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Pirates Have Initiated Extension Talks With Four Players

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The Pirates have launched exploratory talks with at least four players about possible long-term deals, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports on Twitter. Jon Heyman of MLB Network had previously reported that the club intended to explore deals of this kind with some young talent.

Among the targets are outfielder Bryan Reynolds, middle infielder Kevin Newman, and starter Joe Musgrove — all relatively youthful, quality MLB players. The Bucs have also approached top prospect Ke’Bryan Hayes, per the report.

As we discussed when the initial news arose, this is hardly surprising in the full context. The Bucs, like many lower-budget organizations, have long relied upon early-career extensions to achieve value. And there are indications that there’s a broader push to lock up relatively inexperienced players around the game, though we’ve yet to see an onrush of dealmaking.

There are some interesting elements here, though. Hayes is an especially intriguing target since he has yet to appear in the big leagues. That’s no longer a barrier to an extension, as we’ve seen several such accords, but it’s also not exactly commonplace.

Most recently, Luis Robert lined up on a $50MM deal — a record-setting number for a pre-MLB player. But he has risen to the ranks of the the most elite prospects in the game. And he had already secured a huge bonus ($26MM) when he signed as an amateur. Suffice to say, Robert had ample leverage.

Hayes is generally regarded as one of the fifty or so best prospects in the game, so he’s not to Robert’s level of future expectations. Perhaps a better comparable is Scott Kingery, who was promised $24MM in his agreement with the Phillies two years back. It’s arguable the market has moved north since that time, so Hayes would be justified in viewing that as a starting point.

Also of note: the lack of talks — so far as is known publicly — between the Pirates and star first baseman Josh Bell. The Bucs already agreed to a $4.8MM arbitration salary with the 27-year-old, who is coming off of a breakout 2019 season. Bell would surely cost a far sight more than any of the players listed above.

Pirates To “Explore” Extensions With Young Players

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The Pirates expect to “explore multiyear deals” with certain of the team’s early-career MLB players, according to Jon Heyman of MLB Network (via Twitter). The likelihood of agreement isn’t clear.

Recent reporting indicated that teams around the league are pursuing quite a few deals of this kind. It’s not surprising to see the Bucs participating in that effort. Early-career extensions have long been a key part of the team’s strategy. And while the team is in flux from a competitive standpoint, all teams are interested in scenarios that increase the value of their existing control rights over players.

Heyman lists several potential candidates, though it’s not clear which have actually been targeted by the Pittsburgh organization. Outfielder Bryan Reynolds, middle infielder Kevin Newman, and starter Joe Musgrove are all tabbed as possibilities — just the trio you’d likely have thought of.

Reynolds hasn’t even cracked a full year of service, but is coming off of an extremely impressive 2019 debut that might’ve earned him a Rookie of the Year award in some seasons. Newman is still two full seasons away from arbitration. He also put up a strong effort last year, slashing .308/.353/.446 in his first full season in the bigs.

It’s a bit of a different situation for Musgrove, who is already into arbitration eligibility at 27 years of age. He’s slated to earn $2.8MM for the coming season, so he has already locked in significant earnings. Musgrove has been a solid rotation piece since coming over before the 2018 season, compiling 285 2/3 total innings of 4.28 ERA ball.

NL Central Notes: Pirates, Reynolds, Newman, Cardinals, Goldschmidt, Flaherty

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The Pirates are more likely than not to land outside the playoff picture in 2020, but they’ve not given up the notion of wreaking some havoc on the NL Central this year. To do so, however, Bryan Reynolds and Kevin Newman will need to avoid the dreaded sophomore slump, writes Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. True enough, Reynolds and Newman came out the gate strong in 2019, posting 3.2 fWAR and 2.4 fWAR, respectively. And yet, teaming their rookie duo with Josh Bell’s breakout bat still only amounted to the 20th-ranked offense by runs scored (758 runs), 19th by wRC+ (92). Beyond these three, the other two Pirates rounding out their top-5 by wRC+ in 2019 now play for different teams (Starling Marte, Corey Dickerson), and the sixth is a pitcher (Steven Brault). Immediately upon the close of 2019, the Pirates had planned to give Brault a go as a two-way player, but with new leadership up and down the organization, it’s unclear what his role will be. Regardless, Jarrod Dyson is the biggest addition made the to position player group this winter. Reynolds and Newman are core pieces of this lineup, and the good news is this: if they do slump in their sophomore seasons, they should have enough leash to find their way back. Let’s jump from the bottom of the NL Central to the top and check in with the reigning divisional champs…

