Tabata's Extension Numbers

The Pirates confirmed Jose Tabata's extension today, and here are the numbers, pretty much as previously reported:

• $500,000 this year (it was $428,000) plus a $1M signing bonus
• $750,000 in 2012
• $1M in 2013
• $3M in 2014
• $4M in 2015
• $4.5M in 2016 for a guaranteed $14.75 million
• club option - $6.5M in 2017
• club option - $7.5M in 2018
• club option - $8.5M in 2019
• options total $22.5 million, with a $250,000 buyout attached to each option year.

Pretty reasonable rates; no wonder JT's old agents doth protest. It guarantees a core piece of the team is tied up through 2016, and gives the Bucs a bargain or a cheap out during early free agency. This move signals a fairly keen strategy.

The Bucs pitching isn't supposed to arrive until 2014 or beyond, so keeping the position players together until they arrive is a trend we think they'll follow with Neil Walker and McCutch (Alvarez has options through the 2014 season), although he'll be a much tougher nut to sign.

It shouldn't impact the payroll very much, either. We'd expect next year's hit to be in the $50M range, Yankee lunch money but a step up for the FO. 

Tabata Close, Walker Talking, McCutch Mum

Hey, the beat gang broke some interesting news today. First, Jose Tabata is said to have agreed to a contract extension that would lock him up for six years (including restructuring this year's contract) and includes all three of his arb years. The Bucs are adding three option years after that to cover free agency.

So JT will be under team control until 2019 if all that pans out. Tabata has had a good start. In 175 MLB games, he's hit .285 with a .385 OBP and 102 runs, all pretty good marks for a top of the order guy. His UZR in left field is an excellent 5.7, and we don't foresee him as being anything but a corner OF'er.

This move is a surprise to us; we didn't sense any urgency or really any need  to tie up JT this early in his career. He doesn't hit arbitration until 2013 at the earliest, and we thought the FO would use that for a target date.

But the price tag, as reported by Enrique Rojas of ESPNdeportes, won't be a bank buster. He says that the guaranteed five years plus bonus will break down to $14.25M and if all the options are exercised, the total value of the package would be $37.25M, quite a backloaded deal. The contract caused a split between JT and his agents, the ACE group; he canned them over "philosophical differences." Apparently they felt it was a little too team friendly - and it is.

Neil Walker has roughly the same service time as JT. While his discussions aren't as far along, to our knowledge, as Tabata's, we can assume the same basic template - five or six years and club options through early free agency, with more money, as befits a RBI guy. The Pittsburgh Kid's career line is .280/22/135 in 247 games.

Hey, it's nice to know that Bucs are tying up their young talent; it sends a message to the players and the fans. The players now know that if they produce, they can have the security blanket of a long guaranteed deal. And it tells the rooters that the future is arriving, and that's why they'll be digging deeper into their pockets in future years.

Off course, the guy that they have to build the future on is Andrew McCutchen, and there's nothing going up between his agent and the management now. We wouldn't read a whole lot into that quite yet.

McCutch is a borderline Super Two arbitration player. If he achieves the time, he'll be trading in a minimum wage year for a top end season financially, and that makes all the difference in the world when the pencil pushers get down to the brass tacks of compensation. So it's the smart play by McCutch's reps, and once that's cleared up, we'd expect talks to take off. They know his signature is the one the Bucs need for credibility.

And while all this was going on, Josh Bell showed up in town after inking a deal with a $5M bonus. Bell said all the right things at his introductory press conference, and will report to Pirate City Monday.

#2 - Jose Tabata

José Tábata, born August 12, 1988, in Anzoategui, Venezuela, was inked by the New York Yankees in 2004 at the tender age of 16 for $550K. He was highly thought of from the get-go, considered to be one of those rare five-tool players almost unanimously by scouts. And by 2008, he had become the Yankees' Number 2 prospect, according to Baseball America.

At the age of 17 and in his first year of American pro ball (he spent his sixteen year-old season in the DSL), Tábata led the Yankees farm system in batting average, hitting .314/.382/.417 for the Gulf Coast Yankees in 2005.

In 2006, Tábata batted .298/.377/.420 for the Low A Charleston RiverDogs of the Sally League. He was selected as a member of the All-Star Futures Game as a member of the World Team. The game was part of the 2006 All-Star Game at PNC Park, and he played center field while going 1-for-3 with a single off fellow Yankees farmhand Phil Hughes.

