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Rosenthal’s Latest: Pirates, Astros, Gray, Darvish, Braves

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Thanks to a recent surge that has helped them climb over the .500 mark, the Pirates have ruled out trading either outfielder Andrew McCutchen or utilityman Josh Harrison prior to the deadline, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (video link). However, they’re not necessarily going into the deadline as full-blown buyers. Rather, the team could both buy and sell, as it did last year, and is willing to listen to offers for complementary players such as left-handed setup man Tony Watson, righty reliever Juan Nicasio, third baseman David Freese and first baseman/outfielder John Jaso. As for starter Gerrit Cole, the likelihood is that he’ll stay put, though the Pirates could still entertain offers for him, per Rosenthal.

More from Rosenthal:

  • The Astros appeared to be making a serious push for Athletics righty Sonny Gray at one point this week, but they’re not aggressively involved in the sweepstakes for the 27-year-old right now, according to Rosenthal (FanRag’s Jon Heyman issued a similar report Thursday). Given the recent success of starters Mike Fiers and Brad Peacock, Houston could pursue an elite reliever instead of another piece for its rotation, suggests Rosenthal, who adds that prospect Derek Fisher will likely take over in left field next month if the team doesn’t trade him. Baseball America’s 54th-ranked prospect, the 23-year-old has slashed .311/.380/.584 with 21 home runs and 16 steals across 375 Triple-A plate appearances this season. Fisher got his first taste of big league action last month and swatted two homers in just 21 trips to the plate.
  • As one would expect, the Rangers will have an “awfully high” asking price for ace Yu Darvish if they do market him, relays Rosenthal. Even though Darvish is an impending free agent on a team that doesn’t look likely to make the playoffs, trading him isn’t as obvious as it might seem, contends Rosenthal. Not only do the Rangers “have an unusually close relationship” with the 30-year-old and a desire to keep him for the long haul, but retaining Darvish for the stretch run will give them a better chance to make up a 4.5-game deficit in the wild-card race. Also, they’d lose the ability to make Darvish a qualifying offer after after the season, which Rosenthal regards as a formality. The Rangers will net a pick after the second round if they issue Darvish a QO and he rejects it.
  • If the Braves trade lefty Jaime Garcia, they might use the money they save by dealing him (up to $4.7MM) to acquire a controllable reliever, says Rosenthal, who lists the Orioles’ Brad Brach as a possibility. Brach may not be a realistic target, though, given that Orioles general manager Dan Duquette shot down the idea of trading veterans Saturday.

AL Notes: Sanchez, Red Sox, Indians, Logan, Yankees

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Blue Jays righty Aaron Sanchez left his start today after coming down with another blister, as MLB.com’s Gregor Chisholm reports (Twitter links). While the 25-year-old says he is holding out hope of avoiding another DL stint, that may be optimistic. Sanchez had only just returned from a lengthy absence prompted by the same injury, though it does not appear to have occurred in precisely the same place. Ongoing uncertainty with such a key player doesn’t help the already murky outlook for Toronto, which fell to eight games under .500 with a loss today. It seems reasonable at this point to anticipate at least a minor sell-off of short-term veterans, though most of the players the team would be most willing to move have struggled in 2017.

Here’s more from the American League:

