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Pirates Designate Antonio Bastardo For Assignment

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The Pirates have designated left-hander Antonio Bastardo for assignment, according to a team media release.  Infielder Phil Gosselin was called up from Triple-A in a corresponding move.

Bastardo has only made nine appearances out of Pittsburgh’s bullpen this season after spending two months on the disabled list with a quad strain.  Even in his limited action, the southpaw has been very ineffective, posting a 15.00 ERA thanks to five homers and nine walks over just nine innings pitched.  It’s perhaps unfair to extrapolate too much given this small sample size (and Bastardo’s less-than-healthy status), though the lefty is also coming off a rough 2016 campaign that saw him post a 4.52 ERA and a 1.5 HR/9 over 67 2/3 IP for the Pirates and Mets.

Bastardo has always countered somewhat shaky control (career 4.4 BB/9) with big strikeout totals, though his average fastball velocity has dropped a full mile per hour from last year, down to 90.5 mph.  By contrast, he was averaging 92.8 mph on his heater in 2015, Bastardo’s last effective season.

After signing a two-year, $12MM deal with the Mets in the 2015-16 offseason, Bastardo is owed approximately $3.15MM for the rest of this season.  The Pirates are on the hook for that amount unless someone claims Bastardo or a trade is worked out, and given Bastardo’s lack of effectiveness, one would think any interested team could wait to see if Bastardo is released after his DFA period expires.  Bastardo carried some pretty solid career numbers prior to 2016, so he could certainly draw some looks from clubs in need of left-handed relief depth.

Latest On Andrew McCutchen

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Andrew McCutchen’s NL Player Of The Month-winning performance in June ended over a year of frustration at the plate for the longtime Pirates star, ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick writes.  The hot streak also reinvigorated trade speculation about McCutchen’s future, and he reiterated to Crasnick that he wants to stay in Pittsburgh.  Bucs GM Neal Huntington stated that the team isn’t shopping McCutchen but, thanks to the Pirates’ struggles in the standings and their payroll limitations, all options must be kept open:

Pirates Unlikely To Trade Gerrit Cole

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  • Similarly, rival organizations are surely wonder whether the Pirates have any inclination to take offers on righty Gerrit Cole. There’s nothing definitive in that regard, but Jon Heyman of Fan Rag writes (among many other National League notes) that the Bucs are giving indication that Cole isn’t likely to be traded. Perhaps an overwhelming offer could shift the thinking, but it seems clear that Pittsburgh isn’t itching to cash in on Cole with two more years of arbitration control remaining — particularly with his value perhaps tipping down somewhat. While he has been healthy, Cole has had the roughest year of his career thus far, allowing 1.59 home runs per nine and carrying a 4.43 ERA over 107 2/3 frames.

Pirates Notes: Marte, Cutch, Cole, Rangers, Phillies

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Eligible to return from his 80-game PED suspension July 18, Pirates outfielder Starling Marte began a High-A rehab assignment Sunday. When Marte does rejoin the Bucs, he’ll do so as a left fielder, manager Clint Hurdle told Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and other reporters. Marte has spent the majority of his career in left since debuting in 2012, but thanks to both his excellent work there and Andrew McCutchen’s decline in center field, the Pirates moved the former to center and the latter to right in the offseason (Gregory Polanco shifted from right to left).

Now, with McCutchen enjoying a bounce-back season at the plate, Pittsburgh will keep its longtime face of the franchise in the outfield’s most important position. McCutchen is in the midst of his second straight poor year in center, though, as he posted minus-28 defensive runs saved and a minus-18.7 Ultimate Zone Rating in 2016 and already has a minus-15 DRS and a minus 18.5 UZR/150 this season. But general manager Neal Huntington has seen improvement, noting: “His metrics are better this year. Part of that … is we’ve pushed him back a little bit to play to his strengths and to his confidence, playing gap to gap.”