  • As Spring Training games kick off (weather permitting), hitters around the league are putting their offseason swing adjustments to the test. Paul Goldschmidt, Harrison Bader, and Matt Carpenter of the Cardinals will all be deploying tweaked swings to some degree as they seek the kind of offensive consistency that eluded the trio last year, per Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Goldy was the most successful of the three, but his fortunes at the plate sunk and fell seemingly on a monthly basis, and he never quite settled into the type of season to which he is accustomed. A .260 BA was his lowest mark since 2012 by almost thirty points, and while his power remained decidedly above average, it did drop from the astronomical heights of the couple seasons prior. Still, even in a down year, Goldy produced 16% more offense than average. Any substantive regression to his career norms should be enough to raise Goldy’s stock back to the level of franchise cornerstone where the Cardinals expected him to be when they acquired him for three players and a pick last winter.
  • Unsurprisingly, Cardinals manager Mike Shildt wasted no time in naming Jack Flaherty their opening day starter, tweets Goold. Flaherty drove the Cardinals second half push to 91 wins and their first divisional crown since 2015. Who follows Flaherty in the rotation is a more compelling question for those in Cardinals camp this spring. There are no shortage of options, from rotation holdovers like Dakota Hudson and Miles Mikolas, to former ace Carlos Martinez, to newcomer Kwang-Hyun Kim. Adam Wainwright will be somewhere in the rotation after a rejuvenating 14-10 season in which he posted a 4.19 ERA/4.36 FIP across 31 starts. The bridge from Flaherty to Wainwright (to Chris Carpenter to Matt Morris) is a tangible reminder of the Cardinals’ institutional success. 2007, Wainright’s first season as a starter, remains the only losing season the Cards have suffered this century (they went 78-84 and finished in third place).

The Overlooked Pirate

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Andrew McCutchen was the face of the franchise during his time with the Pirates, one of their best players ever, but it became obvious a couple years back they’d have to trade him. Entering 2018, McCutchen’s final year of team control, the low-budget Pirates knew they weren’t going to extend the outfielder. Consequently, Pittsburgh traded McCutchen to San Francisco for two prospects – right-hander Kyle Crick and outfielder Bryan Reynolds – as well as $500K in international bonus pool space. Crick debuted first with the Pirates and has been a quality piece of their bullpen, but Reynolds has been even an more impressive major leaguer thus far.

Reynolds was a 2016 second-round pick of the Giants who ranked among their top five prospects when they traded him for McCutchen. At the time, Pirates general manager Neal Huntington said of Reynolds: “Bryan is an effective offensive player that also plays quality defense. We look forward to working with Bryan to maximize his tools and help him become a quality well-rounded Major League player who can impact a game in many ways beyond his quality bat.”

That sounds right up to now. Since the Pirates promoted Reynolds to their roster April 20, the 24-year-old has slashed a tremendous .354/.407/.563 (157 wRC+) with five home runs in 171 plate appearances. As a member of the Pirates’ outfield, he has accounted for three Defensive Runs Saved and a plus-0.4 Ultimate Zone Rating in 335 innings divided between left and center. The package has been worth 1.7 fWAR, making Reynolds one of the most valuable first-year players in baseball. If not for Mets first baseman Pete Alonso and Padres shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr., there would be far more NL Rookie of the Year buzz centering on Reynolds.

Many a rookie has fizzled after a blazing start, though, so it’s worth checking into the odds of Reynolds continuing to post above-average production going forward. The switch-hitting Reynolds was a .312/.373/.472 batter in 1,217 minor league plate appearances, which augurs well, though all but 57 of those attempts came in Double-A ball or lower. Reynolds always ran high batting averages on balls in play in the minors, but his .439 BABIP as a Pirate flat-out isn’t going to sustain itself. It ranks first in the league among those who have totaled at least 170 PA this year. Reynolds is on pace to accrue upward of 400 trips to the plate this season. Of hitters who amassed at least that many a year ago, no one put up a BABIP better than .375.

