Pirates Rumors

NL Notes: McCutchen, Rockies, Morrow, D-Backs, Mattingly

By Steve Adams | February 23, 2016 at 11:12pm CDT

Pirates superstar Andrew McCutchen voiced his desire to spend his entire career in Pittsburgh yesterday, and on Tuesday general manager Neal Huntington told ESPN’s Jayson Stark that the Bucs would explore an extension for McCutchen at the “appropriate time,” though he declined to delve into specifics. Huntington explained that the Pirates would love to retain McCutchen for “an awfully long time,” though he noted that the remaining three years on McCutchen’s deal is a lengthy period of time in its own right. “At the same time, we do want to honor his interest,” the GM told Stark. “And at the appropriate time, in the appropriate way, we will look to see if there is a common financial ground that allows us to build a championship team around a given player. … Any team can basically afford any player. It’s just how do you afford championship-caliber players around that one player.”

Some more notes from around the Senior Circuit…

Rockies GM Jeff Bridich declined to put a timeline on the Rockies’ path back to contention when meeting with reporters today, writes Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post. “Why limit ourselves?” Bridich asked rhetorically. “So if I were to come out and say something that’s pleasing to the ear of you, or a fan here or a fan there, and I say, ‘We’re not going to win for X.’ So what? What’s the point of doing that? It’s about people. It’s about process. … Why say something where it’s got to happen X number of months and years in the future, where really a lot of good things can happen this year?” The Rockies have certainly acted as if they believe they can win in 2016 this winter, and Bridich’s comments seem to imply they indeed hold that belief, even if it’s not necessarily an expectation.
Brandon Morrow tells Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune that he probably could’ve secured a big league deal elsewhere this winter, as he had “soft offers” of Major League deals from other clubs, but he wanted to remain with the Padres and “wasn’t afraid” to take a minor league deal with an invite to camp. Morrow didn’t specify exactly what he meant with that explanation — verbal willingness by other teams to explore big league deals, perhaps — but he went on to explain to Lin that he thinks highly of San Diego’s training staff, team doctors and strength coaches. He also voiced an oft-overlooked aspect of remaining in one place (or in securing a multi-year deal): “I didn’t want to bounce around, I guess. It’s just the continuity; the doctors knew me since I was injured, obviously. … Going to a new spot, they’d only know what you tell them instead of having firsthand knowledge.” It’s easy to suggest that players should be comfortable on one-year deals, though Morrow’s comments serve as a reminder that there are benefits to the stability of remaining in one place.
Diamondbacks CEO Derrick Hall held court with the media on Tuesday and explained that the deferred money included in Zack Greinke’s stunning six-year contract isn’t the start of any sort of trend, writes Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. “It’s not something that we’re going to start doing now,” said Hall of deferring money,” “but in this case we felt we needed to really bite the bullet on this one, with that window we talk about and our big glaring hole.” As Piecoro notes and as Hall implies in his later comments, the D-backs have previously run into problems by offering too many deferred payments and don’t want to start down that road once again.
The hiring of manager Don Mattingly already has Marlins players buzzing about the upcoming season, writes Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald. Mattingly held a closed-doors meeting with the team before the first full workout of Spring Training, and the new skipper wasted little time in getting his players on his side. “I went out to practice [Tuesday] like I wanted to eat the world,” Jose Fernandez told Spencer. Fellow right-hander Tom Koehler said that Mattingly’s address gave him “chills.” Mattingly spoke to Spencer after the speech and discussed the upcoming season, noting that he believes payroll to be a largely overblown component of successful teams, highlighting the Royals’ back-to-back World Series appearances.