  • The Red Sox now have Giants infielder Eduardo Nunez atop their list of possible third-base targets, a source tells MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (Twitter link). Indeed, the clubs have discussed Boston’s interest in both Nunez and reliever Hunter Strickland, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe reports. It seems the Sox are also still engaged with the Marlins on third bagger Martin Prado (as well as reliever David Phelps) along with Pirates infielders David Freese and Josh Harrison. Of course, it’s worth bearing in mind that Prado is on the DL, while the Bucs may be hesitant to deal given the team’s improved outlook. All told, it still seems to be a wide-open search.
  • It’s not clear if talks have occurred between the Indians and Giants, but Cleveland is scouting Nunez as well, per ESPN.com’s Buster Olney (via Twitter). With the defending AL champs still battling for a postseason spot, they can’t just wait idly for second baseman Jason Kipnis to return from the DL. And a player such as Nunez would also improve the team’s bench once Kipnis is back.
  • The Indians also got some bad news on the pitching front today, as lefty Boone Logan departed his appearance with an injury to his lat muscle, as MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian tweets. Logan owns an ugly 4.95 ERA on the year, but he’s producing 12.2 K/9 against 3.6 BB/9 with a 49.0% groundball rate, with a .360 BABIP helping to explain the disconnect. Ryan Merritt is on hand to give the team another southpaw matchup option to go with relief ace Andrew Miller, though it’s possible to imagine the Indians weighing alternatives if Logan’s injury turns out to be serious.
  • With Todd Frazier now in pinstripes, the Yankees intend to work Chase Headley in at first base, manager Joe Girardi told reporters including MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch (Twitter link). The switch-hitting Headley will pair with new addition Garrett Cooper for the time being, though that duo doesn’t promise to deliver the kind of offensive output that might be hoped for from the position. It remains to be seen whether the Yankees will continue to dabble in the market for first basemen.

Latest On Boston’s Third Base Search

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Already known to have Todd Frazier, Martin Prado, Jed Lowrie and Yangervis Solarte on their radar, the Red Sox are also scouting two Pirates (Josh Harrison and David Freese), a pair of Mets (T.J. Rivera and Asdrubal Cabrera) and the Giants’ Eduardo Nunez as they search for a third baseman, according to Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald.

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Of that five-man group, the versatile Harrison may be the most difficult to acquire – especially considering the Pirates will aim to contend next year even if they don’t make a serious playoff push this season. With a .273/.352/.424 line to go with 10 home runs and 10 stolen bases across 377 plate appearances, in which he has accumulated 2.1 fWAR, the 30-year-old is having a fine campaign. Harrison is also on a reasonable contract, one that pays him $7.5MM this year, $10MM in 2018 and carries club options for 2019 ($10.5MM) and ’20 ($11.5MM). While Harrison would be an immediate upgrade at third for the Red Sox, it’s questionable how he’d fit into the organization in the coming years. Boston’s much-ballyhooed third base prospect, Rafael Devers, is nearly major league ready, and the club has Harrison’s other positions – second base and the corner outfield – covered with Dustin Pedroia, Mookie Betts and Andrew Benintendi.

Freese, 34, would also be more than a rental, as he’s due a guaranteed $4.25MM next season and has either a $6MM club option or a $500K buyout for 2019. Currently on a $6.25MM salary, the long-competent hitter has paired a respectable .245/.376/.364 slash in 271 trips to the plate with decent work at third (two defensive runs saved, 1.7 UZR/150).

The two Mets also come with control beyond this season, though the Red Sox would have the ability to decline Cabrera’s $8.5MM club option for 2018 in favor of a $2MM buyout. Cabrera, who’s earning $8.25MM now, brings a solid offensive track record to the table and has been OK in that department this year (.250/.333/.408 with nine homers in 270 PAs). However, the switch-hitter has just one career appearance at third base, which came back in 2007, and hasn’t looked good at all in the middle infield in his age-31 campaign. Cabrera has combined for minus-14 DRS and a minus-15.2 UZR/150 at shortstop and second, his customary positions.

Rivera, who at 28 is younger than Cabrera and won’t even be arbitration eligible until after the 2019 season, has survived a low walk rate (3.9 percent) since debuting last year to post quality numbers at the plate. Through 311 PAs, including 202 this year, Rivera has batted .315/.348/.469 – a line that’s either 15 percent or 17 percent better than league average, depending on whether you prefer OPS+ or wRC+. As such, he joins Harrison in looking like someone who’d be rather tough to pry from his current employer.