He was hit on the right wrist later in the season, ending his year. The wrist would continue to bother him throughout 2007, and he finally had the hamate bone removed in August of that year. He was still having problems with it into early 2008.

In 2007, Tábata played for the High-A Tampa Yankees, where he hit .307/.371/.392, and was assigned to AA Trenton to begin 2008.

The Yankees started to wonder about his mental makeup after he was suspended twice that summer.

Tabata first lost three games for leaving a contest without the team's permission. A short while later, he either was yanked after he didn't back up Austin Jackson in the outfield, or got into a shoving match inside the dugout. Either way, it cost him more time.

Even before those incidents, some scouts claimed that Tabata coasted through many games, playing hard only as the spirit moved him. Copping a 'tude, especially in a tradition-laden organization like the Yankees, probably torpedoed any career plans he had to pull on the pinstripes.

On July 26, 2008, Tábata was part of the return, along with Ross Ohlendorf, Jeff Karstens, and Daniel McCutchen, when Xavier Nady and Dámaso Marte went to the Big Apple.

He moved from AA Trenton to Altoona, and during the year his line was .277/.345/.388.

Tabata started 2009 with the Curve, and got a late call to Indy. He started off slowly, then missed nearly two months with a late April hamstring injury (he also missed time in 2008 with a pull). His combined line last year was .293/.357/.406. In five minor league seasons, he's compiled a .295/.364/.402 line.

Tabata finished the year in the Arizona Fall League, where he raked, hitting .392/.448/.517, and was added to the forty-man roster on November 11th.

His maturity level, questioned by the NYY, seemed just fine here. In March of 2009, Tábata's wife, Amalia Tábata Pereira, was arrested and charged with kidnapping a 2-month-old girl in Florida.

In what could have been a springboard to personal disaster, Tabata instead handled himself well, and had a problem-free 2009 season. A combination of being a little older, speaking and understanding English a bit better, and being out of the New York media splash have contributed to his maturity.

The guy some scouts compared to Manny Ramirez ain't quite there yet. The most noticeable difference is that Tabata has never hit more than eight home runs in any minor-league season, certainly an un-Manny stat.

Some people think he's a line-drive hitter whose swing is built to crank out doubles and top out as a 12-15 homer guy; others believe that his stronger base (he's put on 50 pounds since the Yankees found him in 2004; he's 5'-11" and 215 pounds now) and complete recovery from hamate surgery will make him a potential 30 HR guy.

His speed is good, but Tabata hasn’t stolen 20 or more bases since leaving the GCL in 2005. His speed has decreased a bit as his lower body has gotten heavier, and last year was his poorest showing on the basepaths, stealing just eleven bases in nineteen tries (58%).

Still, he runs well enough that he's played plenty of center field, although he projects to be a corner outfielder when he reaches the show. He's gotten time in right because of his plus arm, although PNC's left field would seem a natural spot for him.

Tabata turned 21 in August. His first three or four pro season saw him playing as one of the youngest guys at his level, and with little command of English to help him along.

He hits for average, has a good OBP, an above-average arm, above-average speed, and plays above-average defense. The power question is still up in the air, although we don't think he's going to end up a big bopper. All in all, maybe not five tools, but a plus player in almost every aspect of his game. He's close to winding his Major League clock.

Jose Tabata is scheduled to start the year in Indy. He could be up as soon as June, time enough to get his feet wet and still avoid Super Two arbitration status.

(Next - #1 Pedro Alvarez)

The Tabata Tale

While we were reading the news about Pedro cracking the ball into the Florida stratosphere, a quote about a different hotshot caught our eye:

"You should watch Tabata hit. Jose Tabata is kind of going under the radar here, but this kid has a special bat as well," John Russell told the scribes gathered around the batting cage yesterday.

Jose Tabata was born August 12, 1988 in Anzoategui, Venezuela, and is a 20-year old OF'er who's probably going to start the year in Altoona. He signed with the Yankees in 2004, and promptly starting playing in the Dominican Summer League at 16.

In his first year of pro ball, Tabata led the entire Yankees farm system in batting average when he hit .314 for the Gulf Coast Yankees in 2005. He added 3 homers, 25 RBI, and 22 stolen bases.

