Headlines

  • Astros Place Josh Hader On Injured List Due To Shoulder Strain
  • Felix Bautista, Zach Eflin Done For The Season
  • Shane McClanahan Undergoes Season-Ending Arm Procedure To Address Nerve Problem
  • 2025-26 MLB Free Agent Power Rankings: August Edition
  • Write For MLB Trade Rumors
  • Red Sox Extend Roman Anthony
  • Previous
  • Next
Register
Login
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Pro Football Rumors
  • Pro Hockey Rumors

MLB Trade Rumors

Remove Ads
  • Home
  • Teams
    • AL East
      • Baltimore Orioles
      • Boston Red Sox
      • New York Yankees
      • Tampa Bay Rays
      • Toronto Blue Jays
    • AL Central
      • Chicago White Sox
      • Cleveland Guardians
      • Detroit Tigers
      • Kansas City Royals
      • Minnesota Twins
    • AL West
      • Houston Astros
      • Los Angeles Angels
      • Oakland Athletics
      • Seattle Mariners
      • Texas Rangers
    • NL East
      • Atlanta Braves
      • Miami Marlins
      • New York Mets
      • Philadelphia Phillies
      • Washington Nationals
    • NL Central
      • Chicago Cubs
      • Cincinnati Reds
      • Milwaukee Brewers
      • Pittsburgh Pirates
      • St. Louis Cardinals
    • NL West
      • Arizona Diamondbacks
      • Colorado Rockies
      • Los Angeles Dodgers
      • San Diego Padres
      • San Francisco Giants
  • About
    • MLB Trade Rumors
    • Tim Dierkes
    • Writing team
    • Advertise
    • Archives
  • Contact
  • Tools
    • 2025-26 MLB Free Agent List
    • 2026-27 MLB Free Agent List
    • Contract Tracker
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Agency Database
  • NBA/NFL/NHL
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors
  • App
  • Chats
Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Pirates Rumors

White Sox Maintaining Daily Trade Talks Regarding Jose Quintana

By Steve Adams | January 4, 2017 at 5:59pm CDT

The White Sox have maintained daily trade talks centering around ace Jose Quintana, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (Twitter links). The Astros, Pirates and, to a much lesser extent, the Yankees remain involved in talks, though the Yankees are less willing than other interested suitors to part with the requisite prospects to pull off a Quintana deal. Rosenthal characterizes the Yanks as a “long shot,” noting that the White Sox are steadfast in their asking price on Quintana and could look to move him at the deadline if no suitable offer arises this winter. Other teams could be in the mix as well, he further adds.

Earlier today, ESPN’s Buster Olney suggested that the White Sox would like any trade for Quintana to be completed before Spring Training opens, though Quintana’s excellence and favorable contract would allow him to be traded at virtually any point during the calendar year so long as he’s healthy.

Both the Astros and Pirates have long been rumored as potential suitors for Quintana, though to this point neither club has been willing to meet Chicago’s understandably lofty asking price for the second of its prized top-of-the-rotation southpaws. (Chris Sale, of course, has already been dealt to Boston.) The White Sox reportedly asked the Astros for 24-year-old right-hander Joe Musgrove (who was solid in a 69-inning MLB debut last year) and the team’s top two prospects, righty Francis Martes and outfielder Kyle Tucker, in exchange for Quintana last month.

It’s not clear precisely what the Sox have asked of the Pirates to this point, though one can imagine top prospects like Austin Meadows and Mitch Keller have come up in trade talks. Young, potentially MLB-ready assets like Josh Bell and Tyler Glasnow, each of whom rated as a top 50 prospect before debuting in the Majors last year, also figure to hold plenty of appeal to the rebuilding Pale Hose.

Rosenthal adds in a third tweet that if the White Sox are able to find a palatable offer for their top remaining starter, then they could look to add a veteran pitcher on a one-year deal to help round out the rotation and mentor some of the organization’s young arms. Chicago already went down that road once by buying low on longtime Rangers lefty Derek Holland following the trade of Sale, and a similar move would seem prudent in the event that Quintana moves as well. Adding a veteran starter would prevent the Sox from feeling the need to rush a top pitching prospect like Lucas Giolito or Reynaldo Lopez to the Majors, and any veteran that performs well on a short-term pact could become a trade commodity this summer once contending clubs look to augment their starting rotations.

