by Matt Gajtka
As fun as the 2011 Pittsburgh Pirates’ season has been so far, even in the wake of their stumbling out of the NL Central race in the last three weeks, the fact remains that the present and immediate future are simply not as important as the next few years to the state of the franchise.
In order to ensure that this summer’s flirtation with relevance has at least a chance of developing into a long-term romance, the Pirates must continue to do what they’ve been doing since general manager Neal Huntington took the job in 2007 – namely, keep adding high-end talent through the MLB First-Year Player Draft every June.
As devoted Pirates fans know, however, the real moment of truth when it comes to bringing elite amateur players aboard is August 15, which is the deadline for signing draft selections to contract under the current collective bargaining agreement.
This arrangement has often led to drama, exemplified by the Pirates’ protracted negotiations with Vanderbilt slugger Pedro Alvarez and his adviser, super-agent Scott Boras, in the summer and early fall of 2008. Boras protested the contract signed by the Pirates and Alvarez at the 11th hour and ended up parlaying that controversy into a major-league deal for his client.
Nothing may ever match 2008 for intrigue, but the process of drafting and signing top high schoolers and collegians remains absolutely critical to the sustainable success of a franchise like the Pirates, whose ownership and market situation precludes them from being consistent players in the annual free agent gold rush.
Although a switch to a “hard slotting” format may be in the works for the next CBA, which would require (instead of merely recommend) teams to pay a set signing bonus to players according to draft order, for now the Pirates can get the jump on the system by opening the wallet.
All of which means that the Bucs’ signing of 2011 No. 1 overall pick Gerrit Cole and second-round choice Josh Bell is the most important event of the year for the Pirates. Monday’s midnight maneuverings, which cost the team a combined $13 million in signing bonuses, further augmented a farm system that has come a long way from ’07 but still has a little ways to go before it’s considered one of baseball’s best.
With the draft haul of the past two summers – righthanded pitchers Cole, Jameson Taillon and Stetson Allie, plus corner outfielder Bell – added to the signing of Mexican teenage righthander Luis Heredia last August, the Pirates have taken advantage of a less-than-perfect amateur procurement system to put themselves in a better position going forward.
So even if the gratification is delayed, Bucco fans can take heart in the idea that their favorite franchise’s victorious moments off the field deliver hope that better fortunes on the diamond lie ahead.
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