The arb housekeeping is just about done, with Casey McGehee and Garrett Jones the only pair remaining unsigned. And the two sides are pretty close, according to Rob Biertempfel of the Trib.
The exchanged figures between the Bucs and the duo are $2.5/$2.25M for Jones and $2.75/$2.35M for McGehee. Jones is just about right on his estimated value, while McGehee is actually a little under. So it doesn't appear that there will be any problem inking the pair.
The current 40-man payroll for the Bucs will end up in the $44-45M range after the pair sign, with an extra $2M in dead money, a slight increase from last season. There are still some guys on the market that could interest the Pirates, so the good news is that they should have enough in the budget to take on another player if they so desire.
In other news, the Pirates invited prospects RHP Gerrit Cole, C Tony Sanchez, OF Robbie Grossman; RHP Mike Crotta, C Eric Fryer and C Ramon Cabrera to camp. Pittsburgh has now invited 18 players to spring training who aren't on the 40-man roster.
The others are OF Brandon Boggs, 1B Jeff Clement, 1B Nick Evans, UT Jake Fox, IF Anderson Hernandez, RHP Ryota Igarashi, RHP Logan Kensing, RHP Shairon Martis, C Jose Morales, LHP Jo-Jo Reyes, LHP Doug Slaten and RHP Tim Wood.
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Karstens, Meek Ink Deals
Well, the FO is TCB on the arb front so far. Two more guys, Jeff Karstens and Evan Meek, have agreed to contracts.
Karstens, who had a breakout season in 2011, came out better than expected, inking a one year, $3.1M deal, a cool $2M more than last season, per Bill Brink of the Post-Gazette. The 29 year old righty went 9-9 with a 3.38 ERA after being a stop gap insertion into the rotation.
He started 26 games and went 162-1/3 frames. Clint Hurdle kept him on a short pitch-count leash early on, but by the dog days, JK was getting his six innings and 100 pitches in. The caveat is that in the last two months of the season, his ERA was around 6.5. It could be a natural reaction to his first full season as a starter since the cows came home or as stat guys warn, his regression toward the mean. We'll see if he can repeat in 2012.
Evan Meek, an All-Star in 2010, had shoulder woes and worked just 20-2/3 innings last season. The Bucs brought him back on a one-year, $875K deal with $25K in possible bonuses, according to Jen Langosh of MLB.com. He'll be in the mix with Chris Resop and Jason Grilli to be Hanny's eighth inning caddy, and the favorite if he regains his 2010 mojo.
That brings the Pirate arb signings to six players and nearly $12.5M, with Garrett Jones and Casey McGehee to go. Jones is expected to be worth $2.5 or so, and McGehee $3M plus, but the FO has been a bit on the generous side so far, so we'll see.
Karstens, who had a breakout season in 2011, came out better than expected, inking a one year, $3.1M deal, a cool $2M more than last season, per Bill Brink of the Post-Gazette. The 29 year old righty went 9-9 with a 3.38 ERA after being a stop gap insertion into the rotation.
He started 26 games and went 162-1/3 frames. Clint Hurdle kept him on a short pitch-count leash early on, but by the dog days, JK was getting his six innings and 100 pitches in. The caveat is that in the last two months of the season, his ERA was around 6.5. It could be a natural reaction to his first full season as a starter since the cows came home or as stat guys warn, his regression toward the mean. We'll see if he can repeat in 2012.
Evan Meek, an All-Star in 2010, had shoulder woes and worked just 20-2/3 innings last season. The Bucs brought him back on a one-year, $875K deal with $25K in possible bonuses, according to Jen Langosh of MLB.com. He'll be in the mix with Chris Resop and Jason Grilli to be Hanny's eighth inning caddy, and the favorite if he regains his 2010 mojo.
That brings the Pirate arb signings to six players and nearly $12.5M, with Garrett Jones and Casey McGehee to go. Jones is expected to be worth $2.5 or so, and McGehee $3M plus, but the FO has been a bit on the generous side so far, so we'll see.
Monday, January 16, 2012
Morton Signs, Taillon, Cole Honored
Well, when we said Hanny's deal might start the log rolling, we really didn't expect it to happen quite this quickly. Bill Brink of the Post Gazette reports that Charlie Morton has signed a one-year deal worth $2.445M.
