TOO MANY PROSPECTS?
Looking ahead to the Rule 5 draft, it could seem to be a problem. But know this: Ben Cherington isn’t losing any sleep over it.
Ben Cherington knows it’s coming. The Pirates general manager also isn’t losing sleep over how the Pirates will configure their 40-man roster ahead of the Rule 5 draft.
When Cherington looks at the decisions ahead, he tries to remember two things when it comes to the balancing act of protecting prospects while also having at least a semi-functional roster.
“I think you’d expect — and probably hope — that next year, a lot of our young, 40-man players are getting opportunity,” Cherington told the Post-Gazette recently. “If you’re willing to do that, you don’t worry as much about having a couple guys on the 40-man who aren’t really part of your major league picture.
“I think it’s a bigger challenge for other teams that are more veteran-dependent or at a different point in the building cycle.”
The other thing Cherington realizes is that there’s a ton of time between now and when Rule 5 protection lists are due in November. Trades can happen. A situation could change at a certain position.
But just for fun, let’s examine the Pirates’ top 30 prospects who will be Rule 5 eligible after the season.
Using MLB Pipeline, that looks like this: Liover Peguero, Tahnaj Thomas, Travis Swaggerty, Mason Martin, Cal Mitchell, Omar Cruz, Canaan Smith-Njigba, Cody Bolton and Jack Suwinski.
You could also toss into the conversation Diego Castillo, Eddy Yean and Steven Jennings. Castillo, acquired in the Clay Holmes trade, is having a very good year at Class AA. Yean was a former top-10 guy who has struggled at Low-A Bradenton … but remains in Baseball America’s top 30. Jennings isn’t ranked but has been very good as a reliever with the Class AA Altoona Curve.
Twelve is also a lot. Hard to imagine the Pirates aim to clear a dozen spots, so let’s focus on 10 and see if we can open that many spots on the 40-man roster.
Here’s my first cut, consisting of players who will become free agents or who are relatively easily replaceable: Anthony Banda, Trevor Cahill, Chase De Jong, Kyle Keller, Cody Ponce, Chasen Shreve, Shea Spitzbarth, Duane Underwood Jr., Phillip Evans, Wilmer Difo, Gregory Polanco and Yoshi Tsutsugo. That’s 12 names, but only 10 spots because Cahill and De Jong are on the 60-day IL and currently don’t count against the 40-man total. The front office Saturday took a first step toward fulfilling that list by designating Polanco for assignment.
Need more? The Pirates need to learn about Dillon Peters, Anthony Alford, Michael Chavis and Cole Tucker, players who are currently on the 40 but could conceivably come off if the Pirates don’t see them as being part of the future.
“We talk about it a lot,” Cherington said of Rule 5 protection. “We have a group of people constantly looking at our own system to debate, make evaluations and help us with that. Ultimately, we want to do the best job we can at making good decisions on who to put on the roster. It’s important. But successful teams lose some players sometimes in the Rule 5 draft.”
The fascinating part is what Cherington said up top: This entire process becomes a lot more workable if you’re willing to commit 40-man spots to younger guys and give them a chance to contribute. It’s a smart route for the Pirates to take. It’s also exciting for fans.
Figure, the Pirates should be able to count on Oneil Cruz making his MLB debut at some point in 2022, if he doesn’t earn a September
callup. They have younger players with options and position flexibility in Hoy Park, Tucupita Marcano and Rodolfo Castro.
It would be a huge plus if Swaggerty came back from shoulder surgery and earned a major league job out of spring training, while Smith-Njigba, Mitchell, Martin, Castillo and Suwinski have had solid seasons at Class AA. It’s not a stretch that a couple of them could be ready by the middle of ’22.
That said, we’re still talking about a significant number of additions, so the Pirates will want to ensure they’re retaining the right players.
It’s why they designated Polanco for assignment. It’s why they’re playing Chavis and Alford and why they should give Tucker another chance. It’s why Peters is making starts. Every roster spot is critical.
And while Cherington must be OK losing a player if it absolutely comes down to that, it’s certainly not the preference.
“Right now we’re focused on learning as much as possible about this group so we can make the best decisions possible,” Cherington said. “We’ll see what happens this winter, too. If opportunities come our way that might make sense to help manage that, you never know. But it’s not something we’re losing sleep over.”