Pirates Rumors

Central Notes: Pirates, Cardinals, Holaday

By charliewilmoth | March 19, 2016 at 4:39pm CDT

The Pirates, rarely satisfied with the unexamined application of conventional wisdom, are considering moving Andrew McCutchen to the No. 2 spot in their order, writes ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark. McCutchen has been the Pirates’ No. 3 hitter for more than five seasons, but the Pirates think they might be able to score more runs batting second, because he’ll get more plate appearances, but also because they’ll have his high on-base percentage closer to the top of the order and because he won’t be coming up with two outs and the bases empty so much. “For 47 years, the baddest dude on the team hit third,” says manager Clint Hurdle. “Well, you know what? It shouldn’t be that way anymore. There’s a better way to get it done.” Here’s more from the Central divisions.

GM John Mozeliak says the Cardinals’ signing of Ruben Tejada increases the team’s flexibility, MLB.com’s Anthony Castrovince writes. “There is a level of fatigue in this game that was not discussed 10, 15, 20 years ago,” says Mozeliak, whose Cardinals were the victims of what seemed like an unusually long list of injuries last year (although Castrovince notes that they were lucky to have four players, including Peralta, appear in at least 150 games). “One of the things we wanted to do was just make sure, as the season turns to July, August and September, is just make sure our guys are fresh.” Tejada presumably will take over for Jhonny Peralta at shortstop while Peralta recovers from a thumb injury, with Jedd Gyorko returning to the utility role the Cards originally planned for him. But Tejada doesn’t seem to be taking a starting job for granted. “I just came here to play, to do my best,” he says through an interpreter. “Whatever my performance is on the field, there’s going to be a decision made [off of that].”
Tigers catcher Bryan Holaday is generating interest from other teams, Peter Gammons tweets. Holaday is out of options, and the Tigers have two more established catchers in James McCann and Jarrod Saltalamacchia. So there might not be a roster spot for Holaday, unless the Tigers want to carry three catchers. (The Tigers have also experimented with using Holaday at third base and in the outfield this spring.) The 28-year-old Holaday, who split his time between Detroit and Triple-A Toledo last season, has hit brilliantly this year in Spring Training, for what little that’s worth — he has 11 hits, including four homers, in just 21 at-bats. His previous track record, including a career .251/.283/.340 line in the Majors, isn’t nearly so Ruthian, but it’s not surprising there would be at least some interest in a relatively young, cost-controlled catcher.

Braves Claim Jesse Biddle From Pirates

By charliewilmoth | March 19, 2016 at 3:51pm CDT

The Braves have claimed lefty Jesse Biddle, MLB.com’s Adam Berry tweets. The Pirates had designated Biddle for assignment last week. It was originally reported that the Pirates had released Biddle with the intention of re-signing him to a minor-league deal, but perhaps they had simply placed him on release waivers, which would have allowed the Braves to claim him.

Biddle will miss the 2016 season after having Tommy John surgery. The Pirates acquired him from Philadelphia earlier this offseason. He struggled the last two seasons in the high minors, but was once one of the Phillies’ top prospects. MLB.com ranked him the No. 53 prospect in baseball after the 2013 season, when he posted a 3.64 ERA with 10.0 K/9 and 5.3 BB/9 in 138 1/3 innings as a 21-year-old at Double-A Reading.

NL Notes: Phillies, Melancon, Holliday

By charliewilmoth | March 19, 2016 at 1:18pm CDT

GM Matt Klentak says that despite Aaron Altherr’s wrist injury and Cody Asche’s oblique troubles, the Phillies are not actively looking for additional outfielders, MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki writes. The Phillies do, however, remain open to the possibility of acquiring a player should the right opportunity arise. “I wouldn’t characterize it as active,” says Klentak. “This is the time of the year where most teams are starting to connect with each other to talk about different scenarios that are going to play out at the end of camp — who is going to make the team, who may not. So those conversations have begun — generally, anyway.” With Altherr on the shelf until midseason and Asche possibly missing the start of the season, the Phillies plan to go with Odubel Herrera, Peter Bourjos and Rule 5 selection Tyler Goeddel in their outfield to start the season.

