Pittsburgh Pirates general manager Neal Huntington would like to keep the current Pirates team together going into next season, reports Danny Knobler at CBS Sports.
Pirates’ GM Neal Huntington hopes to retain free agents
The 2013 Pirates beat over 20 years of bad luck, but saw their season end with a loss to the Cardinals Wednesday night.
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The Pirates, who lost Wednesday night to the Cardinals and were eliminated from the 2013 playoffs, have seven players who will be free agents in the offseason. Those include A.J. Burnett, Justin Morneau, Marlon Byrd, and Clint Barmes. Burnett has previously said that he was unsure if he would retire or if he would play one more year.
“We’d like to keep them all,” Huntington told reporters. “We’ll see, the day after the season ends.”
Byrd and Morneau, who were both mid-season trade acquisitions, will both likely see big changes in their salary. Byrd made just $700,000 this season and is likely due for a generous raise after he hit 24 home runs and posted an 847 OPS for the Mets and Pirates. On the other hand, Morneau certainly will not get $15 million again. The Pirates do have need for a first baseman, however.
Barmes is a no-hit shortstop who plays solid defense. He split much of the 2013 season with Jordy Mercer at the position. The only other free agent of note on the team is backup catcher John Buck.
This was the first Pirates team to have a winning season since 1992.
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