BetQL: Erik Kratz on what the Pirates might do before trade deadline

KDKA-FM / 93.7 The Fan

Former MLB catcher joins BetQL

Transcript

00:00You're laying it out just cuz you know I'm in Pittsburgh and

00:02you want me to bring up the Pirates and

00:04whether they should do something at the deadline crash.

00:06Look, you've been here.

00:08You know how thirsty the fans are for competitive baseball, right?

00:13And we've all seen what it's like when they do get it.

00:16Like they go bananas.

00:17Think of the Johnny Cueto game, right, in 2013.

00:21And they feel like they're on the cusp of it again.

00:23I mentioned since mid-May what the teams like the Cardinals have done.

00:28The Pirates are right there.

00:29They're 31 and 26 since that point in time, too.

00:33Playing some of the best baseball since Skeens was called up.

00:36Is it just the Skeens effect or not?

00:38Fans wanna find out.

00:39They wanna find out if ownership will go in on a bat.

00:43You mentioned the Red Sox needing some pitching.

00:45The Pirates need some bats.

00:47Is that a team that you think maybe also similarly backs off and says,

00:52yeah, you know what, our board up Jake Hassan made a great comparison yesterday

00:57when I talked about the Pirates at 5-1 to make the playoffs.

00:59He said, no, this is the 2022 Orioles.

01:02This is a team that's still a year away and everybody knows it.

01:05They're gonna put up a great fight down the stretch, but

01:08just come up just a little bit short.

01:10Is that what the Pirates are this year?

01:12Or can they actually be a part of this conversation if they go in and

01:15do something at the deadline?

01:18I think they absolutely have to do something at the deadline.

01:22And I have seen, because I saw the first rebuild,

01:26I played in the minor leagues with those guys that came up, made that team,

01:31what they were, the Andrew McCutcheons, the Neil Walkers, the Pedro Alvarez,

01:36the Garrett Cole, then you supplemented it.

01:39You supplemented it strategically with a Russell Martin.

01:43You go out and you get your pieces at the trade deadlines.

01:49Justin Morneau, Gabby Sanchez, guys that are like, okay,

01:53well, I don't know why we didn't go bigger.

01:56They're never gonna go bigger.

01:58That is not the fan's fault.

02:00That is not the player's fault.

02:01It's really not even the front office's fault.

02:04It is the ownership fault for not saying, okay, this is the guy.

02:09To me, and I know the Mets are in it, so I want you to think in this ilk,

02:14if the Mets weren't in it, Pete Alonso to the Pirates to play first base

02:20is so doable, and I talked to Pete a little while ago.

02:26He wants to stay in New York.

02:28So I'm not saying that Pete Alonso is the guy that they're gonna go get.

02:32I'm saying first base is a position, and I love Rowdy Tellez.

02:36Rowdy Tellez is one of our guests on foul territory all the time,

02:41one of my friends, a great laugh, a great leader in that clubhouse.

02:46You don't have to get rid of Rowdy Tellez.

02:49You have to think about how can we get a Pete Alonso type of bat?

02:53And what that costs us will be a high price, but

02:58it's going to push this offense over.

03:01It's going to give this offense that already has some swag, and

03:05it already has a leader in Brian Reynolds.

03:08It already has elite defense at a keystone position at third base,

03:13in key Brian Hayes, and you supplement it with a guy who's going to be

03:18a fierce piece of that lineup that you have to navigate around.

03:22And unfortunately, I don't have a name for you right now.

03:25And I don't think Jesse Winker blips my radar at all for

03:30Pittsburgh having a Quato game.

03:33But you get that piece in the lineup, and you do what it takes to get it.

03:38Then you have another blackout in Pittsburgh.

03:41You have another blackout by the river, shiver by the river,

03:44whatever you want to call it.

03:46Because that first wild card game,

03:48because I don't think they're going to get the division.

03:50That first wild card game, when they're hosting a game, and

03:53Paul Skeens is on the mound, that place is going to crumble.

03:58It is going, if there was a roof, it would blow off.

Category

Transcript

Recommended