Pirates 2014 Offseason, Wild, Wonderful, Wicked

The Pirates offseason has been quite the roller coaster of excitement. The loss of Martin, Volquez, and Liriano seemed inevitable. Surprisingly the Pirates resigned Liriano to the largest free agent contract in team history. Bold move for a team that has in the past let players walk to see what magic they can sprinkle on the bargain bin. Another surprising move was the resigning of AJ Burnett. Who saw that coming? Can he bring the intensity that pushed this team over that mountain of losing that plagued the pirates for 20 years?
Things are looking up. Those 2 signings bolstered a starting rotation that quite frankly was looking like a disaster waiting to happen. We have what looks like a solid rotation, and the depth to pick up where we left off last year. Without Martin to make the pitchers look like all stars, it looked like we were going to be stuck with Stewart and Sanchez. Instead the pirates are going to take a shot with Francisco Cervelli, if he can stay healthy he has the potential to stabilize the catching position.
First base looked like another nightmare, Gaby gone, Davis gone, Pedro penciled in. Good grief, but with the signing of Corey Hart, a veteran presence we have a little depth to work with. Hart is coming off an injury and a pretty terrible year in limited action last season. He could rebound and take a large amount of pressure off of Alvarez, who had the worst year of any player in the majors last year.
The bullpen has added Antonio Bastardo, good strikeout rate and pretty consistent for the past couple years. Melancon, Hughes, Watson, Bastardo, and Holdzkom could make a formidable pen for late innings.
Most surprising of all was the Pirates winning bid for the rights to negotiate with Korean shortstop Jung-ho Kang. He has dominated the Korean league hitting 40 homeruns last year and 4 digit ops. Scouts are calling him a bench guy and that his power probably wont translate to the MLB, but if the Pirates can sign him, and he can hit even a little, he gives added infield depth that we will surely need.
All in all, I think we have added more ups than downs so far this offseason. This team is hungry, and it finally looks like the front office is just as hungry. With our additions, we have what could be a highly formidable team for 2015. Beat 'em Bucs!