Offseason In Review: Pittsburgh Pirates
Next in our Offseason In Review series, the Pirates.
Major League Signings
- Octavio Dotel, RP: one year, $3.5MM. Includes $4.5MM club option for 2011 with a $500K buyout.
- Ryan Church, OF: one year, $1.5MM. Arbitration-eligible for 2011.
- Brendan Donnelly, RP: one year, $1.35MM.
- Bobby Crosby, SS: one year, $1MM.
- Javier Lopez, RP: one year, $775K.
- Total spend: $8.125MM.
Notable Minor League Signings
- Brian Bass, Brian Burres, D.J. Carrasco, Vinnie Chulk, Neal Cotts, Wilfredo Ledezma, Jack Taschner, Tyler Yates, Luke Carlin, Brian Myrow, Jonathan Van Every
Trades and Claims
- Claimed P Justin Thomas off waivers from Mariners
- Acquired 2B Akinori Iwamura from Rays for RP Jesse Chavez
- Claimed P Chris Jakubauskas off waivers from Mariners
- Acquired Rule 5 pick OF John Raynor from Marlins
- Acquired 3B Jesus Brito from Indians for SS Brian Bixler
- Claimed OF Brandon Jones off waivers from Braves
Notable Losses
- Jesse Chavez, Matt Capps, Chris Bootcheck, Denny Bautista, Phil Dumatrait, Luis Cruz, Robinzon Diaz, Brian Bixler, Jeff Salazar
Summary
Between Iwamura and their free agent signings, the Pirates added about $13MM in guaranteed money this winter. They also non-tendered Capps, who earned $2.425MM last year.
In Dotel, the Pirates may well get a performance similar to that of Capps. And the club option on Dotel gives the Pirates a possible second year at a defined price rather than a potential arbitration disagreement with Capps for 2011. That said, GM Neal Huntington has to be questioned for getting nothing at all for Capps. Huntington blamed his front office's leak of a potential non-tender for the disappearance of Capps' trade value, but the reliever could've been dealt during the '09 season, during Spring Training 2010, or during the '10 season.
They aren't big names, but I like the Pirates' free agent signings. The relievers could have midseason trade value, and getting Carrasco on a minor league deal was a win. Church and Crosby will challenge the incumbents and even offer a little bit of upside for $2.5MM.
Surrendering five years of Chavez for one of Iwamura, and paying Iwamura $4.85MM, diverges from Huntington's plan. Reading Huntington's comments to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the GM seems to be going for respectability with this move. Why not keep Chavez and sign Kelly Johnson at half the price, while also potentially retaining Johnson for 2011? Maybe Iwamura puts the Pirates on the radar of other Japanese players, but this move raises an eyebrow.
Despite concerns about Capps and Iwamura, I liked the Pirates' offseason. The Orioles and Nationals, in a similar rebuilding-for-2010 position, threw down $30MM each. The Pirates spent only $13MM, and most likely will be open to trading any of their new acquisitions if it improves the club in the long-term.
Joe Mauer Extension Reactions
Joe Mauer's eight-year, $184MM extension with the Twins will be officially announced later today. Reactions from around the web:
- Aaron Gleeman says "the decision was a no-brainer for the Twins despite the incredible amount of risk involved." Gleeman notes that a payroll in the $100MM range will still leave the Twins with "more money to spend than they had in any previous season" despite Mauer's percentage.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post suggests Twins catching prospect Wilson Ramos could "enable the Twins to better preserve Mauer." Or maybe Ramos becomes one of the game's better trade chips?
- How much did Mauer leave on the table? ESPN's Jayson Stark believes he could've gotten $30MM per year and more than eight years on the open market. Stark's colleague Buster Olney says Mauer "might've walked away from the promise of another $60 million to $70 million in free agency."
- ESPN's Rob Neyer discusses the opportunity costs of being locked into a Mauer megadeal, as well as the short-term credibility cost of not signing him.
- Red Sox catcher Victor Martinez told WEEI's Alex Speier that Mauer "deserves every penny he got." Regarding his own extension, Martinez is leaving the ball in Boston's court and hasn't heard anything thus far.
Red Sox Sign Alan Embree
The Red Sox signed reliever Alan Embree to a minor league deal that could pay the lefty about $1.1MM if he makes the major league roster and reaches his incentives for games pitched. Embree will earn $500K for making the big league club, and he'll have the chance to opt out of his contract on April 15th to reassess his situation. This marks Embree's second stint with the team, as he joined the Red Sox in a 2002 trade and pitched for them until his '05 release.
Amalie Benjamin of the Boston Globe added the opt-out details; Alex Speier of WEEI.com added the salary Embree will earn if he's on the major league roster and Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston added specifics about the incentives (Twitter links).
Embree, 40, posted a 5.84 ERA, 4.4 K/9, and 4.4 BB/9 in 24.6 innings for the Rockies last year. His season ended in July when a line drive fractured his tibia. Checking Embree's FanGraphs splits, his recent work against lefties has been spotty.
The Sox already have lefty relievers Hideki Okajima and Fabio Castro on the 40-man roster and Brian Shouse in camp on a non-roster invite.
Mets, Rockies Interested In Joe Beimel
5:35pm: Foxsports.com's Ken Rosenthal tweets that the Mets continue to talk with Beimel, while other clubs remain in the mix.
9:25 am: The Rockies expressed interest in free agent lefty Joe Beimel, reports Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post. Southpaw Franklin Morales is slated to close while Huston Street is out with a shoulder injury, creating an opening in left-handed relief.