Pirates Notes: McCutchen, Stewart, Glasnow

By charliewilmoth | February 22, 2016 at 7:04pm CDT

Andrew McCutchen reiterates that he’s interested in sticking with the Pirates, ESPN’s Jayson Stark reports. “[E]veryone knows I want to be here,” McCutchen says. “So that’s nothing new to anyone.” McCutchen has repeatedly maintained his interest in staying in Pittsburgh beyond the expiration of his contract following the 2018 season (or the 2017 season, in the unlikely event that the Bucs don’t exercise his 2018 option), and he’s also said he doesn’t define himself in terms of how much money he makes. According to Stark, though, McCutchen was cautious when asked whether he would take a hometown discount to stay with the Bucs. “I still stick with the [idea that] money doesn’t define me because it doesn’t,” he says. “But it’s not altered like that in this game. No one plays for free. People rarely ever work for free. But you know, whenever that time comes, that time comes. But I’m trying not to think about it too much.” The question, from the Pirates’ perspective, is whether there’s a way to extend McCutchen that makes sense within their budget. They already control him through his age-31 season, and they might not want to pay what the market would consider a fair salary for a player of McCutchen’s talent — surely over $20MM a year — for what could turn out to be decline years in his thirties. Here’s more on the Bucs.

Backup catcher Chris Stewart is happy to have received a multi-year deal this winter, MLB.com’s Adam Berry writes. Stewart’s deal was modest — he’ll get just $2.75MM total for 2016 and 2017, along with a $250K buyout on a cheap option in 2018. But it gives him more of a sense of stability than he’s previously had in his career. “Knowing that I’ll be here for more than a year — hopefully three or more, that’s the goal — that’s something I’m not used to,” he says. Stewart is slated to back up Francisco Cervelli in 2016, and then could back up Elias Diaz, a prospect with a good defensive reputation, in 2017 if Cervelli isn’t extended.
Top pitching prospect Tyler Glasnow appears likely to make an impact sometime in the coming season, but the Pirates also considered promoting him during the 2015 campaign, Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review writes. “We had legitimate discussions about (calling up) Tyler last year,” says Pirates GM Neal Huntington. “Ultimately, we felt it was in his and our best interest to continue the development and command of the fastball, the consistency of his breaking ball, the ability to throw it for a strike and for a chase, and to develop the changeup (in Triple-A).” He now seems likely to have to wait to be promoted until June, after the passing of the Super Two threshold. That’s what the Bucs did with Gerrit Cole three years ago, and Cole says it had no ill effects on him. “It’s actually better; you kind of light a fire under somebody,” Cole says “And he gets an opportunity to fine-tune his routine.”

Pirates Notes: Joyce, Benedict, Cole

By charliewilmoth | February 20, 2016 at 10:31am CDT

It appears outfielder Matt Joyce, who recently signed to a minor-league deal, might have a good shot at making the Pirates out of camp. Joyce’s locker is in the same room as players already on the 40-man roster, despite the fact that he himself is a non-roster invitee, Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review tweets. Joyce himself, meanwhile, says that Pirates manager Clint Hurdle says the Bucs “see me as kind of like the fourth outfielder,” as MLB.com’s Adam Berry notes (via Twitter). Joyce does note that he’ll have to prove himself in camp. The Bucs’ three starting outfield spots are set with Starling Marte, Andrew McCutchen and Gregory Polanco, but there isn’t much depth behind them, with Jason Rogers, Jake Goebbert and Sean Rodriguez previously looking like they had the clearest shots at any spare playing time in the outfield. Rogers and Goebbert can both be optioned, however, and Rodriguez can play other positions. Here’s more on the Bucs.

Former Pirates pitching guru Jim Benedict could be the Marlins’ most important offseason acquisition, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports writes. The Pirates had already lost another executive, Marc DelPiano, to the Marlins when the Fish came calling for Benedict, so the two teams worked out a related deal in which Miami sent pitching prospect Trevor Williams to Pittsburgh as compensation. “The challenge becomes when that same organization continues to come back for people,” says Bucs GM Neal Huntington. “It becomes harder to lose somebody that has insight on your organization and who the talented people are in your organization. We do need to protect ourselves from being raided by a single organization or exploited by a single organization.” Huntington adds that while the organization will miss Benedict, the team retains “parts of what allowed him to be successful” — including, presumably, well-regarded big-league pitching coach Ray Searage.
Bucs starter Gerrit Cole is behind schedule in Spring Training due to a right rib inflammation, Biertempfel writes. The injury took place in mid-January. Obviously, the absence of their ace from an already dubious rotation would be a significant blow to the Pirates. The condition does not appear serious, however, as Cole is already throwing from flat ground and is expected to soon begin throwing from a mound. “It’s just a modified throwing program at this point,” he says. “I’m not too far behind everybody else, but I feel good.”

