Kovacevic: What in the world should/can the Pirates do with Tsutsugo?

No sooner had the ball boomed off Yoshi Tsutsugo's bat, a three-run, ninth-inning blast that cleared the Clemente Wall seating section and instantly, incredibly catapulted the Pirates past the Cardinals, 4-3 ... than this singular thought passed through one sorry skull way up in the press box: What's the point?

Yeah, I know. But hear me out.

Wait, no, let's first hear Tsutsugo out. As in the boom itself:

"Wow. WOW!"

Those were Derek Shelton's first two words upon sitting down for his postgame access, and they don't do the moment justice.

This whole Sunday afternoon, to that stage, had seen the home team squeeze out three whole singles, all in the name of a solitary run in the fourth. The outcome couldn't have felt more preordained. Even after Bryan Reynolds and Jacob Stallings worked walks around a Colin Moran strikeout in the ninth. Even after Tsutsugo, owner of four home runs in his first 26 at-bats in a Pittsburgh uniform, stepped to the box.

I mean, I at least thought it could happen:

So did Wil Crowe and Chad Kuhl, who'd already pitched and were watching on TV in the clubhouse.

"Chad was, like, 'It'd be a great time for a Yosh Bomb,' " Crowe recalled, smiling. "And next thing you know, everyone was screaming."

Heck, the only one in the place who might've been thinking something other than home run was the eventual author himself.

"I was really only thinking about hitting a hard ball," Tsutsugo replied, via interpreter Brian Tobin, when I asked about that.

He sure did that. St. Louis closer Alex Reyes hung a first-pitch slider, dead-red, and away it went. And long before it had banked off the stone wall of the upper riverwalk beyond right field, Yadier Molina had stripped off his mask and stepped toward the visitors' dugout. 

Absolute no-doubter.

And it's been absolutely awesome, all of what this guy's done in the two weeks since the Dodgers released him and Ben Cherington picked him up: He's 9 for 27 with five home runs, two doubles, a triple, a sac fly plus three walks against five strikeouts.

What'd gone wrong before?

Hard to say. He's 29, for anyone just catching up, and he was a big-time power hitter in Japan, with 205 home runs over 10 seasons, including 140 in the past four alone. But it didn't click in 2020 or 2021 with the Rays, nor with the Dodgers, where he stayed sub-Mendoza over 89 games. The most obvious explanation was that he couldn't catch up with North American heat -- offspeed still rules in Japan -- but that's improved over time. Another possibility is that the Dodgers and Rays are both contenders and couldn't afford to carry a project on the roster through a stretch drive.

This much is certain: He's loving life here.

"It’s really comfortable for me," Tsutsugo said. "The manager, staff, my teammates, we joke around a lot, and they make it a really nice environment for me. It was really easy for me to transition to this team."

To the baseball on this side of the planet, too, though he acknowledged that process began in Los Angeles' minor-league system.

"Mainly, I focused on adjusting to the high-velocity fastballs and trying to retrieve my swing that I had in Japan. If I go into detail, there’s a whole bunch more adjustments. But to keep it simple, that’s pretty much what I did."

I asked Shelton, an old hitting coach, where all that power is originating.

"I think he’s really strong through his core," Shelton replied. "He does a nice job staying grounded in his legs, and then through his core, he creates a ton of torque and we saw that torque today."

Of the broader showing, Shelton added, "It’s been extremely impressive, and I think it’s a credit to Yoshi. This is a guy who had a really good career in Japan. He’s come over to the big leagues and scuffled at times, went down to the minors and worked on things and made adjustments. We’re reaping the benefits of that. He’s done a nice job so far."

Indeed. So far. In a small sample. After not having cut it with two of the smartest developmental organizations in baseball.

And if that doesn't add enough of a cloud to all this, to swing back to my reflexive thought upon takeoff, there's this: Tsutsugo's a free agent this winter. As in, available to the highest bidder. As in, the highest bidder won't be the Pirates from now until we're floating over traffic in hover-cars.

And did I mention he's 29, turning 30 in November?

