The Pirates have made a late addition to their rotation mix, announcing Friday that they’ve signed veteran righty Trevor Cahill to a one-year deal. The JBA Sports client will reportedly be guaranteed $1.5MM and have the opportunity to take home another $1MM via incentives. Those incentives are based on innings pitched and kick in with a $100K bonus for reaching 75 frames. Cahill would also earn $150K for reaching 100 innings, $200K at 125 innings, $250K at 150 innings and $300K at 175 innings.
Cahill received interest from as many 16 teams, Nightengale writes, following a season that saw him post a 3.24 ERA/4.38 SIERA over 25 innings with the Giants. Presumably, based on the terms of his contract, much of that interest was on non-guaranteed deals.
Long a ground-ball specialist, Cahill seemed to change course in 2020, albeit with the caveat of his very small sample size of work. Cahill had only a career-low 33.3% grounder rate, while his K% rocketed to 29.2%, by far the highest of his 12-year career. His Statcast metrics were solid overall, and Cahill continued to deliver his signature elite-level curveball spin.
It was a solid bounce-back outing from a very rough 2019 season that Cahill post a 5.98 ERA/4.95 SIERA over 102 1/3 innings with the Angels. Cahill was bedeviled by a 22.5% home run/fly ball rate that season, but he cut that number down to a much more palatable 12.5% in 2020.
The 33-year-old Cahill worked as both a starter and reliever in San Francisco, and it seems likely that he’ll be ticketed for rotation work in Pittsburgh. Certainly, his incentive structure is geared toward that role. With Jameson Taillon, Joe Musgrove, Trevor Williams, and Chris Archer all now pitching for other teams, the Pirates have definitely need for some innings-eating arms in the rotation.
Cahill joins fellow newcomer Tyler Anderson alongside Mitch Keller, Chad Kuhl, and Steven Brault as the top rotation candidates in Pittsburgh, though this collection could change significantly as the season goes along — whether just by simple attrition, other youngsters stepping up to grab jobs, or the rebuilding Pirates trading more hurlers elsewhere.
USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reported the agreement and the terms (Twitter links).
this guy got a major league deal?? hmmm
Well, not really. It’s the Pirates.
F off !!
You tell him. Pirates spending is a good thing.
Dice-Don’t get too excited about baseball pun.His real name is baseball troll.He will be harping on the next team with the worst record in the future.
It’s not so much that their record sucks, it’s that the owner treats them like a minor-league team. Which is a shame, because historically it’s a first-class organization and a great baseball town with by all accounts one of the best ballparks in the league (haven’t had the pleasure of seeing it myself).
And go f*** yourself, Mendoza.
You do the same,baseball troll.
The Giants ballpark is excellent!
Lol… great for the rest of the central!
Hey troll get a life… Enough of the sarcastic remarks about the pirates. All teams money is tight
He had a solid year last year.
Who Gives a biscuit
those trying to project his value for this year and determine whether this was a good deal
Considering the pirates traded away 4/5ths of their rotation and the fact that they are playing for the highest draft picks aka the worst record makes it no surprise Trevor Cahill got a major league deal with them, surprised they also havent signed Porcello
Well hopefully they are thinking smart in that he was good last year so possibly they could flip him but honestly, I don’t know that the pirates think that far ahead
Great signing. Underrated not flashy but the epitome of a workhorse.
U agree !
Tryout as a Starter and can move to pen if necessary
Odd… anyone else see a trade coming because I’m lost
In life or what ?
Makes sense. Pick up cheap pieces that may bring value at the deadline while bolstering a young rotation in the meantime. I like it.
I was hoping he’d stick in SF for another year but….
Pirates just signed their opening day starter for $1.5M.
Pittsburgh fans, meet your opening day starter.
We will see in three or four years how funny they are
It’s Cahill’s off year. Only sign him for even years.
He’s like the early 2010s Giants of decent pitchers.
Maybe a panic signing after the beating that Anderson took on Wednesday vs. the Yankees. The Bucs will need a lot more than 5 starters to eat up innings this year. Good pickup.
Teams don’t make panic signings based on Spring Training games. Especially the Pirates who don’t care if they lose.