In 2006, he batted .298 for the Low Class A Charleston RiverDogs. Tabata had 5 HRs, 56 RBI, and the young outfielder looked like he had smooth sailing ahead on his journey to the bigs. But he would soon encounter some rough seas.

The Buc fans got their first look at him when he was selected to participate in the Futures Game as a member of the World Team. The event was part of the festivities for the 2006 All-Star Game at PNC Park, and Tabata played center field while going 1-for-3 with a single off fellow Yankees prospect Phil Hughes.

Ah, but that first squall was about to pop up. He was hit on the right wrist in 2006, cutting short his season. The injury bothered him throughout 2007, and he finally had the hamate bone removed in August.

He was still having problems with it in early 2008; it's not unusual to have lingering effects from the surgery for months afterwards. Pedro Alvarez had the same operation. Can't anyone get to Pittsburgh with all their body parts intact?

In 2007, he played for the Class A Tampa Yankees. Besides the bum hand, he hurt his cause by reporting to camp overweight and out of shape. Tabata hit .307, but his slugging percentage dropped under .400 for the first time in his pro career.

Still, he got back into condition, and continued his steady climb, reporting to the Class AA Trenton Thunder in 2008. It would be quite a season for the Venezuelan teen. First, he was a star of a couple of soap opera prima donna episodes.

The first incident happened in late April when Tabata, frustrated after a striking out, left the team in the seventh inning. He was suspended three games for the boneheaded move. He said it had nothing to do with his mates; he was just feeling pressure, as only a highly-touted Yankee prospect can, and lost it.

A month later, it was deja vu all over again. He was either asked to leave the game after failing to back up Austin Jackson in the outfield, or got into a shoving match inside the dugout with infielder Reegie Corona, leading to Tabata being dragged into the clubhouse tunnel by his teammates. Maybe it was a little of both; it just depends who you ask. At any rate, he was suspended again.

Tabata served his time once more and returned, just in time to severely pull his hammy. To top it all off, he was hitting .248 and showed no power to speak of at the dish. Tired of his act - and probably performance - the Yankees acted.

On July 26, 2008, he was dealt to the Pirates with Ross Ohlendorf, Jeff Karstens, and Dan McCutchen for Xavier Nady and Damaso Marte. Bye-bye, problem child. The Pirates saw it differently.

The Bucs said Tabata was the key to the deal. GM Neal Huntington told Jen Langosch of MLB.com that "Quite frankly, if we had the opportunity to trade two players of the caliber of Damaso Marte and Xavier Nady [for Tabata] last December, I think we would have done that in a heartbeat."

They sent Tabata to Altoona after some GCL rehab time, and the change of scene seemed to do him good. Away from the prying eyes and poisoned pens of the New York press, he put together a .348/.402/.562 line with 3 dingers and 36 RBI in 89 at-bats. His behavior, by all accounts, was angelic.

At age 20, we expect the Pirates to start him off with the Curve, and probably pencil him in at Indy when Andrew McCutchen gets his inevitable call to the show.

What's the outlook for Jose Tabata? First, his disposition is what it is. He's been described as extremely confident in his abilities, bordering on cocky. And that's OK, if his butt can back up his mouth. Humility isn't exactly a MLB virtue that's widely practiced in today's game.

The Yankees were grooming him to take Bobby Abreu's place in right field, and that seems about right. His wheels are OK, his arm is a rifle, and he played center at Altoona. But he's packed on 40 pounds since the Evil Empire inked him, and Tabata's a 5-11, 215 pound fireplug now. So he'll fit into a corner OF spot in the show.

Now for the bat. He was described as a five tool player, but nothing in his resume suggests he'll ever hit for power. Tabata has 21 long balls in 1,280 minor-league at bats, so we can forget clean-up.

But except for that bummer of a season at Trenton last year, he's had a .370-.400 OBP, and has terrific line-drive gap power. So he looks like he'll be a natural for the three hole. Scouting reports say that the AA pitchers found a hole in his swing and pounded him inside last year; hopefully he and Don Long will solve that problem.

Signs to watch out for are his maturity and attitude - he was widely thought to take some plays off while a member of the Yankee system - and his weight. If Tabata keeps those in check, he should turn into a heck of a ballplayer.

