The Twins must have a bird dog watching Pittsburgh. Last year, they signed Dewey, and this season they've inked a pair of Indy guys, OF/C Eric Fryer and RHP Tim Wood.
Fryer, 27, in very limited at-bats for the Bucs, hit .267/.353 without an extra base hit in his 34 MLB PA. But he is versatile and has a .273 lifetime BA in the minors.
Wood, 30, is 1-4-1/4.50 in his 57 appearances with Florida and Pittsburgh. He had 21 saves and a 2.19 ERA at Indy last season with 67 K in 70 IP, throwing in the mid-to-upper 90s. He was named by Baseball America as the best reliever in the International League for the second straight season.
Both were signed to minor league deals, with Wood getting a spring training invite.
Sunday, November 11, 2012
Friday, November 9, 2012
Buc In the News
No stop the presses news, but the Bucs have remained active in this news cycle:
- Bill Livesey has been hired as a Senior Advisor to GM Neal Huntington. Livesey, 72, has extensive scouting experience with the Yankees, Rays and Blue Jays. He's reputed to be more of an eyeball guy than a stat-head, and so brings some balance, a lot of years and some pretty good mojo to the job.
- Bob Nutting did his due diligence of the Bucco FO and not too surprisingly said that there would be no changes at the top. He did add that he'll have the SEALS training toned down a bit. No doubt aware of the potential media backsplash, he opted to make the announcement on election day, showing that the Pirate PR crew does earn its money.
- Cutch added a Silver Slugger award to go along with his Golden Glove. Now all he needs are ruby slippers. He's still up for the NL-MVP next week.
- In addition to the minor league signings we posted earlier, the Bucs have inked RHP Ryan Reid, and reenlisted IF Jeff Larish and LHP Kris Johnson. Reid, 27, was 6-3-1/3.52 with 79 K in 79-1/3 IP for Tampa's AAA Durham club. Larish, 30, had a slash of .182/2/24 at Indy while Johnson, 28, was 8-4/3.19 between Indy and Altoona.
Back To Normal...
Sorry, guys, the blog was hijacked earlier this week and it took ol' GW a couple of days to root out the offending code. But we're back to normal, and we're sorry for the redirect.
Team Building 2012
The Bucs are in the process of evaluating and moving talent for 2013. People talk about pieces, but it's really a lot more - it's a season long process.
Injuries will eventually bite a club, as will performance. With the GM meetings in progress and the hot stove league about to open up, here's a reminder how the Pirates crafted the 2012 team (we included transactions from the end of the 2011 season to the end of the 2012 season ):
Added: AJ Burnett, Wandy Rodriguez, Erik Bedard, Clint Barmes, Rod Barajas, Casey McGehee, Juan Cruz, Nate McLouth, Travis Snider, Gaby Sanchez, Chad Qualls, Hisanori Takahashi and Doug Slaten.
Lost: Paul Maholm, Ross Ohlendorf, Jose Veras, Ryan Doumit, Ronny Cedeno, Derrek Lee, Ryan Ludwick, Chris Snyder, Xavier Paul, Brad Lincoln and Evan Meek.
2012 Mistakes? Well, maybe keeping Paul Maholm for a back-ender might have been a good idea, if they could have negotiated his $9.75M option in half. And having Ryan Doumit around to bang against righties - he could have played RF/1B with Garrett Jones - wouldn't have hurt, either, but he had a $7.25M option that also needed halved. Ronny Cedeno, oddly enough, might have been a good option as a utility middle infielder.
But still, none of that trio are building block guys, just nice compliments. The Buc FO backed themselves in a corner with big option years in the cases of Maholm and Dewey (Maholm signed with Chicago for $4.75M and Doumit with the Twins for $3M in 2012), and Cedeno's erratic play probably just flat frazzled management to the point of no return.
Burnett and Rodriguez were wins in the trade market; Barajas and Bedard losers in the FA market and McGehee was probably a wash. We'll see how this year's class, whomever they may be, works out.
Injuries will eventually bite a club, as will performance. With the GM meetings in progress and the hot stove league about to open up, here's a reminder how the Pirates crafted the 2012 team (we included transactions from the end of the 2011 season to the end of the 2012 season ):
- 9/10/12 - Designated RHP Evan Meek for assignment. The one-time All-Star and potential closer is now a free agent.
- 8/24/12 - Claimed LHP Hisanori Takahashi off waivers from Los Angeles Angels. In nine Pirate games, he posted an 8.64 ERA, even with 11K in 8-1/3 IP.
- 7/31/12 - New York Yankees traded RHP Chad Qualls for 1B Casey McGehee. Qualls was bad in NY and worse in Pittsburgh where he went 0-0/6.59. McGehee batted .151 for the NYY.
- 7/31/12 - Miami Marlins traded 1B Gaby Sanchez and RHP Kyle Kaminska for CF Gorkys Hernandez and a supplemental draft pick. Gaby hit .241/4/13 for the Pirates and Kaminska is doing well as a AA and fall league starter. Hernandez played a lot for Miami, though he hit just .212. The draft pick is the key piece; it's the 33rd overall selection.
- 7/31/12 - Toronto Blue Jays traded RF Travis Snider (.250/1/9) for RHP Brad Lincoln (1-0/5.65). Both had disappointing starts with the new teams, but fit into areas of need and are team control for awhile, so the verdict on this deal is yet to be reached.