Morton, 28, who earned $441K last year, had a promising 2011, reinventing his delivery by dropping his arm slot. He went 10-10 with a 3.83 ERA and worked 171-2/3 innings during 29 starts, even with some mid-season down time. His ceiling will depend mightily on how well he learns to handle lefties, who hit .364 off him last season. Righties could only come up with an anemic .220 BA against Morton.
He's hopeful that he can be ready to go by the opening bell; he had fall hip surgery. The Bucs have a fairly forgiving early schedule, so if he can be back full strength by May, there won't be much shuffling of the Pirate rotation.
Morton joined the Pirates in 2009 with Jeff Locke and Gorkys Hernandez in the Nate McLouth deal with the Braves. And hey, unlike some other higher profile trades, not only are all the pieces still in Pittsburgh, but Nate the Great is back, too.
Now only four to go...
In more good news, Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com wrote that the Bucs have two of the top six RHP prospects in baseball with Jameson Taillon, 20, and Gerrit Cole, 21, ranked #3 and #6. Both are expected to start the year at High A Bradenton.
Morton, 28, who earned $441K last year, had a promising 2011, reinventing his delivery by dropping his arm slot. He went 10-10 with a 3.83 ERA and worked 171-2/3 innings during 29 starts, even with some mid-season down time. His ceiling will depend mightily on how well he learns to handle lefties, who hit .364 off him last season. Righties could only come up with an anemic .220 BA against Morton.
He's hopeful that he can be ready to go by the opening bell; he had fall hip surgery. The Bucs have a fairly forgiving early schedule, so if he can be back full strength by May, there won't be much shuffling of the Pirate rotation.
Morton joined the Pirates in 2009 with Jeff Locke and Gorkys Hernandez in the Nate McLouth deal with the Braves. And hey, unlike some other higher profile trades, not only are all the pieces still in Pittsburgh, but Nate the Great is back, too.
Now only four to go...
In more good news, Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com wrote that the Bucs have two of the top six RHP prospects in baseball with Jameson Taillon, 20, and Gerrit Cole, 21, ranked #3 and #6. Both are expected to start the year at High A Bradenton.
Bucs Reach $4.1M Deal With Hanny
According to Jen Langosch of MLB.com, the Pirates have agreed to terms with arb-eligible reliever Joel Hanrahan for a one-year contract. Keith Law of ESPN.com says the deal is worth $4.1M, just about at his estimated value. Rob Biertempfel of the Trib adds that it includes just $50K in performance bonuses, so it looks like Hanny structured his deal to be securely front-loaded.
That number flips his 2011 salary of $1.4M. The 30 year old righty, acquired from the Nats in 2009 as part of the Nyjer Morgan/Sean Burnett trade along with Lastings Milledge, appeared in 70 games for the Pirates last year with a 1-4-40 record, 1.83 ERA, and earned an All-Star spot.
The Bucs have five arb guys to ink yet (Garrett Jones, Jeff Karstens, Casey McGehee, Evan Meek, Charlie Morton) and all but Meek should fall between the $2-3M payscale. But Hanny was the main man of the group, so his signing should help get the other deals moving.
That number flips his 2011 salary of $1.4M. The 30 year old righty, acquired from the Nats in 2009 as part of the Nyjer Morgan/Sean Burnett trade along with Lastings Milledge, appeared in 70 games for the Pirates last year with a 1-4-40 record, 1.83 ERA, and earned an All-Star spot.
The Bucs have five arb guys to ink yet (Garrett Jones, Jeff Karstens, Casey McGehee, Evan Meek, Charlie Morton) and all but Meek should fall between the $2-3M payscale. But Hanny was the main man of the group, so his signing should help get the other deals moving.
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Resop Signed During the Doldrums
The Bucs have been taking their time in dealing with their arb-eligible players. First, they thinned the herd by releasing Ross Ohlendorf, Steve Pearce and Brandon Wood, with Pearce inking a deal with the Twins and Wood with the Rockies. Then they shipped Jose Veras to the Brewers for Casey McGehee, a wash as both were in their arbitration years.
They signed Jason Grilli to a one year, $1.1M deal early on and just this week doubled Chris Resop's salary by giving him a one year, $850K contract. Both deserved a deal. Grilli, 35, went 2-1 in 28 outings with a 2.48 ERA and a save. Resop, 29, put together a 5-4 record with a 4.38 ERA and pitched better than his line, which was marred by a brutal July. Both averaged 10.2 strikeouts per nine innings, a clutch bullet to have in a reliever's arsenal.
