- The Pirates added 2019 first-rounder Quinn Priester to their player pool earlier this week, MLBTR has learned. The Illinois native was selected with the 18th overall pick in the 2019 draft and logged 36 2/3 innings between Rookie ball and short-season Class-A last year. Priester pitched to a 3.19 ERA in that time with a 41-to-14 K/BB ratio and a hefty 59.1 percent ground-ball rate. He’s considered to be one of the organization’s best two to three best pitching prospects.
Pirates Rumors
Pirates Designate Carson Fulmer For Assignment
The Pirates announced that they have designated right-hander Carson Fulmer for assignment. The club also reinstated righty Joe Musgrove from the injured list, reinstated outfielder Bryan Reynolds from the paternity list and optioned infielder/outfielder Jose Osuna.
The Pirates are already the third team since July for Fulmer, who has gone from Chicago to Detroit to Pittsburgh in the past month-plus. Fulmer was once a highly regarded prospect, but it hasn’t translated to success in the majors for the 26-year-old, who owns a 6.57 ERA/6.33 FIP across 101 1/3 innings with the White Sox and Tigers. He hasn’t appeared in a big league game with the Pirates, who claimed him from the Tigers on Aug. 24, and could soon leave the organization. Fulmer’s out of options, though, so it’s possible no other team will take a chance on him.
Musgrove, out since Aug. 11 with right triceps inflammation, is scheduled to start for the Pirates against the Cubs on Wednesday. Musgrove started 2020 poorly before his IL placement (6.75 ERA/6.83 FIP in 14 2/3 innings), but he was a capable starter for the Pirates from 2018-19 and could boost his trade value heading into the offseason with a strong finish. Musgrove nearly went from Pittsburgh to Toronto before Monday’s trade deadline, but the two sides couldn’t come together on a deal.
Socrates Brito Reportedly Opts Out Of Season
6:04pm: Brito hasn’t officially made a decision yet, the Pirates announced (via Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette). The Pirates did note there’s a “possibility” Brito will opt out.
5:38pm: Pirates outfielder Socrates Brito has opted out of the season, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports. Brito made the decision after his brother passed away of COVID-19.
This isn’t the first time the coronavirus has affected Brito, who tested positive for the illness in early July. Brito was able to return to the Pirates shortly after, though, and the hope is that the 27-year-old will be able to get back on a major league diamond next season. The former Diamondback and Blue Jay, who joined the Pirates on a minor league contract last winter, has seen action in four big league seasons since he debuted in 2015. He didn’t make any appearances with the Pirates this year.
Pittsburgh has now seen two of its players opt out of the season. Righty Hector Noesi previously decided not to play this year because of family concerns.
Pirates Promote Ke’Bryan Hayes
TODAY: The Pirates have officially called Hayes up, and also promoted recent waiver claim Anthony Alford to the active roster. Southpaw Brandon Waddell and outfielder Jason Martin were optioned to the club’s alternate training site in corresponding moves.
AUGUST 31: The Pirates will promote top third base prospect Ke’Bryan Hayes before their game against the Cubs on Tuesday, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports. Hayes’ promotion was slowed thanks in part to a positive coronavirus test in July.
Now 23 years old, Hayes was a 2015 first-round pick (No. 32) who has established himself as a high-end major league prospect since the Pirates drafted him. In fact, Kiley McDaniel of ESPN (No. 26), FanGraphs (30), MLB.com (45), Keith Law of The Athletic (46) and Baseball America (59) recently placed Hayes among the game’s 60 best farmhands. McDaniel wrote that Hayes, the son of ex-major leaguer Charlie Hayes, possesses “plus speed, a plus arm and a potential 70 glove,” and if he proves to be a capable offensive player in the majors, the package could make him a star.
So far, Hayes has not necessarily thrived against minor league pitching. He owns a .752 OPS in the minors, and in his most recent showing at the lower levels in 2019, he batted .265/.336/.415 (92 wRC+) with 10 home runs and 12 stolen bases across 480 Triple-A plate appearances. Still, his promotion makes for a rare bit of excitement in a Pittsburgh season that has largely been devoid of it.
The Pirates are a major league-worst 10-21 and have received below-average production from the third base tandem of Erik Gonzalez and JT Riddle, two players who probably won’t be part of the solution over the long haul. Hayes, on the other hand, has a chance to emerge as a franchise cornerstone for years to come. Because the Pirates are waiting until Sept. 1 to call him up, he’ll miss out on Super Two status and won’t be on track to reach free agency until after 2026.
Blue Jays, Pirates Came Close On Joe Musgrove Trade
The Blue Jays and Pirates nearly completed a trade sending righty Joe Musgrove from Pittsburgh to Toronto prior to yesterday’s trade deadline, Robert Murray reports (via Twitter). That arrangement “fell apart at the eleventh hour,” however, and the Jays pivoted to acquire both Robbie Ray and Ross Stripling instead.
