Pirates Rumors

Pirates, Nationals Discussed McCutchen Trade That Involved Giolito, Dunning

By charliewilmoth | December 7, 2016 at 9:17pm CDT

Before the Nationals acquired Adam Eaton from the White Sox, the Pirates nearly traded Andrew McCutchen to Washington for Lucas Giolito, Dane Dunning and a third player, Jon Heyman of FanRag writes (Twitter links). The Pirates now expect to keep McCutchen, who will be at PirateFest in Pittsburgh Saturday. They will also move McCutchen from center field to a corner outfield spot.

Giolito and Dunning, of course, formed two-thirds of the White Sox’ return for Eaton, with another pitcher, Reynaldo Lopez, also heading Chicago’s way. The possibility of the Pirates dealing McCutchen to the Nationals had loomed for the past several weeks, although it became clear yesterday that the Nationals would not trade top outfield prospect Victor Robles for McCutchen or anyone else who wasn’t Chris Sale, who the Nats had just lost out on. It’s unclear whether Robles’ absence from the deal was the reason the McCutchen trade never happened, however.

Central Notes: Davis, Soler, Holland, Reds

By charliewilmoth | December 7, 2016 at 7:05pm CDT

Last night’s deal between the Cubs and Royals was something like a win-win, ESPN’s Keith Law writes (Insider only). Acquiring Wade Davis helps the Cubs dodge the very costly free agent closer market while adding a reliever who’s been dominant the past three seasons. The Cubs had no playing time for Jorge Soler, and it’s possible the Royals would have gotten more for Davis had it not been for Davis’ recent injury issues. Still, Law writes, Soler is a good get for the Royals, who will receive a regular who’s controllable for the next four seasons. Soler’s bat speed and exit velocity suggest he has plenty of offensive upside as well. Here are more quick notes from the Central divisions.

The Pirates and White Sox are still vying for free agent starter Derek Holland’s services, MLB.com’s TR Sullivan tweets. Holland, formerly a successful starter with the Rangers, is looking for a new team with which to rebuild his value after coming back in 2016 from two injury-riddled seasons. The Rangers declined his option last month.
The Reds have spent the Winter Meetings trying to find potential trade partners for veteran middle infielders Brandon Phillips and Zack Cozart, Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer writes. Both can hit the open market after the 2017 season, and the rebuilding Reds want to clear space for young infielders Dilson Herrera and Jose Peraza. The problem, from the Reds’ perspective, is that most teams already seem to have middle infielders they like in place, particularly at shortstop. The Reds are open to the possibility of keeping all four players. “This particular year, people seem to be set,” says GM Dick Williams. “It’s always good to have some depth there. We’ve got some good players. I think it’ll work itself out. If you end up going into spring with that group in the middle, I’ve always said those are some pretty good players to mix and match.” That might mean the Reds could option Herrera or Peraza, and they also seem likely to use Phillips and Cozart in reduced roles.

Pirates Notes: Hudson, De La Rosa, Fister, Pitching

By Mark Polishuk | December 7, 2016 at 2:42am CDT

Andrew McCutchen trade rumors have understandably dominated much of the offseason talk in Pittsburgh, though here’s some more buzz on other potential Pirates moves…

The Pirates are one of several teams who have shown interest in reliever Daniel Hudson, Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette tweets. As many as 16 teams have checked in on Hudson, including his former team in Arizona. Hudson posted a 5.22 ERA over 60 1/3 IP with the Diamondbacks last season, though advanced metrics (3.81 FIP, 4.12 xFIP, 3.84 SIERA, 8.65 K/9, 2.64 K/BB rate) hint that the hard-throwing righty had a better season than his ERA would indicate.
Jorge De La Rosa and Doug Fister have received some “due diligence” check-ins from the Pirates, Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports (via Twitter). Nothing appears to be in the works between the team and either pitcher at the moment.
The Pirates have been very successful at turning reclamation projects into successful arms in recent years, though finding such pitchers is becoming more difficult, GM Neal Huntington tells Travis Sawchik of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and other reporters. “There doesn’t seem to be as many (pitchers) that we’ve been able to identify,” Huntington said. “The traits we’ve liked in the past, they’ve been more difficult to acquire because teams are paying for them. They recognize we’ve had some ability to return some value on some guys coming off down years or injuries. There is a higher competition level, and supply is down, and as a result cost goes up.” Huntington hinted that the Bucs may have to acquire something other than its preferred target of a ground-ball pitcher in order to land a veteran arm, though the GM said that adding a veteran isn’t a must. “We’d be comfortable adding nobody if it’s just not there,” he said.