Beimel, 33 in April, posted a 3.58 ERA, 5.7 K/9, and 3.1 BB/9 in 55.3 innings for the Nationals and Rockies last year. The excellent FanGraphs splits pages show us that Beimel still handles lefties quite well, but had home run problems against them last year. He is not to be used against righties.
Today is the one-year anniversary of Beimel's one-year, $2MM deal with Washington, so he's not afraid to wait for the right situation. At the trade deadline the Nats traded Beimel and cash to Colorado for Robinson Fabian and Ryan Mattheus. The Rockies chose not to offer arbitration to Beimel on December 1st. Last we heard Beimel received an offer from the Mets in recent weeks.
John Smoltz Lands TBS Job
5:00pm: Smoltz's contract with TBS contains outs if wants to resume his baseball career, writes Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. No surprise there. Rosenthal notes that the Phillies "have shown a strong interest in Smoltz as a possible midseason addition."
THURSDAY, 12:24pm: Smoltz put the odds of pitching again at 50-1, talking to Jeff Schultz of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution yesterday.
TUESDAY, 12:31pm: Free agent pitcher John Smoltz will join TBS as a regular season and playoff analyst, according to a press release. Smoltz's statement on the career move: "Joining Turner Sports' Major League Baseball coverage is a great opportunity for me to stay immersed in the game that I love and I'm really looking forward to this experience."
Smoltz told the AP he is not officially retired, though ESPN's Buster Olney talked to some club execs who read his career move that way. Smoltz was still able to demonstrate strikeout and control skills in his 78 big league innings last year and generated interest from ten teams as a free agent. A few days ago, Smoltz told Murray Chass he hasn't ruled out pitching but hasn't made any decisions.
D’Backs Sign Reynolds To Three-Year Deal
The Diamondbacks officially signed third baseman Mark Reynolds to a three-year, $14.5MM deal today. The deal includes a $1MM signing bonus, $500K this year, $5MM in 2011, $7.5MM in '12, and an $11MM club option for '13 with a $500K buyout. Reynolds also received a limited no-trade clause.
Reynolds narrowly missed Super Two status, so 2011 would've been his first arbitration year. This extension overwrites Reynolds' 2010 renewal, meaning the club option is on his last arbitration year. The D'Backs get Reynolds' first two arbitration years at roughly $14MM, so the cost savings don't appear to be great. Piecoro finds Reynolds comparable to Dan Uggla, who will receive $13.15MM for his first two arbitration years and is not on a multiyear deal. The 26-year-old Reynolds broke out with a 44 home run campaign in 2009.
Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic first reported the agreement, and MLB.com's Steve Gilbert added details (via Twitter).
Mike Axisa contributed to this post.
Odds & Ends: Lo Duca, Pujols, Strasburg, Guzman
Links for Thursday…
- The Mariners watched free agent catcher Paul Lo Duca this spring, reports Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post.
- Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch weighed in on the Cardinals' Albert Pujols extension situation in his chat yesterday. Strauss gives a 75% chance Pujols remains a Cardinal for life.
- Using Tim Lincecum for comparison, Dave Sheinin of the Washington Post estimates delaying Stephen Strasburg's Nationals debut until late May could save the team $18MM.
- Nationals GM Mike Rizzo told MASN's Ben Goessling that while he considers all trade possibilities, he's "certainly, certainly not" trying to trade Cristian Guzman.
Blue Jays Release Casey Fien
The Blue Jays released pitcher Casey Fien, tweets MLB.com's Jordan Bastian. The poor guy has already bounced from the Tigers to the Red Sox to the Jays this winter. Bastian's colleague Jason Beck chronicled Fien's travels ten days ago.
Fien, 26, posted a 3.41 ERA, 10.2 K/9, and 2.3 BB/9 in 58 Triple A relief innings last year. He struggled in 11.3 big league frames, which marked his Major League debut. Baseball America ranked Fien 27th among Tigers prospects, writing that he "profiles as a middle reliever." Still, his minor league command is intriguing.
Blue Jays Return Zinicola To Nationals
The Blue Jays were forced to return Rule 5 righty Zech Zinicola to the Nationals, reports MLB.com's Jordan Bastian. Bastian learned that the Blue Jays attempted to work out a trade with the Nats, but Washington declined and instead paid the $25K to get Zinicola back. The 25-year-old Zinicola posted a 5.33 ERA, 7.8 K/9, and 3.2 BB/9 in 54 minor league innings last year. Two years ago, Baseball America suggested Zinicola "has the stuff to be a late inning reliever in the Majors, but he needs to be more consistent with his command and mental approach."
Bastian notes that at least eight pitchers are still vying for four Toronto bullpen spots, and Merkin Valdez, Shawn Camp, and Dana Eveland might have a leg up because they're out of options.
Rizzo Optimistic About Dunn Extension
Nationals GM Mike Rizzo told MASN's Ben Goessling yesterday that extension talks with Adam Dunn's agent Greg Genske are "amicable and upbeat." The two sides have met since the beginning of Spring Training. Rizzo does not consider Opening Day a hard-and-fast deadline.
Dunn, 30, hit .267/.398/.529 in 668 plate appearances for the '09 Nationals, logging 540 innings at first base and 685 in the outfield. He's set to earn $12MM as he enters the second year of a two-year contract. In the opinion of Thomas Boswell of the Washington Post, a three-year, $40MM extension would be a win for the Nats.
Rizzo spoke very fondly of Dunn to MLB.com's Bill Ladson in February, even suggesting the slugger has a shot at the Hall of Fame. Rizzo said Dunn will work hard to become an average defender at first base.