STEELERS

With Nick Herbig locked up for the next five seasons, there's been a lot of speculation about a potential trade involving T.J. Watt or Alex Highsmith. However, the Steelers' plan does not involve a trade of any kind. They want to keep the trio intact for the foreseeable future.

I reported exclusively right here on Wednesday that the Steelers have "zero" intention of trading Highsmith this season. They don't want to trade Watt, either. However the rotation shakes out, the Steelers are paying a lot of money for three players to fill two starting positions -- and they're okay with that.

So, since the team isn't making a trade and plans to keep the trio of Watt, Highsmith and Herbig, the question becomes: Why? The simple answer is that it fortifies the position in the short term while giving the team the ability to protect itself in the long term.

A more detailed answer, specifically from a long-term perspective, revolves around Watt's contract. Watt is due $84 million guaranteed over the next two seasons, with cap hits of $42 million in each year. After that, his cap hit climbs to $46.05 million, but only $10 million of that is guaranteed. Thus, the Steelers could more feasibly move on from Watt after the 2027 season or -- depending on how he ages -- sign him to another extension.

That's where the Herbig extension comes in. Because of the way the Steelers structure contracts, the financial burden likely won't be felt until after the 2027 season -- the same time all but $10 million of Watt's guaranteed money will have been paid out and a real decision will have to be made about how to handle a legacy player like Watt at the end of his career. Meanwhile, the Steelers will have already locked up his replacement two seasons earlier.

In the short term, Patrick Graham has all kinds of toys to play with when it comes to his pass rush. He can have all three players on the field at the same time, move them around and — most importantly — keep fresh legs on the field more often. After all, history has shown that Watt plays better when he logs fewer snaps, and Herbig has earned every bit of an increase in his own snap count.

So, no, the Steelers have no intention of trading any of their three edge rushers. If another team comes calling and blows them away with an offer, Omar Khan will listen. But the motivation behind giving Herbig $100 million was about keeping a gem found in the fourth round and securing the team's future for when the tough decision on Watt eventually arrives.

MORE STEELERS

• The Steelers have a few more extensions they want to get done this summer. The top priority is Joey Porter Jr., but that doesn't mean he'll be the next one done. There's a very good possibility Porter gets a contract that's right up there with the highest-paid cornerbacks in the NFL. These extensions can take some time to get done. I can tell you with great certainty the Steelers want to get it done before training camp, but there's no guarantee of that. Every negotiation is different. -- Chris Halicke

• There are a lot of different things about the way Mike McCarthy runs practice as opposed to Mike Tomlin. Fans will get a good look at training camp. While I can't report on everything I've seen on the South Side, one difference I can report is one drill the quarterbacks do on their own. All four quarterbacks will run through a two-minute drill but ... it's just them. One guy is the actual quarterback while the other three line up as pass catchers. It's all done at a walkthrough pace, so there's no danger of Aaron Rodgers pulling a hamstring while running a post or a dig. As it's been explained to me by one of them, it gives each quarterback a true, three-dimensional map of each play, how the routes are supposed to be run, the timing of them -- all doing it in a two-minute offense, so there has to be a sense of urgency along with it. It's a really neat drill to which the quarterbacks seemed to respond well. -- Chris Halicke

• Just want to reiterate what I reported in last week's Friday Insider. I heard more from players this week, both on and off the record. Yes, they were sad Tomlin stepped away. No doubt about that. But, man, a lot of these guys are excited about the changes that are being made. -- Chris Halicke

• There's nothing to worry about regarding negotiations with Drew Allar on his rookie contract. I was told this week it'll get done in the near future. Sometimes these rookie contracts just take a little longer than expected. -- Chris Halicke

PIRATES

• While Dennis Santana hasn’t performed up to his usual standards over the last month or so, there’s genuine belief that he can get back to the form that saw him, a waiver claim of the Pirates in 2024, sport a 3.04 ERA and 0.98 WHIP over 132 appearances with the Pirates and Yankees between the 2024 and 2025 seasons.

“He is a leader in our bullpen,” Bill Murphy told me this week here in Houston. “He's somebody who's done it before. He’s got a very calm heart rate, and we think that he's going to perform like Dennis did in the past. The biggest thing for me is he's working incredibly hard to make sure that when he's out on the mound, he gives us everything that we need from him.” 

