Stegon: Pirates' Rebuild is Exactly What Yinz Wanted

Cherington is his own person and his decisions do not come with the decades-long baggage us fans carry. He is doing what he believes as the best route to get the Pirates to a World Series. This process is far from complete as Cherington instituted a top-down rebuild that depends on trading for and drafting prospects that will one day make the core of a competitive team.

Please do not misunderstand this as a blind defense of Cherington. As Pirates fans, we deserve a franchise that attempts to compete each season but that is also not how Cherington plans to build this team.

But as we all know, any Pirates general manager finds themselves fighting against a rigged system thanks to an absurdly small payroll. Since the team will not spend even at a league average level, those making player decisions must sell out for cheap and controllable players who mature at roughly the same time.

Cherington has not built the 2022 Pirates to contend (insert “well duh” comment here) but that also does not mean he is doing a poor job and should be fired. The Pirates, as an organization, have far more talent throughout their system than when Cherington was hired in 2019.

That matters.

As this process moves forward, we will begin to see this talent bubble up. We’ve already seen it in some ways with the promotions of Oneil Cruz, Roansy Contreras, Jack Suwinski, Cal Mitchell, and others. In the next two years, we’ll continue to see interesting young players reach Pittsburgh from major prospects like Henry Davis and Liover Peguero to potential solid contributors like Ji-hwan Bae and Mike Burrows to swarms of lottery tickets who could hit big.

For a team that refuses to spend, this is the path toward contention. The Pirates do not need a few good players in Pittsburgh, but an outstanding depth of organizational talent that continues to replenish. 

This is not just the way, but it is the only way until Pirates ownership changes or baseball significantly overhauls its economic structure, two things unlikely to happen any time soon.The trade deadline is tomorrow and the Pirates will likely move a few ancillary pieces like Jose Quintana and Ben Gamel, but no one of any real significance. 

If they trade Bryan Reynolds or David Bednar, just stop reading now.

Perhaps more importantly, the trade deadline should serve as the date when Cherington completes some much-needed roster clean-up. For those still watching Pirates games, Derek Shelton continues to put out lineups that include names like Josh VanMeter and Yoshi Tsutsugo or call to the bullpen for Chris Stratton. These guys are not only terrible, but they also have no future role with the Pirates. 

Their continued presence the past few weeks is nothing more than Cherington trying to showcase them to get something – really anything – from a contending team. He is the guy at a yard sale with a table full of junk that he hopes some sucker grabs, even if all he gets is a handful of Burger King coupons.

This process has been a major sticking point for fans who lost patience. The Pirates have not put their best 26 players on the big-league team but continue to play roster games to somehow improve the organization’s overall talent through these moves.

There is certainly an argument that playing these useless veterans has little value, but Cherington seems to think it has some merit.

I understand the frustration of Pirates fans during this rebuild. When you build a team like this – shipping out every major league player for prospects in the lower minor leagues – it will take real time to take shape. This is not the NFL where most teams go through several quick fixes in hopes of catching lightning in a bottle. Baseball rebuilds are different, especially when you hinder the process with a low payroll.

Building a strong major league team on a budget requires a solid minor league structure with incredible depth. That takes time. Cherington may or may not be the guy, but we cannot fully judge his performance yet. We must wait for his main talent acquisitions to reach Pittsburgh and see how he surrounds them with supporting pieces.

This has been an ugly weekend for Pirates fans, but it is just a hiccup. I’m not sure how this past weekend became a breaking point for so many fans. Cherington has poured his resources into drafting and development. The days of spending on the major league team will come. I believe that.

This team is not yet good, but it is also not trying to be. I know patience is thin, but this remains the way to win. It just takes longer than you think.