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« Lackey Talks On Life Support | Main | White Sox Likely To Stay In-House For Center Field »
Pirates Ramp Up Interest In Ohman
According to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Pirates have ramped up their interest in free agent lefty Will Ohman. The Bucs made an offer Saturday for one year plus an option, and Ohman's agent countered yesterday. Ohman's still looking for a $2MM salary. Dialogue is ongoing with the Pirates.
Kovacevic names a slew of other teams in on Ohman: the Giants, Dodgers, Marlins, Nationals, and Indians. He says the Nats and Indians are new to the mix.
My opinion - it'd be odd to see the Nationals sign Ohman after Joe Beimel, but they could be trying to build up a trade surplus. The Pirates would have one given the presence of John Grabow.
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Also, maybe the Nats finally checked out the stats and realized Beimel isn't a lefty specialist just because he throws left handed, and thought, hey we want a guy who throws left handed AND gets lefties out.
Posted by: mford | March 26, 2009 at 09:38 PM
might i ask why? the pirates and nats arent going anywhere this yr. yet they are going to spend at least 1m on a reliever? No one is bidding on Ohman, and this guy isnt a manny type player. bidding against yourself for manny(dodgers, even though they seemed to get a good contract) saved the dodgers season, where they are favorites. Ohman on the Pirates or Nats does nothing for them. Any money put in them should just be used on the draft.
Posted by: lakersdodgersyankees4life | March 26, 2009 at 09:46 PM
I think this is done basically to make a trade of Grabow midseason or Ohman if it is possible to trade him. The Buccos are not serious contenders, maybe they just hope they can get this guy in order to get some prospects later in the season.
Posted by: YankFan408 | March 26, 2009 at 09:46 PM
The Indians shouldn't bother picking up an Aaron Fultz-esque arm like Ohman. They have internal options that are cheaper and probably better.
Posted by: Alex Trebek | March 26, 2009 at 09:55 PM
This move makes sense for the Pirates because their bullpen is very bad right now, and if they trade Grabow it will be atrocious. Nothing wrong with a cheap deal, they shouldn't be pressed for cash. They owe it to the fans to put a halfway respectable team on the field.
Posted by: bigpat | March 26, 2009 at 10:02 PM
Why doesn't Ohman just consider a playoff possible team like the LAD, Oakland etc.. Instead of poisoning himself with places like Pittsburgh and the Nat's? If he can get 1.5-1.7m from either of those, any playoff money will make up the difference and exposure from say the LAD will help him get a job next season if he is effective instead of burying himself in places like Pittsburg and Washington.
This whole craziness of him having to get 2m is going to backfire big time on a effective reliever and he is going to end up stuck with a ML contract on a perennial loser yet.
Posted by: johns | March 26, 2009 at 10:25 PM
Could use some bullpen help, and yes, I'm sure Grabow will be traded this year, Ohman isn't a bad backup plan.
And John, That's Pittsburgh with an H ya fanook.
Posted by: BuccoNation | March 26, 2009 at 10:39 PM
This is going to be one hell of a trade deadline, ESPECIALLY for relievers.
Posted by: melonis rex | March 26, 2009 at 10:46 PM
I'm still waiting on the braves to give him a call. Logan and o'flahtery sure aren't doing anything spectacular in ST. And it looks like we can expec tanother long season from soriano. He's just as bad as Hampton was when it comes to injuries. This bullpen went from looking like it had the potential to be great to looking BAD in a very short amount of time.
Posted by: GoldenGlove002 | March 26, 2009 at 11:00 PM
CALLING FRANK WREN. COME IN FRANK WREN.
Come on now find an extra 2 million to sign ohman. Our LHP have sucked lately in ST. Our rotation is looking pretty stacked. Even our lineup is taking shape nicely (p.s. if Jordan Schafer isn't opening night CF against Philly and Blanco/Anderson is, im writing a complaint). But our bullpen is VERY iffy. Moylan had surgery. Boyer made like 90 appearances last season. Who knows about Gonzo. And im about to just say release Soriano since he gets hurt by picking his nose or something.