That leaves Joel Hanrahan, Garrett Jones, Jeff Karstens, Casey McGehee, Evan Meek and Charlie Morton remaining to get under contract. Except for Meek, who missed most of last season with shoulder tendinitis, the cost should be between $2-4M for the remaining guys.
The group posted individual 2011 WARs in the 1-2 range (1 WAR = $4.5M market value) except for McGehee, but he has 2.0 and 3.3 WAR years in 2009-10 to buttress his value against his 2011 downer. While inexact, the rule of thumb is that a first year player is worth 40% of his WAR, a second year player 60%, and a third year player 80%.
Four of the players are in their first year of eligibility, while Hanrahan and Karstens are in their second. WAR, of course, isn't the end-all; past performance, comparable players statistically and prior contracts all factor into the equation.
Historically, the Bucs have taken care of business without an arbitration hearing. The current FO has gone the limit just once, losing to Ohlie last season, and before that the last case to go before arbitrators was in 2004, when Jack Splat Wilson beat Dave Littlefield and company. No wonder they try to sign players; they don't seem to do so well in front of a panel.
It will be an interesting Tuesday, when the team and players trade their salary offers (they filed for arb on Friday). That gives both parties a jumping-off point, and we'd expect the pace to pick up soon after. There's enough time to get the deals done, as the hearings run from February 1st-21st.
The FO is taking it a little slowly, as the arb agreements could add $16M or so to the 2012 payroll, a big hunk of change by Bucco standards. The 40-man salary hit this year looks to be in the $45M range, with another couple of million blown on buy-outs, a bit of an increase from the $42M spent last year, according to Cot's Baseball Contracts, and near 2008-09 levels.
This is a "tip of the iceberg" season. Hanny and JK will be entering their third years of arb in 2013, while the rest of the gang will be in their second. McCutch, J-Mac and the Pittsburgh Kid will all join their ranks next season, too. The Bucco youth movement will start hitting Bob Nutting's wallet in earnest then.
They signed Jason Grilli to a one year, $1.1M deal early on and just this week doubled Chris Resop's salary by giving him a one year, $850K contract. Both deserved a deal. Grilli, 35, went 2-1 in 28 outings with a 2.48 ERA and a save. Resop, 29, put together a 5-4 record with a 4.38 ERA and pitched better than his line, which was marred by a brutal July. Both averaged 10.2 strikeouts per nine innings, a clutch bullet to have in a reliever's arsenal.
That leaves Joel Hanrahan, Garrett Jones, Jeff Karstens, Casey McGehee, Evan Meek and Charlie Morton remaining to get under contract. Except for Meek, who missed most of last season with shoulder tendinitis, the cost should be between $2-4M for the remaining guys.
The group posted individual 2011 WARs in the 1-2 range (1 WAR = $4.5M market value) except for McGehee, but he has 2.0 and 3.3 WAR years in 2009-10 to buttress his value against his 2011 downer. While inexact, the rule of thumb is that a first year player is worth 40% of his WAR, a second year player 60%, and a third year player 80%.
Four of the players are in their first year of eligibility, while Hanrahan and Karstens are in their second. WAR, of course, isn't the end-all; past performance, comparable players statistically and prior contracts all factor into the equation.
Historically, the Bucs have taken care of business without an arbitration hearing. The current FO has gone the limit just once, losing to Ohlie last season, and before that the last case to go before arbitrators was in 2004, when Jack Splat Wilson beat Dave Littlefield and company. No wonder they try to sign players; they don't seem to do so well in front of a panel.
It will be an interesting Tuesday, when the team and players trade their salary offers (they filed for arb on Friday). That gives both parties a jumping-off point, and we'd expect the pace to pick up soon after. There's enough time to get the deals done, as the hearings run from February 1st-21st.
The FO is taking it a little slowly, as the arb agreements could add $16M or so to the 2012 payroll, a big hunk of change by Bucco standards. The 40-man salary hit this year looks to be in the $45M range, with another couple of million blown on buy-outs, a bit of an increase from the $42M spent last year, according to Cot's Baseball Contracts, and near 2008-09 levels.
This is a "tip of the iceberg" season. Hanny and JK will be entering their third years of arb in 2013, while the rest of the gang will be in their second. McCutch, J-Mac and the Pittsburgh Kid will all join their ranks next season, too. The Bucco youth movement will start hitting Bob Nutting's wallet in earnest then.
- Rob Biertempfel of the Trib reported that Charlie Morton, recovering from hip surgery, is cautiously optimistic that he'll be ready to go on Opening Day.
