The highest payroll doesn't guarantee anything any more

As Major League Baseball's non-waiver trade deadline passed, some Pirates fans are questioning why Pittsburgh isn't trying to put their payroll amongst the highest in the sport.

Pirates president Frank Coonelly explained to fans at a function Thursday in Altoona that the organization won't be at the top of MLB in payroll.

It's not necessarily a bad thing, either.

Take a look at the World Series champions in the last five years:

The San Francisco Giants -- the model franchise for success in that time frame -- won three of those fall classics. Their payroll ranked ninth (2010), eighth (2012), and seventh (2014) in each of those seasons.

Now some of you will say that St. Louis is the model, but the Giants have not only made the World Series, they also won each time they've appeared since then.

Speaking of the Cardinals, they were 11th in 2011,  and the Red Sox had the highest of the most recent crop, ranked fourth in 2013.

The last time a team with the highest payroll won a title, was the New York Yankees in 2009. Since the turn of the decade, no team with the most money spent has won a championship, and the Yankees remain the only team to have done it since the turn of the century.

Payroll ranking 2000-2008
Phillies 2008 -- 12th
Red Sox 2007 -- 2nd
Cardinals 2006 -- 11th
White Sox 2005 -- 13th
Red Sox 2004 -- 2nd
Marlins 2003 -- 25th
Angels 2002 -- 15th
Diamondbacks 2001 -- 8th
Yankees 2000 -- 1st

If the Pirates were to go out and sign monster contacts for big names in the league, they have to be right, or else it ends up setting them back at least three-to-five years.

How many of you who watched them during the dark years remember Jason Kendall? The former catcher of the Pirates was signed to a six-year, $60 million deal in 2000.

With the assets the Pirates had, it ended up setting the Pirates back as they went 69-93 that same season. The core of that group which included names such as Brian Giles and Kris Benson, won no more then 75 games in 2003.

Does this change the fact they need to do everything in their power to win? No, they just have to find the right fits at the right price.

If the Pirates were to acquire Cole Hamels (who went to Texas) or David Price (who now plays in Toronto), it would've likely required them trading away some combination of Tyler Glasnow, Cole Tucker, Alen Hanson, Josh Bell, or any other big name prospect.

They simply can't afford to mortgage their future for a big name piece, because if the deal doesn't work out, that can also put them back three-to-five years.

Using mostly homegrown talent, the Pirates have made back-to-back postseason appearances and were just one game away from reaching the NLCS in 2013.

Whether the fans like it or not, Neal Huntington and the entire baseball operations department must build the team through the draft, and some inexpensive free agents.

The good news is that championships can be won through drafting.

San Francisco's core is much of what they drafted and developed. Pitcher Madison Bumgarner, catcher Buster Posey, and second baseman Joe Panik are among a list of players drafted by the Giants.

Right now, 13 players on the Pirates roster are homegrown talent, and that's the best group Pittsburgh has seen take the field in over 20 years.

When building a championship contender, it's not about the quantity of the money you spend, it's the quality. So far, the Pirates have done a quality job building their team for this season, and the future.