Quintana won’t turn 28 until later this month and is controlled for another four seasons at an eminently affordable total of $37.85MM. Better yet, only two of those seasons are guaranteed (at a total of $16.85MM), so if Quintana does suffer a disastrous injury or experience a stunning downturn in productivity, the financial commitment is even more manageable. That, of course, seems decidedly unlikely. Quintana is still in the midst of his prime and has been one of the game’s best performers on the mound across the past several seasons. He’s turned in four straight seasons of at least 200 innings, combining for a 3.35 ERA with 7.7 K/9, 2.2 BB/9 and a 43.7 percent ground-ball rate in 814 2/3 frames — numbers that are all the more impressive when considering his hitter-friendly home environment and the poor defenses that the White Sox have deployed in recent years.

Share 0 Retweet 13 Send via email0

Chicago White Sox Houston Astros New York Yankees Pittsburgh Pirates Jose Quintana

183 comments

3 Remaining Needs: NL Central

By charliewilmoth | January 1, 2017 at 7:48pm CDT

To set the stage for the remainder of the offseason, we’ll take a look at the most pressing remaining needs of every team in baseball over the coming week or so, division by division. (Hat tip to MLBTR commenter mike156 for the idea.) We often discuss things through the lens of an organization’s trajectory; thus, a rebuilding team might “need” to move some salary, while a contender might “need” an expensive starter. But with camp in sight, every club is making final calls on who’ll compete for big league jobs in the season to come (while also pursuing broader opportunities), so the focus here is on specific positions on the MLB roster. Fortunately, the task of roster analysis is made much easier by the MLB depth charts available at RosterResource.com. Each team listed below is linked to its respective depth chart, so you can take a look for yourself.

So far, we’ve checked in on the AL Central, NL West, NL East and AL East. Here’s the NL Central, a division featuring the World Series-winning Cubs:

Chicago Cubs

  • Negotiate with Jake Arrieta. The Cubs appear set to try to negotiate a deal with their star righty this month after the two sides swap arbitration figures. As MLBTR’s Jeff Todd noted this week, it’s hard to assess the Cubs’ chances of extending Arrieta, or what kind of money he should ultimately get after a good, but still disappointing, 2016 season. Negotiations between the Cubs and Arrieta’s agent, Scott Boras, will be an important story line in Wrigleyville over the next few weeks. And even if there’s no extension, expect to see at least a couple interesting Arrieta-related headlines — he’s projected to make $16.8MM through arbitration in 2017, so even arriving at a one-year salary will be a relatively high-stakes endeavor.
  • Keep an eye out for starting pitching help. The Cubs’ roster is extraordinarily talented and deep, so much of what we’ve heard about the team since their swap of Jorge Soler for Wade Davis and their signing of Koji Uehara has pertained to potential role players. One name who’s repeatedly come up has been that of Tyson Ross, who (as MLBTR’s Steve Adams pointed out in a recent chat) would be an interesting fit with the Cubs in that the team’s depth would give him the luxury of taking his time returning from shoulder injury, then providing rotation help once fully healthy. In any case, the Cubs could still perhaps use a bit more starting pitching, although options like Rob Zastryzny, Aaron Brooks and Jake Buchanan do give them a variety of palatable spot starters.
  • Consider adding a bit more left-handed relief. The Cubs have a heavily right-handed bullpen (with veteran Brian Duensing, waiver claim David Rollins, Rule 5 pick Caleb Smith and Jack Leathersich topping their current list of lefty relief options), so they could consider adding a lefty as a late-offseason move. They’ve been connected to Justin Wilson of the Tigers, and they could also make a move to bump lefty Mike Montgomery from the rotation back to the bullpen. Of course, the idea that lefty relief is a serious need for the Cubs is already nit-picking — they do already have a sufficient quantity of lefties, and their excellent group of righty relievers somewhat mitigates the need for southpaws, particularly since newcomer Uehara is very tough on lefty batters.

Cincinnati Reds

  1. Add pitching help. The Reds haven’t signed a single player to a big-league deal to this point in the offseason, which isn’t necessarily surprising — as a rebuilding club, they shouldn’t feel an urgent need to make short-term upgrades, and they might get better deals on helpful players later in the winter anyway. Last week, MLBTR’s Steve Adams and Jeff Todd looked at big-league free agent pitchers the Reds could pursue, focusing in large part on the Reds’ open closer role, which could provide an opportunity both for interested free agents (who might be able to establish or reestablish themselves as closers in Cincinnati) and for the team (which might be able to deal relievers they sign this winter at next year’s deadline).
  2. Find opportunities for young players. The Reds’ projected 25-man roster still includes a variety of veterans. The team hasn’t been able to strike deals this offseason, though, in part because those veterans either have no-trade protection or aren’t in high demand. For 2017, that leaves them in somewhat of an awkward position, particularly in their middle infield, where they have prospects Jose Peraza and Dilson Herrera ready for playing time and veterans Brandon Phillips and Zack Cozart blocking them. Phillips, of course, is one of those veterans with a no-trade clause. The Reds might not make any moves before the start of the season to deal with their middle-infield issue, but they’ll have to deal with it one way or another, perhaps by getting creative with various infielders’ playing time. Peraza could also occasionally play center field.
  3. Acquire more catching depth. The Reds have identified catching depth as an area of need — Devin Mesoraco has struggled to stay healthy in the past two seasons, and the team doesn’t have enough help behind Mesoraco and Tucker Barnhart. Rule 5 pick Stuart Turner is another possibility, but he has a limited offensive track record and has never played above Double-A.