Nunez, a pure rental, is earning $4.2MM and has hit a playable .297/.323/.414 over 280 trips to the plate during his platform year. More impressively, the 30-year-old has stolen 17 of 20 bases, meaning he’d provide another speed threat to a Boston team that already ranks eighth in the majors in steals. Nunez is also capable of playing second, short and left field, though he hasn’t garnered particularly positive reviews anywhere as a defender.

As Boston continues to mull its options before the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline, it’ll utilize a platoon of Brock Holt and Deven Marrero at the hot corner, tweets Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe. After the Red Sox defeated the Yankees on Sunday night, they optioned third baseman Tzu-Wei Lin to Triple-A. Lin fared nicely before his demotion, hitting .280/.379/.360 over the first 59 PAs of his career, but the 23-year-old owns a meager .638 OPS in a much larger minor league sample of 1,954 PAs.

Rosenthal’s Latest: Stanton, Astros, BoSox, Bucs, Mets

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Marlins right fielder Giancarlo Stanton’s mammoth contract isn’t as immovable as it appears, says FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal (video link). Stanton has a full no-trade clause, but he’ll likely waive it if the up-for-sale Marlins begin tearing things down, which Rosenthal expects to happen. Further, Stanton would even “talk about his 2020 opt-out,” according to Rosenthal, who points out that the Marlins could facilitate a deal by eating some of the $295MM left on his accord or taking back an expensive contract from a potential trading partner. Rosenthal adds that Stanton’s annual $25MM luxury tax number won’t seem nearly as burdensome as it currently does when soon-to-be free agents such as Bryce Harper and Manny Machado sign more expensive deals.

More pre-deadline rumblings from Rosenthal:

  • The Astros’ two most untouchable prospects are outfielder Kyle Tucker and right-hander Forrest Whitley, sources told Rosenthal. Houston was unwilling to trade a package including Tucker to the White Sox for Jose Quintana over the winter, and the 20-year-old has since hit .272/.317/.544 in his first 124 plate appearances at the Double-A level. Tucker ranks as Baseball America’s 15th-best prospect, while Whitley, 19, isn’t on the list. The 6-foot-7 Whitley’s only a year removed from going 17th in the draft, though, and he has held his own in Single-A this season with a 2.91 ERA, 13.01 K/9 and 4.08 BB/9 in 46 1/3 innings.
  • With the Red Sox in desperate need of a third baseman, it would make sense for them to pursue Pirates utilityman Josh Harrison, posits Rosenthal. Harrison, controllable at affordable rates through 2020, has recovered from an injury-hampered 2016 to slash .289/.369/.449 with nine homers and 10 steals across 338 PAs this season. If the Red Sox were to acquire Harrison, he’d presumably hold down third for the rest of the year, but it’s unclear what would happen after that. Boston has top third base prospect Rafael Devers on the way, after all, while Harrison’s other positions (second base and the corner outfield) belong to Dustin Pedroia, Mookie Betts and Andrew Benintendi.
  • While the Mets are indeed “open for business” as the deadline nears, some of their top trade chips might not bring back much if the team is unwilling to eat money, notes Rosenthal. Outfielders Curtis Granderson (around $5MM remaining on his contract) and Jay Bruce ($4.3MM), first baseman Lucas Duda ($2.5MM) and infielder Asdrubal Cabrera ($3MM or $5MM, depending on what happens with his $2MM buyout) come with enough money left on their deals to hamper their trade value.

Reactions To Starling Marte’s Suspension

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The baseball world was collectively stunned yesterday by the announcement of an 80-game suspension for Pirates center fielder Starling Marte, who tested positive for Nandrolone — an anabolic steroid (which, as Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette details, has a long history of use in professional sports). Unsurprisingly, there have been a number of reaction pieces written, to say nothing of significant on-field ramifications for the Bucs, who will be without arguably their best player for half of the 2017 season. Some notable aftereffects and reactions…

