NEAL HUNTINGTON
ALMOST LEFT?
The Pittsburgh Pirates have a lot of moving
parts to figure out this offseason. However, there could have been one
major move that would have changed everything.
The Pittsburgh Pirates offseason
is underway and the team has already started to adjust their roster to
make a better ball club for the 2019 season. The team acquired a
potential starting shortstop, and if not a solid utility player, in Erik Gonzalez in one deal.
Meanwhile, they brought in free agent Lonnie Chisenhall in a separate deal
to fill in for Gregory Polanco and then fill the
fourth outfield spot.
Who has made these deals?
Of course, Pittsburgh Pirates General Manager Neal Huntington is in
charge of bringing in free agents and making trades. Huntington himself gets
criticized a lot for the way he operates, however not one person can deny that
he has done a good job in Pittsburgh. He was hired in 2008 and has led a
team that was the laughing stock of baseball to be a legitimate,
competitive franchise once again.
In 2008, Neal Huntington came in
with a plan to completely tear down the roster and build it back up. He
knew that it would take a few years of really bad teams, high draft picks, and
tough trades. However, the end result was the Pittsburgh Pirates having a
winning season in 2013, their first one since 1992. Even better, the team
made it to the postseason for three straight years from 2013-2015. Many
considered his work to be an impressive feat for how quickly he was able to
turn the small market Pittsburgh Pirates into a contender.
Even last year, he took a team
that many thought would be in the bottom quarter of the National League and
brought another winning record. While the expectation is and should be to
make the playoffs, Huntington was able to put together a roster that no one
thought would do well and surpass expectations.
With his success of creating a
quality product over the last five-to-six years, especially with his financial
handcuffs, Neal Huntington has been considered one of the best General Managers
in baseball. Many credit him of doing the impossible and changing a whole
franchise in a scenario that is one of the toughest in baseball.
With that, it has long been
believed that he would eventually jettison to a bigger market team. Major
League Baseball saw this when highly regarded Tampa Bay Rays General Manager
Andrew Friedman left to become the President of Baseball Operations for the Los
Angeles Dodgers. Well, apparently this almost happened with Neal
Huntington after this past season.
According to Ken Rosenthal of The
Athletic, Neal Huntington was the top choice for the San Fransisco Giants in
their search for their President of Baseball Operations vacancy. To read
the full scope of Rosenthal’s
report one must subscribe to The Athletic, but here is a
snippet as to why Huntington turned down the opportunity:
“…but ultimately declined to
push for the opportunity. Family and geography were factors, but his desire to
complete unfinished business with the Pirates carried greater weight.”
Huntington’s contract runs
through the end of the 2021 season. That fact that he turned down a
potential better position, one that would definitely pay more, and for a
franchise that is in a much bigger market suggests that he is really dedicated
to winning here in Pittsburgh. He has shown the urgency to get this team
back in the playoffs by making uncharacteristic trades last trade deadline and
being somewhat aggressive this offseason already. Huntington may leave
after 2021, but for now, the Pittsburgh Pirates are in good hands. The fact
that the Giants wanted to bring him and give him a better position shows how he
is viewed across Major League Baseball.
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