Pirates/MLB category, Page 40
Top prospect Bubba Chandler headlines Pirates’ roster for Spring Breakout against Phillies
Pitcher Bubba Chandler headlines the roster of Pittsburgh Pirates prospects to play against Philadelphia Phillies prospects in the Spring Breakout on March 14 at BayCare Ballpark in Clearwater, Fla. The 22-year-old Chandler is ranked the Pirates’ No. 1 prospect and No. 15 overall by MLB Pipeline. The 6-foot-3, 218-pound right-hander...
Going, going, gone? One-of-a-kind card featuring Pirates star Paul Skenes heading to auction
Paul Skenes has been in the major leagues for less than a year. A piece of the Pittsburgh Pirates ace — well, OK, a piece of the jersey that Skenes donned during his first start last May — could be ready to join some elite company. A one-of-a-kind autographed baseball...
With fast start, slugger DJ Stewart emerges as darkhorse candidate at first base for Pirates
DJ Stewart prides himself on being an athlete, and he has the pedigree as a 2015 first-round pick to prove it. When he failed to become a starter in Baltimore, Stewart realized he needed to put his athleticism on display defensively. “You see a lot of guys play multiple positions,”...
Oneil Cruz crushes 3-run homer, Joey Bart goes deep as Pirates outlast Blue Jays
With one swing, Oneil Cruz turned the tide on a tied game. Cruz crushed a 2-2 changeup from Jake Bloss, sending it over the boardwalk in center field for a three-run homer that sailed out of LECOM Park. Joey Bart followed with a solo shot to center to make it...
After birth of 1st child, reliever Isaac Mattson ready to compete for spot in Pirates bullpen
BRADENTON, Fla. — After spending the better part of two days in a hospital, Isaac Mattson finally found time last Friday to go outside and throw a weighted plyometric ball against the fence in his backyard. “I was just trying to do a little bit of something,” Mattson said, “but...
Tim Benz: Travis Hunter’s ‘2-way player’ opinion makes sense but misses bigger picture
Maybe we finally found something Travis Hunter can’t do: talk baseball. The college football star recently won the Heisman Trophy as a two-way player. He excelled as a cornerback and wide receiver at Colorado. Now he is about to become a first-round draft choice, and many are wondering if he...
Control issues plague Andrew Heaney, bullpen in Pirates’ blowout loss to Red Sox
Left-hander Andrew Heaney, who signed a one-year, $5.25 million contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates in late February, is the club’s biggest free agent acquisition of the offseason. The 33-year-old made his spring training debut Tuesday against the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday at LECOM Park in Bradenton, Fla., and struggled...
Healthy Ji Hwan Bae shows signs of getting more comfortable in center field for Pirates
BRADENTON, Fla. — When the Detroit Tigers’ Bligh Madris barreled the ball, Ji Hwan Bae didn’t realize the deep fly would require him to chase it so far into center field that he ended up against the wall. Bae used his elite sprint speed to track and catch it, surprising...
Bailey Falter, Bubba Chandler roughed up as Yankees clobber Pirates
In their 10th game of spring training Monday evening, the Pittsburgh Pirates fell 12-3 to the New York Yankees at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Fla. New York’s Max Fried, who signed an eight-year, $218 million deal with the club during the offseason, and Bailey Falter started, with both...
Pirates claim reliever Justin Lawrence off waivers from Rockies, place Johan Oviedo on 60-day IL
The Pittsburgh Pirates claimed 30-year-old right-handed pitcher Justin Lawrence off waivers from the Colorado Rockies, the team announced Monday. In order to make room for Lawrence on the 40-man roster, righty Johan Oviedo was placed on the 60-day injured list. Oviedo, 27, is coming off Tommy John surgery performed in...
Termarr Johnson spent busy offseason taking significant steps toward playing for the Pirates
BRADENTON, Fla. — On the day he was reassigned to minor league camp by the Pittsburgh Pirates, Termarr Johnson spent the morning talking about the offseason steps he took to get closer to the majors. Johnson enjoyed an extended season that started with playing in the Arizona Fall League and...
Topps’ debut patch cards have become a sought-after collectible for some young major leaguers
GLENDALE, Ariz. — Cam Booser’s bumpy road to the major leagues included arm and back injuries, along with a stint as a carpenter in his native Seattle. Such an unlikely big league debut was worth commemorating, and he was determined to track down a specific memento — a one-of-a-kind baseball...