Milwaukee Brewers

  1. Add power. Assessing what the Brewers perceive their needs to be at this point is difficult, since they’ve been relatively quiet since the Winter Meetings and they don’t figure to contend in 2017. One area where they might have an opportunity, though, is in adding power to their lineup. First base is mostly open for them after they non-tendered Chris Carter, and their string of veteran trades leaves them with what should be plenty of money available to add a bat. The team did sign Eric Thames for a relatively substantial $16MM guarantee earlier in the offseason, and Thames currently tops their depth chart at first. Thames, though, can also play outfield, and the team’s relative uncertainty in the corners (where they have trade candidate Ryan Braun and the interesting but still unproven Domingo Santana) could clear space for Thames to move around. Meanwhile, the glut of power bats remaining on the free agent market (including Carter and many others) could give the Brewers an opportunity to add someone who could potentially contribute in 2017 and possibly fetch a prospect in a trade next summer.
  2. Continue evaluating Braun’s market. The Brewers and Dodgers reportedly discussed a deal last summer that would have sent Braun to Los Angeles for a package that included Yasiel Puig, but Braun’s market has been relatively quiet this winter. Now, the same market conditions mentioned in the previous bullet might have an impact on Braun’s market. There have also been whispers that Braun’s large contract and PED history might be problems as well. Regardless, with much of the Brewers’ previous core already having departed, there’s little reason for the Brewers not to investigate potential trades involving Braun.
  3. Create competition. The Brewers likely won’t be competitive in 2017, but they’ve already acquired a fair amount of interesting talent in their rebuild, and they have plenty of flexibility heading into the near future. With that in mind, they’ve added a number of marginal players this offseason, including catcher Jett Bandy, infielder Eric Sogard, and pitchers Tommy Milone, Ryan Webb and Andy Oliver. The moves that landed those players weren’t glamorous, but they’ll help give the Brewers depth they’ll need to get through 162 games, while also limiting the possibility of disaster should players further up the depth chart struggle.

Pittsburgh Pirates

  1. Consider continuing to add starting pitching. The Pirates made a big move to steady a wobbly rotation when they re-signed Ivan Nova late last month. Still, the team could use a bit more pitching help, as it currently figures to be heavily reliant on youngsters behind Gerrit Cole and Nova. The Pirates have been connected to White Sox star Jose Quintana, who certainly would be a big step forward. Beyond that, GM Neal Huntington has been outwardly noncommittal about the possibility of further additions, noting that he is open to bringing in more pitching but adding that “we like the group as is,” via Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
  2. Balance the bullpen. With the recent addition of Daniel Hudson to a group that already included Tony Watson, Felipe Rivero, Juan Nicasio, Antonio Bastardo, A.J. Schugel, Jared Hughes and others, the Pirates have what appears to be a decent group of relievers. That group, however, is heavily left-handed, with Watson, Rivero, Bastardo, Wade LeBlanc and Rule 5 pick Tyler Webb all pitching from the left side. Watson’s name has come up in trade rumors this offseason, and either he or Bastardo look like reasonable candidates to be dealt, partially to get value from them but also partially to clear space for more right-handed relief help.
  3.  Figure out whether Andrew McCutchen stays or goes. Following the collapse of trade negotiations with the Nationals, Huntington said the Pirates were likely to keep their star center fielder. Rumblings surrounding McCutchen have continued, albeit in more muted form, over the past several weeks, however. There’s also the question of what position he’ll play in 2017, as there have been various reports about the likelihood that the Pirates will move him to a corner after he posted poor defensive numbers in center in 2016.

