Pirates May Shop Jack Wilson This Winter
Pirates GM Neal Huntington was diplomatic when asked about Jack Wilson‘s future with the Pirates. But it seems pretty clear the 30 year-old shortstop will be shopped this winter.
Wilson makes a fine trade chip for the Bucs, especially given the free agent market for shortstops. Orlando Cabrera may require three or four years, and he’ll be 34 in November. Rafael Furcal wants to stay with the Dodgers. All the other free agents are question marks. Teams such as the Blue Jays, Tigers, Twins, Reds, Cardinals, and Giants may be looking for a shortstop. The Jays would probably only enter the mix for Wilson if J.P. Ricciardi is fired.
Wilson will earn $7.25MM in ’09 and may see his $8.4MM option for ’10 exercised. He can block trades to six teams. He’s hitting .279/.322/.355 this year in 288 plate appearances, down from last year but near his career marks. His defense is highly regarded.
Odds and Ends: Kazmir, Thomas, Sweeney
We’ll kick it off with a few links today and add more bullets periodically.
- Cole Hamels feels that he handled his contract renewal last year immaturely.
- Over at The Hardball Times, Geoff Young looks at the best compensation picks of the 20th century.
- Geoff Blum‘s ’09 option vests with one more plate appearance.
- Bronson Arroyo has a plan to make the Reds competitive.
- Matthew Cerrone explains Carlos Delgado‘s ’09 option.
- Jeff Passan on the Cardinals’ brilliant signing of Ryan Ludwick.
- Baseball Prospectus profiles #26-50 on their list of players to build a team around.
- Twins reliever Brian Bass accepted a Triple A assignment, so he won’t become a free agent.
- MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo takes a preliminary look at the ’09 draft order.
- Jamey Newberg wonders if the Rangers could pry Scott Kazmir loose this winter. It’s hard to see the Rays trading him.
- Susan Slusser expects the A’s to add an impact bat this winter, but free agent DHs Frank Thomas and Mike Sweeney will probably be let go. In a related note, ESPN’s Buster Olney says the A’s had a chance earlier this year to acquire Jason Bay for a package including pitching prospect Vin Mazzaro.
Jays Acquire Jose Bautista
The Blue Jays have announced the acquisition of Jose Bautista from the Pirates for a player to be named later.
Bautista is making $1.8MM this season, his first of arbitration eligibility. He signed a one year deal last winter, avoiding arbitration. Bautista was hitting .242/.325/.404 in 107 games for the Pirates, very close to his career marks of .240/.328/.397. Nothing amazing, but a decent pickup for a team with some question marks in the infield next year.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.
Heyman’s Latest: Pie, Cole, Snell
Here’s the latest column from SI.com’s Jon Heyman.
- Cubs prospect Felix Pie has seen his value slip this year. He didn’t hit in 70 plate appearances with the big club. His Triple A OPS slipped from .973 in ’07 to .780 this year. You have to wonder if the Cubs will remove the untouchable tag this winter.
- Heyman says there was never any negotiations between the Yankees and Scott Boras regarding Gerrit Cole. The Yanks would’ve offered $4MM+, but Cole preferred college (at his father’s urging).
- Heyman confirms Ian Snell was available before the trade deadline. The Pirates wanted pitching prospect Franklin Morales and then some from the Rockies. Snell is on an affordable long-term contract, so maybe talks will be revisited in December.
Post-Draft Roundup: Hosmer, Smoak, Strasburg
Below I’ve collected more interesting remaining links regarding the amateur draft.
- The Royals bumped their offer from $5MM to $6MM and signed top pick Eric Hosmer. Rany Jazayerli was surprised to see Hosmer effectively get more than #1 pick Tim Beckham. The Royals joined the Red Sox and Pirates as teams spending around $10MM on draft picks this year.
- The Rangers resisted a Major League deal for Justin Smoak, and ultimately signed him to a $3.5MM minor league deal. Owner Tom Hicks pined for a hard slot system.
- The story of pitcher Chris Gruler, picked third overall by the Reds in ’02, reminds us to temper our enthusiasm for these kids. Many will bust.
- Tim Lincecum says Buster Posey can expect other minor leaguers to treat him differently because of the bonus he received.
- The race is on for Stephen Strasburg, who is separating himself from the pack as the top talent in the ’09 draft. The Mariners, Padres, and Nationals all have a shot at him, with the Nats in the "lead." Would the Nats avoid Strasburg due to signability concerns?
Rosenthal’s Latest: Holliday, Fuentes, Kotsay
Ken Rosenthal posted a new Full Count video this weekend.
- Rosenthal believes the Rockies are "almost certain to trade Matt Holliday this offseason." Should be a hot topic at the Winter Meetings in December. Rosenthal says to watch out for smaller-revenue sleepers on Holliday like the Nationals, Royals, and Blue Jays. Holliday, a Boras client, is set to earn $13.5MM in ’09 before he hits free agency.
