Pittsburgh Pirates

Expectations poured down on Gerrit Cole unlike few Major League Baseball draftees before him. 

That tends to happen when you have a triple-digit fastball, are picked first overall and sign for an $8 million bonus, the highest ever in MLB draft history.

The only job that followed for Cole was living up to the hype. Billing it was the easy part. Fulfilling it, that would take some professional seasoning.

The Pittsburgh Pirates dropped their third straight game via walk-off fashion Sunday afternoon as Kolten Wong's solo shot in the bottom of the 14th inning led the St. Louis Cardinals to the weekend series sweep. 

It's the most wonderful time of the year. Baseball is back.  

The Pittsburgh Pirates opened up their season on Monday with a 5-2 loss to their division rivals, the Cincinnati Reds, at Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati.

Let's take a look at the three things you need to know following Monday's opener.  

Pedro Alvarez was a dynamic offensive force in the middle of the Pittsburgh Pirates lineup in 2013. Although he batted just .233 and led the National League with 186 strikeouts in 152 games, he blasted a career-high 36 home runs while driving in 100.  

After going two decades without making the playoffs, the Pittsburgh Pirates have cracked the postseason in each of the past two seasons. Maybe it's not completely accurate to call them a team "on the rise," but they have the pieces to become a perennial powerhouse in the National League for years to come.

Pittsburgh Pirates catcher Tony Sanchez has shown glimpses of stellar play at times with his bat over the last two seasons as one of the Pirates' backups.  

At other times, he has looked completely lost.  

Such is not the case this spring, as Sanchez has been undoubtedly the Pirates' best player in camp, and if he makes the Opening Day roster, it would be perhaps the most soothing story for Pirates fans.

Pittsburgh Pirates infielder Pedro Alvarez has been diagnosed with a mild hyperextension of his right elbow. He will be re-evaluated after missing the next "few" games. 

Continue for updates.

With the increasing number of arm injuries to pitchers in baseball, talks of possibly going to a six-man rotation instead of the usual five have heated up.  

The idea is that with a six-man rotation, starters would not only be given more rest in between starts, but they would also be throwing fewer innings per season, which could increase their longevity by reducing the risk of devastating injuries.  

After winning the bidding for South Korean infielder Jung-ho Kang, the Pittsburgh Pirates reached an agreement on a contract with the 27-year-old. 

The Pirates made the deal official Friday, Jan. 16:

Jon Heyman of CBS Sports divulged some financial details:

The Pittsburgh Pirates system took a hit last year with Jameson Taillon’s Tommy John surgery, but fellow right-handers Tyler Glasnow and Nick Kingham picked up the slack in his absence, with the former posting video-game numbers in the Florida State League.