Juan Soto strikes big as Pirates keep striking out

I’m just a chill guy who has seen Moneyball one too many times, but Juan Soto makes more than the Pirates. All of them.

The New York Mets haven’t won a World-Series title since 1986, but still continue to work towards building a championship team no matter the cost. The record-setting contract that Juan Soto received shook up the whole world, as news of his 15-year $765 million dollar contract sent a shockwave across baseball. As a Pirates’ fan, I knew we had no chance at landing Soto during his free-agency talks, especially for that price. While I never expect to land the biggest fish on the market, I was shocked to learn that with this one contract, the Mets have already committed more money to one player than the entire Pirates’ payroll over the past ten years, as the Buccos remain bottom feeders.

Over the last decade, Pittsburgh’s entire payroll has been $757 million. During that span, the team has never ranked higher than 21st in team payroll around the league, with 2024 extending a six-season streak where their total payroll didn’t reach higher than 28th in baseball. The record of course reflects, with the team not finishing higher than fourth in the division since 2016 and not winning the NL Central at all during this time.

Now of course, a high payroll does not necessarily guarantee results. 2024 saw three teams from the AL Central make it to the post-season, despite having payrolls ranked in the bottom half of baseball. Of course last year, the Mets had the highest payroll in baseball and blew up the team they built halfway through the season as they ended with a 75-87 record, finishing fourth in their division.

That being said, I’d at least like to see the Pirates make more of an effort. So far through winter meetings, GM Ben Cherington has talked a big game, but really has come up with very little. Some would say it’s business as usual for the cellar-dwelling Buccos, who are still acting like it’s 1979. Even with mixed results, it’s more or less a pay-to-play kind of league which the Pirates’ style of baseball doesn’t exactly align with. Cherington has gone as far as to suggest that players like Mitch Keller and Jared Jones are expendable at this point to “trim payroll”, despite them being two of the best players on the team.

We don’t even know if Soto and the Mets are going to be able to capitalize on this signing. Players get hurt, teams make trades, people retire when they’ve decided the money is better than playing the game. Bobby Bonilla had some big moments, but Soto may have already surpassed him in the eyes of fans, and even still, Bonilla will be getting paid by the Mets organization until 2035, despite not having played for them since 1999. Who’s to say the team doesn’t get burned twice by all of this deferred money and players opting out or retiring?

When I saw the rumors as to how much Soto was looking to get out of this contract, I was shocked and appalled. Not only is it an egregious amount of money to be making to play a game, it’s also not going to be the last time this kind of contract is handed out. I thought Shohei Ohtani was going to be the exception, but now he’s just the tip of the iceberg. I’m not afraid to be that person and say that this is borderline ruining baseball. Now of course, I’m saying this as a fan who loves the game, but it’s hard to love when the rich keep getting richer and the poor stay poor, or best case scenario for some squads they become middle class.

Teams like Pittsburgh, the Angels, Athletics, and White Sox are all in the same boat; the one that’s sinking faster than Paul Skenes’ slurve. Forgive me for being the adult that’s saying it’s not fair, but it’s absolutely not. Why should the Astros, Yankees, and Dodgers get to have all the fun at the end of the year? I know losing a World-Series is not the desired outcome, but I’d like to have at least been invited to the dance, or how about just a playoff berth? Just a quick reminder that the Pirates haven’t been to the postseason since 2015.

Maybe it’s just me, maybe I’m the crazy one, but I can’t imagine wanting to pursue something if you don’t want to be the best, or at the very least go out and die trying. The Pirates’ ownership and management continue to be a constant source of frustration. Big time trades, free-agents, and splash headlines are just not going to be in the cards for the small market swashbucklers. Western Pennsylvania isn’t on anyone’s list for dream vacation destination, and it’s certainly not on any star player’s list of desired assignments either.

Remember when on SpongeBob, Mr. Krabs sold SpongeBob’s soul for .62 cents? I could see Cherington and Bob Nutting cutting ties with a player like Skenes or Bryan Reynolds, just to stay in the running for most “frugal” franchise in sports. Maybe in 2079, the team will be back in the World Series, but for now I fully intend on buying $10 dollar seats at PNC Park in August and September, because they will have to practically give them away.