- Paul Maholm's next appearance at PNC Park will be in a Cubby uniform. The lefty signed a one year, $4.75M deal with Chicago that included an option for 2013. Sure a far cry from the $9.75M option the Pirates declined, hey?
- The Bucs signed another lefty reliever to a minor league deal when they inked Chris Slaten, 31, who worked for the Nats last season, losing half the season to an elbow injury. Slaten is a LOOGY.
- We're hopeful that the Pirates haven't given up on pitching yet. There are still quite a few guys on the market who could upgrade the rotation, and as the weeks until camp tick away, maybe the price will be right for the Bucs to add an arm, ala Eric Bedard. The question is whether the FO is willing to cross the $50M payroll line this year - and that hasn't happened since 2003.
- Derrek Lee, along with Casey Kotchman and Carlos Pena, remain unsigned; the drawn-out Prince Fielder dance has them all on hold. Chris Snyder may have overestimated his market value, too.
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Sunday Notes
- John Dreker of Pirate Prospects reports that "according to a Nicaraguan newspaper (link is in Spanish) Vicente Padilla will be scouted by Rene Gayo and the Pittsburgh Pirates next week." He lost much of last season to injuries, but is throwing 94 in winter league play and putting up some nice numbers. The righty is 34, and has a 104-90/4.31 line in 13 big league seasons, mostly as a starter.
- Anthony McCarron of the New York Daily News announced that "The Mets added a veteran backup shortstop Friday, agreeing to a one-year deal with Ronny Cedeno. Cedeno is slated to earn about $1.2 million plus incentives next season as insurance for Jose Reyes’ replacement, Ruben Tejada." The SS's option, refused by the Bucs, was for $3M. The Mets are team number #4 for RC; maybe they can find the right button. It was no secret that his inconsistency drove Clint Hurdle nuts last season.
- Of the Buccos who chose free agency, only Ryan Doumit and Cedeno have inked deals so far. Jen Langosh of MLB.com wrote that "The club has expressed interest in going after Derrek Lee, though the first baseman doesn’t seem to have reciprocated that interest. The Pirates might consider re-signing Maholm, though I don’t envision them offering significant guaranteed money." Lee is waiting for Prince Fielder to sign while Maholm is looking for a multi-year deal, and the Pirates appear ready to move on without them.
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Thursday Bits & Pieces
- Pittsburgh has five of the Top 100 prospects according to Frankie Piliere of Scout.com. Gerritt Cole and Jameson Taillon are in the top twenty, and Starling Marte, Luis Heredia and Josh Bell are on the back end of the list.
- Matt Eddy of Baseball America posted that the Bucs have released RHP Mitchell Fienemann, RHP Joe Parsons, RHP Jarryd Sullivan and LHP Diomedes Mateo. Fienemann and Sullivan were part of the Australian signings the Pirates made in the past couple of years, but neither advanced past State College.
- Eddy also noted that they resigned RHP Mike Loree and SS Greg Picart. Loree, 25, made a good if brief showing at Altoona after the Giants released him and he pitched well in indy ball. Picart, 26, in an organizational infielder who's been with the Pirates since 2004.
- Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports tweets that the FO is still looking for a utility infielder. Anderson Hernandez, Yamaico Navarro, Gustavo Nunez, Josh Harrison, Jordy Mercer and Chase d'Arnaud aren't enough? Look for another pitcher, would ya please?
- Wonder whassup with Derrek Lee and Carlos Pena?
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Name Droppin'
- Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports reports that the Pirates had some interest in RHP AJ Burnett of the Yankees. The 35 year old is an inning eater, but his $16.5M contract seems way out of the Pirates' depth unless the Bronx Bombers are willing to foot most of his bill, especially as Fangraphs lists his 2011 value at 1.5 WAR/$6.5M.
- Dejan Kovacevic of the Trib reports that the Bucs had a chat with LHP Paul Maholm, but doesn't expect much to come of the conversation.
- The Pirates showed some interest in RHP Dan Wheeler, according to MLB Trade Rumor's Ben Nicholson-Smith. From the same site, Mark Polishuk presumes the Pirates are looking at Taiwanese LHP Chen Wei-yin, 26, a report that's made the web rounds before.
- Rob Beirtempfel of the Trib notes that Pittsburgh is in on Cuban OFs Yoennis Cespedes and Jorge Soler, although both seem to be in line for for some monster money.
