The Pittsburgh Pirates can’t afford to have a repeat of this offseason at the July 30 trade deadline less than a week from now.
“We have the resources we need to get better and to compete and contend. I’m confident in that.”
These were the words of Pirates General Manager Ben Cherington at his end of year media availability last October. Words that preceded the action of signing Rowdy Tellez (.697 OPS), Martin Perez (5.20 ERA), Yasmani Grandal (.516 OPS), Aroldis Chapman (3.82 ERA), Josh Fleming (4.02 ERA), Michael A. Taylor (.530 OPS) and Domingo German (0 MLB starts, 5.