Pirates Sign Matt Joyce To Minor League Deal

By Steve Adams | February 20, 2016 at 8:11am CDT

SATURDAY: The Bucs have officially announced the deal.

THURSDAY: The Pirates have agreed to a minor league contract with outfielder Matt Joyce, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter). The 31-year-old ACES client will presumably compete for a bench spot in Spring Training, as the Pittsburgh outfield mix of Starling Marte, Andrew McCutchen and Gregory Polanco is among the best in the game.

The 2015 campaign was far and away the worst of Joyce’s career, as he batted just .174/.272/.291 with five homers in 284 plate appearances as an Angel after being swapped for right-hander Kevin Jepsen in an offseason trade with the Rays. While those numbers, clearly, are unappealing, Joyce’s track record prior to that dismal season was very solid. From 2010-14 with the Rays, Joyce posted a collective .251/.344/.434 batting line with 73 homers in 2219 plate appearances.

In the event that Joyce makes the Pirates’ roster, he’d very much be a platoon or matchup option for manager Clint Hurdle, as even in that quality stretch with Tampa Bay, he batted a paltry .185/.246/.313 in 326 plate appearances against left-handed pitching. Conversely, his numbers against right-handed pitching look rather impressive: .263/.360/.456 with a 12.8 percent walk rate and 18.7 strikeout rate.

Currently, the Pirates’ options for backup outfielders include Mike Morse, Jake Goebbert and Sean Rodriguez. Morse is most likely viewed as a first base option as opposed to a candidate for significant time in the outfield, leaving the latter two (and perhaps fellow non-roster invitee Antoan Richardson) as Joyce’s primary competition.

NL Central Notes: Cervelli, Pirates, Molina, Davis

By Steve Adams | February 18, 2016 at 8:40am CDT

Pirates catcher Francisco Cervelli tells Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that there haven’t been any extension talks between the team and his camp. “I haven’t talked to the Pirates since the playoff last year,” said Cervelli. “…We haven’t talked to the Pirates. My agent, or me, nothing.” Cervelli, who is represented by the Beverly Hills Sports Council, is eligible for free agency following the 2016 season, though Travis Sawchik of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review recently reported Cervelli’s asking price in an extension to forgo his first opportunity at the open market. That $39MM asking price might seem steep to some, though if Cervelli replicates his 2015 production — .295/.370/.401, seven homers, elite receiving skills — he could be in line for a larger sum on the open market.

NL Central Notes: Brewers, Lucroy, Molina, Cards, McCutchen

By Steve Adams | February 15, 2016 at 12:56pm CDT

Brewers GM David Stearns laughed when told by Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel that he’s earned the nickname “Dealin’ Dave” on the heels of making nine trades to acquire 16 new players this offfseason. Haudricourt runs down all of the names acquired by Stearns, who shared a bit of insight into his general offseason approach with Haudricourt. “There’s a strength-in-numbers approach with pitching,” explained Stearns, who has acquired six pitchers via trade this winter. “Part of that is due to the increased injury risk associated with pitchers. We’re trying to stockpile good arms. I think most importantly we’re trying to stockpile guys who’ve proven they can throw strikes. We’ve been able to do that through some of these transactions.” Stearns went on to add that Jonathan Lucroy’s status hasn’t been impacted by the addition of a fairly highly touted catching prospect in Jacob Nottingham, acquired in the Khris Davis trade over the weekend. As Stearns notes, Nottingham spent last season at Class-A and can’t be expected to contribute in the Majors in the immediate future.

