Mar 1, 2018 4 min read

It surely came as no surprise to Pittsburgh Pirates fans when news broke this week that the Major League Baseball Players Association had filed a grievance accusing four teams of failing to properly spend revenue-sharing money, and the Buccos were front and center.

The players union claims the Pirates, Tampa Bay Rays, Oakland A’s and Miami Marlins have not adhered to the rather vague demand in the collective bargaining agreement that a team receiving revenue-sharing dollars use them to “improve its performance on the field.”

According to a story in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, “teams can put the money toward such things as scouting and player development, in addition to major league payroll. They cannot use it to pay down debt or as a distribution to ownership, other than to offset tax obligations associated with club operations.”

How, specifically, have the Pirates spent those dollars? They’ll never tell. Their books are not open to the public, despite the fact they play in a taxpayer-funded ballpark. But Pirates President Frank Coonelly issued a statement calling the MLBPA accusations “patently baseless.”

Said Coonelly, “We look forward to demonstrating as much to the arbitrator, if the MLBPA continues to pursue this meritless claim. As indicated when the MLBPA first expressed its concern in a press release, the Pirates have always invested its revenue-sharing receipts in a manner entirely consistent with the basic agreement.”

Let’s say, for the sake of argument, the Pirates are operating within the agreement when it comes to the revenue-sharing funds. How about the $50 million that the team will be getting this year as a result of Disney’s purchase of a segment of MLB Advanced Media? Well, parsimonious Buccos owner Bob Nutting recently told the P-G the Pirates don’t yet have specific plans for that wad of cash.

We believe it’s fairly safe to say Nutting won’t go on a spending spree to acquire major-league-level talent. The squabbling over the revenue-sharing cash will quickly disappear, we believe, but the real question is what commitment Nutting really has to putting a top-notch team on the field at PNC Park.

There’s plenty of evidence to suggest it’s a very light commitment. When the Pirates were mounting their return to respectability about five years ago, their top brass indicated if attendance rose, that would provide additional revenue that would be used to add “pieces” to the Bucs’ lineup when the team was ready to contend for a championship. Attendance rose to 2.25 million in 2013, to 2.4 million in 2014 and to 2.5 million in 2015.

It was in 2015 that the Pirates posted their best record in ages, 98-64, and there was an expectation that the team would, in light of its previous pledge, add to that roster to make a real push for a World Series title. The team went into the 2016 season with a gaping hole at first base and the need for additional starting pitching. The response was to sign journeyman John Jaso to man first base and to snatch up 38-year-old Ryan Vogelsong as a starting pitcher. Vogelsong was joined in the rotation at various times by such other “luminaries” as Juan Nicasio, Jeff Locke and Jonathan Niese. The total payroll was actually $3 million lower than it had been in 2015, and the Pirates’ record fell to 78-83.

Last year, the Pirates again did little to bolster their roster. Their record fell to 75-87, and attendance dropped to 1.9 million, an indication that fans are now wise to them.

There’s very little optimism for this coming season, after the team ditched longtime superstar outfielder Andrew McCutchen and top-of-the-rotation pitcher Gerrit Cole – and their large salaries – in trades. There have been no big signings of free-agent talent, and there’s no expectation of a late spending spree before Opening Day.

We don’t envision Pirates fans adopting “In Bob We Trust” as a rallying cry. They know they’re just going to get “Vogelsonged” again and again.