Going solely by BABIP, Reynolds’ production is going to fall. Reynolds also appears unlikely to keep up his .210 isolated power, considering it never rose above .188 during extended looks in the minors (and that occurred during a low-A stint in 2010). He’s also hitting the plurality of batted balls on the ground, which doesn’t bode well for power. That said, all hope isn’t lost for Reynolds. According to Statcast, Reynolds ranks closer to the top of the league than the bottom in expected slugging percentage (.439; 53rd percentile), weighted-on base average (.347; 62nd percentile), average exit velocity (90.1 mph; 69th percentile), sprint speed (73rd percentile), hard-hit percentage (47.4; 88th percentile) and expected batting average (.300; 92nd percentile).

So, while Reynolds’ .412 weighted on-base average ranks 14th in the league and puts him a few points above Nolan Arenado, he’s not that good. Reynolds’ xwOBA sits 55 points lower than his xwOBA, though it still places him a point or two above household names such as Alex Gordon, DJ LeMahieu and Jose Altuve. Like LeMahieu, Reynolds walks at a slightly below-average clip (7.5 percent). Meanwhile, Reynolds’ strikeout percentage (22.2) is a tad above average. Combining the two numbers makes Reynolds an average performer in terms of K/BB ratio. And the fact that Reynolds hasn’t yet shown any vulnerability from either side of the plate only makes him a more appealing offensive piece.

Reynolds’ bottom-line production through almost two months of his major league career paint him as a budding star. A peek under the hood suggests he’s not there yet, but Reynolds does look like a legitimate building block for the Pirates. He and Crick are amounting to a nice return for one year of control over McCutchen, whom the Pirates weren’t going to bring back. It’s a welcome bit of good news for a team that doesn’t appear to have made out that well in sending Gerrit Cole, Austin Meadows and Tyler Glasnow away in other key trades dating back to January 2018.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Pirates Rumors: Kingham, Keller, Outfield, Vazquez

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The Pirates’ rotation in 2019 has been unexpectedly weak. Injuries to Jameson Taillon and Trevor Williams and some alarming regression for Chris Archer have overshadowed solid performances by Joe Musgrove and offseason signee Jordan Lyles. Longtime prospect Nick Kingham entered the year out of minor league options and struggled so greatly that the team begrudgingly designated him for assignment last week and now seems likely to lose the righty.

Pittsburgh isn’t currently certain who’ll start for the organization on Wednesday this week, but general manager Neal Huntington told reporters that the Pirates will “look externally” to see if there are any palatable options available (links via Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and Adam Berry of MLB.com). Top prospect Mitch Keller is a candidate to make that start, but the Bucs have already recalled and optioned Keller once this season. The next time Keller is called up to the Majors, Huntington noted, the team would like it to be a permanent promotion. Adding an external option would allow the team to give Keller a bit more time in Triple-A, where he has 100 1/3 total innings since last season, but the Bucs won’t find a more talented option than Keller to plug in for that Wednesday outing.

In the meantime, the Pirates will explore the trade market to see what kind of interest there is in Kingham. Huntington noted that players with that type of prospect pedigree “tend to get traded” if they’re designated for assignment and expressed optimism that he will “be able to get something for him” even in spite of his considerable 2019 struggles. Kingham allowed an incredible 38 runs on 54 hits and 17 walks in 34 2/3 innings to begin the 2019 season, but he has a solid Triple-A track record and was long viewed as a potential big league starter. A rebuilding club like the Orioles, Blue Jays, Tigers, Royals or Giants could be intrigued by seeing how he fares in a change of scenery. An injury-plagued team like the Angels or Athletics could make some sense, too.

Perhaps a more intriguing source of trade speculation surrounding the Pirates, however, resides in the outfield. Corey Dickerson returned from the IL to join a mix that already had Bryan Reynolds, Starling Marte and Melky Cabrera playing well. Gregory Polanco has posted roughly average numbers at the plate since returning from shoulder surgery and has a solid track record prior to this season. With all five healthy, it’ll be tough to sort out playing time Huntington unsurprisingly declined to go into specifics but did at least acknowledge the possibility of a trade, stating that while the Pirates like all five outfielder, they’re “always open to opportunities to make this club better.”

