There’s been some discussion, obviously, about the Pirates’ recent waiver claims and about how to build bullpens. I’m not trying to characterize anybody’s “position” here, but I was curious just how much of a role waiver claims played in the Pirates’ best bullpens, which was pretty much 2013-15. Well, not just waiver claims — there were actually very few -- but similar transactions, like trading cash or an obscure prospect for a guy who’d been designated for assignment. (There were actually only two straight waiver pickups, neither of whom did much.) Or any other transaction where the team gave up little or nothing for a marginal reliever who subsequently played a meaningful role in the bullpen.
How did the 2013-15 Pirates build their bullpens?
