- The Pirates designated José Osuna for assignment yesterday, suggesting they were prepared to non-tender him rather than pay his projected $1.1MM arbitration salary. The organization expects Osuna to pursue an opportunity in Asia, general manager Ben Cherington told reporters (including Rob Biertempfel of the Athletic). It isn’t yet clear if that job is in Japan’s NPB or in South Korea’s KBO. The 27-year-old (28 in December) hit .241/.280/.430 over 705 plate appearances for Pittsburgh over the past four seasons.
Pirates Rumors
Pirates Designate Trevor Williams For Assignment
The Pirates announced Friday that they’ve designated right-hander Trevor Williams and infielder/outfielder Jose Osuna for assignment. That pair of moves allows the team to select infielder Rodolfo Castro and righty Max Kranick to the 40-man roster, protecting both from the Rule 5 Draft.
Williams has been a regular in the Pittsburgh rotation over the past three seasons and enjoyed a strong 2018 campaign, pitching to a 3.11 ERA and 3.86 FIP in 170 2/3 innings. Outside of a few strong starts early in 2020, however, it’s been mostly downhill for the 28-year-old. Over the past two seasons he’s turned in a combined 5.60 ERA and 5.45 FIP in 201 innings. With a projected salary north of $3MM, the Pirates clearly weren’t interested in tendering him a contract for the 2021 season.
The Pirates surely gauged trade interest in Williams before taking the step to designate him for assignment, so it seems unlikely another club will make a move to acquire him now. It’s possible a team could place a waiver claim, but it’s every bit as likely that he’ll simply pass through waivers, at which point he has the service time needed to become a free agent. He’d make for an affordable reclamation project for teams in search of rotation help, and the fact that he still has three years of control remaining via the arbitration process only boosts his appeal if he does indeed reach the market.
Osuna, 27, enjoyed a solid season at the plate in 2019 when he hit .264/.310/.456 with 10 big flies in 285 trips to the plate, but his 82 plate appearances in 2020 resulted in a disastrous .205/.244/.397 output. It’s clear that Osuna possesses some right-handed pop, but his career .241/.280/.430 batting line also shines a light on some severe on-base deficiencies. Osuna has experience at all four corner spots, so perhaps another team will look at him as a bench possibility if he clears waivers. He was projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz to make a bit more than $1MM in 2021.
Pirates’ Steven Brault Has Drawn Trade Interest
The Pirates have received calls from multiple teams regarding left-hander Steven Brault, Jon Morosi of MLB.com tweets. Given the state of the roster in Pittsburgh, it stands to reason that they’d be open to moving any player who is into his arbitration years, which Brault is as of this winter. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz’s 37-percent method projects Brault to earn $1.5MM in his first trip through the arb process.
Brault, 28, is controlled for three more seasons via arbitration and doesn’t figure to see his arb price reach an outlandish level given this year’s modest salary projection. He’s coming off 42 2/3 innings of a 3.38 ERA with 8.0 K/9, 4.6 BB/9, 0.42 HR/9 and a 49.1 percent ground-ball rate. That ERA is a career-best, but it’s not fully supported by other metrics. Brault benefited from a career-low .243 average on balls in play, and fielding-independent marks aren’t as bullish (3.92 FIP, 4.85 xFIP, 5.07 SIERA).
That said, Brault also limited hard contact at the best rates of his career, ranking in the 89th percentile of MLB pitchers in terms of average exit velocity and the 76th percentile in terms of overall hard-hit rate, per Statcast. He cut back on the use of his fastball considerably in 2020, instead throwing his changeup at a career-high 24.1 percent clip. Of the 34 plate appearances Brault finished off with a changeup, opponents posted a .121/.118/.154 batting line with seven strikeouts.
Brault has worked as both a starter and a reliever in the past, splitting his time between the two roles pretty evenly: 45 starts, 55 relief outings. All but one of his 2020 outings were starts, and looking at those 10 trips to the hill he actually pitched quite well. Brault surrendered four runs without recording an out in his lone relief appearance this year. His career ERA as a starter is considerably lower — 4.42 to 5.22 — although fielding-independent marks suggest the discrepancy isn’t so wide.
Whatever gains Brault may have made in 2020 will be subject to various teams’ interpretation of a limited sample size. However, it’s not much of surprise that a 28-year-old lefty with three years of club control, a modest arbitration price tag and some positive indicators in the shortened season is at least generating some inquiries from other clubs. Cost-controlled pitching figures to be coveted even more than ever this winter, given the revenue losses throughout the sport, and the Pirates will surely be open to offers on the majority of their roster after posting the worst record in baseball this past season.
