The one segment of the 2023 Pirates that should be very interesting, and could be actually good, right from the start of the season is the rotation. The usual caveats apply, since we’re talking about pitchers . . . injuries, disappointing performances and, this being the Pirates, management bungling, could all intervene. But the rotation next March will be a different place from what we’ve seen the last quite-a-few years.
Think back to the early season this year. The rotation looked like a fiasco. Some hope arose because of some very effective middle relief pitching. For a while, it looked like the Pirates could go full-on Rays-type openers, on a large scale.