Pirates receive worrying projection amid Marcell Ozuna, offensive problems

Pirates receive worrying projection amid Marcell Ozuna, offensive problems originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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The Pittsburgh Pirates might be a fringe postseason team right now, with the team playing significantly better this season than they have in the last few years.

But, while there is a good deal more optimism than years prior, the Pirates are still far from a guarantee, or a top contender as they are now.

As ESPN’s David Schoenfield projected, the Pirates’ offense is likely to regress from their top-five run-scoring offense, unless they make a trade decision with Marcell Ozuna and others this summer.

Pirates get worrying projection with trade path to safety

“Biggest strength: They’ve scored runs!” Schoenfield writes. “… Will it continue? It feels like the Pirates are on the cliff right now.” FanGraphs believes their offense has overachieved and sees a significant decline the rest of the way…”

The production of this Pirates offense has been unexpectedly great, with the 391 runs scored fourth in MLB behind only the Milwaukee Brewers, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Washington Nationals.

However, Schoenfield is a little worried this team will regress this season. But, he’s still hopeful that this team can be great. That is, if they make some trades this summer.

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“I’m a little more optimistic about the offense than FanGraphs is, especially if the Pirates find a way to upgrade catcher and DH,” Schoenfield writes.

With Ozuna putting together a brutal season as a $12 million free-agent signing for the Pirates with a lousy .592 OPS, and with Endy Rodriguez’s still-early .819 OPS and Henry Davis’s .518 OPS, the Pirates could use a new DH and catcher.

If they can add both at the MLB trade deadline, along with potentially getting help in the rotation, bullpen, and other lineup spots, this team might be a legitimate postseason contender.

But, as of now, Schoenfield is a bit worried about this offense regressing from its place as a top-five run-scoring unit this season.

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