More notes from the NL Central…

The Cardinals are open to adding another catcher as a depth option on the eve of Spring Training, per Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, but Yadier Molina and the team are both hopeful that he can be ready for the season opener. Molina, who underwent a second thumb surgery in December after his October operation did not fix the injury in his hand, tells Goold that he has no doubt that the second surgery healed the issue, citing improved performance in range-of-motion and strengthening exercises on the hand. Molina could still be two weeks away from catching, Goold notes, and that step will come before Molina progresses to hitting. If he’s not ready to open the season, offseason addition Brayan Pena will begin the year as the club’s starter. St. Louis has added veteran Eric Fryer on a minor league deal and could bring him north as the backup to Pena if Molina isn’t ready, and it stands to reason that any external addition to the catching mix would be cut from the same cloth.
Goold appeared on MLB Network’s Hot Stove show this morning and talked Cardinals (video link), discussing Molina, Adam Wainwright and the team’s mix of players at first base. If Wainwright is limited at all this season after missing much of last year due to an Achilles injury, the limitations will come in Spring Training as opposed to during the regular season, Goold said. He adds that the Cardinals “want to see if the Brandon Moss that they have is the Brandon Moss of a few years ago — the guy who over the last four years has averaged 24 home runs per year. “ Goold went on to add: “The guy who hits most is going to play most at first base. The guy who hits for the most power is going to play the most at first base.” Moss is joined by Matt Adams and Stephen Piscotty in the first base column on the depth chart.
Andrew McCutchen said again on Monday that his hope is to spend his entire career with the Pirates, tweets Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. McCutchen, who turned 29 in October, has been the face of the Bucs’ franchise for much of his career and is under contract for three more seasons at a total of $41.5MM (only $28MM of that is guaranteed; Pittsburgh has a $14.5MM club option with a $1MM buyout for McCutchen in 2018).

NL Central Notes: Cubs, Almora, Bard

By Zachary Links | February 14, 2016 at 1:09pm CDT

Here’s a look at the NL Central:

Carrie Muskat of MLB.com ran down six Cubs prospects to keep an eye on this spring. Kris Bryant, Addison Russell, and Kyle Schwarber made their presence felt in 2015 and there are a handful of youngsters that could make an impact in 2016 for Chicago. That list includes outfielder Albert Almora, the Cubs’ first round selection in 2012. Almora has been held back by injuries, but the 21-year-old is now healthy and he’ll open the season at Triple-A Iowa.
Daniel Bard believes that he’ll get the fresh start that he needs with the Pirates, as Adam Berry of MLB.com writes. “What I like about being here is I don’t know anybody. Basically, I’m going to get what I deserve here,” Bard said. “What I do on the field is going to dictate who I’m pitching for and where I’m going, and I’m fine with that.” Bard, Boston’s first-round pick in the 2006 Draft, dominated from 2009 through 2011. However, he hasn’t been the same pitcher since. In that three year stretch, Bard posted a 2.88 ERA in a considerably more hitter-friendly era than today’s game even a few short years later. That 2.88 ERA, when adjusted for the league and Bard’s home of Fenway Park, resulted in a 154 ERA+, indicating that he was 54 percent better than a league-average pitcher. He averaged 9.7 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9 in that time to go along with a well-above-average ground-ball rate and a fastball that averaged better than 97 mph. Bard and the Bucs agreed to a minor league deal back in January.
Over the weekend, the A’s acquired outfielder Khris Davis from the Brewers in exchange for prospects Jacob Nottingham and Bubba Derby. Click here to check out some reactions to the deal and the impact it could have on Oakland and Milwaukee.

Pirates Sign Cory Luebke To Minor League Deal

By Steve Adams | February 11, 2016 at 3:53pm CDT

The Pirates announced that they’ve signed left-hander Cory Luebke to a minor league contract with an invitation to Major League Spring Training. The former Padres lefty hasn’t pitched since 2012 after having three seasons wiped out by a pair of Tommy John surgeries, but he could conceivably factor into the club’s rotation or bullpen picture.