  • The Pirates have shifted Andrew McCutchen back to center field will utilize a combination of Adam Frazier, Josh Harrison, John Jaso and Jose Osuna (who was called up from Triple-A following Marte’s suspension) in right field, as MLB.com’s Adam Berry writes in an excellent breakdown on the fallout from Marte’s 80-game ban. The Bucs have no plans to shift Josh Bell back to the outfield at this time, per Berry.
  • While the immediate reaction from many was that Marte’s suspension could open a window for touted outfield prospect Austin Meadows, GM Neal Huntington ruled out that possibility (also via Berry’s piece). “We’re encouraged by where Meadows will be at some point over the course of the summer,” Huntington told reporters. “He’s not ready right now, but we’re thrilled by where he can go.” It’s hard to refute Huntington’s assessment; even though Meadows clearly comes with a lofty ceiling, he’s followed up last year’s .214/.297/.460 showing in 175 Triple-A plate appearances with a mere .146/.217/.244 line through 46 PAs in Indianapolis this season. The Pirates typically wait until their top prospects have avoided Super Two status before promoting them to the Majors anyhow, but statistically speaking, Meadows has yet to demonstrate that he’s ready for more advanced competition.
  • Marte first tested positive early in Spring Training, reports USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, but he was allowed to play through this point in the season as his appeal process played out. Nightengale adds that while the Pirates could theoretically make a run at Angel Pagan now with a hole in the outfield, they’ll likely pass. Huntington suggested that trades aren’t an option at this time, Nightengale adds. In Berry’s column above, Huntington indeed suggested that trades for impact players at this point of the season are “not real,” and he cast some doubt on bringing in a free agent: “We’ll always look for ways to improve the club. It would have to be someone who is a significant upgrade over our internal options.”
  • Marte’s teammates, certainly, are disappointed by the news, but they also offered messages of support following the news, writes Stephen J. Nesbitt of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. McCutchen, Josh Harrison, Gregory Polanco and Gerrit Cole were among the members of the Pirates roster quoted in Nesbitt’s column. “He’s not exiled,” Harrison told reporters. “He made a mistake.” Polanco and Cole both referred to Marte as their “brother” when speaking to the media. “When you make a mistake, you gotta pay for it,” McCutchen said to reporters before also voicing his support. “…I’m just trying to be a good friend before I am a teammate.”
  • Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo was among the players to call for more testing throughout the league. Rizzo was doing an interview with Yahoo’s Big League Stew at the time the news of the suspension hit, and told them (Twitter link): “It kinda makes you angry as a player, because you know there are still flaws in the system, you know there are still guys getting away with it. For me, I’ve been drug tested zero times this year. Not once since the beginning-of-Spring-Training standard drug test. Guys are going to get away with it as long as they can and obviously everybody’s going to say they didn’t know they were doing it.” Many current and former players took to social media to call for more stringent testing policies and, in some cases, harsher punishment for first-time offenders.
  • ESPN’s Buster Olney opines that Marte’s suspension taints his legacy in Pittsburgh to the point that he can never provide a suitable return on their long-term investment in him. Marte’s suspension comes early in a pivotal season for the Pirates that may very well be McCutchen’s last year in black and yellow, Olney notes, and Pittsburgh had very little margin for error as it sought to keep up with the Cubs and Cardinals. While it’s hard to disagree with the notion that Marte’s suspension is a poorly timed blow that that Pirates could ill afford, the suggestion that he’s “torpedoed” his value beyond repair seems excessive. Marte is earning a combined $17.5MM in 2018-19 and has a pair of reasonably priced club options for the 2020 and 2021 seasons.
  • Yahoo’s Jeff Passan lists a number of myths and truths about performance enhancing drugs in a reaction column, ultimately calling for transparency and regulated use of certain substances (though not necessarily Nandrolone). Passan points out that some steroids are already commonly used (e.g. cortisone injections for pain) as a reference point when citing that the term “performance enhancing drugs” is rather arbitrary in its nature. “There is a place for chemistry in baseball and all other sports, and it is in a tightly regulated, ever-evolving partnership with doctors, chemists, politicians, ethicists, management and players to develop fair rules for sport while acknowledging sport itself can benefit from the use of drugs,” writes Passan. “The rules in place now don’t work. They never have. They never will.” Passan also suggests that PEDs will never be eradicated from baseball and disagrees with any suggestion that Marte’s value has somehow been erased by the suspension, among other points.
  • Marte might be the best player (at the time of his punishment) to ever receive a suspension for performance enhancing drug use, writes The Ringer’s Ben Lindbergh. Lindbergh profiles the numerous reasons that Marte has flown under the radar as one of Major League Baseball’s most underrated and unheralded stars in recent years, though certainly now that view will be tainted in the eyes of many. As Lindberg adds, there’s a cascading effect of Marte’s suspension, in that the downturn in the Pirates’ expected performance will now make a trade of McCutchen and, eventually, a promotion of Meadows all the more likely.