- 7/25/12 - Houston Astros traded LHP Wandy Rodriguez for LHP Colton Cain, CF Robbie Grossman and LHP Rudy Owens. Wandy pitched as advertised for the Pirates, going 5-4/3.72. Owens went 2-3/4.34 in AAA, Grossman had a slash line of .267/.371/.442 in AA, and Cain was 2-2/5.55 in High A for Houston.
- 6/24/12 - Claimed Drew Sutton off waivers from Tampa Bay Rays, and he was activated the next day. He batted .243 for Pittsburgh, keeping the OF warm for Starling Marte and Travis Snider, and had a couple of timely hits for the Bucs in the heady days of summer, including a walk-off homer. Sutton is a free agent.
- 2/19/12 - Yankees traded RHP AJ Burnett and cash for RHP Diego Moreno and OF Exicardo Cayones. AJ became the Buc ace, going 16-10/3.51, while Moreno had Tommy John surgery in late May and Cayones hit .228 in the NY-Penn short season league.
- 2/1/12 - Signed free agent RHP Juan Cruz. He was released on August 23rd after going 1-1-3/2.78, and is a free agent.
- 1/17/12 - Signed free agent LHP Doug Slaten, who became a free agent after serving a 10 game stint with the Bucs.
- 12/13/11 - Milwaukee Brewers traded 1B Casey McGehee for RHP Jose Veras. McGehee was traded to the Yankees at the deadline. Veras made 72 appearances with Milwaukee and went 5-4/3.63.
- 12/7/11 - IF Yamiaco Navarro was traded by the Kansas City Royals for RHP Brooks Pounders and UT Diego Goris. Navarro hit .160 for the Pirates and was sent to Indy. Pounder, 22, pitched at High A (6-4/4.32) and Goris, 21, played in the rookie leagues (.333/13/51) for KC.
- 12/7/11 - Signed free agent LHP Erik Bedard. Bedard, who was released August 28th
- 12/7/11 - Signed free agent LF Nate McLouth. Nate the Great was DFA'ed May 25th, caught on with Baltimore and hit .268 with an +OPS of 111 for the Birds. In Pittsburgh, he batted just .140 with an +OPS of 10.
- 12/7/11 - Designated SS Pedro Ciriaco (76 games, .293 BA with Boston) & C Jason Jaramillo (.223 BA between Milwaukee & Oakland in the minors) for assignment.
- 12/8/11 - Released RHP Ross Ohlendorf. Ohlie ended up with the Padres, got tatooed on the hill (4-4/7.77) and is a free agent.
- 11/21/11 - Signed free agent SS Clint Barmes. He signed a signed a two-year, $10.5M contract, fielding well and hitting badly in his first season as a Bucco.
- 11/10/11 - Signed free agent C Rod Barajas for $4M. Hot Rod hit .206 and threw out 6% of the runners in his year with the Bucs. His option wasn't picked up.
- 11/18/11 - Designated LF Xavier Paul for assignment. Paul signed with the Reds and hit .314 in a bench role.
- 10/31/11 - Ronny Cedeno, Ryan Doumit, Paul Maholm & Chris Snyder became free agents. Cedeno hit .259 off the Met pine, Dewey had a line of .275/18/75 for the Twins and signed a two year, $7M contract extension, Maholm went 13-11/3.67 for the Cubs and Braves, and Snyder was the sole flameout, hitting .176 for Houston.
- 10/30/11 - Derrek Lee & Ryan Ludwick became free agents. Both trade deadline pickups, Lee rejected a Pirate offer to return and was out of baseball in 2012. Ludwick hooked up with the Reds and hit .275/26/80 after batting .232 for the Pirates in 2011.
Added: AJ Burnett, Wandy Rodriguez, Erik Bedard, Clint Barmes, Rod Barajas, Casey McGehee, Juan Cruz, Nate McLouth, Travis Snider, Gaby Sanchez, Chad Qualls, Hisanori Takahashi and Doug Slaten.
Lost: Paul Maholm, Ross Ohlendorf, Jose Veras, Ryan Doumit, Ronny Cedeno, Derrek Lee, Ryan Ludwick, Chris Snyder, Xavier Paul, Brad Lincoln and Evan Meek.
2012 Mistakes? Well, maybe keeping Paul Maholm for a back-ender might have been a good idea, if they could have negotiated his $9.75M option in half. And having Ryan Doumit around to bang against righties - he could have played RF/1B with Garrett Jones - wouldn't have hurt, either, but he had a $7.25M option that also needed halved. Ronny Cedeno, oddly enough, might have been a good option as a utility middle infielder.
But still, none of that trio are building block guys, just nice compliments. The Buc FO backed themselves in a corner with big option years in the cases of Maholm and Dewey (Maholm signed with Chicago for $4.75M and Doumit with the Twins for $3M in 2012), and Cedeno's erratic play probably just flat frazzled management to the point of no return.
Burnett and Rodriguez were wins in the trade market; Barajas and Bedard losers in the FA market and McGehee was probably a wash. We'll see how this year's class, whomever they may be, works out.
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Buccos Moving Out, Buccos Moving In...
Per Baseball America, the following Pirate farmhands have been declared free agents, part of a class of 549 minor-leaguers.
