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Pirates, Todd Frazier Agree To Minor League Deal

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FEB 20: The Pirates have formally announced the signing of Frazier. He has received an invite to spring training.

FEB 19: The Pirates and veteran corner infielder Todd Frazier are in agreement on a minor league contract, longtime New York Post scribe Kevin Kernan reports (via Twitter). Kevin Williams of the Shore Sports Network writes that Frazier himself confirmed the agreement to him. Frazier, a CAA Baseball client, will head to Major League camp with the Pirates as a non-roster invitee. Frazier will earn a $1.5MM salary if he makes the club, Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic tweets. The deal is pending a physical.

Frazier, who turned 35 last Friday, is a 10-year veteran who has appeared with the Reds, White Sox, Yankees, Mets and Rangers since his 2011 debut. He has consistently been an above-average producer at the plate, having slashed .242/.319/.448 (108 wRC+) with 218 home runs and 73 stolen bases in 4,909 trips. Frazier has also twice hit at least 35 homers in an individual season, earned a pair of All-Star nods and been a plus defender at third, where he has put up 20 Defensive Runs Saved and a 24.6 Ultimate Zone Rating across almost 9,100 innings at the position.

While Frazier has enjoyed an impressive career thus far, he had to settle for a minors deal with the bottom-feeding Pirates because of subpar production between the Mets and Rangers in 2020. Frazier hit a mere .236/.302/.382 (89 wRC+) with four HRs and a career-worst .146 ISO in 172 PA. Frazier also notched rather ugly Statcast numbers, evidenced in part by a .295 expected weighted on-base average that ranked in the league’s 15th percentile and barely outpaced his real wOBA of .281.

Although his production fell off last year, there’s no harm in taking a low-risk chance on Frazier from the Pirates’ perspective. Frazier could at least be a bench option for the team behind the projected third-first tandem of Ke’Bryan Hayes and Colin Moran if he earns a roster spot. If Frazier performs well in that role, the Pirates may be able to flip him elsewhere prior to the trade deadline.

Pirates Sign Tyler Anderson

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It’s been an offseason focused on stockpiling prospects and shedding payroll for the Pirates, but the club on Wednesday announced its first Major League free-agent signing of the winter. Left-hander Tyler Anderson has signed a one-year contract for the 2021 season, while Rule 5 righty Jose Soriano has been placed on the 60-day IL to open a spot on the 40-man roster. Anderson, a client of Beverly Hills Sports Council, is reportedly guaranteed $2.5MM on the deal.

Tyler Anderson | Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Anderson became a free agent when the Giants non-tendered him at the Dec. 2 deadline. The 31-year-old appeared in 13 of their games last season, started 11, and notched a 4.37 ERA in 59 2/3 innings. Those numbers look OK, but Anderson survived despite below-average strikeout, walk and groundball percentages of 15.8, 9.6 and 28.5, respectively. Anderson also only managed a 5.69 SIERA, which ranked next to last among 81 pitchers who amassed at least 50 innings in 2020.

Before he joined the Giants, Anderson spent 2016-19 as a member of the Rockies, with whom he largely posted acceptable production. Overall, Anderson has a 4.65 ERA/4.36 SIERA with a 21.0 percent strikeout rate and a 7.7 percent walk rate across 456 2/3 innings. The former Oregon star and first-round pick has seen his time on the mound interrupted by a series of knee injuries, by Anderson’s elbow and shoulder have held up throughout his pro career.

Anderson should fill a rotation spot this year with the non-contending Pirates, who don’t have anything resembling a front-line starter at the moment after trading away both Joe Musgrove and Jameson Taillon this winter as part of their ongoing rebuild. Anderson will join Steven Brault and Chad Kuhl as the most experienced starters on the 40-man roster in Pittsburgh, while younger arms like Mitch Keller, JT Brubaker, Wil Crowe and Miguel Yajure will vie for opportunities to prove themselves at the MLB level.

Any of Anderson, Brault or Kuhl could emerge as summer trade chips if they’re throwing well this year, and it’s still plausible that either Brault or Kuhl could be moved between now and Opening Day.

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic first reported the agreement (via Twitter). Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported the terms (Twitter link).

Pirates, Brian Goodwin Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Pirates have agreed to a minor league deal with outfielder Brian Goodwin, reports Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (via Twitter). He’ll be invited to Major League Spring Training. Goodwin will earn a $1.6MM salary with up to $900K in bonuses if he earns a roster spot, according to Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic (on Twitter).

Goodwin, 30, was the No. 34 overall pick in the 2011 draft but never cemented himself with his original organization, the Nationals, despite a few productive stints. He was eventually traded to the Royals and later claimed by the Angels off waivers — enjoying a fair bit of success in both spots. The Angels traded him to the Reds at last summer’s deadline, however, and Goodwin’s bat cratered in Cincinnati, where he batted just .163/.236/.357 in a tiny sample of 55 plate appearances. The Reds non-tendered him in December.

