If you have trouble getting a feel for exactly how good the 2023 Pirates are, it's ok. It's not exactly clear to the team president yet, either.
"We were obviously really pleased with April," Travis Williams said. "We’re not as good as we were in April, but we’re probably not as bad as we were in May. Hopefully, we’ll settle into something that continues to allow us to be in contention for the division and make the playoffs. That’s certainly our hope. I know the recent seven-game slide here hasn’t been what the fans want nor what we want.
"I think we’ll be able to turn it around and get back on track and hopefully get closer to April and put a streak out there and get back to that playoff contention."
Williams was made available to a small group of local reporters Tuesday at the team's new clubhouse store on Federal Street, a project for Williams these past 18 months that doubles the size of PNC Park's premier team shop. The focus of the conversation was on the team, however, which entered Tuesday just three games back from first place in the National League Central. There's a lot of season to go, but it's a sign of hope that the worst of the team's rebuild is behind them, even if they were amid a seven-game losing streak.
"I think we’re starting to see the fruits of that labor, if you will," Williams said. "Or indications that we’ve turned this around."
And with that comes rising expectations.
THEY'RE OPEN TO ADDING
AT THE TRADE DEADLINE
This one has been floating around for a while, including Ben Cherington telling reporters Monday that the Pirates have been in contact with every team already regarding the trade deadline. The vibe around the team is that if the team is in contention for a playoff spot come that deadline, the preference is to add to the major-league team.
Williams essentially confirmed that, often bringing up the possibility of the playoffs as a driving force for what the Pirates will do before the Aug. 1 trade deadline.
"I think we’re going to make the decisions that are best for us, not only in 2023, but also long-term because we want this to be a sustainable championship caliber team," Williams said. "Whether we have specific we’re going to make, Ben and I will have that conversation as we get closer to the trade deadline. I think it would be silly for me to sit here and forecast what the trade deadline looks like and what moves we’re going to make. At the end of the day, we want to win. We want to be a winning team, not only this year, but for the long-term as well."
Of course, the first step to having sustained success is that first year where the teams exceeds expectations and becomes a contender.
"I think we know there’s that opportunity coming down the way, whether that’s exactly this year or the future or not," Williams said. "Time will tell based on performance of the team and how we are at the deadline. I don’t think we want to force anything, but if the opportunity is there, we’ll make sure we do what we can to seize that opportunity."
ABOUT THE PENGUINS COMP ...
If there is any Pittsburgh team that knows what it takes to build a perennial winner, it's Williams' former employers. The Penguins enjoyed a 16-year postseason stretch that was snapped just this year, but is still regarded as one of the best runs by a professional team.
Of course, baseball and hockey are apples and oranges. It's unfair to compare the two in terms of operation. But in terms of the "atmosphere" and "vibe" around those two clubs, Williams sees correlations between these Pirates and some of those Penguins teams.
"There’s a real belief among that group, which is a large part why some of those veterans wanted to be here," Williams expanded. "There’s a real belief among that group, rightfully so, that we have something special happening here and that it’s going to happen. Whether that’s this year or in the next couple of years, it’s going to happen. We’re going to be in a good position to win, in a division and get into the postseason. We feel confident of that. I think there is that energy and excitement. Quite frankly, it’s driving a lot of the passion that you see out there on the field."
THE DRAFT
On July 9, the Pirates will add another top prospect to the system with the first overall pick in the amateur draft. There's no definite answer who the Pirates will take with that pick, though the options are starting to become more clear.
Regardless of who the Pirates take, they will very likely be adding a potential impact player to deepen their talent pool.
"You saw our excitement when we won the lottery," Williams said. "I think we’re all excited knowing what that means to an organization, to be able to have two picks first overall within three years. It’s pretty important to a small-market team like us. We’re excited that we get that opportunity, and we’re going to use that pick to the best of our ability to continue to bring that sustainable wave of top-caliber players that will allow us to be competing for championships."
The first overall pick also comes with a larger bonus pool, one that is even greater than when they had in 2021. Their $16,185,700 bonus pool is the third-largest ever. Two years ago, the Pirates opted to take Henry Davis under-slot and then spread the rest of their money to other prospects, especially prep players who opted to forgo their college commitments.
Williams declined to go into strategies with the draft, saying Cherington would be better to speak on that. But as far as the money goes, Williams said the team has "no restrictions on spending" within the parameters of the bonus pool.
CHANGING THE NARRATIVE
These are all small steps in the right direction for the Pirates as a franchise. There have been more of those of late, including Bryan Reynolds being the first player to receive a nine-figure contract extension in franchise history and the organization's aggressive promotion of Henry Davis to help the major-league team now.
Williams doesn't buy into the "changing the narrative" belief, but it does seem the team is operating a bit differently than they had in recent memory.
"Whether it be Ke’Bryan Hayes’ contract or Bryan Reynolds’ contract, all of those were done with one thing in mind: That’s being a championship-caliber team," Williams said. "I don’t think we’re doing it to gain fans or change the narrative. Those things ultimately will be byproducts of making good decisions in order to build that championship-caliber team. Those are two great players along with a lot of other great players that we have in our system that we thought were very good cornerstones of this organization that can help us win and be a part of a championship caliber team. We’re excited to continue to build around that. There may be opportunities for us to do that. We will take advantage of them if they are. Those will be decisions that Bob [Nutting], Ben and myself will sit around a table and decide when’s the right opportunity for those to be made."
Williams would add shortly after, "I think we’re going to do things that are going to help us win and be that championship caliber team." There's certainly a long way to go for the Pirates to be considered to be in the championship mix, but perhaps they're on the path where such talks would seem more realistic.