While Santana has proven to be a valuable asset in the past, he hasn’t done much to provide value as of late. He entered the season with expectations of being a dependable high-leverage reliever and looked the part over his first 13 appearances, allowing one earned run and five hits in 13 innings. Things have spiraled, though, since April 27 when Santana gave up four ninth-inning runs and blew a save against the Cardinals. Teams have scored 15 runs (14 earned) on 21 hits and drawn eight walks against Santana over his last 11 2/3 innings. Eleven of those 21 hits have gone for extra bases, including three homers. Opposing batters are hitting .382 against him, a stark comparison to the .116 average he held hitters to over his first 13 outings. 

“We’ve seen flashes of it,” Don Kelly said, referring to Santana’s three straight scoreless outings prior to his appearance on Tuesday. “Last one here in Houston wasn’t as good, but it’s in there. When he’s doing what he does extremely well, he’s locating, he’s executing, he’ll get swing and miss and he works off the barrel, whether it’s off the end of by jamming them a little bit. He’s not trying to overpower guys.” 

One thing Murphy told me he was encouraged about when watching Santana struggle in the ninth inning Tuesday was the fact that he got some swing and miss with his go-to slider. Murphy said that’s something that’s beneficial. He told me, “That's what the old Dennis did.” 

This year, Santana hasn’t had as much success with that pitch. Perhaps that’s been part of the issue. In past seasons, that’s been a pitch Santana has kept hitters at bay with. They batted .222 against it in 2024 and last year, he turned to it 46.5% of the time and limited hitters to a minuscule .157 average. This year, it’s still been his most-utilized pitch, but that .294 opposing batting average isn’t ideal. He’s thrown his four-seam fastball just as much to give him a quality second offering and has even thrown his changeup 12% more in an effort to expand his arsenal. Still, when your bread-and-butter pitch isn’t working, it makes things tough. 

“At the beginning of the year he wasn't executing it as much,” Murphy said. “Dennis, as of last year, really controlled contact well. People chased him and the slider execution was really good for a little bit of time. I think he was putting a little bit too much pressure on himself, and the execution wasn't what Dennis is used to. It's just about getting back to that. We saw that the other day. He punched out (Twins outfielder Austin) Martin on a couple really, really good sliders. When he gets that back, as we start to see that, that will be really refreshing.” -- José Negron in Houston

• Murphy seems encouraged by the maturation process Bubba Chandler continues to go through. Sure, the numbers aren’t at all what Chandler and the team would like them to be, but Murphy has liked the way the former top pitching prospect has handled certain situations.

“At the beginning of the year, he would give up a couple runs early and potentially struggle to stop giving up runs, and it snowballed,” Murphy said. “I think you've seen over the last couple outings, Arizona in particular, I think you saw it last night as well. He gives up a couple runs early, but then pitches into the fifth inning and gives our team a chance to win, which is all you can ask for as a starting pitcher. That's a maturation process. Everybody wants him to be the guy immediately, right? And that would be great, but that's not how it works. It's very difficult to pitch at the major-league level, but we're seeing signs of development, we're seeing signs of maturation, and there's no doubt in my mind Bubba is going to have a huge impact on this team as we move forward, because of this development and because of what he's going through.” -- José Negron

• I had to ask Murphy about his slow walk out to the mound during his visits with pitchers and he said it’s not something he really thinks about. What’s the purpose of it? He wants to slow the game down a little bit, plus it gives him some extra time to determine how he’s going to approach the meeting on the mound. He first heard about it from Astros bench coach Omar Lopez during spring training in Kissimmee, Fla. back in 2016. 

“He told me it was one of the slowest walks that he ever saw,” Murphy said with a slight grin on his face. “I guess I've always had that. That's not intended, that's just kind of what happens. But it is just to slow the game down. We have a lot of confidence in our pitchers and everything's gonna be totally fine. I'm just going out there to give them a breath and to tell them how confident we are in them and that they're gonna get that guy out.” -- José Negron

• It’s quite telling how impressed individuals in the organization have been with Wilber Dotel’s early progress at the major-league level. His calm, relaxed demeanor has been brought up in multiple conversations. They see him as being a much-needed weapon within this bullpen. That’s not to say he couldn’t see time as a starter at some point, but he seems to be right where he’s needed at the moment. -- José Negron

• After fracturing his forearm in a horrific collision with a wall in foul territory at Truist Park in Atlanta last May, Tyler Callihan questioned whether he’d ever play baseball again. More than a year later, Callihan isn’t just playing the game he loves, he’s now back in the big leagues after spending just four games with the Reds last season. 