- The Pittsburgh Pirates announced the signings of LHP Jo-Jo Reyes and RHP Logan Kensing to minor league deals with invites to spring training. Reyes, 27, is a starter who is 12-26 with a 6.05 ERA in five seasons with the Braves, Blue Jays and Orioles. Kensing, 29, is 8-9 with a 5.81 ERA in 132 MLB appearances with Florida and the Nats, missing 2010 while recovering from elbow surgery. The reliever throws in the mid-to-upper 90s.
- Jim Callis of Baseball America compares Pirates outfield prospects Starling Marte and Robbie Grossman. He also puts Jamison Taillon/Gerritt Cole among the top four minor league pitching duos.
- SS Pedro Ciriaco proved you can go home again when he signed with his old club, the Red Sox. C Jason Jaramillo stayed in the division, inking a deal with the Cubs, where he stands a decent chance of becoming the #2 catcher.
- Indy's IF/OF Corey Wimberly signed with the Mets, and corner player Josh Fields went to the Dodgers.
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
The Arb Clock Is On...
The next housekeeping chore for the Bucs will be coming to terms with their arb-eligible players. They are, with their estimated arbitration values as provided by MLB Trade Rumors:
If the MLB Trade Rumor figures are close to accurate, the eight will cost Mr. Nutting $17.5M.
The Pirates traditionally begin contract talks after the first of the year. The players can file for hearings from January 5th through the 13th, and so far Grilli is the only player the Pirates have struck a deal with. That's not a drop-dead date; figures are exchanged on the seventeenth, and the actual hearings before an arbitrator don't begin until February 1st, running through the 21st. A deal can be struck anytime before the judge rules.
So the FO has a month or more to ink the players to a contract instead of going through a hearing. And we guess they will come to terms. Last year was the first time they took a player to arbitration, and Ross Ohlendorf gobsmacked them for $2M. Our guess is that they'll avoid the process if at all possible.
They'll all be one-year contracts. The only guy who is really worth tying up is Hanny, and the Pirates are loathe to sigh relievers long-term. And he'll do just fine with a "show-me" deal.
Next year will be a little more problematic. Andrew McCutchen, Neil Walker and James McDonald all become arb-eligible. Look for those back-burner contract deals that are barely on simmer now to heat up next off-season when some real money begins to get tossed around.
- Joel Hanrahan, RHP: $4M
- Casey McGehee: $3.1M
- Jeff Karstens, RHP: $2.8M
- Garrett Jones, RF/1B: $2.4M
- Charlie Morton, RHP: $2.1M
- Chris Resop, RHP: $1.1M
- Evan Meek, RHP: $900K
- Jason Grilli, RHP: $800K (signed to a 1 year/$1.1M contract)
If the MLB Trade Rumor figures are close to accurate, the eight will cost Mr. Nutting $17.5M.
The Pirates traditionally begin contract talks after the first of the year. The players can file for hearings from January 5th through the 13th, and so far Grilli is the only player the Pirates have struck a deal with. That's not a drop-dead date; figures are exchanged on the seventeenth, and the actual hearings before an arbitrator don't begin until February 1st, running through the 21st. A deal can be struck anytime before the judge rules.
So the FO has a month or more to ink the players to a contract instead of going through a hearing. And we guess they will come to terms. Last year was the first time they took a player to arbitration, and Ross Ohlendorf gobsmacked them for $2M. Our guess is that they'll avoid the process if at all possible.
They'll all be one-year contracts. The only guy who is really worth tying up is Hanny, and the Pirates are loathe to sigh relievers long-term. And he'll do just fine with a "show-me" deal.
Next year will be a little more problematic. Andrew McCutchen, Neil Walker and James McDonald all become arb-eligible. Look for those back-burner contract deals that are barely on simmer now to heat up next off-season when some real money begins to get tossed around.
Monday, January 2, 2012
2012...Lookin' For Pitching
OK, the Bucs top prospect list is loaded with young starters - Gerritt Cole, Jaimison Taillon, Luis Heredia, and Stetson Allie are at the head of the class. Other youngsters like Zach Von Rosenberg, Nick Kingham, Clay Holmes and Phil Irwin are learning their craft. AAA will have Rudy Owens and Justin Wilson returning, with Jeff Locke and Kyle McPherson ready to join them. And that's good; like money, you can never have too much pitching.
But none of them will impact this coming season. The only young guy who can provide some immediate help is Brad Lincoln, and he looks closer to being plugged into the bottom rather than top end of the rotation. On top of that, Charlie Morton is recovering from hip surgery, and while his rehab is by all reports going well, it would be foolhardy to expect him to be ready for camp and an April role on the team.