NL Notes: Brewers, Pirates, Diamondbacks

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Brewers left fielder Ryan Braun revealed Saturday that he made one change to his no-trade clause during the offseason, though he didn’t offer details, reports Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The only teams to which Braun couldn’t block a trade in 2016 were the Angels, Diamondbacks, Dodgers, Giants, Marlins and Padres. He nearly ended up with the Dodgers last August, of course, but the Brewers haven’t engaged in serious talks regarding Braun with LA or any other club since, according to Haudricourt. If the Brewers don’t deal Braun by May 24, he’ll gain 10-and-5 rights and have the ability to prevent Milwaukee from sending him to any of the majors’ other 29 teams. Nevertheless, the Brewers feel no urgency to move the longtime franchise cornerstone anytime soon. “He’s signed for four more years, and a lot of these players have a chance to be here for the same period of time, so this group is going to be together and he’s going to be one of them,” declared manager Craig Counsell. The 33-year-old Braun is still due $76MM, including a $4MM buyout in 2021.

More from the National League:

  • The myriad trade rumors centering on Pirates right fielder Andrew McCutchen during the winter were “more smoke than fire,” general manager Neal Huntington informed Jayson Stark of ESPN.com. Even if that’s true, Stark is skeptical that the 30-year-old McCutchen will finish 2017 in a Pirates uniform. Huntington, though, hasn’t ruled out retaining the five-time All-Star until at least the expiration of his contract after the 2018 season. “Occasionally, we’ve traded a player like (Neil) Walker or (Mark) Melancon,” Huntington said. “So that’s become the narrative, that we’re always going to trade those players before their contract expires. But that’s just not the case.” McCutchen, for his part, felt “disrespected” at certain times during a down 2016, sources told Stark, but Huntington “would love him to be a Pirate for the rest of his life.” However, Huntington knows that finding “financial common ground” with the former center fielder will be challenging.
  • With a new front office in place, “there’s a sense of urgency” for the Diamondbacks to bounce back from a disastrous 2016 and break their five-year playoff drought, center fielder A.J. Pollock told Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. Pollock, who missed nearly all of 2016 after fracturing his right elbow April 1, has never reached the postseason and could be running out of chances to accomplish that feat with the D-backs. The 29-year-old is scheduled to become a free agent after the 2018 campaign, which would give him a max of two more seasons to get to the playoffs in Arizona if the team doesn’t re-sign him. He realizes, too, that GM Mike Hazen could decide to rebuild during that period if the club doesn’t show significant improvement this year. “You do think about it,” Pollock admitted. “A lot of guys – we’re talking about it. I think the best record I’ve been a part of on this team is 81-81. We really, really want to do well. We’ve got a lot of work to do, obviously.”
  • Jung Ho Kang’s legal troubles might affect how the Pirates deploy second baseman Josh Harrison this year, writes Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Harrison could go from the team’s top option at the keystone back to a utility role, which he had filled prior to last season, if Kang misses notable time on account of his third DUI arrest. Harrison is open to shifting around the diamond, telling Biertempfel: “Regardless of where I played last year, certain instances might call for me (to move). Who would I be to say, ‘No, I won’t go (to third)?'” Regarding Harrison, manager Clint Hurdle commented that there’s a “buy-in (to move) that’s real with him. I do think his versatility can help him.” Harrison batted a meager .283/.311/.388 last season, though the torn thumb ligament he suffered in 2015 may have contributed to his drop-off. “If it was cold or if I didn’t hit a ball right, just rolling over that joint sometimes would be painful enough to where I would know that it was still there,” said Harrison, who’s now healthy.

