As many teams aggressively pursued relief pitchers in a deep free-agent market, the Pirates opted instead to add via waivers and the Rule 5 Draft.
The club has expressed interest in a number of free-agent relievers, including an additional left-hander to complement Felipe Rivero, but most of the top pitchers are now off the market. Like the plan for third base and outfield, it could turn to internal options for long-relief help.
Neal Huntington revealed to reporters at the Winter Meetings last week that Tyler Glasnow and Steven Brault could begin the season in the bullpen.
The question Huntington and Clint Hurdle must address with both young pitchers is this: Would they be better served remaining in the starting rotation in Triple-A, where both were dominant in 2017, or by learning in the major leagues, albeit in a different role?
"I don’t want to single (Glasnow) out, but we are more open now to one or two young starters being in the bullpen to start the season with the idea of long-term that they’ll be really good starting pitchers," Huntington said at the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort. "It’s using the old-school model of an apprenticeship, but also uses the new-school model to allow Clint to be aggressive and get a guy out when it’s obvious in the third or fourth inning it’s not his night. We can go get him and be strong in the middle."
The plan is contingent on Gerrit Cole remaining on the roster, which is far from a guarantee. According to Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports, the Yankees and Pirates are discussing a trade involving Cole, although the Pirates' price could prevent a deal from getting done.
The 27-year-old is under club control for two more years at a discounted price — he's projected to make $7.5 million through arbitration in 2018. Plus, he's proven to have the arsenal of a front-line starting pitcher and top starters in free agency are asking for long-term contracts valued at more than $150 million.
If Cole stays, he'll be the opening day starter in a rotation that will also likely include Ivan Nova, Jameson Taillon, Chad Kuhl and Trevor Williams. Huntington and Hurdle view the rotation as a building block for this roster, and the growth of the young starters was a silver lining to a difficult season for the Pirates.
Brault and Glasnow will both be given a chance to win a spot in the rotation during spring training, but Huntington all but ruled out either pitcher being able to prove enough to bump one of those five pitchers into the bullpen.
"We’re going to be open-minded as we go into the rotation next year," Huntington said. "Want to respect the body of work from the five that took down the large majority of starts a year ago. Don’t want to overreact to a good or bad spring training, but we also don’t want to close the door to the guys coming in to capitalize on what opportunity might be there."
Huntington acknowledged both Brault and Glasnow will be given a chance at a major-league roster spot. After all, it's unlikely either would benefit from a return to Triple-A. Using them in the bullpen might seem unorthodox to some, but the Pirates deployed the same strategy with Williams at the start of this season.
After beginning the season in the bullpen, Williams was moved into the rotation when Taillon was placed on the disabled list in May. With the attention now given to prospects, many would see a role in the bullpen as a demotion or sign of regression. However, it used to be common practice for a young starter to begin his career in the bullpen.
If the experiment works, it could give Hurdle the type of bullpen that has become more popular in recent years, allowing him to protect a starting pitcher in a rough outing.
Brault, 25, would seem to be the top candidate to earn the role given the Pirates' lack of left-handed options, and he seems to be further along in his development than Glasnow. Brault was named the Pirates' minor league pitcher of the year after he went 10-5 with a 1.95 ERA — which led the International League — and 109 strikeouts to 44 walks in 20 starts for Indianapolis last season.
He had a 4.67 ERA in 34 2/3 innings with the Pirates, including four starts.
"How much good can come out of, well, if he doesn’t make the rotation here, the question is do you want him to continue to start, do you give him that bullpen opportunity?" Hurdle said last week at the Winter Meetings. "Because there is growth opportunity there still. You’re getting big-league hitters out. You’re figuring hitters out. You’re finding another way to help your club win. So, it very well could play out that way that we have some in-house candidate to perform that multiple-inning relief job and carry that for us."
Glasnow's chances of making the bullpen could be low given the Pirates' other right-handed options on the 40-man roster: Johnny Barbato, Daniel Hudson, George Kontos, Jordan Milbrath, Edgar Santana, Dovydas Neverauskas and A.J. Schugel.
But the Pirates remain intrigued by Glasnow and are encouraged by the improvement he showed during his second stint last season, particularly a spike in fastball velocity and increased movement on his curveball.
The 24-year-old spent most of the season at Indianapolis after earning a spot in the Pirates' rotation out of spring training, posting a 1.93 ERA with 140 strikeouts to 32 walks in 15 starts.
Unlike Brault, Glasnow struggled mightily in the major leagues, posting a 7.69 ERA with 56 strikeouts and 44 walks in 15 starts, averaging 11.9 hits and 6.4 walks per nine innings.
"I think it could (help him), and it's also just another opportunity to – I use this analogy — to rearrange the furniture in the room," Hurdle said. "He's still going to go out with the mindset of pitching and getting outs and throwing his pitches, however, it's a different — there's not every-fifth-day-starting mentality. You're going out, you need to prepare, you need to be ready. A phone call you're up, 10 minutes later you're in the game, versus the four days of preparation. Could that help him? It very well could. We'll see."
The Pirates used only seven starting pitchers — tying a club record for fewest used in one season — and Huntington and Hurdle expressed confidence this model could help both prepare to make a spot start or step into the rotation if needed.
Even if they aren't needed in the rotation, long-relief options are at a premium now that teams are becoming more conscious of a starting pitcher's struggles after going two times through a batting order. For the Pirates, their young starting pitchers often struggled in that regard in 2017, which put stress on the bullpen.
As a result, a number of relievers bounced back and forth between Triple-A and the major leagues.
In 16 2/3 innings as a reliever with the Pirates, Brault had a 4.86 ERA with a 1.68 WHIP. Glasnow only pitched five innings in relief, walking nine and striking out three while allowing three earned runs. Neither are proven commodities, but investing internally might pay off greater long-term rather than investing in a high-risk free agent such as Xavier Cedeño.