Nationals Offered Victor Robles, Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez In Chris Sale Bid

By charliewilmoth | December 6, 2016 at 11:28pm CDT

The Nationals were outbid by the Red Sox in their attempt to acquire Chris Sale, but that wasn’t for lack of trying, as Barry Svrluga of the Washington Post (Twitter links). Remarkably, the Nationals were willing to deal outfielder Victor Robles and both their top young starting pitching prospects, Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez, for Sale. But the White Sox instead opted for the Red Sox’ incredible offer, topped by Yoan Moncada and Michael Kopech.

Robles, Giolito and Lopez are the Nationals’ top three prospects, according to MLB.com. All three of them rank among the top 40 in baseball and Robles and Giolito rank among the top ten. Robles has earned praise as a five-tool talent with good hitting ability and exceptional speed. Both Giolito and Lopez could make an immediate impact in a big-league rotation, and all three players have enormous upside once they reach the big leagues for good. That the White Sox were able to get one offer this good is incredible in its own right; that they had to leave it on the table because they found one they liked better is even more so.

Now that Sale is off the table, the Nationals are no longer willing to deal Robles, Chelsea Janes of the Post tweets. But the Nats could very well still pursue Andrew McCutchen, according to Svrluga. What that might take is unclear, as Robles is the name that has most frequently arisen as a possible Pirates acquisition in a potential McCutchen deal. The Pirates could perhaps continue to pursue the trade, hoping to land a package of young pitching headed by a player like Lopez or Joe Ross, whose names have both arisen in reporting about the potential swap.

Nationals Focusing On Andrew McCutchen

By Steve Adams | December 6, 2016 at 3:34pm CDT

After missing out on ace Chris Sale, who went to the Red Sox in a blockbuster deal this afternoon, the Nationals are shifting their focus back to Pirates star Andrew McCutchen, reports FanRag’s Jon Heyman. Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post writes that the Nationals hadn’t shut down talks with the Pirates as of this afternoon, and Byron Kerr of MASNsports.com tweets that the Nats and Bucs are set to have another meeting this afternoon.

At one point, it was reported that the Nationals felt they had the prospect capital to acquire both Sale and McCutchen, so the fact that they didn’t win the Sale sweepstakes technically gives them ample talent to pry McCutchen away from Pittsburgh. However, the Bucs reportedly asked for both Lucas Giolito and Victor Robles when talking with the Nationals, and that level of expenditure would be difficult to stomach, considering McCutchen is coming off his worst full season as a regular. He’s owed a reasonable $28MM over the next two seasons, but if last year was the beginning of a trend, then that figure may not be much of a bargain.

The Nats were said to have a real chance at landing Sale last night before the Red Sox swooped in, but as Janes reports, the Nationals never showed any willingness to part with Trea Turner, which ultimately proved to be the sticking point in negotiations. That’s consistent with everything that’s been reported when it comes to the Nationals’ trade efforts, as GM Mike Rizzo (understandably) seems to be steadfastly averse to trading his blossoming star.

That said, it’s been a frustrating Winter Meetings for the Nats so far, who have also lost out on Mark Melancon, as their now-former closer signed a four-year, $62MM deal with the Giants. Nonetheless, there are plenty of high-profile upgrades to pursue, and Joel Sherman of the New York Post points (on Twitter) out that if the Nats want to engage with the ChiSox on their other top lefty, Jose Quintana (and possibly closer David Robertson), a good deal of groundwork could be accelerated, as the Nats and White Sox are already quite familiar with each others’ organizations after the extensive Sale talks, though that observation seems to be more speculation than anything else. For the time being, it seems that the Nats’ focus is McCutchen, although the two sides have been in talks since last week and also talked this past summer but have seemingly never come close to making a swap.

Trade Rumors: Straily, Reds, McCutchen, Rays, Twins, Wilson, Davis

By Steve Adams | December 6, 2016 at 11:27am CDT

The Rangers were rumored yesterday to have interest in Reds center fielder Billy Hamilton, and Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets that Texas also asked the Reds about right-hander Dan Straily. Nothing is close on either front, he notes, but Straily would give Texas a controllable option for the back-end of the rotation. A waiver claim by the Reds last spring, Straily had a nice season in the Cincinnati rotation, tossing a career-high 191 1/3 innings with a 3.76 ERA, 7.6 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9. However, Straily also posted just a 32 percent ground-ball rate and was very homer-prone, yielding an average of 1.5 big flies per nine innings pitch, which could give interested parties some pause.

