Pirates/MLB category, Page 44
Pirates acquire infielder/outfielder Enmanuel Valdez from Red Sox
The Pittsburgh Pirates acquired infielder/outfielder Enmanuel Valdez from the Boston Red Sox on Sunday morning in exchange for minor-league pitcher Joe Vogatsky. Valdez, 25, appeared in 76 games for the Red Sox last year, slashing .214/.270/.363 with six homers and 28 RBIs but was designated for assignment Dec. 11. In...
New Pirates bullpen coach Miguel Perez brings familiarity with organization’s pitchers
A surplus of familiar faces is set to greet Miguel Perez when he joins the Pittsburgh Pirates for spring training in a few months. Perez, whom the Pirates named big-league bullpen coach Friday afternoon, spent the past three seasons as skipper of the Indianapolis Indians. After overseeing the Pirates’ Triple-A...
Mark Madden: Pirates ownership will always choose profit over winning, even amid Paul Skenes’ window
The Pittsburgh Pirates have Paul Skenes, just 22, the NL Rookie of the Year and already MLB’s best pitcher. Yet it seems like a time of no hope. To date, the Pirates’ big offseason move is trading a solid starting pitcher in Luis Ortiz for Spencer Horwitz, a meh first...
Pirates add 5 players, lose 3 in minor league phase of Rule 5 Draft
With the eighth overall selection in this year’s Rule 5 Draft on Wednesday, the Pittsburgh Pirates passed on making a pick. However, in the minor-league portion of the draft, the Pirates added five players: righty reliever Franck De La Rosa (Athletics), left-handed relievers Randy Labaut and Steve Hajjar (both from...
Pirates announce 2025 home game times, promotional schedule
The Pittsburgh Pirates announced their 2025 promotional schedule and home game times Wednesday afternoon. The New York Yankees will be the Pirates’ first opponent at PNC Park, with the two clubs set for a 4:12 p.m. first pitch April 4, 2025, which will be the Pirates’ home opener. That marks...
Pirates trade for 1B Spencer Horwitz, sending RHP Luis Ortiz, 2 lefties to Cleveland
The Pittsburgh Pirates pulled off their first major offseason trade Tuesday night by sending right-handed pitcher Luis Ortiz and a pair of lefty prospects to the Cleveland Guardians for first baseman Spencer Horwitz. The 27-year-old Horwitz is a left-handed hitter who batted .265/.357/.433 with 19 doubles, 12 home runs and...
Pirates sign righty reliever Elvis Alvarado, formerly of Marlins farm system
The Pittsburgh Pirates signed right-handed relief pitcher Elvis Alvarado to a major league split contract, a source confirmed to TribLive on Tuesday. The deal with Alvarado, 25, is pending a physical. Split contracts are different from guaranteed deals and feature varying financial compensation for players based on whether they are...
Pirates get No. 6 pick in 2025 MLB Draft lottery, marking their 6th consecutive year in top 10
The Pittsburgh Pirates moved into the top six of the 2025 MLB Draft lottery, getting the No. 6 overall pick Tuesday night during baseball’s winter meetings in Dallas. The Pirates, who had retired catcher Jason Kendall representing them on the dais for the draft lottery special on MLB Network, had...
‘A division we can win’: Derek Shelton says Pirates need to add bats to starting pitching
Pittsburgh Pirates manager Derek Shelton told MLB Network he believes they can win the National League Central Division if they can add offense to complement their starting pitching. During a guest appearance Monday on “MLB Tonight” during baseball’s winter meetings in Dallas, Shelton was asked if he’s pounding the table...
Tim Benz: Forget ‘Golden At-Bats.’ Let’s talk ‘Golden Contracts’
I feel as if I should be having some sort of emotional reaction to the New York Mets giving Juan Soto more than three-quarters of a billion dollars over 15 years. I’m not. The baseball fan inside me ought to be screaming about what this means for the state of...
First Call: Wyatt Teller tamps down complaints about Steelers fans; plans for Bryan Reynolds at 1BVideo
Tuesday’s “First Call” follows up on those complaints about Steelers fans from one of the Cleveland Browns’ wives. We know the full broadcast plans for the Christmas Day game on Netflix between the Steelers and Chiefs. Pirates manager Derek Shelton has an update on Bryan Reynolds’ future position. Also, the...
Pirates great Dave Parker elected into Hall of Fame by Classic Baseball Era CommitteeVideo
For some time, Dave Parker’s Hall of Fame exclusion has been considered an injustice among baseball circles in and out of Pittsburgh. But Sunday night, the 16-person Classic Baseball Era Committee deemed Parker, 73, worthy of enshrinement in Cooperstown, N.Y. For Parker, whose eligibility to be inducted by the traditional...
