John Perrotto

More writing like this can be found in The Perrotto Report newsletters, which will launch Feb. 26. One will concentrate on the Pittsburgh Pirates and the other on Major League Baseball. Order instructions and more details can be found at The Perrotto Report online store . The prices are so good, even Bob Nutting would like them. BRADENTON, Fla. --- I don’t profess to have a 100-percent certain feel of the pulse of the Pittsburgh Pirates’ clubhouse yet. Spring training just opened this past week and I spent only one full day in camp. However, sometimes, it is interesting to get the perspective of someone new. So, I asked right-hander Joe Musgrove how he felt he was acclimating with his new team. The Pirates acquired him and three other players from the Houston Astros in a trade for righty Gerrit Cole on Jan. 13. Musgrove said he has been getting nothing but good vibes from his teammates so far. I got the vibe the amiable 25-year-old wasn’t just giving a politically

I love to talk baseball. Anyone who knows me knows that. I have spent my entire life talking baseball. In fact, I have spent so much time talking baseball that it has likely been a detriment to my schoolwork, my social life and maybe even my marriage. With that in mind, you can only imagine how much I enjoyed attending Major League Baseball’s Grapefruit League Media Day on Thursday at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg. The Trop’s playing field was still lined for football with the East-West Shrine Game logo painted on it, which was only fitting for the most ill-conceived stadium currently in use in the major leagues. Cheap shot at The Trop aside, the event provided an opportunity to chat with either the general managers or managers from many of the 15 teams that hold spring training in Florida. I took full advantage by chatting with most in a one-on-one setting. That gave me plenty of material in preparation for the launch of The Perrotto Report on Feb. 26, a pair of d

Most of the stories written about the death of Tito Francona have referred to him as “a former major league player and father of Cleveland Indians manager Terry Francona.” Factually, there was nothing wrong with the description about Tito, who passed away Tuesday evening at 84. Tito certainly took a lot of pride in the accomplishments of his son and how Terry has become one of the best managers in baseball, as well as one of the sport’s most well-liked figures, after his playing career was sabotaged by injuries. However, Tito was much more than Terry’s father. He had a fine 15-year playing career from 1956-70 as an outfielder/first baseman for nine teams, most notably the Indians, and batted .272/.343/.403 with 125 home runs while also being selected to the All-Star Game in 1961. I faintly remember Tito as a player as I was just 6 years old when he retired. However, I still recall getting his baseball card and my father telling me Tito was from New Brighton. As a kid gro

Elias Diaz is suffering through a nightmare that every major-league player from Venezuela fears. The Pittsburgh Pirates backup catcher’s mother has been kidnapped in his native country. Details are sketchy other than the abduction took place in the town of San Francisco, about 430 miles from the capital of Caracas. Current Tampa Bay Rays catcher Wilson Ramos, then with the Washington Nationals, was abducted in Venezuela in 2011. A few days later, he was rescued in an air operation and three men were arrested in connection with the kidnapping. I talked with Chicago White Sox right fielder Avasail Garcia about the unrest in his homeland last June while working on a feature story on him for USA TODAY Sports Weekly. He painted a depressing picture. Dozens who had protested the authoritarian government of President Nicolas Maduro have been killed in the streets last spring. With oil prices plunging, Maduro had been squeezing imports of food and medicine, so he could mak

Most of the major free agents remaining on the open market must be signed at some point, don’t they? Pitchers and catchers report to spring training camps in Florida and Arizona next week and many high-profile players remain without teams. The circumstances seemingly dictate there will be a surprise signing or two with a player landing with a team no one would have expected when the offseason began. Let’s take a guess --- and it’s only a guess in this strange winter --- on what uniforms five players will be wearing on opening day: Yu Darvish A lot of teams have been linked to the right-hander but he really wants to return to the Texas Rangers or Los Angeles Dodgers. However, neither team is willing to agree to a long-term deal. The Chicago Cubs covet Darvish and seem most likely to land him, though he won’t get the $150-million contract he expected. J.D. Martinez The Boston Red Sox have not come off their five-year, $125-million offer to the outfielder/desig

Super Bowl Sunday has become a day for odd baseball press releases to drop into the inbox. Last year, the Pittsburgh Pirates took the unusual step of formally announcing position changes in their outfield. Andrew McCutchen was moved from center field to right field, Starling Marte was shifted from left field to center and Gregory Polanco went from right to left. It turned out to never really matter. Marte was suspended for 80 games in mid-April after testing positive for a PED, causing McCutchen to move back to center field. Polanco developed a phobia about playing left field in May and wound up back in right. By the time, Marte returned in July, the Pirates decided to revert to their pre-2017 alignment. On this Super Bowl Sunday, the Major League Baseball Players Association sent out word that their members would not stage a work stoppage when pitchers and catchers are scheduled to begin reporting to camps next week. “Recent press reports have erroneously