The Pirates entered the offseason projecting to pay about 10% of their payroll to Mark Melancon. Paying such a steep price for their closer might not have seemed ideal in theory, but GM Neal Huntington says keeping Melancon was the best move in practice, Stephen J. Nesbitt of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes. Melancon ended up with a $9.65MM deal for the year when the Bucs avoided arbitration with him. “We went into the offseason thinking Mark would be a part of the bullpen until somebody compelled us to think differently,” says Huntington. “No one did.” The Pirates instead made other cost-cutting moves, including parting ways with Pedro Alvarez and trading Charlie Morton to the Phillies. Melancon and Tony Watson were nearly unstoppable in the late innings last season, and the Bucs are hoping that they can be again in 2016, likely Melancon’s last year with the club.
Cardinals outfielder Matt Holliday is taking well to learning first base, writes MLB.com’s Richard Justice. “I think having played third base for a few seasons in the Minor Leagues definitely helped,” says Holliday. “There’s definitely a little bit of an adjustment period being that close in. But I feel like I’ve played a long time and I’m athletic enough that with the proper training and work, I can do it.” Holliday has never played first in the regular season in his long big-league career, but he’s appeared there in five games this spring. Once the season starts, Holliday still figures to take his share of time in the outfield. Two young outfielders, Randal Grichuk and Stephen Piscotty, already are in line for everyday at-bats, but playing Holliday at first on occasion would potentially allow another younger player, Tommy Pham, more playing time. Brandon Moss will also figure into the Cardinals’ first base and outfield mix.

Injury Notes: Meadows, Lorenzen, Kopech, Boesch

By charliewilmoth | March 19, 2016 at 9:20am CDT

Pirates prospect Austin Meadows had surgery to fix an orbital fracture, Stephen J. Nesbitt of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette tweets. He will return to action in an estimated six to eight weeks. The injury occurred earlier this spring, when Meadows got hit by a ball while playing catch. MLB.com currently ranks Meadows the Pirates’ second-best prospect. After batting .307/.357/.407 for Class A+ Bradenton last year, Meadows will likely begin his 2016 season at Double-A Altoona, at least after he’s finished with any rehab assignments. Here are more quick injury notes.

Reds pitcher Michael Lorenzen was examined earlier this week by Dr. Timothy Kremchek earlier this week, and he will not throw for “another couple of weeks,” MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon tweets. Lorenzen was previously diagnosed with a mild UCL sprain. He had been set to compete for a job in the Reds’ currently injury-riddled rotation. The 24-year-old Lorenzen posted a 5.40 ERA, 6.6 K/9 and 4.5 BB/9 in 113 1/3 innings in his rookie season with the Reds last year.
Red Sox prospect Michael Kopech had a screw inserted into his right hand Tuesday to stabilize a fracture he suffered while fighting with a teammate, Alex Speier of the Boston Globe writes. He will be out about six weeks, at which point he will begin getting ready for the season. As Speier notes, 2016 will be the second straight shortened season for Kopech, who served a 50-game suspension last year for use of the stimulant Oxilofrine. The 2014 first-round pick posted a 2.63 ERA, 9.7 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9 in 65 innings with Class A Greenville last year. He’s currently ranked the Red Sox’ fifth-best prospect.
Another Red Sock, outfielder Brennan Boesch, broke his wrist while attempting to make a catch on Friday, John Tomase of WEEI.com writes. Boesch’s return date is unknown. The Red Sox signed Boesch to a minor-league deal in January after he split the 2015 season between Cincinnati and Triple-A Louisville, hitting well in the minors but batting .146/.191/.202 in 94 plate appearances in the big leagues. The 30-year-old is best known for his three years of semi-regular duty with the Tigers from 2010-2012.

Pirates Release Jesse Biddle

By Steve Adams | March 17, 2016 at 7:45am CDT

The Pirates have released left-hander Jesse Biddle, who was designated for assignment upon the team’s signing of third baseman David Freese. The MLB.com Transaction page first noted Biddle’s release, though Tim Williams of PiratesProspects.com wrote this morning that he spoke to GM Neal Huntington, who said he hopes to re-sign Biddle to a minor league deal despite vacating his 40-man spot.

Pittsburgh initially acquired Biddle from the Phillies in exchange for right-hander Yoervis Medina. Biddle, a former first-round pick and top 100 prospect will miss the entire 2016 campaign due to Tommy John surgery. His walk rate increased notably upon reaching the Double-A level, though, and while he was considerably younger than his average competition in that first exposure in 2013, his overall numbers took a dive when he repeated the level in 2014. Biddle’s most recent season saw him pitch to a combined 4.95 ERA between his third Double-A stint and his first work at the Triple-A level, and news of his Tommy John surgery broke shortly after the 2015 season ended. Though he’s hit some adversity in recent seasons, Biddle won’t turn 25 until next October, so youth remains on his side as he seeks to get back on a professional mound and eventually crack a big league roster.

