ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Pirates' decision to trade Andrew McCutchen and Gerrit Cole confused their own players, upset the fan base and made them the target of criticism from both agents and the players' union.
Yahoo Sports reported last month that the players' union was investigating the Pirates' and Marlins' use of revenue-sharing money, and Scott Boras, Cole's agent, continued to criticize Pirates ownership for what he described as not being committed to winning.
However, Neal Huntington discounted those criticisms Thursday at Tropicana Field, explaining his logic behind both trades and why he thinks the club can compete again in 2018.
"We weren’t good enough last year," Huntington said. "When you win 75 games and trade two known players for young players, we get the perception. This group is absolutely motivated to show up, to be that team we were in 2013 that surprised a lot of people on the outside. But that group in that room believed they were going to win. What’s fascinating is we have a group of young players that are excited about their opportunities, that are looking to capture their opportunity to be the next playoff team that wears a Pirates uniform. We have a group of veteran players that are looking forward to helping these young players learn how to win, and we have a group of players in the middle that are ready to take that next step forward in their career."
The Pirates are at the center of the offseason's biggest storyline. When the Winter Meetings began in December, it was believed that big-name free agents such as Jake Arrieta and J.D. Martinez would quickly sign contracts. After all, players with that sort of talent are rarely on the market for long.
With spring training underway, though, both players remain unsigned. Only eight miles southeast of Pirate City, 20 remaining free agents are holding a simulated spring training at IMG Academy's 450-acre campus.
Although most players attending the camp are veterans unlikely to receive seven-figure salaries, its creation was the result of a slow-moving offseason where some 80 free agents with major-league experience remained unsigned.
The Pirates have yet to sign a free agent to a major-league contract and have slashed payroll by $20 million. There is a considerable amount of revenue on the way, too. Each team is going to receive $50 million this spring for Disney’s purchase of BAMtech, the streaming media unit created by Major League Baseball.
They are not alone, though. Teams across MLB have chosen to turn to young, controllable, cheaper talent, rather than spending money in free agency.
The lack of activity, particularly the perceived "tanking" by some teams, was a hot-button topic when commissioner Rob Manfred spoke to reporters as part of MLB's spring training media day Thursday. Manfred, though, didn't seem all too concerned with the state of the game, saying the current collective bargaining agreement allows the market to dictate players' value and most available free agents are simply upset the market has changed from previous seasons.
"The clubs have conducted themselves in a manner that’s completely consistent with the agreement we made with the MLBPA," Manfred said.
That hasn't stopped the players' union from expressing its frustrations, though.
MLBPA executive director Tony Clark accused a number of clubs of trying to tank.
"Spring training has always been associated with hope for a new season," Clark said. "This year, a significant number of teams are engaged in a race to the bottom. This conduct is a fundamental breach of the trust between a team and its fans and threatens the very integrity of the game."
Reports surfaced last week that players were considering a boycott of spring training, although Clark quickly denied a boycott ever being discussed by the union. Of course, players did report to spring training, with the Pirates holding their first formal workout for pitchers and catchers Wednesday.
Despite losing McCutchen and Cole, Huntington, Hurdle and some players expressed confidence this week the Pirates can still contend in 2018 because of the core that remains in place, including Josh Bell, Gregory Polanco and Starling Marte.
"We’re going to be a young, hungry team that’s going to show up every day, and we’re going to compete every pitch," Huntington added. "It’s what [the Tampa Bay Rays did in 2011] and it’s what the 2013 Pirates did. And really, it’s what the ’12 and ’11 Pirates did. We just fell short because of injuries or I didn’t put enough talent together or we weren’t deep enough. We feel like there were huge differences between the ’11 and ’12 Pirates compared to this club in terms of depth, in terms of options if we have injuries. That’s what makes us excited."
Huntington went as far as to say the Pirates' chances of making the playoffs did not worsen by trading his two best players. But McCutchen led the club with 28 home runs and Cole is an accomplished starting pitcher who had a 1.25 WHIP in a career-high 33 starts.
Huntington acknowledged the Pirates took "risks" in the six players acquired for McCutchen and Cole, yet he and the front office decided the club could not make the postseason with its lack of organizational depth.
"The unfortunate reality is we weren’t good enough in ’16 and ’17," Huntington said. "I’ll take full responsibility for that. We needed to do some things differently. As we went into this offseason we wanted to allow our young starters to continue to grow and blossom but wanted to add to the depth there. We wanted to add some backend bullpen help, and we wanted to add a third baseman. … As we look at the trades in a vacuum, we added, what we believe, is a quality major league starting pitcher, an everyday third baseman with power that hits from the left side, two backend bullpen guys. All young. All with risks and ceiling.
"We also took off two very good players, so we understand that. We think we're a deeper organization. We certainly don’t have the backs of the baseball cards we did heading into the ’17 season, but we weren't good enough in ’17."
MATT SUNDAY GALLERY
Pirates spring training, Bradenton, Fla., Feb. 15, 2018. - MATT SUNDAY / DKPS