With one of the lowest payrolls in baseball on a year-in, year-out basis under owner Bob Nutting, the Pittsburgh Pirates need to nail the margins if they want to have any hope of competing for a playoff spot. If you're not going to spend money on the free market, you need to be consistently great at acquiring cost-controlled talent.
And yet, somehow, it seems like that Nutting's cheapness has found a way to even ruin that. On Wednesday night, word broke that Pittsburgh's second-round pick in this past MLB Draft, Warren (CA) righty Angel Cervantes, has opted to honor his commitment to UCLA rather than sign a contract with the Pirates.
NEWS: Pirates second round pick Angel Cervantes commits to UCLA instead of signing an MLB contract.
— Colin Beazley (@colin_beazley) July 24, 2025
Cervantes’ projected slot value was $1,934,700. Major surprise that they couldn’t find a deal. https://t.co/luOXG0VV17
It's tough to overstate how bad a look this is. This wasn't a case where a team drafts a player later than where their talent dictates they should go, trying to lure them to pro ball with a massively over-slot deal. MLB Pipeline had Cervantes ranked as its No. 49 prospect in this year's class, and Pittsburgh took him with pick No. 50 overall. What's more, it's not clear why the Pirates weren't able to land this particular plane; it's not like they had any other over-slot picks taking up all of their bonus money.
Instead, it sure seems like Cervantes decided that he'd rather take his chances with three years of college than start his professional career with Pittsburgh. And that should have everyone involved with the organization taking a long, hard look in the mirror.
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Angel Cervantes snub is just more proof that Bob Nutting's Pirates are a lost cause
Who knows what Cervantes may eventually become whenever he decides to turn pro. He's got a lights-out changeup and advanced feel on the mound for a 17-year-old, but he's also ... a 17-year-old. This is less troubling for the specifics involved than for what it says about where the Pirates are at as an organization.
Pittsburgh identified Cervantes as a player it wanted, and seemingly had the money to get a contract done. Instead, they now have a gaping hole in their class, one that could loom very large as the team looks to try and get Paul Skenes into contention as soon as next season. There were any number of college bats who could've helped that mission, but instead the team prioritized young arms early, despite the fact that young arms are something this system isn't exactly lacking at the moment.
Maybe Cervantes just really wanted to stay close to home. Maybe he valued the college experience. Maybe he just thought that he should bet on himself, confident that he could turn into a top half of the first round pick in three years time and make himself millions. Whatever the case may be, it's back to the drawing board once again for the Pirates, who have given Skenes yet another reason to doubt whether this team can ever put the requisite talent around him.