RHP: Mike Crotta (AAA), Jose Diaz (AAA), Kris Harvey (AA), Logan Kensing (AAA), Daniel McCutchen (AAA), Doug Salinas (HiA), Tim Wood (AAA)
LHP: Jo-Jo Reyes (AAA)
C: Jose Morales (AAA), Miguel Perez (AAA)
1B: Jeff Clement (AAA), Nick Evans (AAA), Jeff Larish (AAA), Christian Marrero (AAA), Gerlis Rodriguez (LoA)
3B: Vince Harrison (Low A), Hector Luna (AAA), Dallas McPherson (AAA)
OF: Brandon Boggs (AAA)
C Eric Fryer, LHP Doug Slaten and RHP Evan Meek earlier declared for free agency.
The MLB players from 2012 that haven't been resigned by Pittsburgh are C Rod Barajas, LHP Erik Bedard, RHP Kevin Correia, RHP Jose Cruz, RHP Jason Grilli, RHP Chad Qualls and LHP Hisanori Takahashi.
Pittsburgh signed OF Darren Ford, 27, who hit .273 with 26 steals in 70 games with Seattle's AAA Tacoma club this year. They also inked the Indians' corner IF Jared Goedert, 27, who hit .279, with 14 HRs and 60 RBIs, with Columbus.
They resigned minor leaguers C Rudy Pena (Lynchburg), 1B Stefan Welch (Altoona), 2B Keoni De Renne (did not play in 2012), 2B Anderson Hernandez (Indy), OF Austin McClune (did not play in 2012) and OF Anthony Norman (Altoona).
RHP: Mike Crotta (AAA), Jose Diaz (AAA), Kris Harvey (AA), Logan Kensing (AAA), Daniel McCutchen (AAA), Doug Salinas (HiA), Tim Wood (AAA)
LHP: Jo-Jo Reyes (AAA)
C: Jose Morales (AAA), Miguel Perez (AAA)
1B: Jeff Clement (AAA), Nick Evans (AAA), Jeff Larish (AAA), Christian Marrero (AAA), Gerlis Rodriguez (LoA)
3B: Vince Harrison (Low A), Hector Luna (AAA), Dallas McPherson (AAA)
OF: Brandon Boggs (AAA)
C Eric Fryer, LHP Doug Slaten and RHP Evan Meek earlier declared for free agency.
The MLB players from 2012 that haven't been resigned by Pittsburgh are C Rod Barajas, LHP Erik Bedard, RHP Kevin Correia, RHP Jose Cruz, RHP Jason Grilli, RHP Chad Qualls and LHP Hisanori Takahashi.
Pittsburgh signed OF Darren Ford, 27, who hit .273 with 26 steals in 70 games with Seattle's AAA Tacoma club this year. They also inked the Indians' corner IF Jared Goedert, 27, who hit .279, with 14 HRs and 60 RBIs, with Columbus.
They resigned minor leaguers C Rudy Pena (Lynchburg), 1B Stefan Welch (Altoona), 2B Keoni De Renne (did not play in 2012), 2B Anderson Hernandez (Indy), OF Austin McClune (did not play in 2012) and OF Anthony Norman (Altoona).
Monday, November 5, 2012
Shopping List - Catcher
OK, the Bucco catching was pretty awful last year. Offensively, Rod Barajas and Mike Mckenry teamed up for 23 homers, about in the middle of the MLB pack, and that was the bright spot. Their .217 BA put them 26th in the majors, and that 9% throw out rate took the glow off an otherwise pretty fair defensive pairing.
Anyway, Barajas' option for $3.5M wasn't picked up, and he'd like to hook up somewhere west of the Mississippi this time around. We wouldn't be too picky. Hot Rod, 37, who hit .208 and had a 6% success rate against basestealers, is fast approaching a coaching career.
That makes Mike McKenry, 27, who was solid defensively and hit .233.320/.442 with 12 homers, 39 RBI and 73 K in 275 PA last season, the heir apparent in 2013. But that's based on a two month hot spell in June and July, and there is no guarantee he can hold up as a starter.
The FO has to determine how to use The Fort, who is under contractual control through at least 2018. Is he a 100-110 game guy, or does he need to split time or remain a 50-60 game back-up? And is Tony Sanchez, the only upper-level prospect at the position in the system, ready to step into the breach, or will his bat keep him in Indy after camp breaks?
2013's opening behind the plate makes it a good time to get him some break-in work behind The Fort. But the team could decide to keep Sanchez on the farm a while longer to work on his swing, and check the market, both FA and trade, if they choose another route.
Atlanta's Brian McCann ($12M) and the Phil's Carlos Ruiz ($5M) had their options picked up. The top of the crop in the FA market this year are the White Sox AJ Pierzynski, the Angels' Mike Napoli and the Yankees' Russell Martin.
Pierzynski, 35, lit it up during his walk year, hitting .277 with 27 homers and 77 RBI’s, which is not far, except for the home run power, from the norms he's established in 15 seasons. He's a FA largely because Chicago is ready to give Tyler Flowers another shot behind the dish. AJ hasn't caught fewer than 110 games since 2001, so he's a number one guy. Beside, we sorta like the sound of an AJ-to-AJ battery.
How long he'll want a deal to last will be one question; Pierzynski will be 36 in December, so he'll be looking for multiple seasons. His 2012 contract was for $6M, so cost will be another question. He'd fit in nicely with Pittsburgh, but also with a handful of other clubs, and he may end up out of the Pirates' price range.