St. Louis Cardinals

  1. Figure out who’s on second. The latest Cardinals-related rumors have connected them to Twins second baseman Brian Dozier. While Dozier would undoubtedly help almost any team, though, most indications have been that the Cardinals’ interest in striking a deal with Minnesota isn’t particularly strong. Cardinals brass have also strongly praised Kolten Wong, who is signed through 2020 with an option for 2021 and who currently appears unlikely to be traded elsewhere.
  2. Consider extending Carlos Martinez. As of October, both Martinez and the Cardinals reportedly had interest in extension, and as Jeff noted last week, deal discussions could happen in the coming weeks as the two sides discuss Martinez’s pending arbitration case. The 25-year-old’s youth, blistering fastball and strong performances the last two seasons figure to make him a player well worth keeping, if the right deal can be found.
  3. Consider adding another outfielder. The Cardinals have a perfectly good starting outfield of Randal Grichuk, Dexter Fowler and Stephen Piscotty. But as Viva El Birdos’ Ben Markham recently pointed out, the team’s fourth outfielder, Tommy Pham, has struggled to stay healthy, and the team doesn’t have great depth beyond that. As Markham notes, Brandon Moss is probably the best outfielder available who could conceivably sign as a backup, and Moss is a lefty hitter who could complement righties Grichuk and Piscotty in the corners.
Share 0 Retweet 29 Send via email0

Chicago Cubs Cincinnati Reds MLBTR Originals Milwaukee Brewers Pittsburgh Pirates St. Louis Cardinals

78 comments

Pirates Designate Willy Garcia For Assignment

By Mark Polishuk | December 31, 2016 at 8:30am CDT

The Pirates have designated outfielder Willy Garcia for assignment, Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports (Twitter link).  The move creates roster space for the newly re-signed Ivan Nova.

Garcia, who turned 24 in September, has been rated by Baseball America in each of the last two years as the 12th-best prospect in the Pirates’ system.  His star may have dimmed, however, following a rough 2016 season that saw Garcia hit only .245/.293/.366 with six homers over 499 plate appearances at Triple-A Indianapolis.  Garcia struck out 131 times (against 31 walks), continuing his career-long issues with plate discipline.  This problem has offset his other talents, as the 2016 Baseball America Prospect Handbook credits Garcia with strong raw power, above-average baserunning ability and an outstanding throwing arm.

Garcia joins another Pirate (Jason Rogers) as one of six players around the league currently awaiting their next assignment, according to the MLB Trade Rumors DFA Tracker.

Share 0 Retweet 9 Send via email0

Pittsburgh Pirates Transactions Willy Garcia

31 comments

Pirates Re-Sign Ivan Nova

By Mark Polishuk | December 27, 2016 at 8:15pm CDT

8:15pm: FanRag’s Jon Heyman tweets the financial breakdown of the deal. Nova receives a $2MM signing bonus and will take home $7MM in 2017 before earning salaries of $8.5MM in 2018 and $8.5MM in 2019.

12:30pm: The Pirates entered the offseason with uncertainty throughout their rotation but added some stability on Tuesday, announcing that they’ve re-signed right-hander Ivan Nova to a three-year contract. The deal reportedly guarantees Nova $26MM and allows the Legacy Agency client to earn up to an additional $2MM per year via incentives, meaning it can max out at $32MM over the three-year term.

[Updated Pirates roster and depth chart at Roster Resource]

The deal ensures that Nova, who turns 30 on January 12, will remain with the team that seemingly revived his career after he was dealt from the Yankees to the Pirates on August 1.  Nova underwent Tommy John surgery in 2014 and had struggled to regain his old form since, with middling numbers in 2015 and then a 4.90 ERA over 97 1/3 innings (starting 15 of 21 games) with New York in 2016.

In Pittsburgh, however, Nova became the latest reclamation project to thrive under pitching coach Ray Searage.  Nova posted a 3.06 ERA, 7.2 K/9 and an unreal 17.33 K/BB rate over 64 2/3 innings in a Pirates uniform, with just three walks against 52 strikeouts.  The move to a less-friendly ballpark for home run hitters was also a boon to Nova, who had long struggled to keep the ball in the yard over his career.  Always a strong ground-ball pitcher, Nova had a career-best 53.6% grounder rate over his 162 combined innings for both teams in 2016.

Ivan Nova

The stark contrast between the Yankees’ Nova and the Pirates’ Nova led to rather an interesting free agent case for the righty, as it wasn’t clear how teams would view that 64 2/3-inning sample against the rest of Nova’s career.  MLBTR ranked Nova 10th on our list of the winter’s Top 50 free agents with a projection of a four-year, $52MM deal given the severe lack of quality starting pitching and J.A. Happ’s successful 2016 season serving as a model of how a Pirates revival project could thrive outside of PNC Park.