Please Frank, you spent 2.5million on Garrett Anderson, up to 4 on Glavine and 3 on Cody Ross our backup catcher. We NEED Ohman. Go get him.
Posted by: bravesfansc | March 26, 2009 at 11:42 PM
Actually it's David Ross brave fan. As a buc fan I really don't care if they sign him or not. If they do, hopefully they can spin him later in the year for something younger and useful.
Posted by: indybucfan | March 27, 2009 at 07:05 AM
Johns what are you talking about? If Ohman is trying to position himself for a post season team a squad like the Pirates can be perfect. Player and management can build the contract so its trade friendly and the player does not have worry about getting stuck on a team that viewed itself as a contender in April but by July doesn't have a snowball’s chance in August.
As for the auditioning for his next job part you do know there is this new fangled idea of video archives and the computers? Even if you don’t I can guarantee you MLB front offices know about it and they are the ones that hand out jobs, not causal fans.
****
Rex you think there will be a market for middle relievers this season? I am not so sure. I kind of want to see what the attendance numbers look like for the first few months. It could be a few boarder line teams decide the purse strings are closed for that kind of expenditure.
Posted by: daveinexile | March 27, 2009 at 09:14 AM
I wish Ohman was still with the Cubs, Neal Cotts scares me.
Posted by: CubCrazy | March 27, 2009 at 11:48 AM
"I wish Ohman was still with the Cubs, Neal Cotts scares me"
Cotts is okay, but Ohman definitely would be better. He's shown the consistent ability to keep the ball in the park, and that's huge for relievers. Cotts posts solid K rates and was pretty unlucky last season, if he receives some more luck and his HR/9 improves back to the mean, then he should be a solid lefty.
"This is going to be one hell of a trade deadline, ESPECIALLY for relievers."
I can't wait, there are going to be some crazy rumors this summer. I'm sure that Tim is looking forward to it as well, this site is going to be getting hits like crazy.
Posted by: scribbletone | March 27, 2009 at 01:24 PM
I hope the Pirates make this move. Burnett and Hansen haven't done squat this spring training. I would cut them, and put Ohman and/or another right handed reliever in their spot. Our bullpen would be a whole lot stronger. I would also keep Grabow to get an extra draft pick.
Posted by: sch28 | March 27, 2009 at 01:41 PM
"This move makes sense for the Pirates because their bullpen is very bad right now, and if they trade Grabow it will be atrocious."
Matt Capps ain't all that bad. The rest of 'em, yeah.
Posted by: LongSufferingBucsFan | March 27, 2009 at 01:54 PM
There is no way I'm cutting Hanson yet. He's showed signs of coming around this spring. I'm going into the season with him in the bullpen. If he flops during the games that count then you have to do something. You'll have Capps, Hanson, and Yates from the right side and Grabow, Ohman (if you sign him), and either Burnett or Veal from the left side. Throw in Meek and that should complete the bullpen. Good, bad or ugly, go with it. It's not like we have visions of grandeur here.
Posted by: indybucfan | March 27, 2009 at 02:05 PM
"There is no way I'm cutting Hanson yet. He's showed signs of coming around this spring."
Hansen has really got to put it together sometime one would think. he "can" have one of the nastiest sliders in the game one day, then it will be gone the next. he had that same problem with Boston and I really hope that he can get it together with Pittsburgh eventually in a less stressful environment.
Am sure by now that you Buc fans have seen his high 90's FB and are maddened by his inconsistency, but he's young enough to get back the dominance that he has shown in Boston at times, as well as at St. John's and somebody would sure snap him up if he was waived.
Posted by: johns | March 27, 2009 at 02:17 PM
Hansen needs to emerge as a legitimate reliever soon or he'll be considered a AAAA guy.
He's been dominant for three years in the minors, but he's had some really serious command issues in the majors.
If he can figure out how to command his fastball at the ML level, he seems fully capable of becoming a good reliever. That can be a big if though.
Posted by: scribbletone | March 27, 2009 at 03:10 PM
this would be smart of the Pirates. they need pitching BAD.
Posted by: death. CyaniDe | March 27, 2009 at 03:34 PM