Napoli is the best stick of the bunch, and the 32 year old has hit at least 20 homers in each of the past five seasons. But last year wasn't one of his better ones, hitting .227/24/56. He's the rich man's Ryan Doumit, catching 60-70 games per season the last three years while spending considerable time at first and DH.
Still, he's just a year removed from a .320 BA and 30 bombs. He'll be looking for a long-term contract and is coming off a $9.4M deal, so we can write him off of Pittsburgh's wish list.
Martin, 29, is the best defensive catcher of the trio. He hasn't hit over .250 since 2009, although he does have some pop, banging out 39 long balls in 2011-12. Martin also has a .352 OBP, and so with youth, defense, power and some sabermetrics going for him, he should be the head of the FA class this year. The catcher was already pulling down $7.5M and should have a big payday coming his way. And it may be with the Yankees, which are said to be very seriously trying to get him back to the Big Apple.
David Ross is next best on the list (EDIT - he signed with the Red Sox), along with Yorvit Torrealba, Gerald Laird, Humberto Quintero, and Kelly Shoppach. Miguel Olivo, Henry Blanco, Brian Schneider, Matt Treanor, Chris Snyder, Ronny Paulino and Barajas form the rest of the gang, not exactly A-list names. There are some possible non-tender guys, too, like Geovany Soto, Jesus Flores, Bob Wilson, George Kotteras and others, but it'll take a little longer for that list to shake out.
The trade market is mostly young guys; the Yankees and Jays have a boatload of talent in their systems. New York, especially if they resign Martin, could offer Francisco Cervelli or Austin Romine. If the Jays go to Chase d'Arnaud, JP Arencibia could be in play.
The main players in the catcher hunt beside the Pirates are the Rangers, Mariners, Mets, Rays and possibly the Indians.
(John Heyman of CBS Sports looked at the market, as did Mark Dowman of MLB.com. Kevin Creagh checked out the field for Pirate Prospects.)
Anyway, Barajas' option for $3.5M wasn't picked up, and he'd like to hook up somewhere west of the Mississippi this time around. We wouldn't be too picky. Hot Rod, 37, who hit .208 and had a 6% success rate against basestealers, is fast approaching a coaching career.
That makes Mike McKenry, 27, who was solid defensively and hit .233.320/.442 with 12 homers, 39 RBI and 73 K in 275 PA last season, the heir apparent in 2013. But that's based on a two month hot spell in June and July, and there is no guarantee he can hold up as a starter.
The FO has to determine how to use The Fort, who is under contractual control through at least 2018. Is he a 100-110 game guy, or does he need to split time or remain a 50-60 game back-up? And is Tony Sanchez, the only upper-level prospect at the position in the system, ready to step into the breach, or will his bat keep him in Indy after camp breaks?
2013's opening behind the plate makes it a good time to get him some break-in work behind The Fort. But the team could decide to keep Sanchez on the farm a while longer to work on his swing, and check the market, both FA and trade, if they choose another route.
Atlanta's Brian McCann ($12M) and the Phil's Carlos Ruiz ($5M) had their options picked up. The top of the crop in the FA market this year are the White Sox AJ Pierzynski, the Angels' Mike Napoli and the Yankees' Russell Martin.
Pierzynski, 35, lit it up during his walk year, hitting .277 with 27 homers and 77 RBI’s, which is not far, except for the home run power, from the norms he's established in 15 seasons. He's a FA largely because Chicago is ready to give Tyler Flowers another shot behind the dish. AJ hasn't caught fewer than 110 games since 2001, so he's a number one guy. Beside, we sorta like the sound of an AJ-to-AJ battery.
How long he'll want a deal to last will be one question; Pierzynski will be 36 in December, so he'll be looking for multiple seasons. His 2012 contract was for $6M, so cost will be another question. He'd fit in nicely with Pittsburgh, but also with a handful of other clubs, and he may end up out of the Pirates' price range.
Napoli is the best stick of the bunch, and the 32 year old has hit at least 20 homers in each of the past five seasons. But last year wasn't one of his better ones, hitting .227/24/56. He's the rich man's Ryan Doumit, catching 60-70 games per season the last three years while spending considerable time at first and DH.
Still, he's just a year removed from a .320 BA and 30 bombs. He'll be looking for a long-term contract and is coming off a $9.4M deal, so we can write him off of Pittsburgh's wish list.
Martin, 29, is the best defensive catcher of the trio. He hasn't hit over .250 since 2009, although he does have some pop, banging out 39 long balls in 2011-12. Martin also has a .352 OBP, and so with youth, defense, power and some sabermetrics going for him, he should be the head of the FA class this year. The catcher was already pulling down $7.5M and should have a big payday coming his way. And it may be with the Yankees, which are said to be very seriously trying to get him back to the Big Apple.
David Ross is next best on the list (EDIT - he signed with the Red Sox), along with Yorvit Torrealba, Gerald Laird, Humberto Quintero, and Kelly Shoppach. Miguel Olivo, Henry Blanco, Brian Schneider, Matt Treanor, Chris Snyder, Ronny Paulino and Barajas form the rest of the gang, not exactly A-list names. There are some possible non-tender guys, too, like Geovany Soto, Jesus Flores, Bob Wilson, George Kotteras and others, but it'll take a little longer for that list to shake out.