If Cahill pitches like he did for the Giants last season then the Pirates have decent trade bait mid-season. If he pitches like he did for the Angels in ’19 then the Pirates will probably cut bait mid-season
I may be wrong but it seems to me that they have had an interest in him for a number of years but he did not seem to want to be courted by the Pirates.
It is getting late,though,so he may have thought them to be better looking now.
I always thought that he was a decent pitcher and a MLB team cannot have enough of them,especially this year with the minor leagues mssing last year and only 3/8 of a ML season.
Yes, I remember him being talked about over the past few years also. Maybe we can find another Todd Richie. He showed up out of nowhere one year and was really good.
This guy has ability. Have no idea why he looks like a decent starter at times
while other times looks like a guy that should be cut. Health? He does have some nasty stuff. Worth a shot in a season where it looks like six starters are needed
No, it’s the uniform. When he’s wearing Angel red, he looks like he should be cut. All other uniforms are good. Congrats to the Pirates for not being Angel red.
Pirates will be lucky to win 60 games this season.
The Pirates won’t be nearly as bad as you think that they’ll be and that’s only because you obviously think that winning 60 would signify a good year. They will win close to 70.
I don’t see any NL Central team getting more than 90 wins and that may be too generous. If the Pirates played in any other NL division we might be talking about them being ’03 Tigers or ’18 Orioles bad
This team isn’t good but they are shaping up to be better than I expected. They appear to be solid defensively with a decent pen. There are enough hitters with upside on this team that if guys like Reynolds, Polanco, and Moran hit to their capability, they could be better than horrible. The rotation will be the biggest weakness but I don’t see this as an all time awful team.
RSox-This assessment may or may not be accurate but it would be just retribution for the three years that they had the cumulative second best record in baseball and each year finished behind the team with the best record in baseball.
Good move by Cahill. Guranteed rotation spot, pitcher’s park and a chance to get traded at the deadline to a contender. If he performs well, he can re-enter the free agent market next year with some earning potential.
If he performs well he’s probably destined to be dealt for some prospects, so good move for the Pirates. Can’t really lose with that small of a base salary.
Nice, Nutting should be forced to spend all his revenue sharing proceeds on players rather than putting it into his pocket.
The only time Cahill was horrible was with us.
I knew that Nutting would make a major move with his stimulus check.
For some reason I thought it was the Padre’s
Cahill doesn’t cost much and may be the best starter they have.
If he craters, so what?
But if he pitches well…or just decent…he is worth a prospect in late July.
I dont see a downside.
This seems like a good signing
Dam this duds like a 1000 yr old. Didn’t he strike out Willie Stargell once
33 is not old ! Give the guy a chance. There is a very long list of who struck out Stargell . Although Stargell was one of best pure power hitters of all time.
Go dumpster dive for your date
3.1 IP 7 hits 6 runs 2 BB 1 K 2 homers allowed
Pirates will need all the starting pitchers they can sign right now as current pitchers have no history or pitching more than 150 in a season. Given many of the current staff have minor league options this will help spread out starts to protect younger arms. Defensively improved as well, especially at corners with Hayes at 3rd and Moran/Frazier at first a big improvement. Have to find a way to protect Reynold’s at 3 in batting lineup, if he gets good pitches he will rebound nicely! If Eckstein and Marin can keep improvements coming I think this will be a fun team to watch. Hoping Shelton is the right guy for his first full season!
Cahill’s agent has done a terrific job for his client his entire career.
Like the signing but are we trying to corner the market on number 5 starters? LOL
The bottom line question is if Cahill is worth 2M.
Yes he is. The worst thing that can happen is the Pirates just tossed 2M into the street. So what? Their payroll is obscenely low, even by post-Covid standards. I get the Buc’s financial limitations, but if ownership can’t invest 2M, they should pull the franchise.
And who know? There might be some gas left in the tank for Cahill. He’d be very flip-able on July 31, especially this year.
Only the Pirates would get their #1 starter two weeks before the regular season and pay $1.5 mil for him. We’re all smart enough to know that if he pitches well; he’s gone before 7/31. He will turn into more mediocre prospects and Pirates world remains the same. Ugh.
