CINCINNATI — While Josh Harrison gave what could be his final postgame interview with the Pirates, Elias Diaz broke through a group of reporters to give the second baseman a hug and a farewell. Harrison, the team's longest tenured player, had watched from the dugout at Great American Ball Park as their season ended with a 6-5 win over the Reds in 10 innings on Sunday.
It wasn't the end he envisioned when first reporting for spring training in February. He and many of the Pirates' regulars didn't play. Corey Dickerson was given a break to ensure he finished with a .300 average. Harrison and Jordy Mercer likely made their final starts for the club one day earlier. Chris Archer, like fellow starter Joe Musgrove, was shutdown because of a nagging injury, which led Clay Holmes to pitch this final game.
Josh Bell and Colin Moran both finished seasons in which they fell short of expectations. Collectively, the group finished with an 82-79 record, the franchise's fourth winning season in 26 years. They won 23 series, lost 22 and tied seven others. Playoff contention was ruled out in mid-September after they were arguably the most aggressive team at the non-waiver trade deadline.
Clint Hurdle, Neal Huntington and every player who spoke to reporters during this final road trip expressed disappointment of how it all went wrong. Yet, each was brimming with optimism about what could be possible with a blossoming pitching staff and a young position-player group that has fewer questions than it did one year ago.
"The grit and the grind," Hurdle beamed before the finale. "Man, it played. The individual stories, there’s a lot of growth, and the grit showed up. At the end, it’s that cohesive element that I feel very, very encouraged by. These men together will be able to look each other in the eyes when they walk out, shake each other’s hand and say, ‘Well done. Work to do next year, but well done. The season did not get away from us.’ We stayed in the hunt, we kept fighting, we didn’t get to where we needed to go or where we wanted to go, but we stayed focused on getting better every day."
Exit interviews with players and coaches were completed before they parted ways Sunday night, though Huntington told reporters no decisions have been made about Hurdle's staff for 2019. Hurdle will travel to Bradenton early Monday morning to spend the week at Pirate City, where he'll oversee the club's instructional league group.
Meetings will then be held with management to discuss the club's focus this offseason. Last year, they discussed the possibility of trading both Andrew McCutchen and Gerrit Cole. Those trades were consummated in January, nearly a month after the Winter Meetings, and three players acquired in those deals could be part of the club's foundation next season: Joe Musgrove, Colin Moran and Kyle Crick.
There won't be much to decide this time. Mercer will be a free agent and the club is likely to buyout Harrison's $10.5 million option, though Huntington didn't rule out bringing back either player. Mercer, 31, is the more likely candidate given he could mentor Kevin Newman and is capable of backing up three infield spots. If Mercer leaves, Huntington said he could pursue a backup middle infielder in free agency. Adam Frazier is expected to replace Harrison as the starting second baseman.
The Pirates must also decide if they're going to pick up Jung Ho Kang's $5.5 million option after watching him take only six big league at-bats this weekend. Kang started at third base Saturday and singled in his first pinch-hit appearance upon rejoining the club Friday. However, Huntington made it clear the club wants him back and it could be as a starter.
"If we don’t [pick up the option], we’d have significant interest in seeing if there’s a middle ground where it makes sense to have him come back," Huntington said. "And if Kang plays the way Kang is capable, he has an every day opportunity here and he may just beat out Colin. Colin needs to continue to grow and develop."
Moran, a 25-year-old rookie, batted .277 with only 11 home runs and 58 RBIs in 144 games, while playing below-average defense. He and Bell represent two of the Pirates' greater weaknesses: lack of power and infield defense. Bell, 26, was a National League Rookie of the Year finalist a year ago after hitting 26 home runs with 90 RBIs. However, he hit only 12 home runs with 62 RBIs this season while ranking last in defensive runs saved among qualified first basemen.
Though Dickerson batted .300 with an .804 OPS, much of the offense was inconsistent, particularly Marte and Gregory Polanco, who led the team with 23 home runs and had 81 RBIs before suffering a shoulder injury that could keep him out until mid-June 2019. Marte, who was suspended 80 games last season, homered Sunday, making him only the third player in franchise history to have 20 home runs and 30 stolen bases in the same season.
Their struggles contributed to the fourth-place finish in the Central Division. The offense finished the season ranked in the bottom half of the NL in runs (10th), home runs (13th) and OPS (ninth). They went 14-31 from May 18 through July 7, only to have the eighth-best record in the NL the rest of the season.
It's no coincidence that the pitching staff had the second-lowest ERA in the majors during that span. Jameson Taillon won 14 games, finished with the ninth-lowest ERA among NL starters in 31 starts, and finished with 22 consecutive starts allowing three or fewer runs. Trevor Williams finished with a National League-leading 1.38 ERA in the second half this season, the lowest in franchise history. He made 31 starts and finished with the lowest ERA in the rotation (3.11).