Instead, Nova rather surprisingly ended up signing for less guaranteed money than what Happ received (three years, $36MM) from the Blue Jays last winter despite being over four years younger.  Looking at the big picture of this offseason, it seems that teams in general preferred to spend their pitching dollars on relievers as opposed to the thin starting piching market.  As FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal points out, only three other starters (Rich Hill, Edinson Volquez and Charlie Morton) signed multi-year deals this winter.  Even Jeremy Hellickson, thought to be the winter’s top available starter, accepted a qualifying offer to remain with the Phillies due to some concerns about his market, though Hellickson was rather a different case since he had draft pick compensation attached to his services.

Greg Genske, Nova’s agent, said in mid-November that his client had received offers in the three-year/$36MM range, though there was very little buzz about Nova on the rumor mill.  The only club significantly linked to Nova was, in fact, Pittsburgh.  The Pirates ardently tried to sign him to an extension prior to hitting free agency, though since Nova was reportedly asking for five years and $70MM to forego the open market, it isn’t surprising that the Bucs chose to wait.  Nova stated that he wanted to remain with the Pirates, so it’s possible he could have turned down a slightly larger offer in order to stay in a familiar and comfortable environment.

It certainly looks like a good signing for the Pirates, who went into the offseason prioritizing run prevention via both improved pitching and defense.  The Bucs add a veteran arm and (if Nova’s turn-around is for real) maybe even a possible ace to a young rotation headlined by Gerrit Cole and Jameson Taillon, with Chad Kuhl, Steven Brault, Tyler Glasnow and Drew Hutchison battling it out for the final two rotation slots.

Robert Murray of FanRag Sports reported the agreement and the terms, while FanRag’s Jon Heyman tweeted word of the incentives in the deal.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Share 0 Retweet 25 Send via email0

Newsstand Pittsburgh Pirates Transactions Ivan Nova

119 comments

NL Central Notes: Wong, Nova, Brewers, Reds

By Steve Adams | December 27, 2016 at 7:51pm CDT

Cardinals GM John Mozeliak and manager Mike Matheny have both heaped praise onto second baseman Kolten Wong this winter, writes Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, further suggesting that the 26-year-old isn’t likely to be traded. Wong’s name surfaced in rumors earlier this winter and has come up in speculation that has been linked to St. Louis’ reported interest in Twins second baseman Brian Dozier, but Mozeliak speaks highly of the former first-round pick. “I don’t make lineups but you have to have the understanding of patience,” said Mozeliak. “He’s such a talented defender and when your team is built around groundball pitching it’s nice to have that behind you.” Mozeliak and Matheny have both called Wong a “Gold Glove-caliber everyday second baseman,” Goold notes. Wong tells Goold that he’s trying his best to put a poor 2016 season behind him and has been working out with former teammate Jon Jay, focusing specifically on speed and explosiveness rather than adding muscle. Wong has $24.25MM remaining on the five-year, $25.5MM extension he inked last March.

More from the NL Central…

  • Ivan Nova called the decision to return to the Pirates “an easy choice” at today’s conference call announcing his signing, as Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes. Nova said that his preference all along was to return to Pittsburgh after enjoying his two-month stint there to close out the season and expressed excitement over the opportunity to return. GM Neal Huntington told the media that Nova has long been a target of the Pirates’ front office. “There are reasons we tried to acquire him in past offseasons, in past trade deadlines,” said Huntington. “…our hope was that this could turn into a prolonged relationship and a situation where he’d want to stay here. For us, thankfully, he did.” Huntington added that he’s still open to improving the rotation if it makes sense “in the big picture as well as the short-term” — the Pirates are rumored to have interest in White Sox ace Jose Quintana — but retaining Nova does give the Bucs some stability. Brink notes that Chad Kuhl appears to have an inside track on the fourth spot behind Nova, Gerrit Cole and Jameson Taillon, though there’ll be a sizable competition for the final two rotation spots.
  • Speaking of competition, MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy breaks down the Brewers’ upcoming closer battle, listing right-handers Corey Knebel, Carlos Torres and Jacob Barnes as internal options to pitch in the ninth inning. As McCalvy notes, the Brewers have seen Jeremy Jeffress, Will Smith and Tyler Thornburg — all traded in the past six months — emerge as late-inning arms that were acquired by means other than lucrative free-agent deals. The Brewers have been in contact with the representatives for seasoned free-agent closers, but there’s no guarantee they’ll sign any of the remaining available options (e.g. Santiago Casilla, Sergio Romo, Greg Holland).
  • The Reds are monitoring the market for veteran catchers, writes Mark Sheldon of MLB.com in his latest Reds Inbox. Devin Mesoraco and Tucker Barnhart project to split time behind the dish in Cincinnati next year, but health has been a major factor for Mesoraco, who caught just 18 games from 2015-16 due largely to hip surgery. Rule 5 pick Stuart Turner (out of the Twins organization) is also an option, Sheldon notes, though he’s behind both Mesoraco and Barnhart. Sheldon also notes that he asked newly minted president of baseball ops Dick Williams about the possibility of signing Greg Holland recently, and while Williams sidestepped a specific comment on Holland, he said the team is looking to add relievers on potential value deals. “A lot of times it comes from a guy who has missed time from an injury or had a bad year,” said Williams. Certainly, Holland would fit that bill after missing the 2016 season while recovering from Tommy John surgery. Sheldon also tackles questions about playing time for Jose Peraza and notes that he considers trades of Anthony DeSclafani and/or Dan Straily unlikely.
Share 0 Retweet 6 Send via email0