NL Central Notes: Dunnington, Brewers, Contreras, Nicasio

By Steve Adams | March 16, 2016 at 10:49pm CDT

Former Cardinals minor leaguer Tyler Dunnington, who retired from the game during Spring Training 2015, tells Cyd Zeigler of Outsports.com that he chose to leave the game due to homophobic comments and clubhouse culture that made him “miserable in a sport that used to give him life.” Dunnington, who kept his sexual orientation private throughout his baseball career but has come out since retiring, explained that a college coach made a detestable joke about the 1998 murder of Matthew Shepard, and such talk didn’t dissipate upon his arrival in pro ball. A minor league teammate mentioned having a gay brother, and a pair of teammates questioned, in earnest, how anyone could have a homosexual friend, let alone brother. Some went so far as to discuss killing homosexuals, Zeigler writes. The inexcusable behavior isn’t lost on GM John Mozeliak, who told the Post-Dispatch’s Derrick Goold and Ben Frederickson: “This is very disappointing and our hope is that every player, staff member, and employee feels they are treated equally and fairly. Given the nature of these allegations I will certainly look into this further as well as speak with [MLB Ambassador for Inclusion Billy Bean] for further assistance on this matter…we will take this very seriously.”

Dunnington hopes to return to the game in a front office role, where he could help to take measures to prevent this type of culture and behavior. “After gaining acceptance from my friends and family I realized I didn’t have to quit baseball to find happiness,” Dunnington said. “I not only wanted to share my story but also apologize for not using the stage I had to help change the game.” Indeed, disturbing as Dunnington’s stories are, the sad reality is that the appalling comments he encountered are almost certainly not unique to the clubhouse he was in nor to the Cardinals organization.

Looking elsewhere in the division…

Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports that the Brewers won’t name a closer before Opening Day. Manager Craig Counsell asserted that there’s “no such position as Opening Day closer” and said that left-hander Will Smith and right-hander Jeremy Jeffress will both get cracks at closing games early in the season. Counsell feels that it will behoove the Brewers to take advantage of having two quality late-inning relievers — one right-handed (Jeffress) and one left-handed (Smith) — to create the most advantageous matchups possible in attempting to lock down close victories. Counsell said the ninth inning could “eventually” belong to one pitcher, but he sees no reason to place any sort of restriction on either reliever right now.
Cubs prospect Willson Contreras looks more and more like the team’s long-term answer behind the plate with every passing day, writes Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times. Wittenmyer spoke to catching coach Mike Borzello, manager Joe Maddon and infielder Javier Baez, each of whom raved about some combination of Contreras’ throwing, handling of the pitching staff and above-average bat. Borzello noted that Contreras would probably break camp with a club that had less catching depth than Chicago currently has with Miguel Montero, David Ross and Kyle Schwarber. Contreras’ emergence further calls into question Schwarber’s future behind the plate, as if Contreras is the two-way backstop that many in the organization believe him to be, there’s less of a reason to continue to try to develop Schwarber as a catcher, where many scouts believe he is inadequate from a defensive standpoint.
While Spring Training stats are always taken with a grain of salt, a dominant outing from Pirates right-hander Juan Nicasio turned some heads today, writes ESPN’s Jayson Stark. “Dominant,” in fact, is selling the appearance short; Nicasio faced 14 hitters and allowed just one hit and recorded an incredible 10 strikeouts on Wednesday. Despite facing a strikeout-prone Orioles lineup, Nicasio caught the eye of manager Clint Hurdle, who says that his own experience managing at Coors Field made it easy to look past Nicasio’s lackluster career numbers when the Pirates added him on a one-year, $3MM deal this winter. Nicasio was originally signed to be a multi-inning reliever, but in light of his spring dominance, Hurdle wouldn’t rule out a rotation spot. Nicasio tells Stark that’s his ultimate goal: “I’m working hard for the rotation, but I can’t control all that.” As Stark writes, a well-known Pirates success story, Francisco Liriano, called Nicasio this offseason to sell him on the benefit of pitching coach Ray Searage. “Everybody talks about, ’You go here, you get better,'” Nicasio says to Stark. “I know why now.”

