Starkey & Mueller

MLB writer Travis Sawchik from Driveline Baseball joined the show. Rafael Flores is ranked below Nick Yorke in the Pirates top 30 prospects. Sawchik says the Pirates went against the league consensus with the return in the Bednar trade. He also says that Fangraphs projects that Flores would have an 86 WRC+ if he came up today, which is a problem because he might not be a catcher. Travis says he can’t believe Bailey Falter would be a non-tender candidate.

The trade deadline from hell. We continued to break down what the Pirates did yesterday as the trade deadline wrapped as the show was going off the air. The other telling point is that the Pirates failed to move multiple players on expiring deals. The moves made little to no sense and the returns were even worse – and got worse as the day went on. There is at least one outlet around the city that claims to be ‘done’ covering the Pirates. How did the organization screw this up yet again? We took more calls on the situation. Donny Football Debrief – BREAKING NEWS regarding Micah Parsons, as well as the future of the NFL, ESPN and Sunday Ticket relationship.

There is at least one outlet around the city that claims to be ‘done’ covering the Pirates. How did the organization screw this up yet again?

The trade deadline from hell. We continued to break down what the Pirates did yesterday as the trade deadline wrapped as the show was going off the air. The other telling point is that the Pirates failed to move multiple players on expiring deals. The moves made little to no sense and the returns were even worse – and got worse as the day went on.

Hour 4: Jeff Passan seems to love the David Bednar trade, but Poni wonders why. Poni gives a restaurant hack to the guys. And Bailey Falter gets traded to the Royals.

Pirates saved roughly $20 million with the Bednar and Hayes trades. Jeff Passan loves the Bednar trade for the Pirates. Donny Football said on Twitter that it’s incredible how bad Ben Cherington is at his job. Mullsy thinks the deal was below average for Ben Cherington. Poni says that one of the pros of the trade is that Flores has been productive in the minors. The Bednar trade does not measure up when compared to other deals. A caller calls for Ben Cherington to be fired now. An insider on Twitter said that the Bednar return was light in terms of the reliever market. We still don’t have a Tommy Pham or IKF trade with 100 minutes until the trade deadline. A caller says that the Pirates won’t reinvest the money they freed up. Poni and Mullsy both tweeted out polls asking if fans liked the Bednar trade, and both polls resulted in about 85% no. A caller is happy that Bednar got traded because he wants him to go win a World Series. Poni mentions that the Pirates never have a hard time finding a good closer. H

Poni mentions that the Pirates never have a hard time finding a good closer. However, that was usually the case when Huntington was the GM. The Pirates traded Joe Musgrove to the Padres for a guy that recently retired from baseball, among two others that were not good. They also got Endy Rodriguez from the Mets in that deal. A caller says he likes Rafael Flores more because he plays first base as well as catcher. Another caller says that the Bednar trade made him buy Phillies hats for him and his wife and become a Phillies fan. Philip Rivers became a grandfather today.

David Bednar was traded to the Yankees with the headline of the return being Rafael Flores, the Yankees 8th ranked prospect. The A’s traded Mason Miller to the Padres for the 3rd ranked prospect in all of baseball. The guys don’t like this trade. The guys are definitely unhappy with the Bednar trade. Mullsy gives the trade a D. The Yankees don’t have a good farm system and the Pirates only fetched their 8th ranked prospect in return. Jeff Passan loves the trade for the Pirates. Poni calls Flores a diamond in the rough. Ben Cherington said that he’d make the 2026 Pirates better, but he has actively made the 2026 Pirates worse. The guys look back at the JT Brubaker trade from a while ago, saying that it actually looks like a good one. Adam Marco joins the show. Adam thinks that Flores can turn into a good hitter in the majors. He also says that he has a projectable build and has a great personality that resonates with fans pretty well. Marco says that Flores can make good contact and that he shouldn’t strike

The guys look back at the JT Brubaker trade from a while ago, saying that it actually looks like a good one. Adam Marco joins the show. Adam thinks that Flores can turn into a good hitter in the majors. He also says that he has a projectable build and has a great personality that resonates with fans pretty well. Marco says that Flores can make good contact and that he shouldn’t strike out too much.

Poni has heard a rumor that the Rangers are interested in Andrew McCutchen, but Pittsburgh has said no go. Jason Mackey joins the show to talk about a potential Cutch trade, what he expects to happen with Bednar, who’s making the calls behind-the-scenes on trades, and reaction to

The trade deadline is four hours away and scuttlebutt is abound. Jon Morosi can speak 6 different languages. Mason Miller got traded for a king’s ransom, so is it a given that David Bednar will get traded before the show’s over? Chris says Ben Cherington is an “ignoramous”. Poni wants to open up the phones, but the only guy on the line is someone labeled “DO NOT ANSWER, GUY KEEPS CALLING”. A caller badly messes up IKF’s name. Chris praises Intern Jack, but takes a shot at me. How much faith should we have in Cherington at this deadline? Chris doesn’t know if Bednar will ever be as good as he is now. A caller says he would rather give up Bubba Chandler over Bednar. What? Poni has heard a rumor that the Rangers are interested in Andrew McCutchen, but Pittsburgh has said no go. Jason Mackey joins the show to talk about a potential Cutch trade, what he expects to happen with Bednar, who’s making the calls behind-the-scenes on trades, and reaction to