Musgrove also had a 1.17 WHIP in 19 starts, Ivan Nova finished strong and Chris Archer, acquired at the non-waiver trade deadline, was exceptional in September, including six scoreless innings against the Cubs in his final start.
"Our pitchers, from the person who starts opening day to the last guy in the bullpen, are going to be really, really good," Archer said. "We have depth, too. We have Mitch Keller and some other guys. I think they want to make some changes, address some things that need to be addressed. I’m hopeful that they will. Our pitching staff is good and we do have a bunch of good, young players. Colin Moran’s starting to come into his own. Corey Dickerson's a .300 hitter and Starling Marte’s special. 2019 could be a good year for us."
The pitching and late-season resurgence of the offense helped the Pirates win nine of their final 14 games and finish with a 16-10 record in September. Their season was cut short by one game as the result of a canceled makeup game against the Marlins. Much of the roster will be back next season, including Archer. The bullpen became one of the best in the majors, led by Felipe Vazquez, who closed his 37th game of the season Sunday.
After the hugs and goodbyes, many of the players got on the team charter for the flight back to Pittsburgh and planned to leave for their offseason homes after a late arrival to the Steelers' game at Heinz Field. Most plan to take a few weeks off before beginning to prepare for what many believe could be a summer unlike any the club has had since Harrison and Mercer helped the Pirates to those three consecutive playoff berths.
"Yeah, I feel like we learned a lot, the guys that were able to play with those veterans," Bell said. "They left their mark on the clubhouse. They left their mark on a lot of us. It’s time for a couple of the younger guys to step up, step into that leadership role. I’m definitely excited for next year."
1. Harrison, Mercer bid farewell ... for now.
Mercer spoke like a player who could very well be back with the Pirates next season. As mentioned above, Huntington wouldn't rule out bringing him back to mentor Newman and serve as a backup in the infield. Still, there is the reality that he and Harrison may never wear a Pirates uniform again, a reality that was not lost on him.
The two men walked off the field Sunday with an arm around each other.
"Me and Josh talked about it a lot, this could be the last time we put our [Pirates] uniform on," Mercer said. "That's surreal. There's moments that go through your head. There's emotions, obviously. We walked off the field together, arms around each other. It's a cool moment. It's a cool moment to be part of something like this for such a long period of time."
Both men have started sparingly over the final month, though Hurdle put them in the lineup together and told his young players to keep an eye on the two veterans throughout each game. They exemplify the way he wants this young roster to play. And Harrison described this month as rewarding, since he watched many of the young players make an impact.
Pablo Reyes doubled and scored the winning run in the 10th on a wild pitch. Jose Osuna doubled twice, while Kevin Kramer and Newman each drove in a run. That helped the Pirates overcome having just one hit in 11 at-bats with runners in scoring position.
"I take a lot of pride in it," Harrison said of helping change the culture around the Pirates. "I'm sure if you talk to [Mercer], both he and I when we came up through the minor leagues, we won. I think when we were coming up we knew we had a chance to help this team up here. We were able to get up here and win some meaningful games."
2. Marte in rare company.
Hurdle issued a challenge to Marte during the center fielder's exit interview this week in Chicago. It's no secret the Pirates are at their best when Marte's producing and not having those mental lapses that have become all too common this season.
For all his faults, Marte was still able to prove he's an All-Star caliber player. He joined Barry Bonds and Andy Van Slyke as the only three players in franchise history with at least 20 home runs and 30 stolen bases in the same season. His 33 stolen bases tied for second in the NL with Billy Hamilton, and he ranked seventh among the league's center fielders with 10 outs above average, a defensive metric that accounts for the number of plays and degree of difficulty.
He finished with .277/.327/.460 slash line and a career-high 20 home runs with 72 RBIs in 145 games.
"I think when things like that happen there’s an appreciation for Starling that’s real," Hurdle said. "It’s been a while since he last homered and it was an elephant in the room. I think he went through a stretch where he was trying to hit a homer and he got to a point where he just said, 'I’m going to play ball.' … I think it was a collective sigh and a collective cheer."
3. Osuna still an option.
Huntington's preference is to bring Kang back at a lower rate and have him compete with Moran for the starting job at third base next spring. As Huntington stated above, there's a real chance that Moran ends up as a bench player, a role in which he could excel considering his .423 average and 1.115 OPS in 26 pinch-hit at-bats this season.
Such a scenario would leave Jose Osuna without a spot on the roster. Osuna, 25, played winter ball last year to learn third base and fared well at the position in his 45 innings there for the Pirates this month. He also showed some improvement at the plate, as illustrated by his two doubles in the season finale. That helped him finish with a .226/.252/.396 slash line with three home runs and 11 RBIs in 51 games. Huntington still speaks highly of Osuna and mentioned him as an option to make the roster next season in the same role David Freese filled in 2018.