Setting aside that ugly stint in Cincinnati, though, Goodwin has been a productive big league hitter more often than not. He’s a .250/.317/.455 hitter overall, and as recently as 2019 he slashed .262/.326/.470 in near-regular playing time with the Angels (136 games, 458 plate appearances).

Goodwin doesn’t have particularly strong defensive ratings and probably won’t be seeing much (if any) time in center field with the Bucs. He’s best deployed in a corner, which the Bucs can certainly accommodate. Bryan Reynolds, Anthony Alford, Cole Tucker and Gregory Polanco are the likeliest names to vie for outfield time in Pittsburgh at the moment, though the Pirates will jump at any chance they’re provided to shed the remainder of Gregory Polanco’s contract. Alford has yet to establish himself at the MLB level, while Reynolds will be seeking a rebound after a disastrous follow-up to his brilliant rookie showing. Tucker, meanwhile is a converted shortstop who’ll need to earn a job as himself.

Based on his track record and the dearth of established outfield talent on the rebuilding Pirates’ roster, Goodwin seems to have a good chance at both cracking the roster and earning a fair bit of playing time. If he does indeed make the roster, the Pirates would be able to control him through the 2022 season via arbitration. Of course, if he makes the team and rebounds at the plate, he’ll immediately become a potential summer trade piece for a Pirates club that will be looking to move any and all short-term assets for additional prospect depth.

Pirates Sign Tony Wolters

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The Pirates announced Thursday morning that they’ve signed catcher Tony Wolters to a minor league contract. The longtime Rockies backstop and VC Sports Group client will be in camp as a non-roster invitee this spring. His deal comes with a $1.4MM salary if he makes the Pirates, Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic tweets.

Wolters, 28, has been the primary catcher in Colorado for the past five seasons due entirely to his glovework. He’s a career .238/.323/.319 hitter in 1232 plate appearances — a line that checks in at 43 percent below league-average (57 wRC+) when weighting for his hitter-friendly home park. Wolters does have a career 9.9 percent walk rate, although that’s at least partially a function of the fact that 75 percent of his plate appearances have come when batting eighth ahead of the pitcher.

Defensively, Wolters’ track record is quite strong. His career 31 percent caught-stealing rate is above the league average, and he regularly grades out as an above-average to excellent pitch framer. His defensive grades all took a collective step back in 2020, but it’d be a bit rash to judge him harshly on 283 innings in a pandemic-shortened season when his previous 2400 innings behind the dish all suggest him to be capable of top-notch glovework.

Notably, the Rockies thought enough of Wolters’ glove and athleticism to also give him brief looks at second base, shortstop, third base and in left field. If the Pirates also believe that Wolters, who was drafted by the Indians as a shortstop back in 2010, can move around the diamond in that capacity, then he could potentially emerge as a versatile super-utility piece off the bench. Jacob Stallings, a strong defender in his own right, seems likely to get the bulk of the work behind the dish to begin the 2021 season, however.

Pirates Expect Oneil Cruz To Be Ready For Spring Training

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  • Although he was involved in a car crash that took three lives in his native Dominican Republic in September, Pirates infield prospect Oneil Cruz should be with the club for the start of spring training, according to Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic. “We are not aware of anything that should prevent him from being on time at this point,” a team spokesperson said.

Pirates Sign Chasen Shreve To Minor-League Deal

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The Pirates are in agreement with left-hander Chasen Shreve on a minor-league contract, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN (Twitter link). The deal will guarantee him $1.5MM if he makes Pittsburgh’s MLB roster, per Passan. The Pirates have since announced the move.

Shreve, 30, is coming off a decent 2020 season with the Mets, where he pitched to a 3.96 ERA/3.45 SIERA across 25 relief innings. Impressively, Shreve struck out a third of the batters he faced, a career-best mark that tied for twentieth among the 141 relievers with at least 20 innings pitched. Relatedly, Shreve’s 17.1% swinging strike rate tied for thirteenth among that group.

It’s a bit surprising a left-hander with that kind of swing-and-miss stuff wound up settling for a minor-league deal, but Shreve has proven susceptible to both walks and home runs over the course of his career. That continued last season, as he allowed four home runs (1.44 HR/9) while walking a higher-than-average 11.8% of opposing hitters.

Control issues notwithstanding, it’d still register as a bit of a surprise if Shreve doesn’t earn a spot on Pittsburgh’s big league roster out of spring training. At present, only Austin Davis and Sam Howard occupy left-handed relief roles on Pittsburgh’s 40-man roster.

Brewers Interested In Shin-Soo Choo At First Base

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It’s been a few seasons since Shin-Soo Choo had an opportunity for impact at-bats, but the southpaw swinger has maintained his control of the strike zone with solid bat-to-ball skills. His 10.2 walk percentage in 2020 remains solidly above-average, and though a 26.0 strikeout rate isn’t ideal, he did enough damage when he did make contact to produce a 97 wRC+. His exit velocity (90 mph), 10.1 percent barrel rate and below-average .284 BABIP suggest Choo might have gotten that wRC+ number back above average had there been a full season in 2020. Instead, that number fell below 100 for the first time since 2007.