Musgrove, 27, was a Jays draft pick back in 2011 (No. 46 overall) and has settled in as a solid rotation piece in Pittsburgh after coming over from the Astros in the Gerrit Cole trade. From 2018-19, Musgrove tossed 285 2/3 innings of 4.28 ERA ball with more promising secondary marks: 3.72 FIP, 8.1 K/9, 1.9 BB/9, 0.94 HR/9, 44.9 percent ground-ball rate. He was hit hard in three starts this season, however, and was placed on the injured list early in August. He’s said to be nearing a return but remained on the IL through the deadline, which undoubtedly complicated negotiations as the two sides tried to align on value. He’s controlled through the 2022 season, so he’d have been a relatively long-term play for a Jays club that is emerging from a rebuilding effort.
While it was a busy week for the Blue Jays, deadline season came and went without much activity from the last-place Pirates, due largely to injuries and underperformance up and down the roster. Also on the injured list for the Bucs was right-hander Keone Kela, who’d surely have been moved had he not recently sustained a forearm injury. Chris Archer, too, would’ve been a near-lock to be moved had he not undergone thoracic outlet surgery prior to the season.
Over on the active roster, more established players like Josh Bell, Adam Frazier and Gregory Polanco have played so poorly that the Bucs would’ve needed to sell low and likely accept middling returns. Forcing a move with a lackluster return wasn’t something GM Ben Cherington and his staff considered.
“We’d much rather hold than make trades that we’re not confident in that later come back and bite us,” Cherington tells Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Without getting into specifics, the GM acknowledged that he thought he was close to lining up on a couple deals that didn’t quite pan out in the end. Ultimately, the only player the Pirates traded was Jarrod Dyson, who went to the White Sox for $243K of international bonus pool space.
While it was a frustrating deadline for many Pirates fans, there’s still ample opportunity down the road for Cherington and his staff to reshape the club. Kela is a free agent at season’s end, and Archer’s $11MM club option seems likely to be bought out for $250K rather than exercised. Injuries torpedoed trade possibilities for that pair, but the Bucs control each of Musgrove, Bell, Frazier, Polanco, Trevor Williams, Chad Kuhl and Richard Rodriguez through at least the 2022 season. If the team does ultimately opt for a larger-scale tear down, be it this winter or next summer, they’ll still have more than one season of control over each player to market to other clubs.
As for the Jays, they didn’t get the two-plus years of Musgrove they apparently sought, but they did land two-plus years of Stripling. The 30-year-old has struggled through his past four appearances after an otherwise solid start to the year, but he has a strong track with the Dodgers, carrying a career 3.51 ERA and 3.60 FIP (387 innings) into the 2020 season. They also rolled the dice on another struggling but established NL West starter, Robbie Ray, adding him and Stripling to the already acquired Taijuan Walker — who was excellent in his Blue Jays debut over the weekend.
It’s arguable that Musgrove would’ve been a more impactful addition than Stripling and/or Ray, and it’s worth wondering whether they’d have acquired either player had the Musgrove swap come together. Regardless, the Jays are positioned quite well to return to the postseason for the first time since the 2016 season. At 18-15, they’re a game back of the second place Yankees and currently leading the Tigers by a game and a half for the No. 8 seed in the American League.
NL Central Trade Deadline Recap
With the deadline in the rearview mirror, we’ll look back at each NL Central team’s trade activity over the past month.
Chicago Cubs
- Acquired 1B/DH José Martínez from Rays for two players to be named later or cash considerations
- Acquired LHP Andrew Chafin from Diamondbacks for a player to be named later
- Acquired LHP Josh Osich from Red Sox for a player to be named later
- Acquired OF Cameron Maybin from Tigers for INF Zack Short
Cincinnati Reds
- Acquired a player to be named later from Astros for LHP Brooks Raley
- Acquired OF Mark Payton from Athletics for cash considerations
- Acquired RHP Riley O’Brien from Rays for LHP Cody Reed
- Acquired OF Brian Goodwin from Angels for LHP Packy Naughton and a player to be named later or cash considerations
- Acquired RHP Archie Bradley from Diamondbacks for INF Josh VanMeter and OF Stuart Fairchild
Milwaukee Brewers
- Acquired three players to be named later (reportedly RHP Brandon Ramey, RHP Israel Puello and RHP Juan Geraldo) from Phillies for RHP David Phelps
Pittsburgh Pirates
- Acquired RHP Tyler Bashlor from Mets for cash considerations
- Acquired LHP Austin Davis from Phillies for a player to be named later and cash considerations
- Acquired international bonus pool space from White Sox for OF Jarrod Dyson
St. Louis Cardinals
- None
Braves Interested In Joe Musgrove
- The Braves have expressed an interest in Joe Musgrove of the Pirates, per Jason MAckey of PGSportsNow. This isn’t likely to turn your hat around as the Braves have expressed interest in a number of potential rotation targets. Musgrove is one of the more likely to move, though he’s just now returning from injury. The former Astro has been a viable rotation arm throughout his career, despite just 3 starts this season. In 2019, he toed the rubber 31 times for a 11-12 record and 4.44 ERA/3.82 FIP. Lance Lynn is probably the top rotation arm available, but Musgrove fits firmly into the next tier in terms of track record and consistency.
