Wheeling & dealing with a draftee or two still trickling in...
Trades:
- RHP Ric Rod (4-3-14/2.82 in 37 appearances) went to the Braves for RHPs Bryse Wilson, 23, (2-3/4.83 w/Atlanta) and Ricky Devito, 22, (who has been on the IL since 6/9). Wilson is a starter and may be slotted to join the rotation while the injured Devito is playing Hi-A ball.
- Indy LHP Braeden Ogle, 24, (2-2-1/3.18) went to the Phillies in return for C Abrahan Gutierrez, 21, who was part of the deal that fell apart with the Phils a couple of days ago. Gutierrez was with Lo-A Clearwater where the contact hitter had a line of .288 BA/.420 OBP. Ogle was a surprise; he was thought to have a shot at making the club next year. The FO sure focused on shoring up the catcher's spot in the system during the draft/deadline grab bag.
- LHP Austin Davis, 28, (0-1/5.59 in 10 outings) was dealt to Boston for UT Michael Chavis, 25. Chavis plays 1B, 2B and LF; in the past two years, he's hit .204 with seven homers and 84 K in 240 PAs for the Red Sox.
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| Ty, we hardly knew ye - image Pgh Pirates |
- It took two tries, but the Buccos moved LHP Tyler Anderson (5-8/4.35), sending him to Seattle for C Carter Bins, 22, who was promoted to AA this month as a Top 30 Mariner prospect with some pop in his bat, and Panamanian RHP Joaquin Tejada, 18, working out of the DSL (he has just five pro innings under his belt), touted but obviously a project. They'll remain at their current levels: Bins has been assigned to Altoona and Tejada remains in the DSL. One big positive; neither newcomer needs to be Rule 5 protected; all these incoming deadline prospects are going to cause some major 40-man roster reshuffling after the season as is. Anderson was first traded to Phillies earlier in the afternoon for a pair of Low A prospects, but that deal fell through when one of the youngsters didn't pass the Pirates physical.
- The Yankees acquired RHP Clay Holmes from the Pirates in exchange for IFs Diego Castillo, 23, and Hoy Jun Park, 25, on Monday. Park is playing AAA ball and Castillo is in AA; both play 2B/SS and Hoy can also play in the pasture. The pair are good with the sticks and have some pop; Park was leading the East League in batting (.327) & OBP (.475) with 10 homers, 44 runs and 29 RBI while Castillo was hitting .277 with 44 runs scored, 32 RBI, and 11 home runs at AA. Park was sent to Indy and Castillo to Altoona.
- Ben Cherington said that the team pulled the trigger on the Fraze trade early because they believed that the handful of serious bids were all in and set, so there was no reason to delay the deal. The new guys were given their assignments: IF/OF Tucupita Marcano goes to AAA - Indy, OF Jack Suwinski to AA - Altoona and RHP Michell Miliano to Hi A - Greensboro after the trade was made official on Monday following the physicals.
- The Pirates recalled RHP Cody Ponce and INF Rodolfo Castro to replace Fraze and Holmes on the 26-man roster; RHP Max Kranick was the next to join the club after Anderson's departure. RHP Mitch Keller, despite some bumps at Indy, was brought back on Friday.
Pirates Notes:
- 2B Rodolfo Castro is the first player in the modern era to hit homers for each of his first five MLB hits, per Stats By STATS. His streak ended Friday with a ground-rule double; it cleared the fence, but on the hop.
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| Rudy's been musclin' up - photo Pgh Pirates |
- The Pirates are 3-11 v Milwaukee and have lost 10 of the last 11 games played between the two clubs. The Brewers swept this three-game series by a combined score of 28-3.
- RHP Luis Oviedo got his first MLB start thx to the Anderson deal. It's a start he'll never forget - he gave up eight runs and was pulled without getting an out in the second, although in justice he just came off rehab and didn't know he was starting until a few hours before game time.
- Cutch still has it; the fans gave him a warm and long ovation before his first at bat during the Philly game Friday.
Injury Report:
- LHP Steven Brault is scheduled for one more rehab start, and they'll determine after that if he's ready to join the rotation. If good to go, he could be on the slab for the Bucs next week.
