As the Pirates look to rebound from a disastrous series against the Cubs with a weekend set in St. Louis, questions abound regarding the performance of the pitching staff so far this season.
In the aggregate, both groups have had difficulty getting outs, with the rotation currently 11th in the NL in FIP (4.52) and the bullpen 12th (4.70).
The Pirates did not significantly invest in starting pitching this off-season, seemingly hoping to acquire reasonably priced interim options until Jameson Taillon and/or Tyler Glasnow could step into full-time roles later this year.
To acquire one of those interim options, the Pirates decided to also address both their rotation and Neil Walker’s contract situation by sending Walker to the Mets in exchange for Jon Niese in December.