NL Central Notes: Figueroa, Ngoepe, Tejada, Brewers

By Jeff Todd | March 16, 2016 at 10:45am CDT

There are many analytically-savvy players out there these days, but few are probably as dedicated and capable as Pirates utilityman Cole Figueroa. As Travis Sawchick of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review writes in an interesting profile, the son of an old-school former big leaguer incorporates math and coding into his personal regimen — and isn’t afraid to share his knowledge with his teammates. It’s a great piece and well worth a read.

Here’s more from the game’s central divisions:

Pirates shortstop Gift Ngoepe is impressing in camp thus far and has a realistic hope of becoming the first black South African to crack the majors after being added to the 40-man over the winter, Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes. The defensive specialist has moved from switch-hitting to focusing on hitting from his natural right side, with improved results. He’s in competition, along with Figueroa and others, to win a utility job.
ESPN.com’s Mark Saxon looks at the Cardinals’ decision on shortstop Ruben Tejada, whom the Mets just placed on waivers. It appears that St. Louis is more likely to make a play for Tejada if he clears waivers than it is to claim him, though, Jon Heyman of MLB Network tweets.
The Brewers’ offseason of change was a product of “trying to aggregate as much young talent as we possibly can,” GM David Stearns tells Tom Haudricourt in a piece for Baseball America. “A lot of them were minor moves that didn’t make headlines, but the end result was that half of our 40-man roster will look different from the last day of the season,” said Stearns. “It’s a byproduct of the cycle we’re going through.” The newly-minted head Milwaukee baseball man suggested that such turnover may or may not continue moving forward, explaining that, “sometimes it takes a jump-start like this to get younger and more flexible on your roster.”

NL Notes: Cueto, Jennings, Pirates

By charliewilmoth | March 14, 2016 at 10:40pm CDT

Giants starter Johnny Cueto was hit in the head on a Billy Burns liner on the first pitch of his outing Monday night, according to various reporters, including the San Francisco Chronicle’s Henry Schulman. Cueto stayed in the game and pitched three innings, but was checked by team doctors after pitching and will head to the hospital in accordance with team protocol (Twitter links). One would think the Giants would have removed Cueto from the game after the incident if they had considered the issue serious (acknowledging, of course, that pro sports teams have at times underestimated the impact of potential concussions). There would have been no reason for the Giants to keep Cueto in a Spring Training game if they had any indication he was hurt. Still, the situation bears monitoring. Here’s more from around the NL.

The grievance filed by the Marlins against the Nationals regarding former Marlins GM and manager Dan Jennings was settled in favor of the Nationals, Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post writes. The Nationals are paying Jennings $115K to be a special assistant to GM Mike Rizzo. Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reported yesterday that the Marlins took issue with that salary because they owed Jennings $1.5MM based on his previous contract with them, minus his salary in his new position. The Marlins thought the Nats’ $115K salary was too low given Jennings’ responsibilities, and that they were therefore on the hook for too much of his remaining salary. Via Janes, though, the disagreement has been resolved. “It’s an old grievance, and it has been settled,” says Rizzo.
Pirates GM Neal Huntington is excited about his organization’s Triple-A rotation, Stephen A. Nesbitt of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports. The Bucs today optioned top prospects Tyler Glasnow and Jameson Taillon to Triple-A Indianapolis and reassigned fellow starters Chad Kuhl, Steven Brault and Trevor Williams. (They also optioned outfielder Harold Ramirez and reassigned catcher Reese McGuire and lefty Kelvin Marte.) Of those starting pitchers, Glasnow and Taillon are the headliners, but Kuhl, Brault and Williams are all prospects in their own right. All could wind up pitching at Indianapolis this year (although perhaps not right away, as Nesbitt notes, since the Bucs might need to preserve a spot there for a depth starter like Kyle Lobstein or Wilfredo Boscan.) “The future is bright,” says Huntington. “You run Taillon, Glasnow, Kuhl, Brault and Williams out in one setting — that’s a very exciting group. … Each one of them brings something that’s very, very intriguing. Now you put that group of five together, it bodes well for our future.” Kuhl is a sinkerballer who pitched well for Double-A Altoona last season. Brault, a lefty, excelled at Class A+ and Double-A after arriving last winter in the trade that sent Travis Snider to Baltimore. And Williams is a recent arrival who the Bucs acquired from the Marlins when pitching guru Jim Benedict headed to Miami.