The trade market is mostly young guys; the Yankees and Jays have a boatload of talent in their systems. New York, especially if they resign Martin, could offer Francisco Cervelli or Austin Romine. If the Jays go to Chase d'Arnaud, JP Arencibia could be in play.
The main players in the catcher hunt beside the Pirates are the Rangers, Mariners, Mets, Rays and possibly the Indians.
(John Heyman of CBS Sports looked at the market, as did Mark Dowman of MLB.com. Kevin Creagh checked out the field for Pirate Prospects.)
Sunday, November 4, 2012
Shopping List - Starting Pitching
Two dog days' collapses have kept the Pirates from dumping that 20-year old losing streak monkey off their backs. Enough good things happened to realize a few pieces are in place; enough bad things happened to highlight the tatters in the Jolly Roger.
The Bucs showed their hand in September, when 36 players on the forty man roster were in the dugout. So we have a small sampling of the internal options, and we'll take an early peek at potential outside fixes.
It all begins with starting pitching. AJ Burnett and Wandy Rodriguez are both under contract and look to be the anchors of the 2013 rotation. AJ will be 36 next season and Wandy 34, so both are short-term fixtures in the scheme of things. And after that, the Pirates are the textbook riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma.
James McDonald will again be in the rotation, although his second half melt-down was absolutely Blassarian. Jeff Karstens has performed well as a four pitcher, but he's up for another round of arbitration. While logic dictates that the Pirates would be foolhardy to not tender him, his long list of injuries do allow for a possibility of being non-tendered, with a better chance of being tendered and traded, assuming that the FO's memory reaches back to the messy Matt Capps affair.
Charlie Morton is recovering from TJ surgery and won't be ready to go until late in the season. With the flashes he's shown, our guess is the Pirates will try to sign him to a friendly contract after tendering him; he's also in his arb years. Kevin Correia won't be back. That's not a surprise; but the fact he wasn't traded is. The Bucs claimed there were no takers on the market, but we'd wager he has his fair share lined up in the off season.
That leaves them with Jeff Locke and Kyle McPherson as the minor league cavalry, and both showed flashes but without any consistency in September. Gerrit Cole is a possibility to get the call sometime in 2013, but will start at Indy. With all the question marks, the Pirates should look to add another veteran arm to the staff, either in the FA market or maybe through trade - it worked well enough with AJ and Wandy, and maybe lightning can strike twice; Aaron Harang/Chris Capuano of the Dodgers, James Shields/Jeremy Hellickson at Tampa, RA Dickey of the Mets, Atlanta's Jair Jurrjens and Ubaldo Jimenez/Justin Masterson at Cleveland are all reported to be on the block.
FA's this season are Joe Blanton, Ryan Dempster, Scott Feldman, Jeff Francis, Zack Greinke, Jeremy Guthrie, Dan Haren, Edwin Jackson, Hiroki Kuroda, Kyle Lohse, Francisco Loriano, Shaun Marcum, Brian McCarthy, Kevin Millwood, Roy Oswalt, Anibal Sanchez, Joe Saunders, Tim Stauffer, Carlos Villanueva and Chris Young.
We can scratch Greinke, Jackson (he turned down the Bucs last year), Lohse, Kuroda, and Sanchez from that list. But the good news for the Bucs is that they are the cream of a not very lush crop; there are a lot of mid-rotation guys who are available. Some will generate some heat, but others will be looking for affordable deals.
The Bucs are usually mum about who they target, and with their FA rejection rate, no wonder. But don't be surprised if they don't at least test the market for an upper second tier guy like Marcum, Haren or Saunders, or take an upside flyer on McCarthy if the market doesn't overheat. If a catcher busts the Bucco budget, though, the Bucs will search for a back-ender ala KC; Guthrie has already been bantered about as a possible target.
And the Bucs like to have a left-handed presence on the mound, and now Wandy and maybe Jeff Locke are it going into 2013. So they'll look at Francis, Saunders and Loriano (bad peripherals, good K rate) along with guys like Dallas Braden.
It'll be a big-time hot stove sidebar to see how they build next year's staff. They may have enough money to bring in a second-level arm, assuming Hanny is traded and the only major piece they pick up among position players is a catcher to split time with Mike McKenry. But the FO may be comfortable with the top of the order, especially with Gerrit Cole on a fast track, and may just fill in the back-end.
The Bucs showed their hand in September, when 36 players on the forty man roster were in the dugout. So we have a small sampling of the internal options, and we'll take an early peek at potential outside fixes.
It all begins with starting pitching. AJ Burnett and Wandy Rodriguez are both under contract and look to be the anchors of the 2013 rotation. AJ will be 36 next season and Wandy 34, so both are short-term fixtures in the scheme of things. And after that, the Pirates are the textbook riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma.
James McDonald will again be in the rotation, although his second half melt-down was absolutely Blassarian. Jeff Karstens has performed well as a four pitcher, but he's up for another round of arbitration. While logic dictates that the Pirates would be foolhardy to not tender him, his long list of injuries do allow for a possibility of being non-tendered, with a better chance of being tendered and traded, assuming that the FO's memory reaches back to the messy Matt Capps affair.
Charlie Morton is recovering from TJ surgery and won't be ready to go until late in the season. With the flashes he's shown, our guess is the Pirates will try to sign him to a friendly contract after tendering him; he's also in his arb years. Kevin Correia won't be back. That's not a surprise; but the fact he wasn't traded is. The Bucs claimed there were no takers on the market, but we'd wager he has his fair share lined up in the off season.