New Pirates assistant pitching coach Brent Strom: ‘I just want to help this ball club’
Brent Strom openly admits retirement is a thought that’s surfaced and resurfaced repeatedly over the last several years. At age 76, that’s hardly unnatural. But Strom, officially named Thursday as assistant pitching coach for the Pittsburgh Pirates, is finding more than enough motivation to begin a new chapter in a...
Pirates announce hiring of Brent Strom as assistant pitching coach
The Pittsburgh Pirates announced the hiring of Brent Strom as assistant pitching coach Thursday morning. Strom, 76, will assist Oscar Marin, who will enter his sixth season with the Pirates in 2025. Most recently, Strom served as pitching coach for the Arizona Diamondbacks from 2022-24. “Brent has a proven track...
First Call: T.J. Watt accused of dirty play and J.J. Watt responds; Pirates could ‘surprise us by landing a solid free-agent bat’Video
There are some on the internet calling Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt a dirty player. His Hall Of Fame-bound big brother isn’t standing for that. The Steelers worked out a former Cleveland Browns defensive lineman in advance of their matchup this weekend. The Pirates may be in the market to...
Mark Madden: MLB’s proposed Golden At-Bat rule goes too far … or does it?
The pitch clock is OK. It speeded up the game. Ghost runners in extra innings were tough to get used to. But regular-season games shouldn’t last forever. Restricting the infield shift increased offense. The three-batter minimum for pitchers (or to the end of a half-inning) minimized the endless merry-go-round between...
Reports: Former Pirates reliever Aroldis Chapman signs with Boston
Hard-throwing left-handed reliever Aroldis Chapman signed with the Boston Red Sox, according to multiple news reports. Chapman, who joined the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2024 on a one-year deal, seemed to confirm the news, posting to social media platform X in a Red Sox cap. Per ESPN, Chapman’s deal with Boston...
Tim Benz: MLB ‘Golden At-Bat’ idea takes gold medal for stupidity
I’m not one who immediately flushes the idea of change when it comes to the sport of Major League Baseball. By nature, I’m not automatically a stodgy, old-school baseball traditionalist. I embraced the pitch clock and applauded limited checks of runners on base. I initially balked at the wild card....
Mark Madden: Pirates will cash in on Paul Skenes; he will get his cash elsewhere
Some say the Pittsburgh Pirates are the worst organization in big-time sports. Given their priorities, they’re a lot closer to being one of the best. That’s what the dorks who protest and rent billboards don’t get: There’s no mining shame and embarrassment from an owner and franchise that don’t care...
Pirates non-tender Connor Joe, Bryan De La Cruz, acquire reliever from Guardians
In a series of roster moves Friday, the Pittsburgh Pirates non-tendered outfielders Bryan De La Cruz and Connor Joe and righty reliever Hunter Stratton and acquired 30-year-old righty reliever Peter Strzelecki from the Cleveland Guardians in exchange for cash considerations. De La Cruz, 28, was a major trade acquisition for...
Andrew McCutchen joins Yinzgiving to prepare, deliver Thanksgiving meals
Andrew McCutchen will join 180 volunteers helping to package and deliver more than 2,000 Thanksgiving meals across Pittsburgh as part of an event called Yinzgiving. “It means a lot that we’re able to participate in something like this,” McCutchen told TribLive on Friday. “It’s giving; it’s helping; it’s being a...
New hitting coach Matt Hague excited to help Pirates find ‘road maps’ to success at the plate
Once the opening became official that the Pittsburgh Pirates were searching for a new hitting coach, Matt Hague didn’t just express interest. He wanted to beat them to the punch. A former Pirates farmhand who made the Opening Day roster in 2012, Hague was energized during the interview process by...
Pirates’ Paul Skenes edged by Chris Sale for NL Cy Young Award
Shortly after capturing National League Rookie of the Year honors Monday, Paul Skenes weighed in on Wednesday’s Cy Young Award reveal, for which he was also a finalist. “I have a feeling (Atlanta Braves left-handed pitcher Chris) Sale’s got it pretty locked up,” Skenes told reporters on a conference call....
Paul Skenes captures NL Rookie of the Year honorsVideo
That Paul Skenes’ first MLB campaign was abbreviated, owing to his mid-May call-up by the Pittsburgh Pirates, threatened to weigh him down when individual accolades were on the table. Ultimately, a fashionably late arrival to the big leagues mattered little to the commissioner’s office and Skenes’ MLB peers, who voted...
Pirates offer 30 years of home plate season tickets for Paul Skenes debut autograph card
Call it a Yinzer version of Willie Wonka’s golden ticket. The owner of an autographed Paul Skenes rookie debut baseball card could receive season tickets at PNC Park behind home plate for 30 years. Claiming the prize would mean turning the card over to the Pittsburgh Pirates. The pitcher’s card...