Uh-huh. So, I'll posit anew: What's the point?

"We want to see him play," Cherington was saying over the weekend. "He's obviously done a good job. This is someone that we've had interest in and liked the offensive game, going back to Japan. We knew of him as a teammate, as a person, and then followed him as he got to the states in Tampa and L.A. We were fortunate to be in position to get him and get him some playing time. So we want to see him play. We've got other outfielders that Shelty's going to balance. But we're excited at what he's doing and it's been fun getting to know him. Looking forward to seeing him play more the rest of the way."

Nothing in there about how to keep him. Or if they'd want to.

My view, for what it's worth: Keep watching him. Keep making him feel at home, including when this cools off. Keep angling so that, if it were to come to a conversation about a contract, he'd at least listen before hitting the open market. 

Tsutsugo's view, which is worth infinitely more, might've been hinted when asked after this game if he hopes to stay in North America: "That’s not something I can determine. I just want to do my best to help the Pirates win."

PITTSBURGH PIRATES

Yoshi Tsutsugo receives a team-wide welcome at home plate after his walkoff three-run home run Sunday at PNC Park.

• Just for fun, here's my list of seven current players who have an actual chance of being part of the Pirates' next contender:

• Bryan Reynolds
• Ke'Bryan Hayes
• Jacob Stallings
• David Bednar
• JT Brubaker
• Bryse Wilson
• Mitch Keller

That's it. Those seven. And yeah, I know, the funniest component to the list is that, even though it comprises less than a third of the roster, it still feels like far too many, right?

Well, let me elaborate a bit: Reynolds and Hayes are obvious. To my mind, Stallings is, too, as baseball's premier defensive catcher. He's 31, but his specific skill set's less likely to decline than, say, someone who's less cheetah-like. Bednar's built up into a closer prototype as a rookie, and he might soon be in the category with Reynolds and Hayes. And the other three, simply put, are young starting pitchers with live arms, the kind nobody this side of Neal Huntington gives up easily.

No, not even Keller. No one wants to hear this, but his two main issues -- throwing inside, fluctuating velocity -- remain fixable.

• Wil Crowe didn't make that list. He started Sunday and pitched as he generally does -- five innings, three runs, six hits, three walks, 90 pitches -- in addition to taking a ton of time before getting set. He's a human dental procedure on the mound, averaging 18.9 pitches per inning, most in Major League Baseball.

He's the upbeat sort, which is nice, so he picked through some positives and expressed, "I'm growing. I'm becoming the pitcher I want to be."

That's wonderful, but it's better to show than tell.

• Always, always appreciate the opponents:

Gorgeous Harrison Bader catch in the third inning to rob Kevin Newman.

Oh, and this gem by the truly great Nolan Arenado, with an assist to Paul Goldschmidt:

So cool. Way back when I'd go to games as a fan, I'd stand and applaud plays like these no matter who shot me a dirty glance.

• On the other hand, it's eminently reasonable to enjoy the Cardinals, specifically, being really, really upset.

Check out the St. Louis TV call of the home run by Dan McLaughlin:

Also here is possibly the Most Defeated announcer I’ve ever heard. Here’s the call from the Cardinals Broadcast pic.twitter.com/9VlsFiLRZC

— MLB Walk Offs & Game Winning Plays (@MLBWalk_Offs) August 29, 2021

Despondency. Utter despondency.

Mike Shildt, the Cardinals' manager, didn't sound much better in his session with the St. Louis reporters who traveled here. His team now trails the Reds in the National League wild-card race by 3 1/2 games, and their next stop Monday is Cincinnati. Splitting a four-game set in Pittsburgh presumably wasn't on the itinerary.

"We'll punch back. We'll show up. We'll be ready. This team fights," Shildt said. "I hate to see our guys hurt."

Shildt seemed most annoyed that Reyes went away from the heat on Tsutsugo.

"I won’t take it away from him. He's a major-league hitter. He’s capable. But what he did against us is not something historically he’s done consistently. We didn’t pitch very well against him, and he made us pay. Big-time."

Tissues are over on the shelf.