That said, with the team slipping in the National League Central, it’s only natural that there’ll be increased speculation about the possibility of trades in the coming weeks — particularly when dealing from a position of strength like the outfield. Moving an outfielder, even to another contender (probably not within the division) could potentially net some help for a pitching staff that hasn’t performed up to expectations so far. If the Pirates surge back into contention — they’re seven back in the NL Central and five and a half back of a Wild Card spot — moving a short-term piece like Dickerson for another veteran could boost the staff. If their slide in the standings worsens, the Bucs could even entertain offers on Marte, who is controlled through 2021 by way of a pair of club options ($11.5MM in 2020, $12.5MM in 2021). Doing so could reap prospect value while opening a long-term spot for the cost-controlled Reynolds.

Also of interest in a selling scenario would be whether the Pirates make standout closer Felipe Vazquez available, but the fact that he is cheaply controlled through the 2023 season would make it extremely difficult to bite the bullet on a deal. “The ask will be big, and they won’t move from it,” one rival executive told ESPN’s Buster Olney when asked about a potential Vazquez deal (subscription required).

That’s probably an understatement. Vazquez has a 2.30 ERA with 14.2 K/9, 2.6 BB/9, 0.99 HR/9 and a 34.4 percent ground-ball rate in 27 1/3 innings so far in 2019. He’s being paid $4MM this year, $5.25MM in 2020 and $7.25MM in 2021 before the team will be able to decide on a pair of club options in 2022 and 2023 — both valued at $10MM. That’s four and a half seasons of control over Vazquez, who’ll turn 28 in July, for a shade under $35MM.

For the time being, it’s likely that the Bucs will find some kind of deal for Kingham (or that he’ll be claimed on waivers) and monitor the market for at least a potential spot-start option Wednesday. There’s sure to be more afoot over the next several weeks, as the Pirates will soon have to give a long-term audition to one of the game’s best overall prospects (Keller) and perhaps resolve an outfield logjam on the trade market. Whether that move is made with an eye toward 2019 or an eye toward 2020 and beyond will probably be dictated by the team’s performance in the near term.

Pirates Select Bryan Reynolds, Recall Cole Tucker, Place Starling Marte On 10-Day IL

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1:45 pm: Per a team release, Marte will hit the 10-day IL with an “abdominal wall contusion,” while Gonzalez will be placed on the 60-day IL with a fractured left clavicle.

11:57 am:The Pirates have recalled shortstop Cole Tucker and selected the contract of outfielder Bryan Reynolds, adding both to the 25-man roster, the team announced. Reynolds will take the final remaining spot on Pittsburgh’s 40-man roster. There has been no corresponding roster moves announced, but it’s been widely speculated that Starling Marte and Erik Gonzalez may both be headed to the IL after their collision in last night’s ballgame.

Fangraphs puts Tucker and Reynolds as the #5 and #9 ranked prospects, respectively. Both will be making their major league debuts after strong showings in Spring Training this year. Tucker, 22, hit .259/.333/.356 in Double-A last year, but he’s torn his way through the Arizona Fall League, Spring Training, and his first thirteen games with Triple-A Indianapolis so far this season, where he was hitting a robust .333/.415/.579 in 66 plate appearances.

Reynolds, you may remember, joined the Pirates as part of the Andrew McCutchen trade. As MLB.com’s Adam Berry points out (via Twitter), the Pirates 25-man roster is now populated by the Pirates’ returns from the McCutchen and Gerrit Cole trades, with Michael Feliz being the only piece from either deal not currently in Pittsburgh. Kyle Crick recently returned from the injured list, Jason Martin is hitting .333/.391/.429 in limited playing time in left, Colin Moran platoons at third, and Joe Musgrove ably holds down a rotation spot for the Pirates.

Pirates List Of Spring Non-Roster Invitees

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The Pirates released a list of non-roster invitees who have been invited to big league camp this spring, per a team announcement. The most notable name on the list belongs to third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes, who ranks second on Baseball America’s list (subscription required) of Pirates top prospects.

Hayes, 22 in January, will likely spend 2019 in Triple A after slashing .293/.375/.444 with Double A Altoona last season, also earning Pittsburgh’s Minor League Player-Of-The-Year honors. Hayes has yet to see his power show up in game, but he’s otherwise marched steadily through the Pittsburgh system since being drafted 32nd overall in the 2015 draft.