“It’s everything I could have asked for,” said Callihan, who has a double, two walks, an RBI and a run scored in five plate appearances over three games with the Pirates since being recalled from Class AAA Indianapolis on May 28. “I’m just so thankful and blessed to be here. To be able to put on a uniform again, whether that was in Triple-A or back to the big leagues, it’s just a testament to how hard I worked every day and how many people were on my side with just so many steps in the process, how many people were there to help me. I wouldn't be here without any of them, so I'm very thankful.” 

Being away from the game reminded Callihan just how much he loves and respects it. But his absence also showed him that he’s way more than just a baseball player. First and foremost, he’s a husband to his wife, Catherine, and a father to his now one-year-old son, Crew. 

“I’ve realized that it’s the reason now, especially more than ever, that I play,” Callihan said. “I wanna show them that it's possible. You put your dreams first and you work really hard, anything's possible, I want to show my little man that he could be here one day or he could do whatever he wants to do, no matter what happens. I mean, he's gonna grow up and see my setbacks, my failures, but I just want him to remember me as a guy that went out, went all out every play. I would say my main goal is to keep playing so he can remember being a part of this, get him in the clubhouse, stuff like that, play as long as I can so he can have that opportunity. I think that it's made me realize that's why I want it now. It's different than a few years ago. I wanted it strictly selfishly, and it's just not that way anymore.” -- José Negron

PENGUINS

• The agreements NHL teams have to become affiliates with minor-league teams aren't always made public. The Penguins' agreement with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton is straightforward since they own the team there, but they don't own the Nailers. The last public acknowledgement of an extension on the Nailers affiliation was back in 2018 when both sides agreed to a two-year extension, and then extensions have been done quietly since. I did some asking around this week to find out the current state of that agreement, and it actually expires this summer. 

There's no word of extension talks yet, and it doesn't really indicate anything either way that there isn't any news there. But there is some concern at that level that assuming the Penguins' sale to the Hoffmann group goes through, the Hoffmanns might want the Penguins' affiliate to be the ECHL team they own, the Florida Everblades. The Everblades last signed what was only described as a "multi-year" affiliation agreement with the Blues beginning in 2024-25, so it could conceivably also be up this summer.

Candidly, the Penguins like having an affiliate an hour down the road. Kyle Dubas has been out that way a number of times, same with Jason Spezza, Amanda Kessel and a number of others from the front office.

It's all just speculation at this point, and it's hard to believe there would be any real news on that front until the sale actually goes through. The Penguins and Hoffmanns still need approval from the league and the NHL's Board of Governors. The Board typically meets twice a year, once in December and then again in late June, so the sale could be finalized in the coming weeks.

• Management in Pittsburgh isn't letting Sergei Murashov meet with reporters on off days, which is kind of odd but not unheard of. The Penguins put a total ban on media speaking with Tristan Jarry when he was sent down there on his initial conditioning assignment. Looking around the league at other top prospects, Seattle didn't let Shane Wright speak with reporters when he was in the playoffs with Coachella Valley one year.

The logic is to allow a guy like that to fully "lock in," which makes sense. Murashov, being as good as he is, deals with more media requests than most players at that level. But still, Murashov comes off as one of the more level-headed guys in the whole system. And if he's going to become a regular at the NHL level, he's going to learn that goalies generally are expected to speak after just about every game -- including tough losses -- in addition to the occasional practice day. 

• Speaking of practice days, Wilkes-Barre had an optional between Games 1 and 2. When there's an "optional" practice at the NHL level, the Penguins approach those by recommending certain guys stay off the ice based on ice time as of late, so the only guys on the ice might be the extras, bottom pairing and a few guys from the bottom six. A lot of the game group took the option for that Wilkes-Barre practice, but it was nice to see Rutger McGroarty and Ville Koivunen still out there and really driving a lot of the energy in drills. They were going hard, yelling about a call they might not have agreed with, and celebrating goals like they were real.

• Dan Muse wasn't the only first-year coach in the system this year. Nailers head coach Ryan Papaioannou wrapped up his first year behind the bench of a professional team after the Nailers' elimination from the Eastern Conference final last week. I asked what he learned in his first year as a head coach in the pros: "It was fun from from day one. I couldn't believe the work ethic and the execution we had on the ice. To where we are today, I think the whole group came a long way, and I think as a staff we learned a lot just about dealing with the older players. And honestly, it's a heck of a lot easier than coaching junior. You can be a lot more straightforward and direct, and guys just know what you want from them, they understand it, and it's their job."