Cincinnati Reds Milwaukee Brewers Pittsburgh Pirates St. Louis Cardinals Ivan Nova Kolten Wong

50 comments

Blue Jays Have Considered Trading For Andrew McCutchen

By charliewilmoth | December 24, 2016 at 9:50am CDT

The Blue Jays have “kicked around” Andrew McCutchen’s name as they attempt to address their outfield, ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick reports (all Twitter links). Pirates GM Neal Huntington recently said the team was likely to keep McCutchen after trade negotiations with the Nationals fell through. But, Crasnick writes, the Jays are one of several teams who are still interested in the Pirates’ star.

The Blue Jays have Kevin Pillar, an exceptional defender, in center field, so McCutchen would likely move to a corner if he were to be traded to Toronto. That might be best anyway, since McCutchen’s declining speed helped result in dreadful defensive numbers in center last season, leading to talk about him moving to a corner even if he stays in Pittsburgh. (His positioning might also have been a factor in his poor defensive stats.)

McCutchen posted a .256/.336/.430 line last season, with all three figures representing career lows. Still, the Pirates’ price to move him will be high — he’s still just 30 and has two years of relatively cheap control remaining, and his outstanding pre-2016 performances and strong hitting over the last two months last season inspire hope for his future. The discussions with the Nationals reportedly included top pitching prospect Lucas Giolito as well as another good prospect, Dane Dunning, both of whom later went to the White Sox in the Adam Eaton deal.

Since then, though, the Pirates have agreed to re-sign Ivan Nova, and been connected in trade talks to star White Sox lefty Jose Quintana. Their outlook now might be somewhat different than it was a month ago, as they now might be more focused on contending. Last week, Fan Rag’s Jon Heyman wrote that the Pirates wanted MLB-ready talent in return if they were to trade McCutchen.

The Jays, of course, recently lost Edwin Encarnacion to the Indians via free agency. It remains unclear which players they might use to lure the Pirates to trade McCutchen — their farm system, headed by shortstop Richard Urena, righty Sean Reid-Foley and outfielder Anthony Alford, is decent but not outstanding. The Jays acquired two of their other top prospects, catcher Reese McGuire and outfielder Harold Ramirez, with Francisco Liriano in a summer trade with the Pirates seemingly designed to help the Bucs shed Liriano’s salary.

Share 0 Retweet 40 Send via email0

Pittsburgh Pirates Toronto Blue Jays Andrew McCutchen

92 comments

Pirates Claim Nefi Ogando, Designate Jason Rogers

By Jeff Todd | December 23, 2016 at 7:37pm CDT

The Pirates have claimed righty Nefi Ogando off waivers from the Marlins, per a team announcement. He’ll take the roster spot of corner infielder Jason Rogers, who was designated for assignment.

The 27-year-old Ogando only has 18 MLB appearances to his credit, but has shown an average fastball that sits right at 95 mph. He has also generated grounders at an impressive 57.6% clip and owns a solid 3.66 ERA in his 19 2/3 frames.

Of course, that’s not all there is to the story. Ogando has also recorded as many walks as strikeouts (ten apiece) in his limited big-league time. And he has never fully capitalized on his big heater in the minors, where he compiled pedestrian whiff rates and often exhibited a lack of command. Over two seasons and 52 2/3 frames of action at Triple-A, Ogando owns a 3.08 ERA with 7.0 K/9 against 3.9 BB/9.

In order to take a shot on Ogando’s arm, Pittsburgh will open the possibility of losing Rogers. The 28-year-old had shown some hitting ability with the Brewers, but largely struggled in his first year with the Pirates organization after coming over in a trade last winter.