• Hayes sustained a bruised hand in this game, and Shelton described him as "day to day" after X-rays turned up negative. He already missed four months, so it'd be more than welcome if he can get one more.

• Also Sunday, Nick Gonzales, the Pirates' first-round draft pick in 2020, homered three times and had eight RBIs for Class A Greensboro.

I'll be a bummer here, too: There's been no cause for Gonzales to have stayed at that level all summer. None.

• I feel fortunate to have been in Gregory Polanco's company for nearly a decade. I won't stand out in that regard. Anyone exuding his positive energy will have that effect on everyone. 

Even in the baseball sense, I'll only think of his tenure here negatively in the context of his shoulder surgery. He wasn't a star before he was hurt, but he still came with that capability. Losing a year, then never fully regaining his arm, that's what cost him here. That alone.

Wishing a good man the very best.

• That said, I've zero issue with the Pirates' handling of Polanco.

Sure, they could've kept him around another month and spared him the indignity of being released in mid-season. But man, let's not attach some Andrew McCutchen-level status or sensitivity here. Polanco was paid $11 million this season to bat .208. A year after he batted .153. And couldn't defend. And couldn't throw. And didn't come close to achieving here what Cutch did.

If there's any criticism to aim at the Pirates, it should be that it took this long. Yeah, I get that the only two viable prospects, Travis Swaggerty and Jared Oliva, got hurt, but it remains insane that 382 plate appearances were committed within a build-from-the-bottom to an older, robustly ineffective player who had a 0.00% chance of returning in 2022. There must've been someone somewhere who could've been acquired and applied in this role.

This was nothing but grossly overdue.

• Speaking of Cutch, how many locals who still wish he'd been signed here for all eternity might be aware that he's being paid $20 million by the Phillies this season to bat .222?

That's not a knock. He's 34. Aging happens to everyone. And in fairness, he's also popped 21 home runs despite the low overall output.

But this is why even the best of the best baseball players almost never spend their entire careers with the same franchise. Because, most often, the market still gets them paid at age 30-plus -- Cutch signed a three-year, $50 million deal with Philadelphia in 2019 -- based on a wishful, past-performance outlook. The data powerfully illustrates such terms at that age make for terrible investments.

The Pirates control Reynolds' rights through arbitration for four more years, at which time he'll be 30. It's absurd to ever worry about what'll happen to him after that. His best years will all take place in Pittsburgh.

• There's no lower-hanging fruit in local sports banter than attendance at PNC Park, but man, scenes like this one from the national anthem Sunday of the announced crowd of 10,290 ...

DEJAN KOVACEVIC / DKPS

National anthem, Sunday afternoon, PNC Park.

... have got to start changing in 2022. Meaning the baseball needs to be a hell of a lot better than it's been. And that onus is never, ever on the paying customer.

Scout out some more sluggers from Japan.

THE ESSENTIALS

• Boxscore
• Live file
• Scoreboard
• Standings
• Statistics

THE HIGHLIGHTS

THE LINEUPS

Shelton's card:

1. Kevin Newman, SS
2. Ke'Bryan Hayes, 3B
3. Bryan Reynolds, CF
4. Colin Moran, 1B
5. Jacob Stallings, C
6. Yoshi Tsutsugo, RF
7. Cole Tucker, 2B
8. Anthony Alford, LF
9. Wil Crowe, RHP

And for Shildt's Cardinals:

1. Tommy Edman, 2B
2. Paul Goldschmidt, 1B
3. Tyler O'Neill, LF
4. Nolan Arenado, 3B
5. Yadier Molina, C
6. Dylan Carlson, RF
7. Edmundo Sosa, SS
8. Harrison Bader, CF
9. Kwang Hyun Kim, LHP

THE SYSTEM

• Indianapolis
• Altoona
• Greensboro
• Bradenton

THE SCHEDULE

That's a wrap on the Cardinals for 2021. Monday's an off-day, after which the Pirates will fly to Chicago for a strange six-game sequence against both the White Sox and Cubs. Alex Stumpf will make the trip.

THE CONTENT

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