That leaves them with Jeff Locke and Kyle McPherson as the minor league cavalry, and both showed flashes but without any consistency in September. Gerrit Cole is a possibility to get the call sometime in 2013, but will start at Indy. With all the question marks, the Pirates should look to add another veteran arm to the staff, either in the FA market or maybe through trade - it worked well enough with AJ and Wandy, and maybe lightning can strike twice; Aaron Harang/Chris Capuano of the Dodgers, James Shields/Jeremy Hellickson at Tampa, RA Dickey of the Mets, Atlanta's Jair Jurrjens and Ubaldo Jimenez/Justin Masterson at Cleveland are all reported to be on the block.
FA's this season are Joe Blanton, Ryan Dempster, Scott Feldman, Jeff Francis, Zack Greinke, Jeremy Guthrie, Dan Haren, Edwin Jackson, Hiroki Kuroda, Kyle Lohse, Francisco Loriano, Shaun Marcum, Brian McCarthy, Kevin Millwood, Roy Oswalt, Anibal Sanchez, Joe Saunders, Tim Stauffer, Carlos Villanueva and Chris Young.
We can scratch Greinke, Jackson (he turned down the Bucs last year), Lohse, Kuroda, and Sanchez from that list. But the good news for the Bucs is that they are the cream of a not very lush crop; there are a lot of mid-rotation guys who are available. Some will generate some heat, but others will be looking for affordable deals.
The Bucs are usually mum about who they target, and with their FA rejection rate, no wonder. But don't be surprised if they don't at least test the market for an upper second tier guy like Marcum, Haren or Saunders, or take an upside flyer on McCarthy if the market doesn't overheat. If a catcher busts the Bucco budget, though, the Bucs will search for a back-ender ala KC; Guthrie has already been bantered about as a possible target.
And the Bucs like to have a left-handed presence on the mound, and now Wandy and maybe Jeff Locke are it going into 2013. So they'll look at Francis, Saunders and Loriano (bad peripherals, good K rate) along with guys like Dallas Braden.
It'll be a big-time hot stove sidebar to see how they build next year's staff. They may have enough money to bring in a second-level arm, assuming Hanny is traded and the only major piece they pick up among position players is a catcher to split time with Mike McKenry. But the FO may be comfortable with the top of the order, especially with Gerrit Cole on a fast track, and may just fill in the back-end.
Thursday, November 1, 2012
Ex-Bucs in the News
It's a slow news week, but the preliminary rounds of player movement are beginning now that the World Series has ended and teams are finalizing their option choices. Some ex-Buccos and locals making the wires:
- First, Pirate free agents: C Rod Barajas, LHP Erik Bedard, 1B Jeff Clement, RHP Kevin Correia, RHP Juan Cruz, OF/C Erik Fryer, RHP Jason Grilli, RHP Daniel McCutchen, RHP Evan Meek, RHP Chad Qualls and LHP Hisanori Takahashi.
- Next, former Bucco free agents: IF Brian Bixler, LHP Sean Burnett, RHP Matt Capps, SS Ronny Cedeno, RHP Octavio Dotel, LHP Dana Eveland, LHP Mike Gonzalez, 1B Eric Hinske, SS Cesar Izturis, 1B Adam LaRoche, OF Ryan Ludwick, 1/3B Casey McGehee, OF Nate McLouth, C Ronny Paulino, LHP Ollie Perez, 2B Freddie Sanchez, C Chris Snyder, RHP Jose Veras, RHP Kip Wells and 1/3B Ty Wigginton.
- OF Nyjer Morgan has been outrighted by the Brewers to their AAA Nashville Sounds club.
- The Tigers outrighted IF Don Kelly, who played his prep ball at Mt. Lebanon High and will become a free agent if he passes through waivers.
- Tim Dierkes of MLB Trade Rumors has his annual Top 50 Free Agent predictions. Not much Bucco action, but he sees Jason Grilli ending up with the Brewers and Jeremy Guthrie coming to Pittsburgh. The 33 year old RHP is a back-end innings eater with a lifetime record of 55-77/4.28.
- Lloyd McClendon interviewed for the Miami Marlins job, but lost out to Mike Redmond.
- Pascual Perez, who was signed by the Bucs and pitched for Pittsburgh in 1980-81, was reported to have been murdered in his home in the Dominican Republic during a robbery.
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Cutch Is Golden
Andrew McCutchen had a breakout year in 2012. He hit .327 with 31 home runs,
107 runs, 96 RBIs and 20 stolen bases while playing in 157 games for the Bucs. Cutch was picked as a NL All-Star for the second straight season, this time as a player's choice, and was part of the State Farm Home Run Derby during the KC festivities.
You can add a Gold Glove to his 2012 trophy case. And if he doesn't have a hardware cabinet, no problem: USA Today reported that Cutch even got a $25,000 bonus for the award, so he can afford to go out and get one.
The Gold Glove Awards are selected by the managers and coaches, who can't vote for their own players. Cutch outpolled the other two finalists, Cincinnati's Drew Stubbs and Atlanta's two-time Gold Glove winner Michael Bourn (Houston 2009-10), to take the honor. Cutch led all NL center fielders with a .997 fielding percentage, charged with just one error in 371 chances, and finished the season with a 135-game streak without a boot.