Mets Claim Guillermo Heredia
The Mets have claimed outfielder Guillermo Heredia off waivers from the Pirates, tweets Tim Healey of Newsday. Pittsburgh designated Heredia for assignment earlier this week when they claimed Carson Fulmer off waivers from the Tigers. Heredia has been optioned to the Mets’ alternate training site in Brooklyn.
Heredia inked a one-year deal, $1MM contract with the Pirates in the offseason but played in just eight games and took 18 plate appearances before the Bucs optioned him to their own alternate site. Because the Mets are claiming Heredia, they’ll be on the hook for the remainder of his prorated salary — a total of about $172K between now and season’s end.
Heredia has appeared in 390 Major League games, mostly with the Mariners, and posted a combined .239/.317/.339 batting line. As a solid outfield defender with a bit of speed and a career .275/.338/.400 batting line against lefties, he can be a useful bench piece when he’s at his best. The Mets just cut Juan Lagares — a player with a comparable skill set — loose earlier today when they designated him for assignment when Jake Marisnick was activated from the injured list. Unlike Heredia, however, Lagares couldn’t be optioned to the alternate site without his consent, given that he has more than five years of big league service.
White Sox Designate Nicky Delmonico For Assignment
The White Sox have designated outfielder Nicky Delmonico for assignment, per a team announcement. His spot will go to outfielder Jarrod Dyson, whose previously reported acquisition from the Pirates has now been formally announced. Chicago also announced that second baseman Nick Madrigal has been reinstated from the injured list, with catcher Zack Collins and outfielder Luis Gonzalez both being optioned to the alternate training site in a corresponding move.
Delmonico, 28, was released by the ChiSox last year but found his way back to the club on a minor league pact over the winter. He appeared in six games this year, going 3-for-20 with two walks and two strikeouts. The former Orioles prospect has spent time with the South Siders in each of the past for seasons, hitting at a combined .224/.312/.384 clip. However, since a terrific rookie showing at the plate in 2017, Delmonico has mustered only a .210/.287/.326 slash.
Sox fans will surely be thrilled to welcome Madrigal back into the fold. The 2018 No. 4 overall pick and top prospect debuted earlier this season but separated his shoulder while diving into a base. He’s 5-for-17 to begin his big league career, but the Sox hope that Madrigal, who slashed .311/.377/.414 with 35 steals and a minuscule 3.0 percent strikeout rate across three minor league levels in 2019, will cement himself as their second baseman of the future.
White Sox To Acquire Jarrod Dyson
9:51am: The White Sox are sending their remaining $243,300 of international bonus space to the Pirates in the deal, tweets MLB.com’s Adam Berry. International space typically must be sent in chunks of $250K but are able to trade the remainder of their entire pool as one block if they have under $250K remaining. That’s what happened in this instance.
That pool space will be added to the Pirates’ 2019-20 signing pool. While the international signing period typically runs from July 2 in one year to June 15 the next, the 2019-20 signing period was extended into October while the forthcoming signing period was pushed back into January. Those changes, much like the shortened 2020 Draft, were agreed upon by the league and union as owners sought means of offsetting some of their revenue losses from the pandemic-altered season.
8:58am: The White Sox are set to acquire speedy center fielder Jarrod Dyson from the Pirates, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports (via Twitter). The White Sox are expected to send international bonus pool space to Pittsburgh to complete the deal, tweets MLB Network’s Jon Heyman.
Dyson, 36, inked a one-year, $2MM deal with the Pirates this winter and is still owed $333K of his prorated $720K salary. That makes him an affordable late-inning defensive upgrade and pinch-running option for the ChiSox, who currently are tied with the Indians for second place in the AL Central and just a half game behind the division-leading Twins.
Dyson is out to a miserable start at the plate, hitting .157/.218/.157 in a tiny sample of 57 plate appearances, but he’s an all-world defender and elite baserunner. Dating back to 2012, Dyson is sixth in the Majors in stolen bases (234), and his 84.7 percent success rate is remarkably efficient. He’s also eighth among MLB outfielders with +79 Defensive Runs Saved in that time despite having played thousands of innings fewer in the field than all but one player (Juan Lagares) ahead of him due to his status as a part-time player.
The White Sox have a full outfield with Eloy Jimenez in left, Luis Robert in center and Nomar Mazara in right. They also have fellow speedster Adam Engel on hand to back up at all three positions, but between Jimenez and Mazara, the corners could both stand to use a defensive upgrade in late, close games. Dyson’s left-handed bat also complements Engel’s righty bat, allowing manager Rick Renteria to optimize his late-inning outfield options based on platoon matchups.
As for the Pirates, they’ll add some additional international funds in exchange for the final month or so of Dyson’s contract. Dealing him also opens up additional reps for the Bucs to take a look at shortstop Cole Tucker in the outfield — an experiment the team has been exploring under the new front office/coaching regime. Dyson was a free agent at season’s end anyhow and clearly not going to receive a qualifying offer, so cashing him in for even a relatively minimal return makes perfect sense for Pittsburgh.