Pirates Name John Baker Director Of Coaching & Player Development
The Pirates announced Tuesday that they’ve hired former big league catcher John Baker as their new director of coaching and player development. Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette first reported the hiring of Baker, who’d been with the Cubs since 2016 and spent the 2020 campaign as the club’s mental skills coach.
“We are excited to add John to our baseball operations leadership team,” said general manager Ben Cherington in a press release announcing the move. “John’s experience as a player, his training and experience as a mental skills coach for a highly successful franchise, and his continued learning in the areas of skill acquisition and human performance, give him valuable perspective on the entire player improvement and performance process. John will work closely with our minor league staff and players to help lead our player development program.”
Baker, 39, spent parts of seven seasons in the Majors from 2008-14, hitting a combined .247/.330/.341 through 1228 plate appearances with the Marlins, Padres and Cubs. His first role with the Cubs was as a special assistant with the baseball operations department, and he’s since held the titles of mental skills coordinator and head applied mental skills coach.
Baker isn’t the first recently retired big leaguer to dive into the player development track for the next stage of his baseball career. Former big league infielder Chris Getz is currently serving as the White Sox farm director himself, while former right-hander Brandon Gomes held that same post with the Dodgers prior to being promoted to assistant general manager in 2019.
Pirates Release Dovydas Neverauskas; Nick Burdi Elects Free Agency
Nov. 9: Burdi has rejected his outright assignment in favor of free agency, Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic tweets. It’s still possible that he could return to the club on a new minor league deal, of course, but he’ll have the option of speaking with other clubs as he goes through the early stages of his rehab process.
Nov. 7: The Pirates have outrighted right-hander Nick Burdi to Triple-A, according to the MLB.com transactions page. In another move for the Bucs earlier this week, right-hander Dovydas Neverauskas was released. Both pitchers were recently designated for assignment.
Burdi will remain in the organization as he recovers from Tommy John surgery in October. The 27-year-old will miss the entire 2021 season, the latest major injury setback in a career that has already seen Burdi undergo a previous TJ procedure as well as a thoracic outlet syndrome surgery. Burdi has just 12 1/3 career MLB innings to his name, including 2 1/3 frames of work with Pittsburgh in 2020.
Neverauskas’ release could pave the way for a contract with a team in Asia, as Pirates GM Ben Cherington hinted last Monday. Originally signed by the Pirates way back in 2009, Neverauskas is still pretty young (turning 28 in January) as he moves into this potential new phase of his pro career. Over 80 2/3 career Major League innings, Neverauskas posted a 6.81 ERA, 2.20 K/BB, 8.6 K/9, and an ugly 2.2 HR/9.
Trade Candidate: Joe Musgrove
There are few players more likely to be traded this winter than Joe Musgrove. After putting up the league’s worst record, the Pirates are clearly not in position to immediately contend. That means GM Ben Cherington and the rest of the Pittsburgh front office are likely to be open to offers for most of their veteran players.
It’s not a good time for the Pirates to try to move most of those players, though. Gregory Polanco, Adam Frazier and Josh Bell all struggled to varying degrees in 2020. Trading any of that trio would be selling low; indeed, the Pirates are expected to first try to work out an extension with Bell this offseason. Unlike most of the Pittsburgh roster, Musgrove is coming off a strong season. He tossed 39.2 innings of 3.86 ERA/3.42 FIP ball. More impressively, Musgrove punched out 33.1% of opposing hitters, a stark improvement over his previous career marks.
Musgrove’s jump in strikeouts and whiffs might be a bit of small sample blip, especially since a brief IL stint for triceps inflammation limited him to eight starts, but he’d carved out a role as a solid mid-rotation starter over the prior couple seasons. Since joining the Pirates in advance of the 2018 season, Musgrove has thrown 325.1 innings with a 4.23 ERA and solid strikeout (22.8%) and walk (5.7%) rates. That level of production would appeal to a number of pitching-needy teams.
In an offseason when many teams are expected to cut payroll, Musgrove would also represent a more affordable addition than many of the options available in free agency. MLBTR’s Matt Swartz projects Musgrove to bring in an amount in the $3.2MM-$4.4MM range via arbitration. He’ll be eligible for arbitration once more next winter before reaching free agency in the 2022-23 offseason.