Other notables include infielder Will Craig, Altoona’s MVP last season, outfielder Bryan Reynolds, a highly-regarded prospect in his own right who hit .302/.381/.438 in Double A last season, and right-handed starter Tyler Eppler, who tied for Pittsburgh’s minor-league lead in wins while going 13-6 with a 3.59 ERA over 153 innings for Triple A Indianapolis. It also happens to be his birthday, so Happy Birthday and congrats to Tyler, who turned 26 today.

The full list of those receiving the NRI includes Elvis Escobar, Geoff Hartlieb, Alex McRae, Eduardo Vera, Brandon Waddell, Blake Weiman, Jason Delay, Christian Kelley, and Arden Pabst.

NL Central Notes: Coghlan, Cardinals, Reynolds

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In a minor signing that flew under our radar at the time, the Cubs picked up veteran infielder/outfielder Chris Coghlan on a minor league contract just prior to Opening Day (Twitter link via The Athletic’s Patrick Mooney). The 32-year-old Coghlan has batted just .190/.292/.307 over the past two seasons but was a productive bat for the Cubs in 2014-15, hitting .265/.346/.447 in 935 plate appearances. As Mooney noted, his late signing sent him to extended Spring Training to open the season, though Coghlan seems likely to eventually join Chicago’s Triple-A affiliate in Iowa.

Here’s more from the NL Central…

  • The Cardinals announced that they’ve placed right-hander Sam Tuivailala on the 10-day disabled list with a strain in his left knee and recalled right-hander Mike Mayers from Triple- A Memphis. Mayers isn’t required to spend the 10-day minimum in the minors following an optional assignment because he’s directly replacing a player who was placed on the big league DL. Tuivailala, 25, quietly stepped up with a nice season in St. Louis last year, pitching to a 2.55 ERA with 7.2 K/9, 2.3 BB/9 and a 48.8 percent ground-ball rate. The Cards didn’t give a timeline on Tuivailala’s return, though the DL placement is backdated to April 10, so he can return in just over a week.
  • Pirates outfield prospect Bryan Reynolds will undergo surgery to remove the fractured hook from the hamate bone in his left wrist, the team told reporters (Twitter link via MLB.com’s Adam Berry). The Pittsburgh organization didn’t provide a timeline, though prior instances of that injury in the Majors have often come with a timeline around six weeks. (Each injury, of course, comes with its own set of circumstances.) Reynolds, whom the Pirates acquired in the trade that sent Andrew McCutchen to San Francisco, incurred the injury on a swing early in the Double-A season.

NL Central Rumors: Hamilton, Holland, Grichuk, Pirates

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While Billy Hamilton’s name has been oft-mentioned in trade rumblings this offseason, a deal involving the Reds’ fleet-footed center fielder may not be all that likely, writes Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer. San Francisco’s acquisition of Andrew McCutchen doesn’t have much of an impact on the Giants’ chances of swinging a deal for Hamilton as they look to add a strong defender with their (limited) remaining financial resources. But, Buchanan reports after speaking with multiple sources, a deal was looking “unlikely” anyhow. Talks between the Giants and Reds regarding Hamilton have gone “dormant,” per Buchanan, adding that one source expects Hamilton to be in Cincinnati come Opening Day.

