Biertempfel's latest, such as it is:
Who could depart Tuesday?
Kevin Newman might be playing his way out of Pittsburgh.
Since he came off the IL on July 8, Newman has hit .315 with eight doubles and six RBIs. He has made a seamless transition to second base, allowing
Oneil Cruz to take over at shortstop.
“(Newman) is swinging the bat probably better than anybody on our club,” manager Derek Shelton said. “It’s nice to see some confidence there. It’s nice to see he’s sustaining the things he worked on prior to getting hurt.”
Newman, 28, is a career .260 hitter and last year was
a Gold Glove finalist. He can play multiple positions. He has a knack for getting walk-off hits, can handle the leadoff spot and for a couple of seasons held the thankless job of batting in the No. 8 spot ahead of the pitcher. He has two more years of team control remaining.
A lot of contenders could use a guy like that. The
Yankees already have looked him over. If the Pirates trade Newman, they could expect to get a decent (not elite) prospect in return.
Instead of fretting about the
MLB trade deadline (6 p.m. ET on Tuesday), Newman simply keeps going about his business.
“As you get later in your career, you learn to separate the two,” Newman said. “When I was younger, it’s definitely something you think about. From my experience here, with these guys, we’ve done a really good job of keeping the outside noise outside. Showing up every day and continuing to work hard and get better. I think that’s what we’re going to continue to do.”
During his weekly radio show Sunday, general manager Ben Cherington lauded
José Quintana’s bounce-back season. Cherington compared the veteran lefty to
Tyler Anderson, whom the Pirates signed last year as a low-cost free agent, then flipped at the trade deadline.
Several teams are interested in Quintana — including the Phillies, who
got a close look at him Friday. When Quintana was replaced after throwing 5 2/3 shutout innings, he got warm, extended applause from the crowd at PNC Park.
The fans know what’s up, and so does Quintana.
“It’s fun when you get ovations,” Quintana said. “It’s going to be a special memory for me.”
What about Wednesday?
It’s a given the Pirates will make at least one or two trades. I am more intrigued by what might happen
after the deadline passes, and I asked Cherington how much roster shuffling will occur later this week and beyond.
“I would expect we’ll have some changes,” Cherington said. “There are guys at (Triple-A Indianapolis) that we’d like to see here at some point. We don’t have a specific date in mind, but, yeah, it’s fair to say that, trades or no trades, probably see some changes. We want to create opportunities for some guys who are in Indy now, so we’ll see how that plays out.”
Jack Suwinski is batting .268 with four homers at Indy. Tucupita Marcano is riding a 10-game hitting streak and has posted back-to-back three-hit games. Marcano is batting .362 with a .933 OPS in 14 games since being optioned to Indy in early July.
Right-hander Roansy Contreras was sent down on July 7 to take a two-week breather. Pirates management is playing it safe with Contreras because of his forearm injury last summer.
Last Tuesday, Contreras threw two innings (35 pitches) for Indy. On Sunday, he went three innings (44 pitches) and allowed a run on four hits with five strikeouts against Toledo.
It likely will be at least a couple of weeks before Contreras is recalled. Cherington likened Contreras’ plan at Indy to a spring training buildup. “There is no magic number,” Cherington said. “The goal is to put Roansy in position where he’s making starts in the majors in September.”
