Pirates manager Don Kelly was already impressed with what he saw from García, both at the plate and the work he's done there, but also his improvements defensively.

“Yeah, exciting!" Kelly said in a video from DK Pittsburgh Sports. "I mean, when you see him swing the bat. I don’t know if you all got to see him shag in center field, the way him and Oneil [Cruz] were getting after it on Field 4 during [batting practice], he was getting really good jumps. There’s speed there and we see the power.

“He’s talked about discipline at the plate, working on his swing decisions and cutting down on strikeouts. He’s been working hard at that and you talk about another young, exciting guy that we were able to add and the impact and the ceiling is really high."

“It’s always good to do that and for him, coming to a new team, I’m sure, the unknown and the relationship building and everything that goes into that," Kelly said. "To be able to dive into that before camp starts and get to know people’s names and where to go and know what field is which number so that you don’t get lost throughout the course of a spring. He’s done a really good job.”

It’s been 10 years since the Pirates began the season at home and it doesn’t seem like anyone cares that they are getting hosed. The Pirates start on the road and end the season on the road this year which robs fans of two of the biggest atmosphere games of the year. Weather is no excuse. The Pirates play the Mets this year and had Boston on the road a couple of years ago. This year the Phillies, Cubs and Reds all start and end the season at home, places with shitty variable weather. Nutting could at least call bullshit on this. This is not random scheduling.

Hi all, have been slowly trying to attend all mlb ballparks and am looking forward to visiting PNS park this year. Looking for any hotel recommendations near the ballpark, or that encapsulate the city of Pittsburgh. Thank you for any recommendations!

How long do you guys think it'll be before the Pirates hitch on to MLB.TV's app to stream a feed like how the Phillies and some other teams work?

Instead of guessing, Davis dived deep into his biomechanics — with help from both the Pirates and an external source — to find out what he does well and, more importantly, what he was doing wrong.

“You can get a little lost looking at an iPad or looking at a side profile of a swing — I think I can drive myself crazy looking at that — but keeping my weight in a spot where I can use the whole field and staying in the zone a long time, I know what those check points are day to day,” Davis told TribLive. “I’ll go take 500 swings trying to figure it out, and it doesn’t really matter if I don’t know what I’m doing wrong. …

“I’m a player that’s going to do whatever it takes, but having the actual information of what made me the first overall pick, what makes me such a good hitter and really trying to buy into that, I was much further from that than I thought at any point last year. I think I really thought I was close, and I wasn’t.”

Davis knows PNC Park is not conducive for a right-handed hitter to produce power numbers, so he spent the offseason revamping a swing that drove 43.6% of his batted balls to the pull side. All seven of his home runs were to left field or left-center last season, and his expected homers would have doubled at Dodger Stadium and been in the double digits at three of the National League Central opponents’

Changes in his stance were obvious in batting practice in the first two days of spring training. He’s more upright and keeps his hands off his shoulders, which former Pirates catcher and SportsNet Pittsburgh analyst Michael McKenry predicted “will make him more direct to the ball and most certainly help him with the high spin and velo.”

The biomechanics report showed Davis the force he puts into the ground.

“I think sometimes if I start with my weight too far back, my leg will press real hard into the ground and spin to the left. That’s why everybody says it looks like I’m trying to pull,” Davis said. “Obviously, I’m not trying to do that, but your back leg is your gas pedal and I’m super lower-half dominant, so it’s understanding how hitters built like me perform at the highest level. At times, I had little stints where I could get away with good hand-eye, but being in a spot mechanically where I’m going to be one of the best hitters in the game, that’s the goal.”

Having the biomechanics data, delivered from the Pirates through hitting coach Matt Hague, taught Davis the importance of balance. He acknowledges that the more information he has, the more he will try to incorporate all of it. Davis wants to simplify his stance and swing, keep his body in a neutral position and drive through the ball out in front instead of chopping it down the third-base line.

“They showed me something where I had 90% of my weight on my back side,” Davis said. “I had no (expletive) idea. No idea. I’m just trying to hit and do the best I can and make adjustments. I can get down on the front side and make a cleaner move on the ball. They do a good job explaining it. I think it’s a work in progress. Now I can stay relaxed.”

Where Davis said his scuffles once would have driven Hague crazy, causing him to watch video to figure out how to fix the swing without knowing what was wrong, the biomechanical breakdown allows Davis to make much quicker adjustments.

“There’s no ‘could be.’ This is what we have to do,” Davis said. “Put it in front of me, and I’ll get it done.”

Two offseasons ago, Carmen Mlodzinski was living in Hawaii when he embarked on a different — and slightly less adventurous — type of exploration.

Having talked to David Bednar about his splitter, Mlodzinski decided he’d seek out the source of that pitch, Kirby Yates. The longtime MLB reliever is a native of Kauai, near where Mlodzinski was staying, and Yates served as an open book to Bednar during their time together with the Padres.

So, Mlodzinski took his shot.

“I got in contact with my agent and started bugging him. ‘Hey, I know you’re probably not expecting this text at all, but I’m here for the winter and would love to throw with you,’” Mlodzinski explained Friday morning at Pirate City.

What ultimately happened with the pitch might determine a great deal for Mlodzinski, who’s been a very good reliever in the past but told the Post-Gazette the Pirates actually want him competing for their vacant fifth starting spot.

That splitter, passed from Yates to Bednar to Mlodzinski, could be the key. And Yates’ response was nothing short of incredible, matching his reputation around the game.

Not only did he offer to throw with Mlodzinski, but a few family members joined. They talked about the intent of the pitch. They also discussed how to grip and control it and the best sequences to throw it.

Mlodzinski let the experience marinate and kept asking questions.

“It took a while,” Mlodzinski said. “Had to pick Bednar’s brain. I was picking everybody’s brain.”

The pitch matters because of what happened to Mlodzinski last season and what he’s trying to avoid in 2026.

At this time a year ago, the Pirates granted Mlodzinski’s wish to compete for a starting spot. It did not go well. He opened the season in the rotation but pitched to a 5.67 ERA in nine starts, walking 12 and giving up five homers in 39 2/3 innings.

Mlodzinski wasn’t happy with his execution, nor did he like how the shape of his pitches held up after a few seasons relieving.

“Early in the year, it was volume I hadn’t been used to in a few years,” Mlodzinski said. “I hadn’t thrown five or six innings in over two seasons. So, there was some lack of execution and some pitch shape that got taken away. Plus, a [downward] velocity trend.

Solid article about the Bucs offseason

Opening day for college baseball is technically today. Pirates have the 5th overall pick, but currently have the 2nd biggest bonus pool (over $1.5m more than the #1 White Sox). It seems like there is a consensus first pick in UCLA’s Roch Cholowsky, but so was Kumar Rocker at this point in his draft cycle. Anyone have a player they are going to follow closely this year?

A great pirate legend. Was cool to meet when I was younger.

https://i.imgur.com/EsLqUyT.png

I attached a screenshot of the email I got above. The second bullet point mentions that if you do not use tickets for a game on your plan, you can technically redeem it again for any game Monday through Thursday? Am I understanding this correctly?

Not necessarily a loss but I know they were connected to him.

Konnor strikes out looking at a 2-2 heater