I was born and raised in Pittsburgh and have lived in
Northern Virginia for about two decades. So while the Pittsburgh Pirates have
always been my favorite baseball team, I follow the Nationals closely too. Yes,
following these two teams in 2022 has been challenging. At the all-star break,
the teams are a combined 70-117 with the two worst run differentials in all of
baseball. For weeks, I’ve considered writing a blog post about which team has
the brighter future or even if either team has a bright future. Today is the day I finally did it.
Here’s a quick,
quick summary of both teams:
Pittsburgh Pirates
* Signed Ke’Bryan Hayes, arguably the top defensive 3B in
baseball, to an 8-year contract
* OF Bryan Reynolds was an all-star and MVP candidate in 2021.
* 5 minor leaguers (Henry Davis, Oneil Cruz, Nick Gonzales,
Quinn Priester, and Liover Peguero) in the preseason Top 50 of the Top 100 prospects.
“Unusually tall” for a SS Oneil Cruz and his incredible arm is now starting for
the Pirates.
* Possibility that Roansy Contreras and/or Mitch Keller could
become quality, top-end starting pitchers.
* Rookie OF Jack Suwinski had 13 home runs in May and June. Of course, he just got sent down to the minors after going 4 for 37 (.108) in
July.
* One of the lowest payrolls in baseball and have traded away
any decent player over the last few years.
Washington Nationals
*Juan Soto is only 23 and put up numbers in his first four
seasons comparable to Mike Trout, Frank Robinson, and Ted Williams. In 2022, he’s
having a “down” season batting only .250 though he still has 20 home runs and a
.405 on-base percentage. More on him soon.
* Keibert Ruiz is already one of the best defensive catchers
in baseball.
* 22 year-old SS Luis Garcia is starting nearly every day.
* 24 year-old Josiah Gray could become a top-tier starting pitcher.
* Only two top players (Cade Cavalli and Brady House) in the preseason
minor league top 100 prospects. Cavalli started the season terribly but has
pitched significantly better in AAA over the last few months.
* Traded away or failed to re-sign many top players over the last
few years. Josh Bell will probably be gone soon too. The two big signings haven’t
worked out well either. The team owes Patrick Corbin about $60 million for 2024 and
2025. Corbin is 4-12 with a 5.87 ERA and 1.70 WHIP in 100 innings this season.
Meanwhile, Stephen Strasburg has pitched 30.1 innings since winning the World
Series MVP in 2019. His base salary is $140 million for 2023-2026 with a full
no trade clause though there’s $80 million of deferred money for 2027-2029 in
there somewhere.
* Team is for sale.
Even with the ownership uncertainty, the Nationals larger
payroll and having a generational talent in Juan Soto gives the DC team a
slight edge in my opinion. However, this changed after this past weekend.
Earlier this season, Soto declined a 13-year, $350 million contract offer.
While this is an incredible amount of money, everyone who follows baseball
understood that Soto deserved more. The Nationals responded by offering Soto a
15-year, $440 million deal. Although the $29.3 million annual salary would rank
15th among players based on their 2022 salaries, this would have
been the largest contract in MLB history. Soto declined this offer too.
Apparently, he feels like he could get more and/or he doesn’t want to play in
DC. I don’t think the team will go higher, so with Soto set to be a free agent
in 2024, it is being reported that the Nationals are open to trade offers. If
Soto leaves, this would continue a trend of the Nationals letting free agents
sign elsewhere (Bryce Harper and Anthony Rendon) or trading away All-Stars (Trea
Turner and Kyle Schwarber). The Nationals would essentially turn into the
Pirates but with a worse farm system though you’d think they would get a ransom
for Soto. Without Soto, I'd take the Pirates.
What do you think?
Photo from the Colorado Rockies scoreboard by Brian of RTJR.
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