The All-Star break is over and the Pirates will work out today at PNC Park with a three-game series against the Phillies getting underway tomorrow night.
The Bucs are 48-48 on the season, good for third place in the NL Central Division, six-and-a-half games behind the Brewers and two behind the Cardinals. They are a game-and-a-half out of the third National League Wild Card slot, which currently belongs to the Mets.
Yesterday on MLB Radio on Sirius/XM, manager Derek Shelton said the Pirates will have to be on their game right from the start coming out of the break.
Shelton says every team in the Majors is looking for players to give them the edge in the season’s second half, but it isn’t easy.
The skipper says general manager Ben Cherington is trying to bolster the Pirates’ roster, but he’s being careful.
Shelton still has not named his starters for the Phillies series. After the three against their cross-state rivals, the Pirates will play a key three-game series against the Cardinals, the team directly ahead of them in the NL Central standings.
After the MLB Draft, you can always look forward to the experts’ grades each team earns for their choices, and the Pirates seem to have fared pretty well. CBS Sports and SB Nation both give the Bucs an “A” while Bleacher Report gives them a “B+”. Among those mentioned in the rankings are five players taken in the first five rounds: shortstop Konnor Griffen, pitcher Levi Sterling, shortstop Wyatt Sanford, pitcher Josh Hartle and outfielder Will Taylor. MLB.com liked the Pirates selection of UCLA infielder Duce Gourson in the ninth round.
The Pirates gave Domingo German a chance to revive his career but the pitcher, who last year tossed a perfect game for the Yankees, has opted out of his contract and is looking for a team that will offer a better opportunity to get back to the big leagues. German was 4-4 with a 5.35 ERA for Indianapolis and the Pirates passed on bringing him up. German was let go by the Yankees last season because of behavior issues and alcohol-related incidents. He has had past difficulties with domestic violence accusations.
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