Nick Herbig, Joey Porter Jr, Mark Robinson, Troy Fautanu listed by Nick Farabaugh as stars of today’s practice. Poni mentions that the defense should beat the offense in camp, as it is the highest paid unit in the NFL. Aaron Rodgers said that he’s still having fun playing football, and that he likes Latrobe. Mullsy says that Aaron Rodgers has earned a reputation as being “artificial” behind the scenes. Rodgers said that in Green Bay and New York, they didn’t tackle in practice. Poni says that you can see how different Rodgers is from Russell Wilson simply through his interview answers. All Access with Aditi Kinkhabwala. Aditi says that the teams that really want to compete always embrace physicality in camp. Mullsy says Rodgers sounds more authentic when talking about football than Russell Wilson. Aditi says that the defense always prospers in team drills early in camp. She says that this is often because the offense is always trying different stuff early in camp. Dom Debrief. The Steelers give out a packet

Dom Debrief. The Steelers give out a packet with the name and face of team media personalities. Do the guys think that they’re on the packet? Poni says that one of the guys should ask Pat Freiermuth to take a picture of this packet and send it to them. Mullsy gives Starkey props as a great interviewer. Dom calls himself the funniest guy at the station.

Nick Herbig, Joey Porter Jr, Mark Robinson, Troy Fautanu listed by Nick Farabaugh as stars of today’s practice. Poni mentions that the defense should beat the offense in camp, as it is the highest paid unit in the NFL. Aaron Rodgers said that he’s still having fun playing football, and that he likes Latrobe. Mullsy says that Aaron Rodgers has earned a reputation as being “artificial” behind the scenes. Rodgers said that in Green Bay and New York, they didn’t tackle in practice. Poni says that you can see how different Rodgers is from Russell Wilson simply through his interview answers.

Ke’Bryan Hayes traded to the Reds for reliever Taylor Rogers and prospect Sammy Stafura. Stafura is a top ten prospect in the Reds organization. The guys like the trade. Mullsy is afraid that Hayes will go to Cincinnati and start hitting. Poni thinks that Ke’bryan hated Pittsburgh. Mullsy says that Ke'Bryan needs to take accountability for playing terribly in Pittsburgh. Mullsy says that a change of scenery could work out for Ke’Bryan. Poni says that Paul Skenes should drive Hayes to the ballpark so that he can be in the lineup that faces him. People on twitter are saying that not even a hitter’s park can make Ke’Bryan a good hitter. Poni really thinks that Hayes is just a terrible hitter, Mullsy thinks that the Pirates player development could be the problem. Poni mentions Hayes’ constant terrible body language. Bucco Minute. Mullsy says that he is showing that he likes the Hayes trade, just in a weird manner. Every caller agrees that the Hayes trade was a success. One caller called the Hayes trade “absolu

Bucco Minute. Mullsy says that he is showing that he likes the Hayes trade, just in a weird manner. Every caller agrees that the Hayes trade was a success. One caller called the Hayes trade “absolutely amazing”. Poni makes the point that both Quinn Priester and Clay Holmes have been good since the Pirates traded them, and says that he doesn’t want Ben Cherington making trades. Mullsy asks why Cherington is still employed. A caller says that the Hayes trade was just a salary dump. Mullsy says that Ke’Bryan would be a massive bargain if he could hit at all.

Ke’Bryan Hayes traded to the Reds for reliever Taylor Rogers and prospect Sammy Stafura. Stafura is a top ten prospect in the Reds organization. The guys like the trade. Mullsy is afraid that Hayes will go to Cincinnati and start hitting. Poni thinks that Ke’bryan hated Pittsburgh. Mullsy says that Ke'Bryan needs to take accountability for playing terribly in Pittsburgh.

Pat McAfee was at Steelers training camp today, but Mark Kaboly hasn’t been on. Is Mark hurt by that? Donny once thought Plato lived in the 1800s. Poni still believes the best thing for the Steelers is to have a bad year this season. Aaron Rodgers seems to be very happy right now in Pittsburgh. Are fans starting to become optimistic about the Steelers? How many teams are going to be drafting a quarterback in April? WR2s are still being connected to the Steelers. Do they drug test at FOX Sports? Mike Tomlin is a “puzzler”, but does it lower his aura? I once tried to impress a girl by beating her at chess. Matt Clement joins the show to talk about what it’s like playing around the trade deadline, if the Pirates should trade Mitch Keller and David Bednar, what teams want most at the deadline right now, reaction to

Matt Clement joins the show to talk about what it’s like playing around the trade deadline, if the Pirates should trade Mitch Keller and David Bednar, what teams want most at the deadline right now, reaction to