Pirates Still Willing To Trade Andrew McCutchen, Josh Harrison

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Pirates general manager Neal Huntington put both right fielder Andrew McCutchen and infielder Josh Harrison on the block earlier this offseason, though he wasn’t able to find a palatable deal for either. With spring training approaching, Huntington remains willing to trade either player, reports Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.

After he couldn’t secure a taker for McCutchen at the Winter Meetings in December, Huntington declared that the five-time All-Star would likely continue in Pittsburgh. The Pirates have since decided to shift the longtime center fielder to right, where he’ll attempt to bounce back from a highly disappointing 2016 in which his production declined in the field, at the plate and on the base paths. McCutchen was his typical durable self, having eclipsed the 150-game plateau for the sixth time in seven full seasons, but he logged a career-low fWAR (0.7) across 675 plate appearances. That mostly came on account of mixing a slightly above-average batting line (.256/.336/.430) with a major league-worst minus-28 Defensive Runs Saved.

Despite his stunning drop-off last season, McCutchen still comes with a relatively appealing contract. The 2013 NL MVP has two years and $28.5MM left on his deal, including a $14.5MM club option for 2018. However, the 30-year-old has highly rated outfield prospect Austin Meadows pushing for a spot behind him in Pittsburgh. Baseball America, ESPN’s Keith Law and MLB.com all regard the 21-year-old Meadows as one of the game’s 10 best prospects, and it stands to reason he’s not going to knock either of McCutchen’s fellow starting outfielders, Starling Marte or Gregory Polanco, out of the organization. Marte and Polanco, after all, are younger than McCutchen and under team control at eminently affordable prices through 2021 and 2023, respectively.

Harrison, meanwhile, is controllable for up to four more seasons – including two club options – at a maximum of $39.5MM. Like McCutchen, Harrison endured a rough 2016; unlike McCutchen, though, Harrison doesn’t carry a star-caliber track record, which has surely made it that much more difficult for Huntington to find a quality return for him. Since he earned his lone All-Star nod in 2014 and then inked an extension the next spring, Harrison has slashed a mediocre .285/.318/.389 over 971 trips to the plate. Harrison, to his credit, put up a career-high 19 steals and registered a plus DRS (eight) in 1,077 innings at second base in 2016. Nevertheless, thanks largely to a subpar .283/.311/.388 batting line in 522 PAs, he accounted for a below-average 1.5 fWAR.

Huntington tried in November to jettison Harrison in order to re-sign then-free agent Sean Rodriguez, and failing to do so led Rodriguez to join the Braves. Now, barring a late-winter deal, the 30-year-old Harrison will start 2017 at the keystone in Pittsburgh. It seems an ideal scenario for the club would include dealing him and opening up an everyday job for utilityman Adam Frazier. The 25-year-old impressed as a rookie last season, as he hit .301/.356/.411 in 160 PAs and totaled double-digit appearances at second, left field and right field, and Huntington took notice.

“We believe [Frazier] will evolve into a very versatile defensive player who can swing the bat,” Huntington told Stephen J. Nesbitt of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette last month. “We also see a role in which he progresses into a regular, where he takes a position, grabs hold and never let’s go. It’s just we have somebody in front of him right now in some places. His opportunity is going to be to bounce around the field and do what he does well.”