NL Central Notes: Freese, Votto, Murton, Brewers

By Steve Adams | March 12, 2016 at 10:45am CDT

Newly signed Pirates infielder David Freese was “hungry” to join the organization, GM Neal Huntington told Stephen J. Nesbitt of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Freese spoke with Nesbitt as well, explaining that the organization’s recent surge and track record of making the postseason appealed to him when the Bucs approached. Freese added that it’s been interesting to watch the club’s rise to prominence, having seen the early stages as a member of the Cardinals. “We came to Pittsburgh early on in [2011], and then we showed up two or three months later and it was sold out,” said Freese. “I think that’s kinda when things started to change a little bit. That was an atmosphere I wanted to be a part of. To see where this organization has come the last four or five years, that’s special.” Nesbitt notes that the plan for Freese is for him to play third base while Jung Ho Kang is out for the first month of the season, and he’ll then shift across the diamond and platoon with John Jaso.

Pirates Sign David Freese, Designate Jesse Biddle

By Jeff Todd | March 11, 2016 at 5:24pm CDT

The Pirates have signed third baseman David Freese to a one-year deal, per a club announcement. The CAA client will earn $3MM on a straight guarantee without any available incentives, Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports on Twitter. Pittsburgh also announced that it has designated southpaw Jesse Biddle for assignment to create roster space.

Freese, who’ll turn 33 at the end of April, has settled in as a steady but unspectacular performer at the hot corner. After some strong offensive years earlier in his career with the Cardinals, he’s generally posted slightly above-average results. All told, Freese slashed a sturdy .258/.322/.401 with 24 home runs in 981 plate appearances over his two years with the Angels, who reportedly considered a qualifying offer this winter but ultimately allowed Freese to leave uninhibited. Though his line-drive and hard-contact rates both fell last year, with his walk rate continuing to trickle downward, Freese did still manage to significantly increase his ISO in 2015 as against his prior year’s work.

Much the same holds on the defensive side of the equation, as Freese has generally graded out as roughly average with the glove before and since a one-year downturn (2013, his final year in St. Louis). He is a poor overall baserunner and has had his share of injury troubles, though it’s hard to blame him for missing time recently after being struck by pitches.

It took some time for his market to thaw, but Freese will presumably step right into Pittsburgh’s Opening Day lineup. Though the team has Jung Ho Kang and Josh Harrison under contract as options at second and third, Kang has only just reached the point of straight-line running after suffering a serious leg injury last year. Indications were that Kang may be available within a month or so of the season’s start, but Pittsburgh obviously decided there was enough uncertainty to make another addition.

Even when Kang does make it back, it’s not hard to see the value of bringing in the respected veteran. It’s expected that Freese will eventually form the right-handed side of a first base platoon with John Jaso, Stephen Nesbitt of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette tweets. He’ll also deepen the overall infield unit. Harrison took a step back in 2015, as did shortstop Jordy Mercer, and the other options on hand (glove-first shortstop Pedro Florimon, prospect Alen Hanson, utilityman Sean Rodriguez) all come with their share of questions and uncertainties.

Nevertheless, the move comes as a bit of a surprise, though MLBTR’s Steve Adams did name the Bucs as one of only six teams that made much sense as a destination for Freese as of mid-February. It is a bit unclear what Pittsburgh will do with Rodriguez and, especially, Michael Morse with Freese now under contract. The former is owed $2.5MM this year after re-signing, while the latter is largely a free-roll after he was swapped for another bad contract (Jose Tabata) last summer. Those two could still conceivably see time in the outfield, but there probably won’t be many plate appearances available there. Adding Freese also seemingly tamps down the likelihood of an early promotion for first base prospect Josh Bell.

Freese isn’t the most exciting player, but his ultimate contract still comes as a shock. Indeed, he’ll earn less than other recent players to sign, including fellow third baseman Juan Uribe, former Pirates first bagger Pedro Alvarez, and center fielder Austin Jackson.

As for Biddle, who was acquired in a DFA limbo swap earlier in the winter, Pittsburgh may be hoping tha the can clear waivers at this stage of the offseason. The one-time top prospect will be returning from Tommy John surgery and has had serious control problems, but remains an interesting project for whatever organization ends up with his rights.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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