Hey Pittsburgh, Bartolo Colon remains unsigned
Sign me up for Bartolo playing another year in the NL and having to hit. As a Pirates fan also sign me up for a getting close to 50 year old Bartolo pitching. Let’s get back to back #1 picks
“Are you rebuilding? Do you need someone – anyone – to pitch those games you’ve got to play while you get through it? Try Trevor Cahill today!”
That’s the pitch I’m figuring his camp must be giving. It seems like every spring he’s joining someone who has no hope to get them through.
I find it interesting how posters like to pile on the Pirates and their ownership. It is interesting because from 2011 to 2020, the Pirates made the playoffs more than eleven others clubs did. Only thirteen clubs made the playoffs more than the Pirates. Granted the Pirates have not won the World Series during that decade, but twenty-one other clubs also failed to win the World Series. The evidence would suggest that the Pirates have performed better than many teams and most posters don’t really look at evidence.
Who needs evidence or statistics when you have emotions?
@Skeptical
2010-current
3 good years. 2013-2015.
1 year with pretty much even split
7 seasons lost more than won.
=11 seasons
I can’t think that is good, acceptable, or even just ok.
Pirates 2021- Just accept the losing.
Skeptical-It seems to me that many of these posters/ semi trolls are just negative people who just want to dump on somebody or something.The Pirates are currently the whipping boy.
Nutting is a businessman first and foremost.He will spend if the Pirates are in contention.I liken it now to winning 60 or 70 games.Should he spend $25 M more to do so?The owners of the wealthiest teams can flush money down because they are bringing in so much already..I am not sticking up for Nutting,but it is rare that a team has an owner like Mike Ilitch or Artie Moreno who have money to burn.
The Pirates have generally been middle of the pack after their three year success.The last year and a half has been close to historically awful.They will get higher draft choices,and hopefully BC has brought improvement to the scouting,drafting,and minor league coaching areas.
I just call the continuous negative just to be negative posters out for what they are.
Trolls.
Don’t think that there is any logic to a troll.
The Archer trade hurt them, and it was that July surge that put the Pirates in the race. Have to wonder what would have been said if Huntington did nothing. He would have been ridiculed.
NL Central is vulnerable. Lots of weak spots.
you guys dont get it is about payroll flexibility that keeps the owners newspapers and 7 springs in business
Cahill has only pitched 194 innings since 2009. There’s no way he’s an “innings eater”, or even close to a #1 as the trolls would like you to believe.
What you talk’n about, Willis? He’s pitched nearly 1,500 innings since 2009; 212 IP in 2018-2019 alone.
For a few years prior to 2018, he primarily pitched out of the bullpen.
https://www.mlb.com/player/trevor-cahill-502239
I stand corrected. For some reason the default statistics are for ST.
I thought something felt odd in lack of innings, but I still don’t think he’ll be too much of an innings eater this year.
The Bucs are probably hoping to get 140 or so innings from Brault, Kuhl, Keller, and Anderson and maybe 100 innings from Cahill, Brubaker, Crowe, and Yajure. I doubt any club is planning to get 200 innings from even their aces this year. Aces probably go about 175 this year.
Finally he’s on a staff where he can be dubbed their ACE!
Potentially a huge signing.
Pirates don’t need a full season of his Cy Young candidate year, they need a couple months. If they can get anything close to not bad, then they bought at least a decent prospects for $2M. I would’ve tried to drop an option on it too. almost like buying a 3rd round draft pick.
well assuming that the team is stinking it up in the w/l column… that’s what most expect.
Isn’t he now like the 2nh highest paid player on the roster now? lol.
Best case scenario for the Pirates is he is able to bring back a low A lottery ticket at the deadline.
Good signing for $1.5 million. Ideally he would be a swingman but that’s not going to happen unless some good pitchers come up from the minor leagues.
This guy is like a yo yo. The team that gets hm in 2022 is going to like the results.
Sorry, Pirates
Not a bad signing
The Pirates have been keeping tight on the budget since Jim Leyland was there. He talked about it to the press way back in 1994. In spite of his comments, I’ve always enjoyed the Pirates win or lose.
Cubs- You like the Pirates only because they have been fodder for your Cubbies since 2015!
Admit it!