A few more notes on the trade market…

Rosenthal also notes in the above-linked tweet that the Reds are trying to move both Brandon Phillips and Zack Cozart in separate deals. Moving one or both would allow the Reds to open some playing time for younger middle infield options like Jose Peraza and Dilson Herrera, each of whom has been acquired via trade in the past calendar year. Phillips has full no-trade protection but has been said this winter to be more open to waiving that protection than he was in recent years. Cozart has been linked to the Mariners on multiple occasions and would give any team an affordable one-year stopgap at shortstop that can provide premium offense and a bit of pop before hitting free agency next winter.
Giants GM Bobby Evans tells John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle that he checked in with the Pirates on Andrew McCutchen, but Evans didn’t imply that there was anything more than due diligence behind the call. “When you invest heavily in your rotation and you invest heavily in your bullpen and you invest heavily in your first baseman, your shortstop, your catcher, your right fielder, your center fielder, at some point, you need your farm system to raise up,” Evans tells Shea. “…Ultimately, you can’t lose sight of the fact your farm system is there for a reason. Successful organizations give their farm systems a chance to produce, and some of that production doesn’t get realized until it’s at the big-league level.” The Pirates’ reported asking price for McCutchen has been lofty, and based on Evans’ comments, it doesn’t seem that San Francisco would be interested in gutting its minor league ranks to insert McCutchen into its lineup.
The Rays are “almost certain” to deal a starting pitcher, tweets Yahoo’s Jeff Passan, and interest in right-hander Alex Cobb and left-hander Drew Smyly has been “strong,” Passan hears. ESPN’s Buster Olney, meanwhile, spoke to an exec who called Tampa Bay’s asking price on Chris Archer “beyond prohibitive,” prompting Olney to call Cobb and Smyly considerably likelier candidates to be traded (Insider subscription required and recommended). As Passan further notes, the Rays don’t necessarily feel like the return on Archer right now will be drastically superior to the return for Archer two years from now (when he still has three years of control remaining), so there’s little urgency to deal him unless they’re bowled over.
The Twins are seeking controllable starting pitching in all of their trade talks, tweets Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. Minnesota has reportedly received a number of inquiries on slugging second baseman Brian Dozier, and other logical trade candidates on their roster (in my view) include right-hander Ervin Santana and reliever Brandon Kintzler. Dozier is controlled through 2018 for a total of $15MM, while Santana is guaranteed $28MM through 2018 and has a club option for the 2019 campaign as well. Kintzler quietly had a rebound season in the Minnesota ’pen last year and can be a free agent next winter.
Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News tweets that the Rangers asked the Tigers about southpaw Justin Wilson, though he characterizes the scenario as a long shot. Wilson, though, would give the Rangers a couple of years of control over a quality southpaw reliever and give the team flexibility to make further roster alterations.
The Mets inquired wih the Royals about closer Wade Davis, reports SNY’s Andy Martino (on Twitter), but he also notes that it’s hard to see the two sides lining up on a deal given the fact that Davis will command a $10MM salary next season and would also require the Mets to surrender with upper-echelon prospects. Were Davis controlled for multiple years, perhaps it’d be more appealing to the Mets, but the Kansas City relief ace is set to hit the open market next winter.

Rosenthal’s Latest: Fowler, Turner, Bautista, Ross

By Connor Byrne | December 6, 2016 at 7:42am CDT

The Cardinals have been connected to free agent center fielder Dexter Fowler throughout the offseason, and the club made him an initial offer Monday during a meeting with his representatives, FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal reports. That’s at least the second offer Fowler has received – the Blue Jays have reportedly proposed a four-year deal in the $60MM neighborhood. Fowler is seeking $18MM annually on a multiyear pact.

Rays Notes: Archer, Odorizzi, Castillo, Pearce, Alvarez

By Mark Polishuk | December 5, 2016 at 10:21pm CDT

Here’s the latest on the Rays from Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times (multiple story links)…

A source on one of the teams interested in right-hander Chris Archer tells Topkin that the Rays are asking for five or six players in return. Obviously that specific ask could be related to that specific team, but with a price tag generally thought to be quite high, Topkin is doubtful Archer will be dealt.
Tampa is getting a lot of attention about its rotation in general, including the Pirates showing interest in Jake Odorizzi. Pittsburgh initially had interest in Odorizzi at the July trade deadline, and it would be fascinating to see what kind of deal (if any) the Rays and Bucs could work out, as fellow small-market teams.
Welington Castillo is generating enough interest that he is expected to get a multi-year deal, so the Rays could be priced out of his market. One source “wouldn’t expect” the Rays to wind up with Castillo, who has also drawn interest from teams like the Braves and Orioles since he was surprisingly non-tendered by the Diamondbacks this week.
Steve Pearce was targeted by the Rays before he signed a two-year, $12.5MM deal with the Blue Jays earlier today. Topkin tweets that the Jays got the edge over the Rays by offering the second guaranteed year and more money.
The Rays have interest in Rangers lefty Dario Alvarez, who posted a 5.06 ERA, 13.8 K/9 and 5.86 K/BB rate over 26 2/3 innings with Texas and Atlanta last season. His ERA was inflated by continuing problems with the long ball, as Alvarez has given up nine homers over his 31 2/3 career innings in the majors. The Rangers are one of the teams known to be looking into the Rays’ pitching, so Alvarez could potentially be included as part of a trade package.
There are so many hitters in the outfield/first base/DH mold available that Topkin believes the Rays could be able to land a good bat at a relative discount price simply by waiting until later in the offseason to make a signing. Perhaps even a higher-tier hitter like Jose Bautista would be willing to take a one-year, incentive-filled contract to play near his home in the Tampa Bay area and test the market again next winter (though Topkin admits that Bautista is rather a longshot).