  • It’s possible Marte will head back to center if the Pirates trade McCutchen before this month’s deadline, and Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette observes that the value of both McCutchen and right-hander Gerrit Cole is increasing. Rival evaluators have pointed to Texas as a fit for the two, with one evaluator suggesting that the Rangers would have to give up outfielder Leody Taveras or left-hander Yohander Mendez just for McCutchen, according to Brink. Both Taveras (No. 45) and Mendez (No. 46) rank among MLB Pipeline’s top 50 prospects.
  • Sticking with the McCutchen theme, Ryan Lawrence of PhillyVoice.com opines that the in-state rival Phillies should pursue a deal for the 30-year-old. Given that the Phillies have the majors’ worst record (27-53), McCutchen wouldn’t help them vie for a playoff berth this year, but Lawrence argues that he’d still be a worthwhile addition. Philadelphia could acquire McCutchen with the goal of extending him past next season, when his team control expires. If they fail to reach a multiyear agreement by next summer and the Phillies aren’t in the playoff hunt, they’d potentially be able to flip McCutchen, contends Lawrence.

Rosenthal: Red Sox Would Be Logical Josh Harrison Suitors

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  • 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.

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Jason Rogers To Sign In Japan

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  • The Pirates released infielder Jason Rogers on Friday, according to their Triple-A affiliate in Indianapolis (Twitter link). The 29-year-old will sign with the Hanshin Tigers of the Japanese Central League, reports Stephen J. Nesbitt of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Rogers’ tenure with the Pirates began in December 2015, when they acquired him from NL Central rival Milwaukee in a deal that saw the Brewers land center fielder Keon Broxton. While Broxton has turned into a regular for the Brewers, Rogers only totaled 33 plate appearances with the Pirates (all last season) and hit a meager .080/.303/.160. He was much better at Triple-A this year, slashing .289/.362/.439 with nine home runs in 282 PAs.

No Serious Talks On McCutchen Yet; Dodgers Have Interest In Cole

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  • There’s been no serious talk between the Pirates and other clubs regarding Andrew McCutchen just yet, reports MLB.com’s Jon Morosi. Part of the reason for that is the parity that exists in Wild Card races, as many teams that could eventually add some veteran pieces remain uncertain that they’ll be in the hunt a month from now.
  • One more from Morosi, who notes that the Dodgers’ primary focus remains on starting pitching at this time. They’re considering controllable options rather than rental pieces, with Morosi linking Los Angeles to the the Tigers’ Justin Verlander, the Athletics’ Sonny Gray, the White Sox’ Jose Quintana and the Pirates’ Gerrit Cole.

Pirates Could Use "Soft Sell" Strategy At Deadline

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Since the Pirates plan to contend in 2018, they could pursue a “soft sell” at the deadline rather than unload major pieces, Fangraphs’ Travis Sawchik writes.  This would mean keeping big names like Andrew McCutchen or Gerrit Cole unless they receive offers too good to ignore, while perhaps being open to moving the likes of Josh Harrison, David Freese, Juan Nicasio or other bullpen arms.  As Sawchik points out, the Bucs already used this kind of “soft sell” to great effect last summer, when they dealt Mark Melancon to the Nationals and unloaded Francisco Liriano’s contract on the Blue Jays.  Pittsburgh received a good young relief arm in Felipe Rivero for Melancon, and the money saved by moving Liriano allowed the Pirates to re-sign Freese and Ivan Nova, who has become a rotation staple.  (Nova himself was a deadline pickup last year, a sign that the Pirates weren’t merely focused on selling.)

Austin Meadows To Miss Four Weeks With Hamstring Tear

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  • Top Pirates prospect Austin Meadows will miss up to four weeks after receiving a PRP injection for a torn hamstring, Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports (Twitter link).  The injury compounds what has already been a difficult season for Meadows, who has hit just .248/.313/.358 over 281 PA at the Triple-A level in 2017.  There had been speculation that Meadows could make his MLB debut sometime this year (possibly if Andrew McCutchen was traded), though that seems less likely in the wake of his lengthy absence and his lack of Triple-A production.  Of course, Meadows still just 22 years old and is regarded as one of the game’s better prospects, so there isn’t any reason yet for long-term concern.

Pirates To Sign Second-Rounder Steven Jennings

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  • Pirates second-round pick Steven Jennings will receive a $1.9MM bonus, according to MLB.coms Jim Callis (via Twitter). The high-school hurler was taken 42nd overall, which comes with a $1,635,500 allocation.

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