More from the division…

  • Cardinals chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. wouldn’t comment on the chances of his team signing Greg Holland, writes Ben Frederickson of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, but DeWitt generally expressed some trepidation about the notion of spending heavily (in either dollars or prospects) to acquire a “proven” closer. “[C]losers are not guarantees,” DeWitt said. “…It’s a hard job. You go over the history of closers, and it’s not particularly guaranteed that you’re going to get longevity, which you think you’ll get out of a starting pitcher.” DeWitt did acknowledge that he’d “rather give up dollars than players” in a general sense, but DeWitt’s full comments certainly don’t convey the sense that adding a high-profile arm for the ninth-inning is a top priority.
  • Frederickson also writes that outfielder Randal Grichuk is “not thrilled” about the notion of being a reserve option in 2018, though that’ll be the case barring an injury to one of Marcell Ozuna, Tommy Pham or Dexter Fowler. Grichuk didn’t complain about his role so much as voice a desire to prove that he can still be a significant asset and factor prominently into the Cardinals’ success. “I hope they feel confident in themselves, and you don’t want anyone doubting themselves, but hopefully they know I’m there,” said the outfielder. “And if I get an opportunity, I’m going to try to make the best of it and not look back.” Frederickson’s column features quotes from roughly a half-dozen Cardinals players as well as manager Mike Matheny and DeWitt.
  • Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review runs down some potential candidates for the Pirates’ outfield — both external and internal — in the wake of the Andrew McCutchen trade. Pittsburgh will likely be on the lookout for a right fielder, with Starling Marte headed to center field and Gregory Polanco shifting to left. Austin Meadows, according to Biertempfel, will head to Triple-A to open the year regardless of how well he plays in Spring Training. (One club source indicated to Biertempfel that Meadows could “hit .900 in Spring Training” and still be ticketed for the minors.) That’s not especially surprising when considering that Meadows posted an ugly .250/.311/.359 slash in his first exposure to Triple-A last year.
  • ESPN’s Keith Law offers his opinion (subscription required and recommended) on the Pirates’ trade for McCutchen, whom he calls a “great” pickup for the Giants, given the putrid output they received from their outfield in 2017 and the low bar that McCutchen has to clear. While neither Kyle Crick nor outfield prospect Bryan Reynolds is an elite young talent, Law opines, Crick offers a potential long-term option in the bullpen and is the type of arm that can “sometimes turn to gold via the alchemy of baseball” despite his history of below-average command (a trait that he did improve in 2017). He calls Reynolds “very interesting,” adding that he considered Reynolds’ to be San Francisco’s second-best prospect at the time of the trade.

Giants Acquire Andrew McCutchen

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5:34pm: Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic tweets that the Pirates are covering $2.5MM of McCutchen’s $14.75MM salary.

5:25pm: It became all the more clear on Monday that Pirates fans are looking at the end of an era, as the team announced that face of the franchise Andrew McCutchen has been traded to the Giants (along with cash considerations) in exchange for young right-hander Kyle Crick, outfield prospect Bryan Reynolds and $500K worth of international bonus pool space.

Andrew McCutchen | MLBTR Photoshop

Outfield help has been a priority for the Giants all offseason after last year’s collective unit combined to bat .253/.311/.374 in more than 2000 plate appearances. Inserting McCutchen into that mix should provide a significant boost on the offensive side of the equation, as the 31-year-old turned in a very strong rebound campaign at the plate in 2017, hitting .279/.363/.486 with 28 homers (his highest total since hitting 31 back in 2012).

Of course, questions about McCutchen’s glovework persisted in 2017 — and it should be noted that the Giants’ outfield defense was the worst in baseball last year. San Francisco outfielders combined to post an MLB-worst -45 mark in Defensive Runs Saved, and they ranked just 28th with a -11.4 Ultimate Zone Rating. The since-traded Denard Span played no small role in those shortcomings, but McCutchen’s marks of -14 and -4.5 in those respective stats  don’t exactly stand out as an indicator that an extensive amount of help is on the defensive horizon.

If the Giants were to play McCutchen in an outfield corner, perhaps he could post more meaningful contributions in that regard. At present, he figures to line up in center field, though the Giants could yet play McCutchen in left field and acquire a cost-effective center field option with a stronger defensive reputation (someone in the mold of Jarrod Dyson, speaking from a speculative standpoint).

However, it’s important to note that there may not be room for the Giants to make much of an addition. San Francisco will add more than $9MM to its luxury tax ledger by picking up the final year of McCutchen’s deal, which should place them roughly $7MM from the threshold. San Francisco has reportedly been aiming to remain under the tax cap in order to reset its penalty level.

[Related: Updated San Francisco Giants depth chart & San Francisco Giants payroll]

For the Giants, McCutchen is the second notable veteran bat the team has landed via trade this offseason. San Francisco also picked up Evan Longoria in a trade that sent Christian Arroyo, Span (plus the remaining year of his contract) and a pair of minor league pitchers to the Rays. Depending on their willingness to either shed additional payroll or pivot and exceed the luxury tax for a fifth consecutive season, those two big-name acquisitions could prove to be the Giants’ primary offseason acquisitions.

The McCutchen agreement comes just days after the Pirates shipped right-hander Gerrit Cole to the reigning World Champion Astros, further signaling a transitional period in Pittsburgh, though the pair of trades does not necessarily indicate that a full-scale tear-down is on the horizon for the Bucs. Both Cole (controlled through 2019) and McCutchen (a free agent next winter) were short-term and relatively high-priced assets — especially for a Pirates team that operates on a notoriously thin budget.

