The Pirates announced that they have claimed infielder Brent Morel off waivers from the Blue Jays. Toronto designated Morel for assignment last week after claiming right-hander Liam Hendriks off waivers from the Orioles. Pittsburgh will announce a corresponding 40-man roster move later today, according to a team press release.
Morel cracked Baseball America's Top 100 list as a White Sox farmhand prior to the 2011 season but has slashed just .229/.276/.333 batting line in 669 Major League plate appearances. A bulging disk in his back has played a large part in the offense decline for the 26-year-old, who in 2010 batted .322/.359/.480 across two minor league levels. He's drawn praise for his glove at third base, though Toronto was reportedly going to use him at second base.
world series bound with this move!! and too think they could have signed cruz for 8 mil glad we dodged that bullet
I’m glad they dodged that bullet too. Last thing they should be doing is giving away money and draft picks in order to keep Polanco off the field.
You do realize the cruz contract was for 1 year would give polanco 1 more year in the minors to develop, and if he is raking you could still call him up and deal Cruz to someone else for another piece of the puzzle
I also realize that there is no reason to hold Polanco back for a full year. If it wasn’t for his arbitration and free agent clock, he would be on the opening day roster.
Giving up a 1st round draft pick and $8MM to a player in hopes of using him as a trade chip at the deadline is awfully backwards thinking.
I don’t know if you were around back in the day but we had this guy named Tyke Redman absolutely raked in the minors did nothing in the majors this could happen to Polanco as well then where will be? in the same boat as last year watching Tabata and snider flailing about out there
Just saying Cruz was a Known quantity, side fron all the Hype Polanco still is a question mark
Yeah. I can’t think of anything questionable about Nelson Cruz at all.
That argument went out the window the minute they went out and got Marlin Byrd
Tabata and Snider weren’t getting the job done in RF last season. The Pirates went out and acquired a player who was putting up better numbers to fix the problem.
I fail to see how that’s the same thing as acquiring a player just in case there might happen to maybe, possibly, hypothetically be a problem somewhere down the road.
Don’t spend to fix hypothetical problems.
I pointed out Byrd becuase you eluded to Cruz past with ped ..
…and I pointed out that Byrd was already producing at a higher level than what the Pirates had when they acquired him. He wasn’t an unknown entity fixing a hypothetical problem.
You’re comparing Polanco to Tike Redman? Really? Tike Redman was never considered a top prospect. Tike Redman never “raked” at any point in his 14 year career in the minor leagues.
That’s like comparing Andrew McCutchen coming up as a prospect to Chris Duffy because they were both kinda fast.
“Tike Redman or Chris Duffy. See also: Adrian Brown, Emil Brown, Jacob Brumfield… etc., etc.” 😉
You do realize that a small market team like the Pirates giving up a 1st round pick for a player they don’t need would be a terrible move right?
So i guess you and the the others are the zombies that keep sipping the kool aid of the poor nutting…Giving up a what 15th round pick that probably wont pan out. To help get back to the post season this year would be bad .. ok i got it y’all win and also Gabby is the answer!!
1st round pick. Not a 15th round pick.
Also, not sure what signing Nelson Cruz has to do with Gaby Sanchez playing 1B.
I meant 15th in the first round. whoa my bad holy crap they would have had to give up the 24th pick in the first omg that would have deflated the whole farm system.. and as for the Gaby comment y’all seem so sure of the do nothing approach I was agreeing with you! Also had they signed Cruz would have made the offense at first base not such a glaring hole
So…just to clarify your argument…You think Gaby Sanchez is a bad first baseman, so the Pirates should keep Polanco at AAA for another year and they should have given up the 15th pick in the draft to sign Nelson Cruz, because Marlon Byrd had a good season last year.
No. I wouldn’t say you’re agreeing with me.
Gabby Sanchez is a former all star, who has had a knee problem two years ago. Due to his knee problem he gained some weight and needed a year to shed the weight which he supposedly has. Also he does his job fantastic against lefties. So there is no reason to criticize him. Also Nelly Cruz is an outfielder not a first baseman.
We already have a bridge to Polanco named Jose Tabata. Sure, he’s not going to mash the ball and put up 30 homers, but we need a contact hitter like Tabata and not another hitter who will put up 140+ K to go with high K guys such as Alvarez, Marte, and possibly whoever mans the other half of the 1B platoon. Cruz has generally been about a 2 WAR guy throughout his career. I’d bet Tabata can be a 2 WAR guy too if given significant playing time in RF. People tend to forget how well Tabata played down the stretch filling in for Marte. His production was not that different from Byrd’s during the final months of the season.
Hoping this precludes another deal. Otherwise, I’m not sure who they drop from the 40-man roster.
Chase d’Arnaud….finally!
OK I can live with that. I forgot he was still on the roster.
Good depth move. The Pirates don’t have much 3B depth at all.
That’s what I thought when I saw this. Also, Morel is a plus-glove there. If he makes Opening Day roster, he can spell Alvarez occasionally against lefties, or sub for Pedro defensively late in a game if he gets pinch run for, or some things of that nature. Last year, it was often Josh Harrison or Russell Martin spelling Pedro… yikes.
Internal solution. Move Alvarez to 1st.
I like Alvarez at 3rd. He took a nice step forward with his glove last year. He still boots some routine plays, but there are times where he really looks like Ken Caminiti out there with that arm. Morel looks like a good backup for Pedro at 3rd and a spot starter against lefties.
first off moving Alvarez to first just opens another hole at 3rd base. Second off Morel is a better option that J-Hay atleast he has potential. Third off, why do people say World Series here we come every time moves like this are made. Not every move is a blockbuster, and yes we havent necessarily made any however little moves like this can go a long way during the year.