Elsewhere on Pittsburgh’s roster, if Rule 5 pick Tyler Webb makes the team, it could could lead Huntington to trade either Tony Watson or Antonio Bastardo, writes Biertempfel. Webb, Watson, Bastardo and Felipe Rivero would give the Pirates four left-handed relievers. While both Watson and Bastardo have come up in trade rumors this offseason, the former would clearly warrant a greater return. Watson last year wasn’t as effective as he had been from 2013-15, as his 4.37 FIP paled in comparison to the combined 2.92 figure he recorded over the previous three years. On the plus side, the former setup man and current closer did exceed the 65-inning mark for the fourth straight season and post a 3.06 ERA. He’s also set to rake in an a reasonable salary in the $6MM neighborhood in 2017, which is his final season of team control. Bastardo is entering a contract year, too, but the Pirates’ reported willingness to eat some of the $6.5MM he’s owed hasn’t paved the way for a trade.

Pirates “Open” To Trading Josh Harrison

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The Pirates have attempted to swing a trade involving infielder Josh Harrison and remain open to doing so, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Pittsburgh had hoped to deal Harrison and re-sign Sean Rodriguez, per the report, though was unable to complete such an arrangement before Rodriguez joined the Braves.

Harrison, 29, has seen his production at the plate tail off following a breakout 2014 campaign. He’s guaranteed another $19MM on the extension he signed the following winter, which covers two more seasons as well as buyouts on a pair of successive club options for 2019 and 2020.

The Bucs doubled down on Harrison after he put up 550 plate appearances of .315/.347/.490 hitting, with 13 home runs and 18 steals, in that 2014 season. He followed that up with league-average production in the following year, but fell further in 2016. Over his 522 trips to the plate, Harrison managed only a .283/.311/.388 slash with four homers.

Harrison’s bat is based largely on contact, as he rarely strikes out (14.3% for his career) or walks (3.5%). While his speed continues to allow him to generate a fairly elevated batting average on balls in play, Harrison slumped to 27.7% hard contact and a 19.5% line-drive rate in 2016, both of which fell shy of his output in the prior two years.

There is other value to be found in the infielder. He swiped 19 bags in his most recent season and has continued to rate as a quality overall baserunner. And Harrison’s glove rates well at both second and third. He’s also capable of playing the corner outfield or, in a pinch, shortstop.

The question for teams that might consider a move Harrison is whether they see any possibility that he’ll return to the power output he showed three years back. His .175 isolated slugging mark has dipped to just over .100 in the ensuing years, which rates well below average and leaves him as more of a quality utility infielder than an everyday option. Given Harrison’s inability to spend regular time at short, it’s somewhat unclear whether another organization would be willing to take over the fairly expensive contract.

For Pittsburgh, Harrison remains penciled in at second base as things stand. While David Freese remains available as an option at third after signing an extension in August, Rosenthal says that Jung Ho Kang would not be moved from the hot corner to second in the event that Harrison is dealt. Instead, it seems, the organization would consider youngsters Alen Hanson and Adam Frazier if they find a trade partner. Alternatively, the Pirates could pursue another external addition.

Josh Harrison Out Remainder Of Season Due To Groin Strain

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The Pirates have issued a press release announcing that infielder Josh Harrison has suffered a right groin strain and is projected to require four to six weeks in order to recover, thus ruling him out for the remainder of the regular season. Should the Pirates make a last-minute surge and find themselves in the postseason, Harrison could potentially return in mid-October if his recovery period proves to be on the shorter end of the spectrum provided by the team. Harrison tells MLB.com’s Adam Berry that he’ll perform his rehab with the team and continue to travel with the club (Twitter link).

Harrison, 29, will see his regular season come to a close with a .283/.311/.388 batting line, four homers and a career-high 19 stolen bases on the year. Though he’s capable of playing all over the diamond, Harrison has served as Pittsburgh’s primary second baseman this season, with David Freese manning third base in the lengthy absences of Jung Ho Kang, Jordy Mercer handling shortstop and Sean Rodriguez filling in at three infield spots and both corner outfield positions.