McCutchen is slated to earn $14.75MM in the final season of his contract, whereas Cole had settled at $6.75MM in order to avoid arbitration. The Pirates, then, will be saving a combined $21.5MM with this pair of swaps — money that could, in theory, be reinvested into the 2018 roster. The Pirates have, after all, opened each of the past three season with payrolls in excess of $90MM but now project for a payroll of roughly $82MM in 2018. The Bucs could further reduce that 2018 commitment if the team ultimately finds a trade partner for infielder/outfielder Josh Harrison; the versatile veteran is slated to earn $10MM this season and, like Cole and McCutchen before him, has been an oft-mentioned trade candidate this offseason.

[Related: Updated Pittsburgh Pirates depth chart & Pittsburgh Pirates payroll]

Kyle Crick | Sergio Estrada-USA TODAY Sports

The 25-year-old Crick was the 49th overall pick in the 2011 draft and ranked among baseball’s top 100 prospects from 2013-15, per various reports. While his rise through the minors was slowed by control issues, he had a strong year in 2017 after converting to the bullpen on a full-time basis.

In 29 1/3 innings of relief in Triple-A, he posted a 2.76 ERA with 12.0 K/9, 4.0 BB/9 and a 44.3 percent ground-ball rate. That strong run led to Crick’s big league debut with the Giants; in 32 1/3 innings in the Majors, he logged a 3.06 ERA with 7.8 K/9, 4.7 BB/9 and a 37.9 percent ground-ball rate. Crick’s 95.5 mph average fastball velocity and 11 percent swinging-strike rate both pointed to the potential for his big league strikeout rate to catch up to the more impressive level he flashed in Triple-A.

Crick is controllable through the 2023 season, so he’ll join a lengthy list of controllable assets the Bucs received in the Cole trade as a potential long-term piece that can step directly onto the roster.

“Kyle Crick is a physical, Major League-ready right-handed reliever who brings a high-velocity, live fastball complimented by a quality slider to potentially pitch in a late inning role for the Pirates,” said Pirates GM Neal Huntington. “Kyle’s power arsenal has resulted in a high strikeout rate complimented by inducing a lot of weak contact. After his first exposure to the Major League level last season, Kyle appears ready to take the next steps in what should be a productive career as a high leverage Major League relief pitcher.”

Reynolds, 23 later this month, was the Giants’ second-round pick in 2016 and just wrapped up a strong season in Class-A Advanced, where he hit .312/.364/.462 with 10 homers, 26 doubles and nine triples in 540 trips to the plate. Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com had him fourth among Giants prospects, while Baseball America ranked him fifth among San Francisco farmhands just a few weeks ago (before the Arroyo trade, meaning he’d now rank fourth on their list as well).

“Bryan is an effective offensive player that also plays quality defense,” said Huntington. “We look forward to working with Bryan to maximize his tools and help him become a quality well-rounded Major League player who can impact a game in many ways beyond his quality bat.”

As for the Pirates’ immediate future in the outfield, it’s not yet entirely clear how they’ll fill the void. Starling Marte seems likely to slide over from the corner outfield to center field, which should be a defensive upgrade over the life of a full season. Top prospect Austin Meadows showed in 2017 that he’s likely not yet ready for the Majors — Meadows hit just .250/.311/.359 in Triple-A — so the Bucs could turn to a platoon of 26-year-old Adam Frazier and veteran utility man Sean Rodriguez in left field for the time being.

Alternatively, Pittsburgh could wait out the free agent market and see if any veterans become available on bargain deals. The corner outfield market has no shortage of experienced options (MLBTR Free Agent Tracker link), and some of those names will undoubtedly have to settle for one-year deals later this winter.

Robert Murray and Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports first reported that talks between the two sides were picking up (Twitter link). Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported that the two sides had reached an agreement (Twitter link). Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area tweeted that Crick was in the deal. Yahoo’s Jeff Passan tweeted that Reynolds was likely to be a part of the deal, and The Athletic’s Andrew Baggarly confirmed as much. MLB.com’s Jon Morosi reported that the Pirates would pay some of McCutchen’s salary.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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