PITTSBURGH — Much of the drama and intrigue that has surrounded the last week of the Pirates’ regular season has been caused by the sudden and unexpected departure from the lineup of starting center fielder Starling Marte.
Marte still has 72 games remaining on his 80-game suspension. Since then, the Pirates have moved Andrew McCutchen back to centerfield, tried out a number of options without much success in right field and suffered a general offensive malaise that has the team tied for dead last in the National League with an 85 wRC+.
While the fallout of the Marte suspension has been significant, there have been very few answers as to why it happened.