Nationals Notes: Harper, Kiermaier, McCutchen, Giolito, Wieters

By Mark Polishuk and Jeff Todd | December 5, 2016 at 6:03pm CDT

There’s a sense within the Nationals organization that it may not be possible to reach agreement with outfielder Bryce Harper on a long-term deal to keep him from reaching free agency after the 2018 season, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today. A team source says that the club believes Harper is looking for a deal in excess of ten years and $400M — though it does not appear he has actually made such a specific request. That level of contract would apparently be a non-starter for the team, which is perhaps not surprising after Harper failed to repeat his outstanding 2015 campaign. Despite the chatter on the polarizing star, agent Scott Boras says that he has yet to discuss a long- term arrangement with the Nationals, per Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter). Nats GM Mike Rizzo declined to comment on the subject, as Jorge Castillo of the Washington Post tweets. Whatever situation may or may not exist involving a Harper extension, Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports reports that Harper isn’t the subject of any active trade talks.

Some more news out of Washington…

Also from Nightengale’s piece, he reports that the Nationals asked the Rays about Kevin Kiermaier but “consider the asking price exorbitant.” Arguably the game’s best defensive player, Kiermaier has generated 13.1 fWAR over the last three seasons and is under team control through 2020, so it is very understandable that Tampa wants a huge return for Kiermaier’s services.
Both Nightengale and FanRag Sports’ Jon Heyman report that the Nats are willing to discuss prized righty Lucas Giolito, with Heyman noting that Giolito’s name has surfaced in talks with the White Sox about Chris Sale. If D.C. is unwilling to part with either Trea Turner or Victor Robles, one would think that Giolito would almost have to be involved in a potential Sale trade, as Chicago surely wouldn’t part with its ace without landing at least one blue-chip youngster.
The Nats have found the Pirates’ asking price on Andrew McCutchen to be too high, Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets. This doesn’t necessarily close the door on a McCutchen trade, though Sherman writes that the Nationals are reportedly more focused on other options, including a deal for Sale.
Despite some rumors to the contrary, the Nationals aren’t planning to flip catcher Derek Norris and then pursue Matt Wieters, Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post reports.

Latest On Andrew McCutchen

By Jeff Todd | December 5, 2016 at 2:20pm CDT

2:20pm: Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports (on Twitter) that the Pirates asked the Nationals for both Lucas Giolito and Victor Robles but were (unsurprisingly) rebuffed. The Nats do have some questions about McCutchen’s potential decline and also his leadership, according to Biertempfel.

Meanwhile, MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan tweets that the Rangers also find the asking price on McCutchen extremely high, as they’ve been asked for an established starting pitcher and additional prospect value in return.

12:39pm: The Rangers have been in “frequent” contact with the Pirates about McCutchen, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. A deal between the two sides is possible but not close at this time, he adds. Heyman adds that he’s heard it’s “not likely” that the Rangers would actually meet the Pirates’ asking price, though. Additionally, MLB Network’s Jon Morosi tweeted earlier today that the Dodgers have made a recent inquiry on McCutchen as well.

11:10am: There’s a “mystery team” pursuing Pirates center fielder Andrew McCutchen, according to Jon Heyman of Fan Rag (via Twitter). Pittsburgh is said to be looking for a taker for its longtime star.

To this point, the Nationals have been tied most closely to the former MVP center fielder. The Dodgers, too, have been mentioned recently as having interest, while the Rangers and Mariners have also been connected. But the other possible suitor is a team that hasn’t yet been publicly associated with the Bucs’ stalwart, per the report.

That leaves 25 other organizations that could conceivably have interest. A variety of teams — potentially including the Orioles, Blue Jays, Giants, Phillies, Mets, and Cardinals — might make some degree of sense, and surely there are others that could become involved in the right circumstances.

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