The Blue Jays and Pirates reportedly got close to a deal involving Musgrove during the season. It’s possible Toronto revisits those talks again, although they subsequently acquired Robbie Ray and Ross Stripling, both of whom remain in the fold. Virtually any team looking to contend in the short-term could try to strengthen their rotations by exploring a Musgrove deal. The A’s, Angels, Braves, Phillies and Yankees are among a host of teams who might fit the bill. There hasn’t been any movement on the Musgrove front to this point, but his name figures to be bandied about quite a bit in the coming months.
John Baker Favorite To Become Pirates' Farm Director
- John Baker looks like the front-runner to take over as the Pirates’ farm director, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh-Post Gazette reports. The former major league catcher has been working in the Cubs’ front office since 2015.
Pirates Re-Sign Andrew Susac
The Pirates have signed catcher Andrew Susac to a new minor league deal, Baseball America’s Chris Hilburn-Trenkle reports. Susac initially signed a minors contract with the Bucs last January and was outrighted off Pittsburgh’s 40-man roster following the season.
Susac ended up appearing in a single game for the Pirates in 2020, marking his first big league action since the 2018 season (he spent 2019 with the Royals’ Triple-A affiliate). In 304 plate appearances over parts of six MLB seasons, Susac has hit .219/.286/.371 with seven home runs.
With Susac back in the fold, the Pirates have retained some veteran catching depth as they go through that could be a semi-overhaul of their options behind the plate. Pittsburgh already claimed Michael Perez from the Rays earlier this week and the arbitration-eligible John Ryan Murphy and Luke Maile both look like non-tender candidates. Jacob Stallings (also eligible for arbitration for the first time) was the Pirates’ starting catcher in 2020 and looks like the favorite for regular duty next year.
Ben Cherington On Archer, Neverauskas, Cruz
Pirates general manager Ben Cherington spoke with reporters Monday as the team gears up for the offseason. Let’s take a look at some of the highlights…
- Although the Pirates declined right-hander Chris Archer’s $11MM option over the weekend, his time with the franchise may not be up. Cherington said the Pirates are open to re-signing Archer at a lower cost, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh-Post Gazette tweets. “Our relationship with Chris is in a good enough spot where we can keep that door cracked,” Cherington stated. “Certainly, he’ll want to listen and see what’s out there.” Archer had a well-documented disastrous run in Pittsburgh, which paid a fortune for him in a 2018 trade with Tampa Bay. He didn’t pitch at all this season after undergoing thoracic outlet syndrome surgery in June, though the 32-year-old could be an intriguing buy-low candidate.
- The Pirates may have also moved on from righty Dovydas Neverauskas this past weekend when they designated him for assignment. The soon-to-be 28-year-old’s next destination could be overseas, according to Cherington, who revealed that there’s mutual interest between Neverauskas and “a team in Asia” (via Mackey). Neverauskas began with the Pirates organization in 2010, made his big league debut in 2017 and went on to log a 6.81 ERA/5.94 FIP with 8.59 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9 in 80 2/3 innings with the club.
- Infield prospect Oneil Cruz was arraigned in his native Dominican Republic in September as a result of a car crash that took the lives of three people. Cherington was unable to provide an update on Cruz’s legal situation, per Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic. For now, the 22-year-old is slated to play Dominican winter ball for Gigantes del Cibao, the team announced.
Pirates Designate Dovydas Neverauskas For Assignment
The Pirates announced they’ve designated right-hander Dovydas Neverauskas for assignment. That was necessary to open roster space for the activation of a handful of players from the 60-day injured list. Anthony Alford, Phillip Evans, Michael Feliz, Clay Holmes and Jameson Taillon have all returned to Pittsburgh’s 40-man roster, which is currently full.
Neverauskas generated some headlines early in his MLB career, as he became the first (and to date, only) Lithuanian big leaguer. He has gone on to appear in 76 games for Pittsburgh over the past four seasons, working a total of 80.2 relief innings. Neverauskas has managed just a 6.81 ERA over that time. He’s been particularly plagued by the long ball, having surrendered twenty home runs (2.23 HR/9). That trend continued in 2020, as the 27-year-old coughed up five homers in 19 innings en route to a 7.11 ERA.
To his credit, Neverauskas induced swings and misses at a solid 12.8% clip this year. He also boasts high-end spin on his curveball and hasn’t yet reached arbitration, so it’s possible another team could take a look. Neverauskas is out of minor-league options, though, meaning any claiming team would need to keep him on their active roster or again expose him to waivers.