Rogers struggled in brief action in the majors in 2016, receiving just 33 plate appearances over 25 games of action. He spent most of the year at Triple-A, slashing .263/.338/.371 with just four home runs over 420 plate appearances. That represented a rather significant fall-off in power output (and overall productivity at the plate) as against his prior work in the minors.

Share 0 Retweet 7 Send via email0

Miami Marlins Pittsburgh Pirates Transactions Jason Rogers Nefi Ogando

9 comments

Rangers Claim Brady Dragmire, Lose David Rollins On Waivers To Cubs

By Steve Adams | December 23, 2016 at 1:20pm CDT

The Rangers announced on Friday that they’ve claimed right-hander Brady Dragmire off waivers from the Pirates and added that left-hander David Rollins has been claimed by the Cubs. (FOX’s Ken Rosenthal first tweeted that Rollins was on his way to the Cubs via waivers.)

Both pitchers have bounced around the waiver circuit a staggering amount this offseason. Rollins has now been claimed off waivers a stunning five times since Nov. 18, going from the Mariners, to the Cubs, to the Rangers, to the Phillies, back to the Rangers and now back to the Cubs. While Rollins has to be glad to continually be deemed worthy of a 40-man roster spot, the offseason has unquestionably been a tumultuous one for the former Rule 5 pick.

The 27-year-old Rollins is a former 24th-round pick that has a 7.60 ERA in 34 innings with the Mariners across the past two seasons and has averaged 7.1 K/9 against 3.9 BB/9 with a 41.9 percent ground-ball rate. He’s been rather unlucky, as evidenced by a .379 BABIP, but even the most optimistic ERA estimator pegs him in the mid-4.00s (4.41 SIERA). Rollins does have minor league options remaining, so he could be sent down in Spring Training if he doesn’t break camp with the team. However, multiple clubs seem intent on trying to slip Rollins through waivers this winter, though none have been unable to do so successfully.

As for Dragmire, he’s gone from the Blue Jays, to the Rangers, to the Pirates and now back to the Rangers. The 23-year-old logged a 4.38 ERA with 5.1 K/9 against 3.5 BB/9 in 72 innings at Double-A New Hampshire (Toronto’s affiliate) this season. While those numbers don’t exactly stand out, Dragmire boasts exceptional ground-ball tendencies and turned in a stellar 63.6 percent rate in that regard this year. That factor, as well as his relative youth, undoubtedly contributes to the appeal he’s generated around the league this winter.

Share 0 Retweet 7 Send via email0

Chicago Cubs Pittsburgh Pirates Texas Rangers Transactions Brady Dragmire David Rollins

18 comments

Pirates Have “Worked Hard” To Deal For Jose Quintana

By charliewilmoth | December 22, 2016 at 9:06am CDT

TODAY: Even after the Pirates reached an agreement with Ivan Nova, the Pirates are still trying to acquire Quintana, FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal reports (Twitter link).

WEDNESDAY: The Pirates have “worked hard” to trade for star White Sox lefty Jose Quintana, ESPN’s Buster Olney tweets. Olney notes that Quintana’s very reasonable contract — which guarantees him a very reasonable $15.85MM over the next two years, plus cheap options or $1M buyouts for 2019 and 2020 — would fit into the budget of the low-revenue Pirates.

The Bucs currently have a very young and unproven rotation behind Gerrit Cole, and Quintana would certainly provide a big boost to a team that could conceivably contend in 2017. Acquiring Quintana, though, would seemingly constitute a significant change in direction for the Pirates, who have spent much of the offseason thus far discussing trades involving star outfielder Andrew McCutchen (who they now appear likely to keep). Adding Quintana, who has pitched over 800 innings in the last four seasons and who had a 3.20 ERA, 7.8 K/9 and 2.2 BB/9 while finishing 10th in AL Cy Young voting in 2016, would dramatically increase the Pirates’ chances of making the playoffs next year.

Quintana would come at a significant price in prospects. The White Sox have driven hard bargains so far this offseason in trading Chris Sale and Adam Eaton, and they reportedly asked for top prospects Francis Martes and Kyle Tucker, plus big-leaguer Joe Musgrove, when the Astros called about Quintana. That’s not a wholly unreasonable price for a terrific pitcher with four years of control remaining, particularly given the seemingly seller-friendly market this offseason, but it isn’t cheap, either. The Pirates could conceivably offer top prospects like Austin Meadows, Tyler Glasnow or Mitch Keller in a Quintana trade, although the exact players discussed as they’ve worked to deal with the White Sox remain unknown.