Roberto Clemente won a MLB record 12 Gold Gloves and Andy Van Slyke won five, while Bill Virdon and Nate McLouth each earned one. Other Pirate outfielders to be voted a Golden Glove were Dave Parker and Barry Bonds, with three each. Add Cutch to the Golden Bucco club.
Of course, we know that Golden Gloves are predicated on golden bats; hence Nate the Great's gold mitt in 2008 and Clint Barme's non-consideration this season. Chase Headley won the award ahead of David Wright in the NL and Adam Jones won the vote over human highlight reel Mike Trout in the AL this year to bolster that thought.
Michael Bourn blew the doors off Cutch defensively in most stat-head categories: his UZR was 22.4 to Cutch's -6.9. Bourn made 113 plays out of the centerfield zone to McCutch's 78, and both had 3 assists. Cutch did beat him in RZR, which measures balls hit into the zone that were converted into outs; Cutch turned .933 of those into sit-downs, while Bourn wrapped his mitt around .913 of balls in his area.
We'll defend Cutch from the Sabremetric slap down a little. We've watched him enough to know he still freezes sometimes on his initial jump and hitting the cut-off man is a concept that hasn't quite sunk in yet. But he's improved leaps and bounds since his 2009 debut.
Cutch has run down more than his fair share of gappers and slid under quite a few CF lobs. And since he's been here, his zone rating has been crimped by the Bucs double-CF defense, using center field talent in left to better cover PNC's Notch acreage, so that UZR is artificially low to us.
All in all, we consider Cutch an above average fielder with plus speed who plays better than the defensive metrics show, but not elite with the leather or his arm. Heck, he may well pass the torch to Starling Marte one day. But hey, 31 dingers and 194 hits make that glove look a little bigger, at least in the eyes of the guys watching plenty of dinks and drives disappear into his web.
And he may not be quite done. Cutch is in the final five for the upcoming NL-MVP award. His (and the club's) late fade probably cost him that shiny bit of metal, but we'll see November 15th.
You can add a Gold Glove to his 2012 trophy case. And if he doesn't have a hardware cabinet, no problem: USA Today reported that Cutch even got a $25,000 bonus for the award, so he can afford to go out and get one.
The Gold Glove Awards are selected by the managers and coaches, who can't vote for their own players. Cutch outpolled the other two finalists, Cincinnati's Drew Stubbs and Atlanta's two-time Gold Glove winner Michael Bourn (Houston 2009-10), to take the honor. Cutch led all NL center fielders with a .997 fielding percentage, charged with just one error in 371 chances, and finished the season with a 135-game streak without a boot.
Roberto Clemente won a MLB record 12 Gold Gloves and Andy Van Slyke won five, while Bill Virdon and Nate McLouth each earned one. Other Pirate outfielders to be voted a Golden Glove were Dave Parker and Barry Bonds, with three each. Add Cutch to the Golden Bucco club.
Of course, we know that Golden Gloves are predicated on golden bats; hence Nate the Great's gold mitt in 2008 and Clint Barme's non-consideration this season. Chase Headley won the award ahead of David Wright in the NL and Adam Jones won the vote over human highlight reel Mike Trout in the AL this year to bolster that thought.
Michael Bourn blew the doors off Cutch defensively in most stat-head categories: his UZR was 22.4 to Cutch's -6.9. Bourn made 113 plays out of the centerfield zone to McCutch's 78, and both had 3 assists. Cutch did beat him in RZR, which measures balls hit into the zone that were converted into outs; Cutch turned .933 of those into sit-downs, while Bourn wrapped his mitt around .913 of balls in his area.
We'll defend Cutch from the Sabremetric slap down a little. We've watched him enough to know he still freezes sometimes on his initial jump and hitting the cut-off man is a concept that hasn't quite sunk in yet. But he's improved leaps and bounds since his 2009 debut.
Cutch has run down more than his fair share of gappers and slid under quite a few CF lobs. And since he's been here, his zone rating has been crimped by the Bucs double-CF defense, using center field talent in left to better cover PNC's Notch acreage, so that UZR is artificially low to us.
All in all, we consider Cutch an above average fielder with plus speed who plays better than the defensive metrics show, but not elite with the leather or his arm. Heck, he may well pass the torch to Starling Marte one day. But hey, 31 dingers and 194 hits make that glove look a little bigger, at least in the eyes of the guys watching plenty of dinks and drives disappear into his web.
And he may not be quite done. Cutch is in the final five for the upcoming NL-MVP award. His (and the club's) late fade probably cost him that shiny bit of metal, but we'll see November 15th.
Coaching, Player Moves
The Pirates today named former shortstop Jay Bell, 46, as their hitting coach. Rick Sofield, 55, last season's West Virginia Power manager, was given the first-base coaching position and Dave Jauss, 55, a scouting adviser to Neal Huntington and a former bench coach for several clubs, became the Major League coach.
Bell filled the vacancy created when Gregg Ritchie left to become manager for George Washington University. He played 18 seasons in the show, eight of them in Pittsburgh from 1989 to 1996, where he was an All-Star and Gold Glover in 1993.
He retired in 2003 and was the D-Backs’ bench coach during 2005-06, then went into semi-retirement, spending three more campaigns with the organization as a spring training advisor. In 2012 he returned as the hitting coach for the Mobile Bay Bears, Arizona’s AA club. Bell's now coaching the New Zealand national team which hopes to the qualify for the upcoming World Baseball Classic.
