A conversation with GM Neal Huntington

Neal Huntington joined me on my show on Thursday. We had an extended conversation covering a wide range of topics. We opened discussing the Pirates lack of success in Milwaukee and the concept of roster construction and whether the NL Central divisional opponents impact the type of team the Pirates are looking to build each year.

We went on to discuss the struggles of Andrew McCutchen and Gerrit Cole and whether the lack of answers is telling in itself. I asked Neal whether he expected Tyler Glasnow, making a rehab start tonight in Indy, to pitch any significant innings for the Pirates the rest of this season. That led to a discussion about how many players will be called up when rosters expand next week and whether it would be beneficial to call up Glasnow even if he isn't going to play any significant role?

The recent success of the starting rotation maybe made the next question more theoretical, but I asked Neal if, with roster expansion, he could see the team just asking a starter to go 3-4 innings,  then turn to multiple relievers in a piggyback role. I followed that up asking about his early impressions of Drew Hutchison and whether he and Glasnow were likely to be in the 2017 rotation.

I finished up asking Neal about batting order construction and why Josh Harrison continues to bat leadoff. The conversation ran about 21 minutes.