Along with McCutchen, he's as close to a can't-miss prospect as the Pirate system has. Here's how Baseball America has rated him over the years:

2006 - #3 ranked for NYY
2007 - #27 ranked MLB
2007 - #2 ranked for NYY
2008 - #37 ranked MLB
2008 - #3 ranked for NYY
2009 - #75 ranked for MLB
2009 - #3 ranked for Pittsburgh

And the final word, from Scouting Book, with his report just before he was traded:

"Tabata is a polished fielder who's almost major-league ready, despite his young age. A natural right fielder with excellent patience, many see him as a natural fit to replace Bobby Abreu. He needs another year or two of mental development, but other than that and a place to play, there's not much holding him back.

Tabata is likely to be sought after in trades by teams who have more immediate needs than New York, and if one of those teams gets a hold of the young line-drive hitter, the likelihood of a debut in the near future will go up sharply.

(Jose Tabata has been traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates as the headliner in a four prospect package for veterans Xavier Nady and Damaso Marte. Tabata will fall down a notch or two, as Pittsburgh has much more outfield depth, but he should benefit long-term. The future Pirate outfield of McCutchen, McLouth, Tabata could be one of the league's best.)"

Let's hope they're right.

The New Bucs...

From MLB.com:

> Jose Tabata, OF: The headlines in the New York tabloids last season likened Tabata to Manny Ramirez. He's young, he's talented and he was supposed to be one of the prospects on whom the Yankees were keeping a firm hold. But along with being young and talented, he's also temperamental, so maybe the Manny comparisons weren't too far off.

Tabata bolted from the Trenton Thunder at the end of April in an incident that may have ultimately played a role in making him a future Buc instead of a future Bomber. He had been struggling through the first month of the season when his frustrations came to a head on April 26 at New Britain. After striking out for the second time against the Rock Cats in the Eastern League contest, Tabata went into the visiting clubhouse, picked up his belongings and left the stadium.

The Yankees suspended him for three days and welcomed him back after he apologized and copped to being immature and frustrated. He was hitting .200 when he walked out on the team. He's hit .270 since returning, raising his average to .248. Tabata has three homers, 36 RBIs, 10 stolen bases and a bunch of unanswered questions that have cropped up about his makeup since the incident.

If he can put this behind him and continue to play the way he played early on in his career with New York, then the Pirates could have a nice young outfielder to build around. He hit .314 as a 17-year-old in the GCL in 2005 and was hitting .305 at Charleston of the Sally League the following July when he was hit by a pitch on the right wrist.

Doctors struggled to make a diagnosis and he played with a sore hand for much of 2007 before having the hamate bone removed in August. Still, he hit .307 in the Florida State League and had 54 RBIs.

While there was talk that he was the heir apparent to Bobby Abreu in right field, his inconsistencies and obvious immaturity have tarnished his reputation as being one of the brighter prospects in baseball.

> Ross Ohlendorf, RHP: Ohlendorf was with the Yankees the first three months of this season after appearing in six games for them last year. His claim to fame is that he was part of the trade that sent Randy Johnson back to the Diamondbacks in January of 2007.

Ohlendorf has seen considerable time at the AAA level over the last three seasons, and had appeared in 25 games out of the bullpen for the Yanks this year. He was 1-1 with a 6.53 ERA. He has been used mostly as a starter throughout his career since the Diamondbacks took him in the fourth round out of Princeton in 2004.

His departure from New York coincided with Sidney Ponson's arrival. Ohlendorf was 1-1 with a 4.03 ERA in five starts for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre of the Triple-A International League.

> Jeff Karstens, RHP: Karstens was selected by the Yankees in the 19th round of the 2003 Draft out of Texas Tech. He snaked his way through the system, eventually reaching New York in 2006, when he went 2-1 with a 3.80 ERA in eight games (six starts) for the Bombers.

He appeared in only seven games for the Yankees last year because of injuries. Karstens suffered from a tender elbow near the end of spring training and then went down after suffering a broken right leg at the end of April against the Red Sox.

Karstens appeared to have the best shot at earning the long man spot in the New York pen this season, but pulled his right groin - incidentally it was on a pitch to Nady - and didn't return to action until the middle of May. Since his return, he's made 12 starts for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, posting a 6-4 record with a 3.80 ERA. He's won three consecutive starts.

