The Pirates will decline their club option over infielder Josh Harrison, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (Twitter link). Likewise, infielder Jung Ho Kang is heading to free agency, MLB.com’s Adam Berry tweets.
Rather than a $10.5MM payday, Harrison will take a $1MM buyout and head onto the open market. Kang, meanwhile, receive $250K on his way out the door after the team passed on a chance to keep him for $5.5MM.
The 31-year-old Harrison is renowned for his versatility and at his best can deliver value in all facets of the game. Unfortunately, his hitting has never returned to the levels he showed in a breakout 2014 season. Last year, he carried only a .250/.293/.363 slash. While he’s sure to secure a MLB job somewhere, the $10.5MM price tag was clearly too steep.
As for Kang, also 31, it seems there’s still a possibility of a reunion with the Pittsburgh organization. Otherwise, his outlook is murky. He has done nothing but hit in the majors, but also hasn’t seen substantial playing time since the 2016 campaign owing to a DUI conviction and resulting inability to secure a visa. While he returned late in the 2018 season, Kang did not have a chance to reestablish himself and remains a bit of a wild card on the present market.
see ya fella
He’ll be a solid pick up for any team no matter what capacity that may be. Assuming they don’t pay outrageously for him
He always reminded me of Billy Hall. Slightly better bat than Hall towards the end of Hall’s career, but both chased everything and never walked, which has hurt Harrison’s career.
2nd Base in this years market is really deep.
Daniel Murphy
Ian Kinsler
Jed Lowrie
DJ LeMahieu
Brian Dozier
Josh Harrison
Asdrubel Cabrera
Logan Forsythe
Plus more.
Daniel ain’t playing 2nd for nobody. Not for a good team, anyway.
Murphy will resign with the Cubs and platoon with Zobrist. Russell is out and Baez is the every day SS.
Idk about kinsler
He is the reason the bosox didn’t sweep but besides that I think he beat days are behind him.
You could say that for the majority of those guys.
What guys?
My mistake Batty. I thought you were referring to the Sox but now understand you were referencing the compiled list. Sorry.
Beat days?
JHay gets his wish from last winter.Perhaps he and Cutch can hook up again.He will need to improve his OBP if he plans to continue playing long term,and his days of $10M contracts and being a starter are over.I think that he will have to go back to being a utilityman.He was a good Bucco for a lot of years though and I wish him well.His spirited and clutch play will be missed.
Good Post #cutch
Kang if he stays and signs is a good pick up, it’s a Tampa rays type reclamation project but he has the skills, just needs to get his sh*t together
Good point….at the moment the Rays don’t have a typical 3b type. Wendle and Duffy aren’t. Kang will fit if…..
What would you do with Daniel Robertson? Or the back-to-prospect-status Keon Wong? Don’t see the fit there….Besides, with Brandon Lowe and Nick Solak, Rays have their fill of offense-first, defensively challenged middle IFs. As a result, too many3B types.
I saw Solak in 2016 on Staten Island. A few seasons ago but he can flat out hit.
Kang is 32 with a ton of personal problems. The Rays can do better. Not sure they can do worse than Kang.
‘Ton of personal problems’ ? Yeah he has the issue with the dui’s , which is a huge deal, but what else?
This further adds to the giants not tendering Joe Panik
Harrison would be a good fit in Boston.
Josh Harrison to Yankees baby! They are in need of a 2nd baseman or shortstop. If they put him at 2nd, they can slide Torres to short where he was signed as to play. Let’s see if this happens.
I want Harrison on the Cubs please.
Not a bad idea. I like Murphy, but his defense is terrible at 2nd.
Murphy is a dh. His defense and legs are horrible
The cubs are in decline or haven’t you noticed?
Harrison seems like a Mets type of signing, but who knows what Van Wag will do.
Why the Mets?
He isn’t on the DL.
He signs with the Mets he will immediately pull a hammy and DL here we come!
Kang would be a great choice for the Orioles, who need EVERYTHING. If he does well(and he would) he’s a trade piece, and even if he doesn’t do well, he’s better than the absolute trash that make up the alternatives.
Rumor is Pirates already have Kang locked back up. They put him back on the 40man.. unless its an error…
I’m a little sad to see Harrison’s option declined, but it’s not too much of a surprise. Maybe they can land him on a smaller deal, but we’ll see..
I’d rather not have him back. Frazier will be better
The “fans” would rather see the team spend money on lesser players than save money on better players.
Silly comment. Harrison was not good this year. It’s not 2014. His penchant for chasing at pitches 3 feet out of the zone has grown tiresome. He is “better” than very few. Sincerely, a “fan”
I’m pretty sure he was saying that he was happy with Harrison not being brought back my guy.
They save 14 million from declining these 2 options, plus the $ from this past year they held on to. So it should be an busy off season for the bucs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . OR NO? ☠☠☠
Josh Harrison would look good on the south side of Chicago.
Sounds good to me