Christmas Week Notes: Buc News & Around the League

Holiday week news and action:

• Latest kerfuffle: Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic tweeted that he had heard the Bucs were very close to dealing Fran Cervelli to the LA Dodgers, and wondered if the swap fell through because of concussion/injury concerns. GM Neal Huntington fired back by tell Bill Brink of the Post Gazette that a) no deal was imminent, and b) that the trade was "nullified due to a failed medical review is completely false." Whether the speculation holds water or not, it's likely to depress Cervy's market value going forward.
• FWIW, MLB.com thinks the perfect Bucco gift would be SS Nick Ahmed.

Cole Tucker 2015 Topps Pro Debut

• John Dreker of Pirates Prospects compares the Top Ten Prospects lists of Baseball America, Baseball Prospectus, and Fangraphs. Among the trio, 12 players are included as the Bucs top young guns. In a related note, MLB Pipeline picked SS Cole Tucker as the 2019 Pirates minor league breakout player.
• MLB.com picks out each team's best win in 2018 with a game recap; the Pirates was a thrilla.
• Charlie Morton's deal with Tampa Bay is now official.
• Ol' Bucco farm hand RHP Adrian Sampson re-signed with the Texas Rangers on a minor league deal. Sampson worked in the show for the Mariners in 2016 (one outing) and had a line of 0-3/4.30 in five games (four starts) for Texas last year. LHP Jack Leathersich, who tossed in six games for Pittsburgh in 2017, also inked a MiLB agreement w/Texas, but without a camp invite.
• The Cubs signed LHP Mike Zagurski to a minor-league deal w/an invite to camp. The king-sized southpaw tossed for Pittsburgh in 2013; in his MLB career, he's averaged nine K and six walks/nine innings.

Brooks Pounders 2009 Donruss Elite

• Another former Pirates prospect, RHP Brooks Pounders, signed a MiLB deal with the Cleveland Indians. In the last three years, he's seen some MLB time with the Royals, Angels and Rox, posting a 3-2/8.92 slash but keeping hope alive w/42 K in 38-1/3 IP.
• Cincy made a deal to improve itself in the short-term and give its system another season to develop some players. The Dodgers sent Alex Wood, Matt Kemp, Yasiel Puig, Kyle Farmer and an undisclosed amount of cash to the Reds for Homer Bailey and minor leaguers Jeter Downs and Josiah Gray. The Reds get the righty/lefty mid-order combo of Kemp & Puig for a campaign while Wood, also in his walk year, is a clear upgrade over Bailey (1-14/6.09), who the Dodgers reportedly plan to release. It was a straight contract dump by the Big Blue to clear out a roster logjam and, even with Homer's albatross deal, cut $15-16M from their payroll in luxury tax accounting.
• Well, bah humbug (if you're a player): Per the union, players salaries dropped a bit in 2018 (by $1,436, to be exact), the first time the pay rate hasn't increased since 2004.