That leaves newcomer Eric Bedard, James McDonald, Jeff Karstens, Kevin Correia and Lincoln as the opening day staff. The top half looks pretty solid, but that's it. There's no depth and no one behind them right now. And all have some kind of question mark attached to them.
Can Bedard stay healthy? Can J-Mac get past five innings? Can Karstens repeat a break-out season? Can Correia recover from his second-half meltdown? Can Lincoln find his mojo in the bigs? Can Morton recover quickly and figure out how to get a lefty to sit down?
As with all questions, some will have a positive answer and some won't. And the Pirates are ill-prepared right now to deal with someone stumbling out of the blocks. So while the FO, like Green Weenie, took a healthy break during the holidays, it's time to roll up the sleeves and add another starter, someone with enough chops to at least work from the middle of the pack, not the bottom.
Wei-Yin Chen, Bartolo Colon, Jeff Francis, Jon Garland, Rich Harden, Hisashi Iwakuma, Edwin Jackson, Hiroki Kuroda, Roy Oswalt, Brad Penny, Joel Pineiro, and Joe Saunders are still available (as is Paul Maholm), according to MLB Trade Rumors.
We can eliminate Jackson, a name that's been tossed around in local chat rooms, from the conversation. He's looking for a fair-sized, multi-year contract, and that's not happening in Pittsburgh. Chen, Francis, Maholm and Saunders are also looking for more than a year.
That doesn't leave a lot. Penny has been fairly strong in the NL although a dud in the AL and Oswalt would require a major contract, as would Iwakuma and Kuroda. The rest represent an upgrade, even of modest proportions, to the existing staff and could probably be landed with a one-year deal if structured with plenty of bonuses. We also like Chris Young, if he could be lured by a minor league deal and camp invite.
So we're hoping that the Pirate inactivity during the holidays was spent in spadework to add another pitcher to the rotation. Remember, they went through ten starters in 2011, and that exposed a depth problem that still exists today. If they don't plug that hole, 2012 could be another long year.
But none of them will impact this coming season. The only young guy who can provide some immediate help is Brad Lincoln, and he looks closer to being plugged into the bottom rather than top end of the rotation. On top of that, Charlie Morton is recovering from hip surgery, and while his rehab is by all reports going well, it would be foolhardy to expect him to be ready for camp and an April role on the team.
That leaves newcomer Eric Bedard, James McDonald, Jeff Karstens, Kevin Correia and Lincoln as the opening day staff. The top half looks pretty solid, but that's it. There's no depth and no one behind them right now. And all have some kind of question mark attached to them.
Can Bedard stay healthy? Can J-Mac get past five innings? Can Karstens repeat a break-out season? Can Correia recover from his second-half meltdown? Can Lincoln find his mojo in the bigs? Can Morton recover quickly and figure out how to get a lefty to sit down?
As with all questions, some will have a positive answer and some won't. And the Pirates are ill-prepared right now to deal with someone stumbling out of the blocks. So while the FO, like Green Weenie, took a healthy break during the holidays, it's time to roll up the sleeves and add another starter, someone with enough chops to at least work from the middle of the pack, not the bottom.
Wei-Yin Chen, Bartolo Colon, Jeff Francis, Jon Garland, Rich Harden, Hisashi Iwakuma, Edwin Jackson, Hiroki Kuroda, Roy Oswalt, Brad Penny, Joel Pineiro, and Joe Saunders are still available (as is Paul Maholm), according to MLB Trade Rumors.
We can eliminate Jackson, a name that's been tossed around in local chat rooms, from the conversation. He's looking for a fair-sized, multi-year contract, and that's not happening in Pittsburgh. Chen, Francis, Maholm and Saunders are also looking for more than a year.
That doesn't leave a lot. Penny has been fairly strong in the NL although a dud in the AL and Oswalt would require a major contract, as would Iwakuma and Kuroda. The rest represent an upgrade, even of modest proportions, to the existing staff and could probably be landed with a one-year deal if structured with plenty of bonuses. We also like Chris Young, if he could be lured by a minor league deal and camp invite.
So we're hoping that the Pirate inactivity during the holidays was spent in spadework to add another pitcher to the rotation. Remember, they went through ten starters in 2011, and that exposed a depth problem that still exists today. If they don't plug that hole, 2012 could be another long year.
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