Share 0 Retweet 28 Send via email0

Chicago White Sox Pittsburgh Pirates Jose Quintana

414 comments

Pirates Designate Brady Dragmire For Assignment

By charliewilmoth | December 21, 2016 at 8:22am CDT

The Pirates have announced that they’ve designated righty Brady Dragmire for assignment. The move clears space on the team’s 40-man roster for righty Daniel Hudson, whose signing is now official.

Dragmire has now been removed from a team’s 40-man four times since late September, when the Blue Jays designated him and then dealt him to the Pirates for cash. The Bucs then lost him on waivers to the Rangers earlier this month, only to claim him again two weeks later.

The 23-year-old Dragmire pitched in the bullpen for Double-A New Hampshire in the Jays system in 2016, posting a 4.38 ERA, 5.1 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9 in 72 innings. He’s had a very high ground-ball rate throughout the minors, however, perhaps giving him a bit of upside his modest traditional statistics don’t capture.

Share 0 Retweet 5 Send via email0

Pittsburgh Pirates Brady Dragmire Daniel Hudson

12 comments
« Previous Page
Load More Posts
Show all
    Top Stories

    Astros Place Josh Hader On Injured List Due To Shoulder Strain

    Felix Bautista, Zach Eflin Done For The Season

    Shane McClanahan Undergoes Season-Ending Arm Procedure To Address Nerve Problem

    2025-26 MLB Free Agent Power Rankings: August Edition

    Write For MLB Trade Rumors

    Red Sox Extend Roman Anthony

    Buxton: Still No Plans To Waive No-Trade Clause

    Rob Manfred Downplays Salary Cap Dispute With Bryce Harper

    Tanner Houck To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

    Yankees Release Marcus Stroman

    Cubs Release Ryan Pressly

    Cubs To Host 2027 All-Star Game

    MLB Trade Tracker: July

    Padres Acquire Mason Miller, JP Sears

    Astros Acquire Carlos Correa

    Rays, Twins Swap Griffin Jax For Taj Bradley

    Padres Acquire Ryan O’Hearn, Ramon Laureano

    Rangers Acquire Merrill Kelly

    Yankees Acquire David Bednar

    Blue Jays Acquire Shane Bieber

    Recent

    Dodgers To Place Brock Stewart On IL With Shoulder Inflammation.

    Tony Gonsolin Undergoes Internal Brace Surgery

    Rays Place Taylor Walls On 10-Day IL With Groin Strain

    Angels Designate Shaun Anderson For Assignment

    Twins Sign Génesis Cabrera To Minor League Deal

    Cardinals Notes: Romero, King

    Astros Place Josh Hader On Injured List Due To Shoulder Strain

    Blue Jays To Designate Buddy Kennedy For Assignment

    Cubs Designate Jon Berti For Assignment

    White Sox Designate Corey Julks For Assignment, Select Yoendrys Gómez

    MLBTR Newsletter - Hot stove highlights in your inbox, five days a week

    Latest Rumors & News

    Latest Rumors & News

    • Every MLB Trade In July
    Trade Rumors App for iOS and Android App Store Google Play

    MLBTR Features

    MLBTR Features

    • Remove Ads, Support Our Writers
    • Front Office Originals
    • Front Office Fantasy Baseball
    • MLBTR Podcast
    • 2025-26 MLB Free Agent List
    • 2026-27 MLB Free Agent List
    • Contract Tracker
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Extension Tracker
    • Agency Database
    • MLBTR On Twitter
    • MLBTR On Facebook
    • Team Facebook Pages
    • How To Set Up Notifications For Breaking News
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors

    Rumors By Team

    • Angels Rumors
    • Astros Rumors
    • Athletics Rumors
    • Blue Jays Rumors
    • Braves Rumors
    • Brewers Rumors
    • Cardinals Rumors
    • Cubs Rumors
    • Diamondbacks Rumors
    • Dodgers Rumors
    • Giants Rumors
    • Guardians Rumors
    • Mariners Rumors
    • Marlins Rumors
    • Mets Rumors
    • Nationals Rumors
    • Orioles Rumors
    • Padres Rumors
    • Phillies Rumors
    • Pirates Rumors
    • Rangers Rumors
    • Rays Rumors
    • Red Sox Rumors
    • Reds Rumors
    • Rockies Rumors
    • Royals Rumors
    • Tigers Rumors
    • Twins Rumors
    • White Sox Rumors
    • Yankees Rumors

    Navigation

    • Sitemap
    • Archives
    • RSS/Twitter Feeds By Team

    MLBTR INFO

    • Advertise
    • About
    • Commenting Policy
    • Privacy Policy

    Connect

    • Contact Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS Feed

    MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

    Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

    hide arrows scroll to top

    Register

    Desktop Version | Switch To Mobile Version