Harrison is in the second season of a four-year, $27.3MM contract extension that was signed early in the 2015 season and called for him to earn a reasonable $5MM in 2016. He’s guaranteed salaries of $7.5MM and $10MM in each of the next two seasons, and the Bucs have club options that are worth $10.5MM and $11MM, respectively, for the 2019 and 2020 seasons. While Harrison hasn’t played up to the standard that earned him that contract — he batted .315/.347/.490 with a career-best 13 homers in 2014 — he’s been a useful piece for the Pirates in each of the past two seasons and figures to continue to operate as such moving forward. The power he displayed in 2014 always seemed a bit dubious — six of his homers that year were of the “just enough” variety, and he’d never topped seven homers in a previous professional season — but Harrison has maintained his excellent contact skills (14.6 percent strikeout rate this year), delivered consistently above-average value on the basepaths and provided perennially above-average defense at second base.

Pirates Notes: Morton, Pitching, Melancon, Niese, Nicasio, Kang

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The Pirates are one of several teams holding a FanFest today. Reporters, including MLBTR’s Charlie Wilmoth, were on hand for the Q&A with GM Neal Huntington. The Pirates’ GM admitted that today’s Morton swap was mostly about payroll relief, although the club does like David Whitehead.

Here’s more Pirates notes:

  • Today’s trade of Charlie Morton will likely instigate “multiple moves,” tweets Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. After the move, the Pirates payroll is around $88MM with a target of about $105MM per Biertempfel (tweet). Huntington told reporters including MLB.com’s Adam Berry (tweet), “A big part of the motivation was to free some dollars to allow us to deepen the club, to reestablish some depth.“
  • Industry sources implied to Biertempfel (tweet) that pitchers like Scott Kazmir, Mike Leake, or others over $10MM per season are not on the Pirates radar. However, there is no doubt that at least one starting pitcher is on the agenda. The rotation presently consists of Gerrit Cole, Francisco Liriano, Jon Niese, and Jeff Locke. Presumably, the club prefers for Locke or Niese to fill a long relief role with Allen Webster serving as minor league depth. Top prospect Tyler Glasnow is not expected to reach the majors early in the season.
  • Closer Mark Melancon is expected to earn $10MM in arbitration per MLBTR estimates, but the club is under no pressure to trade him, tweets Biertempfel. The team could potentially get by in the late innings with Tony Watson, Arquimedes Caminero, and new acquisition Juan Nicasio. However, a bullpen with Melancon is certainly more robust. With the market for quality closers at a premium, Pittsburgh would find it difficult to replace Melancon. Per Huntington, “if somebody steps up and gives us a return that’s significant enough to motivate us to get a little bit uncomfortable, then we get a little bit uncomfortable.” (h/t to Wilmoth for the quote).
  • In commenting on Nicasio, Huntinton told Wilmoth, “We do think there are some things we can help him with. Now, is it going to be enough to make him a good starter? Time will tell. Is it going to be enough to make him a really good reliever? Time will tell.” The Pirates have developed a reputation as a haven for reclamation projects which could make Nicasio an interesting player to watch.
  • Comparing recent acquisition Jon Niese to the market, Huntington said “he’ll continue to put up numbers similar to guys who are getting sixty, seventy, eighty, ninety million dollars in free agency — we have three, essentially, one-year contracts with Jon Niese.” While Niese comes with less cachet than somebody like Mike Leake, it’s true that they project to perform similarly. As such, Huntington may very well beat the market with this swap.
  • Huntington says Jung-ho Kang is more likely to return in April than May, per Berry (tweet). If true, this is a lucky break for the club. They currently have some combination of Josh Harrison, Jordy Mercer, Alen Hanson, and Pedro Florimon penciled in for second base, shortstop, and third base. An injury or poor performance from Hanson could leave the club scrambling for reinforcements.
  • The Pirates will retrench in 2016 with an aim to contend again in 2017, writes John Perotto of the Beaver County Times. While the club will still pursue a postseason berth next year, they’ll have their eyes on developing top prospects like Josh Bell, Glasnow, and Jameson Taillon.

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