’ bullpen is the savior of a franchise, but I wouldn’t be shocked if Grilli passed both Veras and Resop in the pecking order. The Pirates also have Chris Leroux, who was optioned to AAA to make room for Grilli on the active roster. Leroux fanned 7 batters in 5.2 innings, making an impression with a 94-MPH fastball. He will probably benefit from some additional seasoning in Indianapolis, and could move further down the pecking order if the Pirates add another veteran. Still, Leroux is the kind of high-upside arm that Huntington needs to stockpile at AAA to be used in the future. Grade: B+ (with the caveat that Grilli and Leroux might not be B+ arms in a higher-leverage role.)

Lefties: Joe Beimel returned from 7 weeks on the DL due to a strained elbow and resumed his role as the Pirates’ primary lefty. He’s been a little inconsistent (6 walks, 3 HR in 14 innings) but I don’t think the Pirates will look to upgrade this spot. Beimel replaced former first round pick Daniel Moskos, who was returned to AAA when Beimel was activated. Kudos to Huntington for trying Moskos as a lefty reliever in order to get some value out of a once-talented arm, but Moskos only fanned 7 batters in 17.1 innings, so he has some work to do. Tony Watson is the second lefty, and he has also been erratic (9 walks, 13 Ks, 2 HR in 15 innings) while having more success against righties than lefties (.100 average vs. .261 average). I’ve never been a fan of the rule that you “have” to have a second lefty, but if you’re going to have a lot of hard-throwing righties with relatively straight fastballs, it’s not a bad idea.  If the Pirates add Koji Uehara or another righty, it’s possible that Watson could be sent down to make room. Grade: C-

Long Relief / Wild Card: Daniel McCutchen hasn’t been used exclusively in long relief, but given his low strikeout rate and experience as a starter in 2010, he could be best suited for a multi-inning role. The Pirates will be getting R0ss Ohlendorf back soon and will need to make room for him in the rotation – at this point it’s hard to say which starter could be relegated, so maybe Ohlendorf will go to the bullpen and wait for an opportunity. Brad Lincoln has a K:BB ratiof of 86:19 in 101 innings and could be called up as another reliever if the Pirates need a shot in the arm. Grade: B

The Pirates don’t have a lot of relievers who could add future value via trade or compensation picks, but they have a good core of arms that will look better if Neal Huntington adds another reliever and moves everyone down a step.