Just one day after owner Bob Nutting told reporters his desire to see the Pirates make a 2024 playoff push, general manager Ben Cherington met with local media, where he, too, fielded questions about the club’s race for October.
Cherington said the first step to remaining in the mix for a playoff push starts internally.
"I think by now, we all have a pretty good sense of where the team is,” Cherington said Saturday. “I still believe we have players that are capable of more. I'll continue to say that because I believe in them. We'll continue to focus energy internally, as far as how we can continue to get better.”
But while Cherington’s remarks on internal improvement were nothing new, his following comments were a first this season. With this year’s trade deadline set for July 30, Cherington provided his thoughts on the road ahead for the first time this year. That discussion began with him echoing Nutting’s remarks, indicating that, at least for now, the Pirates look to be buyers in July.
“We want to add to the team, we want to make the team better,” Cherington said. “That is our job. We're going to be engaged in an effort to do that. And, of course, it won't surprise you that teams don't just line up and eagerly hand over good players.”
Cherington provided a brief analysis of the deadline, highlighting the jam-packed National League standings, where all but two teams are within reasonable distance of a playoff spot. Another unique trend the Pirates general manager noted was a higher demand for offense rather than pitching. Those two factors, he believes, will create a competitive market.
“The pool of players that are realistically available right now is seemingly small, and the list of teams interested in those players is pretty long,” Cherington said. “That just makes that dance interesting right now. But we just gotta stay in it.”
Entering the weekend within a game of the final National League Wildcard spot, Nutting had also stated that the Pirates would approach the league’s trade deadline looking to improve their current roster.
“I think we should be prepared to move early,” Nutting said. “I think we should be prepared to take advantage of opportunities when they arise. I know Ben [Cherington] has that flexibility to look across a broader range of alternatives, options but also a timeline of when it makes sense to strike.”
Like Nutting, Cherington provided no indication of when the Pirates could begin to act in this year’s trade market, simply stating the franchise feels the urgency to improve “every day.” If/when a move is made, the ultimate hope is to find a player who can help the club in the present and future, even if that perhaps includes parting ways with valuable prospects.
“We should be looking to make the team better, the major league team better,” Cherington said. “If that means giving up players who aren't here yet to do that, if it helps us be better, and especially if we can do that in a way that gives us a chance to keep getting better after this year and stay on that path, then we should be willing and ready to do that.
That kind of activity can live right next to a continued focus and commitment to keep getting better at the draft, keep getting better at international, keep getting better in development so that we're building the farm system up. We continue to do that at the same time we are starting to use young players in trades. We should be doing both of those things. It's absolutely what we should be doing. It's just a matter of finding the right ones to say yes to."
While Cherington’s answer indicated a preference toward acquiring players with multiple years of control, he did not write off the idea of rental players either, should the price make sense.
“I don't think we take anything off the board,” Cherington said. “Acquiring players we know are going to contribute and are controllable past this year, of course, have value, and in a vacuum, yeah, there's probably some preference for that. But we're not going to close our eyes to anything, even if the player has shorter control."
Noah Hiles: nhiles@post-gazette.com and @_NoahHiles on X
First Published: June 22, 2024, 7:57 p.m.
Updated: June 22, 2024, 10:27 p.m.