> Daniel McCutchen, RHP: The big right-hander from Oklahoma experienced some early hiccups after the Yankees made him a 13th-round selection in 2006. He was hit with a 50-game suspension for violating MLB's performance enhancing drug policy, but laid the blame on some prescription drugs he took while in school.

The Yanks seemed satisfied with his explanation and he came back strong last year, going 14-4 with a 2.47 ERA while splitting time between the Florida State and Eastern Leagues. He was 2-0 in two playoff starts for the Thunder as they won the EL title.

McCutchen is 8-9 with a 3.14 ERA in 20 starts split between Trenton and Scranton/Wilkes-Barre this season. He's won his last three outings and has a 2.39 ERA over his last 26 1/3 innings. There was some discussion about moving him to the bullpen because of his aggressiveness and attack-the-hitter style on the mound.

Overall, he's got a good low-90s fastball that moves, whether it's a two-seamer or four-seamer. His curveball remains an effective out pitch.

They pull the trigger...

Fox Sports reports that the Bucs have sent Xavier Nady and Damaso Marte to the Evil Empire for AAA RHP Ross Ohlendorf, Class AA LHP Phil Coke and RHP George Kontos and Class AA OF Jose Tabata, pending physicals and medical reports.

Pittsburgh was supposed to have their eye on Ohlendorf. The Yankees used him out of the pen this year. He pitched 40 innings with a 1-1 record and a 6.53 ERA before being sent back down. The 6'4", 25 year-old right-hander has a 93 to 96 mph sinking fastball, a slider and changeup.

After being demoted to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, he was converted back to a starter and went 1-0 with a 3.24 ERA in four games. He pitched 16 2/3 innings and allowed 19 hits and four walks and struck out 20.

He was twice an all-star in the minors; the Bucs probably plan to turn him around. Ohlendorf could have a shot at the musical chairs that the rotation has become.

Coke, 26, was 9-4 with a 2.90 ERA as a starter at Trenton and had just been promoted to AAA. He throws his 4-seamer about 91-92 mph and has a strong sinker a few ticks slower, with an average change up and a curve that's improving.

Kontos, 23, may be the sleeper of the bunch. He throws a 93-95 MPH 4-seam fastball, but mostly uses a 2-seamer. His change-up, now more refined, is 78-80 MPH. His slider is his best pitch. It is devastating with a huge break that causes plenty of swings and misses. Kontos was 3-9 at Trenton, with a 3.77 ERA and a rep as a hard luck pitcher.

He was also arrested in Tampa last year when he refused to leave a bar at last call.

Tabata, 19, was hitting .248 at Trenton with 3 HR's, 36 RBI, 40 runs scored and 10 stolen sacks. He's pretty highly touted, in the Melky Cabrera mold. Tabata is supposed to have a rifle for an arm, though not that great a cover guy on the OF. The Venezuelan has been an OK RBI man, averaging a run driven in every 2 games, a good line considering he has shown so little power so far.

Tabata has been on the DL with a hamstring injury that has kept him out since July 1 and had a wrist (hamate) injury, ala Pedro Alvarez, earlier in the year. There's been some thought given about him shutting it down the remainder of this season.

Tabata's been suspended by the team for three days, too, and has a rep as a problem child. Some think he was rushed to AA and might have been better served at his age to play high A another season.

Still, as of January 2008, Tabata was ranked the Yankees 3rd best prospect by Baseball America behind Joba Chamberlain and Austin Jackson.

No sure shots here, but a lot of upside and probably what the organization needed to start bulking up. The jury is still out on the deal. The Yankees are happy they didn't part with any A-list arms, and the Pirates got a quick jolt of younger talent.

SI.com's Jon Heyman says of the deal:

Pittsburgh came down off its initial price tag an awful long way then. Tabata still has very exciting potential and is incredibly young, but his wrist problems are scary and he's looking like a headcase. Ohlendorf has never been a good bet to develop into anything more than a sixth- and seventh-inning guy. Pitcher Phil Coke is also believed to be in the deal, and he's a true long shot to help.

One thing that's obvious is they're looking down the road a couple of seasons for the guys they got to make their mark. Pittsburgh's a weaker team today than they were yesterday.

But youth needed to be served, especially on the mound. And maybe some competition will bring out the best in the current staff. Nothing focuses you like the risk of losing your job, hey?

Now does the housecleaning continue, or did the Pirates make their move?