- 1B Colin Moran (wrist) took live BP this week for the first time since a tight pitch injured his hand on July 1st and began his rehab assignment on Friday. IF Erik Gonzalez (oblique) is also taking BP.
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| Redbeard is close to returning - Topps 2021 Opening Day |
- RHP Trevor Cahill may never get off the IL; he broke his foot taking a tumble down a set of steps. In other news, RHP Chase De Jong had knee surgery (cartilage) Tuesday, and is expected to be out for five months.
- OF Dustin Fowler, who's been on the IL since June 8th for an undisclosed injury suffered at Indy, is beginning his rehab in Florida Rookie League games.
- All the other IL guys, major-and-minor league, are in various stages of playing catch.
Draft News:
- CF Lonnie White Jr. gave up his PSU football scholarship and signed with the Bucs for $1.5M (slot value $1,050,300) on Tuesday; his contract includes money put aside for his future education.
- Arkansas-commit OF Braylon Bishop, a prep overdraft taken in the 14th round who was ranked among the top hundred draft-eligible players, signed for $268,700 ($125K slot).
Old Bucs On The Move:
- A couple of former Pirates are back in the Central: the Reds swung a deal with the Yankees to get LHP Justin Wilson while LHP JA Happ, who had a successful stop here in 2015, was sent to the Cards by Minnesota.
- CF Starling Marte was traded by Miami to the Oakland A's. He'll be joined by old matey Josh Harrison, who the Nats dealt to Oakland.
- RHP Daniel Hudson, who tossed here in 2017, was sent to San Diego from Washington.
- OF Jordan Luplow went from Cleveland to Tampa Bay as the Rays continue to stock up on old Bucco prospects.
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ReplyDeleteTampa certainly seems to get better results from Pittsburgh prospects than the Pirates do. Even if Tyler Glasnow never makes it back from TJ surgery, that trade is one of the worst in modern baseball history. I never understood why Luplow didn't get more of a look in black and gold, but then, I never understood a lot of things the former regime did.
ReplyDeleteThere is a boatload of prospects coming in from the trades this season. I don't see a lot of pitchers, though. Mostly position players. Looks to me like they overdid it with the number of catchers they added---including the top pick in the whole draft---but maybe they're just really not satisfied with the way that position looked from a whole organization standpoint. Jacob Stallings has done alright in the bigs all things considered but I think he is more properly a platoon guy if not a number two catcher (though you can fake it with him as the sort-of starter for a couple of seasons if you have to). The other guy, Castro, has some pop but that's about it. I suppose he'll kick around in Triple-A and the Winter Leagues for a few years until somebody else thinks they can use him, but I wouldn't think he'd be back next year.
Otherwise there will sure be some competition in the minors, and that's always a good thing, especially during a rebuild. I would like to see more pitching prospects, but given how dismal the Pirates' team history is in that regard, maybe it's just as well they don't have any supposed "phenoms" in their system. Historically, the Pirates' approach has most often been to develop a whole bunch of heavy hitters, trade some for pitching, and go on from there. Maybe that's what the current front office is thinking, too
I meant "Perez", not Castro. He hit another dinger today, so that's 7 in less than 150 at bats. Not bad, but unfortunately he's well below the Mendoza Line.
ReplyDeleteActually, Will, I think they're happy with the farm pitching so far; it's concentrated at the lower levels, but they seem to be targeting upside rather than marginal MLB talent - and remember, they added some touted arms in the draft. Being so young on the bump does have its risks, of course, so we'll see how it shakes out down the line.
ReplyDeleteI thought they would look for some sticks while dealing, and they did; they were awfully thin with projectable bats on the farm, tho I was surprised they didn't try to build some OF competition. It looks like they're working a lot of the young IFs in the OF, so they're cognizant of the need.
They have no upper-level depth at catching, so bulking up there didn't surprise me. Unless they deal, looks like Jake and Michael are there for a couple of more years.
All in all, they added some young upper level depth with a lotto ticket or two thrown in at the lower levels. They didn't move the needle a lot, but they did address a couple of weak spots in the system without having a lot to work with, like the Cubs and Nats had. And remember to add the draft class into the mix. Now to see if their evaluation/development programs have risen to the occasion...