Pirates Close To Deal For Kawakami?
THURSDAY, 9:35am: The Pirates seem to be close to a deal for Kawakami, tweets Biertempfel. He says money is one issue, as is the possibility of the Pirates moving Paul Maholm.
1:10pm: The Braves are trying to see whether the Pirates or Orioles will pick up more of Kawakami's salary, tweets Biertempfel.
WEDNESDAY, 11:39am: The Pirates and Braves are still discussing a Kawakami trade, tweets Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
TUESDAY, 2:41pm: A Braves-Orioles Kawakami deal won't happen, tweets Connolly.
12:54pm: The Braves appear destined to unload righty Kenshin Kawakami, picking up much of the $6.67MM tab. The Pirates were linked to Kawakami yesterday, but Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review feels they may have cooled on him given the deals for Kevin Correia and Scott Olsen. Biertempfel says the Orioles are in the mix; Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun reports that the two teams have talked several times.
Kawakami is not the only available Braves starter; David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets that they'd trade Brandon Beachy in the right deal.
Pirates Acquire Valdez From D’Backs To Complete Duke Trade
The Pirates acquired righty Cesar Valdez from the Diamondbacks to complete the Zach Duke trade, the team announced on Twitter.
Valdez, 26 in March, tossed 20 innings for Arizona this year as a rookie. He also did his second Triple-A stint, posting a 5.90 ERA, 8.5 K/9, 4.5 BB/9, and 1.1 HR/9 in 97 2/3 innings. Heading into the '09 season, Baseball America ranked Valdez seventh among Diamondbacks prospects. They called his changeup "a legitimate plus pitch" and labeled him a potential back-rotation starter.
The Diamondbacks acquired Duke from the Pirates in November after he'd been designated for assignment. I'm guessing the Pirates' return was contingent on the D'Backs hammering out a deal with the arbitration eligible lefty, which they did for a $4.25MM guarantee.
Rule 5 Draft Links
This year's Rule 5 draft kicks off in about an hour. Here are a couple of free preview-type links from MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo and Baseball America's John Manuel. We'll cover the Major League phase here at MLBTR. Draft order is determined based on the reverse order of 2010 records.
- The Pirates pick first, and MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch expects them to take shortstop Josh Rodriguez from the Indians.
Pirates Rumors: Maholm, Hall, Doumit, Colon
The Pirates appear to have added Kevin Correia, Matt Diaz, and possibly Scott Olsen at the Winter Meetings, and they're not done. They've made an offer to Kevin Gregg and have also been linked to Aaron Heilman, Jeremy Accardo, Justin Duchscherer, and Brendan Ryan. The latest:
- The Pirates are offering Paul Maholm in potential trades, according to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Twitter link).
- The Rockies aren't interested in Doumit, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post (Twitter link).
- Nick Cafardo implies that the Pirates have an offer out to Bill Hall and he could become their regular second baseman, which would be surprising to me given Neil Walker's presence. MLBTR has learned that Hall would not displace Walker at second if the Pirates sign him.
- The Pirates are trying hard to trade Ryan Doumit and are willing to eat salary, reports MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch.
- The Pirates are currently scouting Bartolo Colon in the Dominican Republic, reports Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. For more on Colon, check out Nick Collias' November article.
- Kovacevic says the Pirates expressed interest in utility man Alfredo Amezaga, but it's "pretty preliminary." Amezaga is trying to come back from microfracture knee surgery performed in July of last year. He appeared in one minor league game in 2010.
Orioles In Serious Talks For J.J. Hardy
7:11pm: The Twins and Orioles are still working on a Hardy deal, tweets Smith.
4:23pm: The teams were never close to a deal today, according to MLB.com's Brittany Ghiroli (on Twitter). The Pirates are also talking to the Twins about Hardy, according to Scott Miller of CBS Sports. Meanwhile, Jason Bartlett's availability will likely shape talks to an extent and the Rays are apparently going to trade their shortstop.
2:28pm: A deal is unlikely to be completed today, tweets Kelsie Smith of the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
12:58pm: The Orioles are in serious trade negotiations with the Twins for J.J. Hardy, tweets Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun via his colleague Jeff Zrebiec. Zrebiec believes two Orioles minor league pitchers would be involved, including Brett Jacobson.
Seven Teams Interested In Octavio Dotel
Seven clubs are interested in Octavio Dotel, according to Enrique Rojas of ESPNDeportes (on Twitter, in Spanish). The Diamondbacks, Blue Jays, Orioles, Twins, Pirates and Yankees have inquired on the right-hander, Rojas writes.
The 37-year-old bounced from the Pirates to the Dodgers to the Rockies in 2010 and posted a 4.08 ERA along the way. He picked up 21 saves as the Pirates' closer and struck out over a batter per inning (10.5 K/9) overall. Dotel walked lots of hitters as usual (4.5 BB/9), but limited hits.
Padres Pushing For Jason Bartlett
The Rays will definitely trade Jason Bartlett, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, who suggests a deal could go down tonight (Twitter links). The Orioles aren't involved, so it's down to the Padres and Pirates. We'll keep track of all the rumors right here:
- Bartlett is likely going to San Diego, according to Dan Hayes of the North County Times (on Twitter).
- The Padres and Rays are discussing a deal that would send pitchers Adam Russell and Cesar Ramos to Tampa Bay for Bartlett, according to Bill Center of the San Diego Union Tribune.
- The Rays are asking the Pirates for Joel Hanrahan, according to Rob Biertempfel (on Twitter).
- It appears that Bartlett wants to sign an extension if traded, according to Sherman.
Pirates Looking At Free Agent Relievers
6:49pm: The Pirates' interest in Chan Ho Park appears to be cooling, according to MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch.
4:34pm: The Pirates have inquired on Aaron Heilman as a reliever, MLBTR has learned. Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports (on Twitter) that the Pirates are not targeting Matt Guerrier.
1:42pm: The Pirates are showing interest in and making offers to a number of free agent relievers, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. He says they were in on J.J. Putz before he reached an agreement with Arizona and are looking at guys like Kevin Gregg. I'm told the Pirates showed lukewarm interest in Hiroyuki Kobayashi, only on a minor league deal.
The Pirates already have Evan Meek and Joel Hanrahan as closer candidates, so it appears they're trying to once again build a late-inning reliever surplus. It worked well with Octavio Dotel this year.
Kevin Gregg Has Multiple Offers
Kevin Gregg is drawing strong interest on potential multiyear deals and has offers from the Red Sox, Pirates, and Nationals, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter links). The Red Sox have offers out to a number of relievers other than Gregg, according to Rosenthal. They're known to be interested in Scott Downs, Matt Guerrier and Pedro Feliciano.
Rosenthal reports that the Orioles and Mariners are also in the mix for Gregg, who has also drawn interest from the Rockies. The Blue Jays will obtain a draft pick for losing Gregg, a Type B free agent.
Pirates Inquired On Orlando Cabrera
1:04pm: Though they inquired, the Pirates are not interested in Cabrera tweets Kovacevic.
9:48am: The Pirates at least inquired on free agent shortstop Orlando Cabrera, reports Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The Bucs seek an upgrade on incumbent Ronny Cedeno, but I'm not sure Cabrera qualifies.
The Pirates have also been linked to Jason Bartlett, Brendan Ryan, and J.J. Hardy.