While the 38-year-old seems to have enough left in the tank to contribute offensively, he’s long been considered a subpar defender in the outfield, a perception that’s born out in -25 career defensive runs saved across 1,722 career innings in left, and -26 DRS over 8,109 2/3 career innings in right. But Choo has been working out at first base this offseason to provide teams with another avenue for getting his bat in the lineup, per Robert Murray of FanSided (via Twitter).

That’s enough for the Brewers to give him a look, notes Murray. Presumably, the Brewers also like Choo as a potential contributor at the designated hitter spot, should it eventually find its way into the 2021 rule book. Otherwise, Choo would join a rotating collection of position players at manager Craig Counsell’s disposal. With the recent addition of Kolten Wong at second, Keston Hiura is expected to slide over to first full-time. There are at-bats to be had at third base for Hiura, as well, with Luis Urias being relatively unproven at the hot corner. All in all, it’s not hard to imagine Choo getting regular work in Milwaukee between first base and right field, where Avisail Garcia’s career splits suggest he might be best suited in a short-side platoon.

The Pirates have also expressed some interest in Choo at first base, per the Athletic’s Rob Biertempfel (via Twitter), though not much progress was made towards a deal. The Phillies are another of Choo’s known suitors.

Pirates Outright Troy Stokes

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  • The Pirates have outrighted outfielder Troy Stokes Jr. to Triple-A Indianapolis, per reports from Jake Crouse and PittsburghBaseball.com’s John Dreker. The team previously designated Stokes for assignment Jan. 24, less than two weeks after it claimed him from the Tigers via waivers. Stokes, who will turn 25 on Feb. 2, has batted .250/.351/.411 with 57 HRs and 129 steals in 2,355 PA at the minor league level.

Pirates Discussing Adam Frazier In Trade Talks

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The Pirates are discussing second baseman/outfielder Adam Frazier in trades, tweets MLB Network’s Jon Heyman, who adds that Frazier could be the next piece subtracted as the Bucs continue their aggressive teardown. The Athletic’s Rob Biertempfel speculated this morning that another deal could be in the works as well (Twitter link).

Frazier, 29, is coming off a rough showing in 2020 that saw him bat .230/.297/.364 in 58 games. However, prior to that down season he was steadily an average or better performer both at the plate and with the glove. It’s worth noting, too, that Frazier shook off a disastrous start to the season and was trending upward in his production over the season’s second half. It’s an arbitrary endpoint, but over his final 30 games Frazier slashed .273/.368/.414 through 115 plate appearances with as many walks (13) as strikeouts (13).

Those numbers fall right in line with the career .279/.342/.420 batting line that Frazier carried into the 2020 season, and they serve as a rough approximation of what interested clubs could expect in trading for Frazier, who is still controlled for two more years. He’s set to earn $4.3MM in 2021 after avoiding arbitration earlier this winter, and the Pirates have been on a mission both to acquire as much young talent as they can in trades and, seemingly, to slash payroll to whatever extent possible. The Bucs have already traded Josh Bell, Joe Musgrove and Jameson Taillon this winter. Remarkably, that leaves Frazier and his $4.3MM salary as the team’s second-most expensive player.

While there’s good reason for clubs in need of help at second base and/or in left field to show some interest in Frazier, the Bucs are also peddling a left-handed-hitting second baseman/outfielder at a time when the free-agent market offers comparable alternatives. Granted, it’s been a bullish market for some players (e.g. Jurickson Profar, Tommy La Stella), but we’ve also seen players with very comparable production to Frazier, such as Cleveland’s Cesar Hernandez, settle for lackluster deals (one year, $5MM in Hernandez’s case).

Among the unsigned second base options still on the market are Kolten Wong, Jonathan Schoop and Marwin Gonzalez. The left field market includes Eddie Rosario, Adam Duvall, Nick Markakis and Brett Gardner, among others. Frazier’s $4.3MM salary is quite likely less than some of those players will command, but interested parties have open-market alternatives, which doesn’t help the Pirates’ cause in extracting maximum value.

At the end of the day, Frazier is still a somewhat versatile defender and solid hitter who rarely strikes out (career 13.6 percent). With two years of affordable club control remaining, he could certainly help a number of contending clubs, even if it’s more of a utility capacity than as a team’s everyday option at second base or in left field. Given the way the Pirates have operated to this point in the winter, it’d come as little surprise to see Frazier in a different uniform come Opening Day.

Chad Kuhl: Trade Candidate

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  • It’s a matter of when, not if, the Pirates will trade righty Chad Kuhl, per Stephen J. Nesbitt of The Athletic. Kuhl had a middling 2020 campaign after missing all of the prior season while recovering from Tommy John surgery, as he logged a 4.27 ERA/5.29 SIERA and recorded a 22.3 percent strikeout rate against an unappealing 14.2 percent walk rate in 46 1/3 innings. He has two years of control left and will earn $2.13MM in 2021.
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