Short start: Jokes aside, Pirates pitcher Jared Jones pleased with performance against Tigers
BRADENTON, Fla. – Jared Jones seemed surprised when Derek Shelton strolled out to the mound with two outs in the third inning, prepared to pull the Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander from the game. Jones was pulled not because of his performance but rather for reaching his 45-pitch count. As he handed...
Pirates top pick Konnor Griffin was ‘all smiles’ in celebrating his 1st pro home run off OriolesVideo
SARASOTA, Fla. — When Konnor Griffin connected on Brandon Young’s 1-1 pitch, he knew he barreled the ball and immediately believed it would be an extra-base hit. With the Pittsburgh Pirates and Baltimore Orioles tied at 2-2 in the top of the ninth inning, Griffin had only one thing on...
Paul Skenes introduces new pitches in spring debut, as 4 homers lift Pirates past Orioles
SARASOTA, Fla. — The first start of spring training came later than Paul Skenes wanted and with more pitches than he preferred but with results that left the Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander satisfied. Skenes introduced two new fastballs to his pitch repertoire, using both his cutter and two-seamer a handful of...
Josh Rawitch Q&A: Hall of Fame president discusses Dave Parker’s induction and more
BRADENTON, Fla. — Josh Rawitch watched in amazement how becoming a Hall of Famer touched Jim Leyland, from the tears in his eyes upon arriving and meeting the staff in Cooperstown, N.Y., to getting choked up while delivering his induction speech. As president of the National Baseball Hall of Fame...
Pirates pitcher Braxton Ashcraft stays in zone, with focus on stuff over results against Rays
BRADENTON, Fla. — Braxton Ashcraft has learned not to dwell on the negative, so the Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher was focused on how his pitches felt more so than the results of his first spring training outing. Yet Ashcraft couldn’t hide his displeasure that he allowed two runs on four hits...
Jack Suwinski searches for consistency, finding a new place in Pirates’ lineup after down year
BRADENTON, Fla. — After answering the best season of his career with the worst, Jack Suwinski lost not only his spot in the starting lineup for the Pittsburgh Pirates but any guarantees on the major league roster. That was humbling for the 26-year-old outfielder, who led the Pirates with 26...
Top prospect Bubba Chandler shows signs of maturity on mound as Pirates pound Twins
FORT MYERS, Fla. — Bubba Chandler wanted to make quick work of the Minnesota Twins, so the Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander wasn’t happy when his called third strike on the inside corner against Willi Castro was overturned by a challenge in spring training’s experimental automated ball-strike system. “I never had a...
Matt Gorski hopes home runs, playing 1st base help to make a lasting impression on Pirates
BRADENTON, Fla. — All of Matt Gorski’s hits in spring training games had been home runs, so Derek Shelton was surprised when the Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder had to settle for a sacrifice fly. When a 400-foot shot fell short of clearing the center-field fence, the Pirates manager made the case...
Breaking news: Pirates lefty Bailey Falter hopes sharpened slider, curveball will set up fastballs
BRADENTON, Fla. — Before the question was even asked, Bailey Falter blurted out the answer: breaking stuff. The Pittsburgh Pirates left-hander has a reputation for taking advantage of his elite extension and throwing hitters a heavy dose of fastballs — a combined 62% between his four-seamer and sinker — so...
Jared Jones unveils ‘something nasty’ with new pitch in spring debut as Pirates fall to Braves
BRADENTON, Fla. — Jared Jones unveiled a new pitch in his first start of spring training, though the Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander hesitates to label it. For now, the two-seam fastball is a “sinker or whatever you want to call it.” What does Jones want to call it? “Something nasty.” The...
Air power: Pirates’ Paul Skenes finds flexibility key to developing a pair of new pitch offerings
BRADENTON, Fla. — Paul Skenes never even boarded the bus. The Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander was warned Monday that there was a good chance his first start of spring training could be rained out, so he threw a 45-pitch live batting practice before it was scheduled to leave. After joking that...
Pirates-Phillies spring training game rained out
CLEARWATER, Fla. — Paul Skenes’ first start of spring training was rained out. Monday’s Pittsburgh Pirates-Philadelphia Phillies game was canceled due to inclement weather, as the Gulf Coast expected rainstorms all afternoon. Skenes, the 2024 NL rookie of the year, was set to start for the Pirates against a Phillies...
‘He’s impressive’: Pirates 1st-round pick Konnor Griffin flashes tools in spring training debut
BRADENTON, Fla. — Konnor Griffin is quick to say how cool it is to be an 18-year-old in big league camp at spring training, especially when reminded that he’s less than a year removed from high school. The Pittsburgh Pirates’ 2024 first-round pick is even quicker to remind about something...