Sofield was a former first round pick (13th overall) of the Minnesota Twins in 1975. Between 1979-81, the outfielder had a slash of .243/9/66 for the Twin Cities.
He retired to college coaching, and later spent 12 years in the minors for the New York Yankees, Montreal Expos, Los Angeles Dodgers, Rockies and Pirates as a manager and minor league coordinator. In 2007, he took over the head coaching reins at South Carolina - Beaufort.
Sofield and Clint Hurdle go way back to their minor league playing days, and the pair worked together in the Colorado Rockies organization (2003 with Triple-A Colorado Springs) and at the Baseball Factory, a development camp for high school players. When Hurdle took over, he brought in Sofield as the manager of Low Class A West Virginia Power last season.
Beside coaching first, he'll be in charge of base running and outfield work. Former first-base coach Luis Silverio was reassigned to become a senior advisor to Latin American operations.
Jauss was a special assistant to general manager Neal Huntington in 2012, generally serving as an advance scout. He was a college coach in the eighties before he got the call from the pro ranks. Between 1988 and 1994, Jauss managed in the Expo system and was the Eastern League Manager of the Year in 1994 at Harrisburg.
He also managed winter baseball in the Dominican Republic and led Licey to the Caribbean Series title in 1999, when he was named DL Manager of the Year. (He also was suspended for two years from the DL for bumping an umpire, chasing after another & ordering a pitcher to bean a batter).
Jauss broke into MLB with Boston from 1997-2006 as a first base coach, minor league coordinator, bench coach, head of player development and chief scout. Jauss was a bench coach for the Dodgers, Orioles and Mets from 2006-10, then was hired by the Pirates in 2011. His dad, a long-time Chicago sportswriter, got him involved in sports, and it doesn't hurt that he has a degree in psychology; there are a lot of psyches that need massaged on the roster.
Jauss interviewed for the Mets' job in 2011 that was won by Terry Collins and was a candidate for the Bucco job in 1997 that went to John Russell.
Bell filled the vacancy created when Gregg Ritchie left to become manager for George Washington University. He played 18 seasons in the show, eight of them in Pittsburgh from 1989 to 1996, where he was an All-Star and Gold Glover in 1993.
He retired in 2003 and was the D-Backs’ bench coach during 2005-06, then went into semi-retirement, spending three more campaigns with the organization as a spring training advisor. In 2012 he returned as the hitting coach for the Mobile Bay Bears, Arizona’s AA club. Bell's now coaching the New Zealand national team which hopes to the qualify for the upcoming World Baseball Classic.
Sofield was a former first round pick (13th overall) of the Minnesota Twins in 1975. Between 1979-81, the outfielder had a slash of .243/9/66 for the Twin Cities.
He retired to college coaching, and later spent 12 years in the minors for the New York Yankees, Montreal Expos, Los Angeles Dodgers, Rockies and Pirates as a manager and minor league coordinator. In 2007, he took over the head coaching reins at South Carolina - Beaufort.
Sofield and Clint Hurdle go way back to their minor league playing days, and the pair worked together in the Colorado Rockies organization (2003 with Triple-A Colorado Springs) and at the Baseball Factory, a development camp for high school players. When Hurdle took over, he brought in Sofield as the manager of Low Class A West Virginia Power last season.
Beside coaching first, he'll be in charge of base running and outfield work. Former first-base coach Luis Silverio was reassigned to become a senior advisor to Latin American operations.
Jauss was a special assistant to general manager Neal Huntington in 2012, generally serving as an advance scout. He was a college coach in the eighties before he got the call from the pro ranks. Between 1988 and 1994, Jauss managed in the Expo system and was the Eastern League Manager of the Year in 1994 at Harrisburg.
He also managed winter baseball in the Dominican Republic and led Licey to the Caribbean Series title in 1999, when he was named DL Manager of the Year. (He also was suspended for two years from the DL for bumping an umpire, chasing after another & ordering a pitcher to bean a batter).
Jauss broke into MLB with Boston from 1997-2006 as a first base coach, minor league coordinator, bench coach, head of player development and chief scout. Jauss was a bench coach for the Dodgers, Orioles and Mets from 2006-10, then was hired by the Pirates in 2011. His dad, a long-time Chicago sportswriter, got him involved in sports, and it doesn't hurt that he has a degree in psychology; there are a lot of psyches that need massaged on the roster.
Jauss interviewed for the Mets' job in 2011 that was won by Terry Collins and was a candidate for the Bucco job in 1997 that went to John Russell.
- The Pirates released LHP Hisanori Takahashi, who they picked up on waivers from the Angels in August.
- RHP Daniel McCutchen was DFA'ed and becomes a minor league free agent on Friday if unclaimed. As reported earlier, 1B Jeff Clement and OF/C Erik Fryer were also DFA'ed and can be come free agents (Fryer has already declared for FA status).
- 3B Pedro Alvarez's $700K option for 2013 was exercised. He'll start his arb years in 2014 and be under team control through 2016. C Rod Barajas' $3.5M option was declined, as expected, and it doesn't look like he'll be back.
- Kristy Robinson of Pirates Prospects reports that RHP Vic Black, Altoona's closer, was selected to the Arizona Fall League Rising Stars Roster.
- Corey Giger of the Altoona Mirror broke the news that PJ Forbes, the Altoona Curve manager, won't return in 2013.
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