Pirates GM not sure about payroll around Paul Skenes next season
The Pittsburg Pirates will not win the 2024 World Series but the franchise was the talk of the town for a few weeks this summer. Pirates ace rookie Paul Skenes was sensational after being promoted from the minors. Now seems the perfect time to build a winning roster around their superstar on a cheap rookie scale deal. It’s not a sure thing though going by GM Ben Cherington’s recent comments.
Skenes finished the season with an impressive 11-3 win-loss record, a 1.96 ERA, and a 0.95 WHIP. He was one of the best in the world once promoted to The Show, giving the Pirates over 133 innings pitched. He struck out 170 hitters over 23 starts while keeping opposing hitters off balance to the tune of a .198 batting average.
Still, Cherington admitted there is some uncertainty when it comes to how much the Pirates will spend in free agency to support the Cy Young candidate and reigning Rookie of the Year next season.
Baseball America's Rookie of the Year: Paul Skenes pic.twitter.com/ZbqAKQGOZq
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) September 30, 2024
“I don’t know what the payroll is going to be next year,” Cherington admitted. “It has increased each year that I’ve been here. I expect that will be the case next year. I also know that it’s just not what’s going to drive winning here the most. That’s mostly because just simply of the structure of the game in a place like Pittsburgh to win. There are other places, there’s no place exactly like Pittsburgh, but there are other places that are similar and you look at how those teams win and (that’s) how we’re gonna win here.”
Cherington expects internal growth to factor into future success more than any outside free agency acquisitions.
“(Improving next season) is going to be through all those other things we were talking about,” the GM added. “It’s going to be because we are better at getting our players better. It’s going to be because we draft better…because we get more out of international. It’s going to be because I do a better job finding value in trades and adding wins to the team that way.”
“We can use payroll,” continued Cherington. “We can use free agency as a tool, and we will. It’ll be a component but it’s just not going to be how we drive winning here. It’s just not my primary focus, candidly. I don’t know what it’s going to be. I expect (payroll) will be higher. It has been higher each year I’m here. Thinking about it as we go into offseason planning meetings two weeks from now, it’s certainly not even on the radar, honestly. We’re thinking about all kinds of other things.”
Pirates finally looking to add talent to compete
Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images
The Pirates GM is expected to have a bit more money to play around with but how much is the big question. Upgrading through incremental trades that slowly add salary and talent might be the best option. One big splashy move is too prone to becoming a flop, that’s why the Pirates have been hesitant in recent years.
Cherington cannot afford to stick to that status quo any longer, however. Good is no longer good enough. Not with Skenes slinging unhittable stuff for a full season. The GM’s job security is on thin ice despite a patient approach paying small dividends over the past two years.
“I think that to some extent, one of the things this year clarified for me relative to free agency to trades is that I think our approach to free agency the last two offseasons, and sort of the overall results we got from that, have been fine,” Cherington said. “If you look up the total, add up the total of these are all the free agents we signed, this is exactly what the total contribution we got was, it’s been fine. But fine’s not going to be good enough.”
The post Pirates GM not sure about payroll around Paul Skenes next season appeared first on ClutchPoints.
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