Pirates GM says team looking to compete in '18 despite trades
Don't call it a rebuild.
When the Pittsburgh Pirates traded away their top starting pitcher in Gerrit Cole and the most beloved player the franchise has seen in decades in Andrew McCutchen, the writing seemed to be on the wall - the Pirates appeared to be taking a step back.
But general manager Neal Huntington is saying that's not the case.
Huntington: “There’s a lot of misinformation and a lot of false narrative out there about when we're looking to compete again. We’re looking to compete again this year. We believe this club is a lot closer to the ’11 and ’12 Pirates and ’13 Pirates than the ’07, ’08, ’09 Pirates”
— Adam Berry (@adamdberry) January 18, 2018
From 2007 through 2009, the Pirates went 197-288 and lost another 105 games in 2010, finishing last in the NL Central all four seasons. The improvement that followed was gradual, before the team finished 2013 with a 94-68 record, its first winning season since 1992. It was also the first of three consecutive postseason appearances, though Pittsburgh never made it further than the NLDS.
Now, while the Pirates have taken plenty of heat from fans for their recent moves, the exodus of stars isn't synonymous with waving a white flag before the season even starts - at least not to Huntington.