Pirates Ink A Slew of Farmhands:
The Pirates signed RHPs Sean Smith, Lincoln Holdzkom, and Eduardo Pena, along with LHP Edwin Walker, C/1B Zach Booker, and Altoona OF Jonel Pacheco to minor league deals. Smith is a starter; the other three hurlers work out of the pen.
Dejan Kovacevic of the Post Gazette has the lowdown on the new players. He also reports that Jeff Andrews was signed by Texas as pitching coach of their short-season A team this year. That's one heck of a demotion.
Bucs Finish Winter League Ball:
OF Jose Tabata (Mexico) - .286/1/14, 126 at-bats
IF Luis Cruz (Mexico) - .282/3/16, 174 at-bats
OF Miles Durham (Hawaii) - .273/3/28, 121 at-bats
C Robinzon Diaz (Dominican) - .202/0/4, 99 at-bats
No Buc pitcher worked over 21-1/3 innings, so the stats don't mean much for them. Out of 25 Pirate hands pitching during winter ball, only Jared Hughes started, and he got ripped (0-3/10.62)
Check MLB.com for everyone's final winter ball stats.
Bucs Lose Some Players (from Baseball America):
C Raul Chavez (Pittsburgh) to Toronto - .259/1/10, 35 years old
LHP Josh Shortslef (Altoona) to Philly - 5-2/3.47, 26 years old
2B Melvin Dorta (Altoona) to Baltimore - .287/7/43, 26 years old
LHP Eddy Nunez (State College/GCL - 2007; released by Pirates)
4-3/3.25, 24 years old
As previously posted, Chris Duffy went to the Brewers and Jose Castillo to the Nats. The signings were all minor league deals.
Snell In WBC:
Ian Snell, whose father was Puerto Rican, will represent the Island during the 2009 World Basball Classic, according to several sources.
The Great One:
Roberto Clemente died in a plane accident on December 31, 1972, while en route to deliver aid to earthquake victims in Nicaragua. His body was never recovered. Arriba was elected to the Hall of Fame posthumously in 1973, becoming the first Latin American to be selected and the only current Hall of Famer for whom the mandatory five year waiting period was waived since the period began in 1954.
Hmmm, Chavez left to go to Toronto. Well, I'd say that means he still really has the itch to play more big league ball, as opposed to being an organizational soldier-26th man stashed at Indy-Coach In Waiting. Good for him. He's not so old that he couldn't hang on for another 2 or 3 seasons as somebody's backup. Meanwhile, we have Doumit, Robinzon Diaz and that kid we just got from the Phillies. I hate to see a quality backup like Chavez go, but I think he did the right thing for his career provided he still wants to play, as opposed to getting ready to move into coaching.
ReplyDeleteYah, I agree Will - he must think there's a last hurrah left, tho he will make a nice coach with his work ethic when he's ready to take the pay cut.
ReplyDeleteI was a bit surprised to see LHP Shortslef go, even tho injuries and conditioning (he's 6-4, 250)pretty much have him labeled a lifetime AA guy. I hope that means Pittsburgh feels like they have enough enough pitching for Altoona this year. But judging from their signings, I suspect they'll just be trading one organizational arm for another.