- Rockies closer Brian Fuentes has yet to hit the waiver wire, but he will soon. Rosenthal wonders if the Dodgers would win the claim if their record is worse than Arizona’s when Fuentes hits the wire. The Marlins, Astros, and the NL non-contenders would have to pass first. I could see the salary-shy Dodgers passing on Fuentes, but the Phillies probably wouldn’t let him get to the Mets. At any rate, a team would have to beat two draft picks to pry Fuentes loose in a trade.
- Somewhat surprising new addition to our cleared waivers list – Braves center fielder Mark Kotsay. Apparently a number of teams are interested in the resurgent Kotsay, though not enough to take on his remaining salary.
- The Braves nearly acquired Jason Bay in July, and will be in the market for a slugging outfielder this winter. They’ll also be looking for a quality starter, likely in the Ryan Dempster/A.J. Burnett/Jon Garland range. Click here to browse the free agent market.
Draft Reactions: Pirates Sign Pedro Alvarez
Friday night was a major victory for the Pirates’ new regime, as they signed #2 overall pick Pedro Alvarez to a reasonable $6MM minor league deal. The Pirates spent almost $9.8MM on their 32 draft picks, easily a franchise record.
- Dejan Kovacevic has the negotiation details. Scott Boras called GM Neal Huntington five minutes before the deadline, and Huntington stood firm at $6MM. Alvarez verbally accepted and the Pirates quickly fired off an email to MLB headquarters.
- Huntington and Boras had spoken regularly, and the calls were cordial. Kovacevic says Boras was just posturing with the $9.5MM Major League deal talk, as the Pirates ultimately got their man at their price. Boras complained about the midnight deadline creating administrative problems and eliminating negotiation.
- Nationals GM Jim Bowden wouldn’t go past $3.5MM for top pick Aaron Crow, but called Alvarez a "really good signing."
- Pirates shortstop Jack Wilson wasn’t impressed with the signing, as many members of the current team will be gone when Alvarez arrives.
- Interesting media subplot: the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Bob Smizik took umbrage to the suggestion that local radio host Rocco DeMaro got the scoop on the Alvarez signing.
More Odds And Ends: Rays, Rangers, Burnett, Pirates
A few more random notes from the MLBiverse…
- Rays executive VP Andrew Friedman says the team’s waiver position makes it "extremely unrealistic to expect that [the Rays] will be able to get something done in August."
- Tom Hicks says the Rangers will look for free agents this offseason that fit the team, but he doubts they will offer any long-term deals to pitchers over 30. That doesn’t rule out C.C. Sabathia or Oliver Perez.
- A.J. Burnett denies he has already decided to opt out of his contract, but Jays manager Cito Gaston thinks the pitcher won’t be back.
- Dejan Kovacevic says now that the signings are concluded, the Pirates’ draft bonanza was unprecedented for the organization.
Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.
Pirates Sign Pedro Alvarez
11:43pm: Great news for Pirates fans – they’ve signed Alvarez to a $6MM minor league deal. So much for Boras demanding $10MM.
11:41pm: The Bucs failed to sign pitcher Tanner Scheppers, who slipped to the second round due to a shoulder injury. Scheppers was looking for $2MM, and his audition wasn’t great. GM Neal Huntington issued a statement on the Scheppers situation.
4:59pm: Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette weighs in on the Pedro Alvarez negotiations. He believes the Pirates have an offer on the table, and are open to a Major League deal. However, Kovacevic says there is no chance of the Pirates approaching a $10MM Mark Teixeira-like contract. The Pirates and Scott Boras have six hours to find a compromise.
Odds and Ends: Kendall, Laird, Giles, Manny
Today’s linkage…
- A friend pointed out to me how strange it is that the Twins were willing to take on Jarrod Washburn‘s salary and give up Boof Bonser but chose to trade Johan Santana before the season. If Bill Smith could go back in time, would he still make that deal?
- A Gary Sheffield acquisition by the Rays is "unlikely but not impossible," according to one Buster Olney source.
- As expected, Jason Kendall‘s option for ’09 vested. He’s off the list!
- The Rangers were willing to trade Gerald Laird and a solid prospect to the Marlins for Chris Volstad.
- The Padres are wavering on Brian Giles‘ 2009 option. Scott Miller also wonders if they’ll be able to take on Trevor Hoffman for another year.
- Miller says the Marlins had a deal for Manny Ramirez worked out, but the commissioner’s office killed it because the Marlins would’ve been getting draft picks rather than a second player. Manny would’ve vetoed it anyway.
- Rob Neyer thinks the Yankees will exceed a $200MM payroll if need be next year.
- There seems a good chance Randy Johnson pitches next year.
- Randy Winn and Bengie Molina may be traded this winter.
- Missed this one from Monday – the White Sox acquired reliever Franklyn German from the Pirates for a player to be named later.