Now 30 years old (31 in March), Luebke had an impressive rookie season back in 2011, logging a 3.29 ERA with 9.9 K/9 against 2.8 BB/9 in 139 1/3 innings out of the San Diego rotation. That was enough for the former Padres front office regime to roll the dice on a potentially team-friendly contract of four years and $12MM plus a pair of club options. Had both options been exercised, the Padres would’ve controlled Luebke through the end of his first would-be free-agent year, and he’d have earned $27.75MM in total over the life of the deal. Unfortunately for both team and player, Luebke never got the chance to build on that strong rookie showing, as he pitched just 31 innings in 2012 before succumbing to injury. He’ll now look to follow the path of many other pitchers before him and breathe new life into his career as a member of the Pirates organization.

Pirates To Sign Eric O’Flaherty To Minors Deal

By Jeff Todd | February 11, 2016 at 3:40pm CDT

The Pirates have agreed to a minor league deal with lefty reliever Eric O’Flaherty, Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports tweets. He’ll receive an invitation to MLB camp.

It has become cliche at this point, but the Bucs do have a record of helping to turn around once-productive pitchers. And O’Flaherty certainly fits the general mold of past refurbishment projects.

The 31-year-old was at one time rather dominant for the Braves, running up a 1.99 ERA over nearly 250 frames from 2009 through 2013. He averaged a pedestrian 7.2 K/9 in that span, but limited the free pass (2.5 BB/9), got a ton of easy outs (58.3% groundball rate), and was plenty useful even against right-handed hitters.

Things weren’t so rosy last year, his first full campaign back from Tommy John surgery. He ended with an abysmal 8.10 ERA, which only got worse after a mid-season trade from the Athletics to the Mets. And the peripherals weren’t great either, as O’Flaherty ended with 6.3 K/9 against 5.4 BB/9. He was able to generate grounders right at his career rate, and there are indications he suffered some bad luck (.388 BABIP, 57.6% strand rate), but clearly he has some work to do to get back on track in the coming spring.

NL Notes: Arrieta, Pirates, Phillies

By charliewilmoth | February 7, 2016 at 7:28pm CDT

Now is the time for the Cubs to try to sign ace Jake Arrieta to a long-term deal, Bruce Levine of CBS Chicago writes. Arrieta and the Cubs recently agreed on a one-year, $10.7MM contract to avoid arbitration in Arrieta’s second year of eligibility. Arrieta can currently become a free agent after the 2017 season. Of course, Arrieta’s agent Scott Boras would surely agree that an extension for Arrieta shouldn’t be cheap after his Cy Young award-winning 2015 season, and since Arrieta turns 30 next month, he might only have one shot at a big free agent deal, meaning he might not be inclined to sign now unless the deal is quite long. Also, Arrieta’s incredible stretch run changed the landscape since we last closely considered his extension candidacy. Levine proposes a four-year deal at an average of $23MM per season, with two club options. While it’s true that Arrieta’s salaries for the next two seasons are essentially set via the arbitration process, a $92MM deal with options would, in my opinion, be unlikely to bring Boras and Arrieta to the table. Recent history suggests Arrieta has a shot at a deal in the $200MM range if he waits until after 2017. Here’s more from the National League.

The Pirates won 98 games last season and have a strong core in place, but many of their top competitors in the National League have improved, Travis Sawchik of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review writes. The Cubs have had a busy and productive offseason, and while the Cardinals have lost talent (some of it to their rivals in Chicago), they should benefit somewhat from better luck with injuries. The rest of the league, too, has become increasingly polarized, with several very bad teams, but lots of potentially strong ones, including the Mets, Nationals, Dodgers, Giants and Diamondbacks. The Bucs, however, continue to believe in themselves. “There’s no question the Cubs did a fantastic job on balancing amateur player acquisition and timing it with those young players being ready to hit the major league level and then pouring a ton of money into free agency,” says Pirates GM Neal Huntington. “They are going to be good going forward. The Cardinals are going to be good going forward. Our belief is, with this core that we have, that we are going to continue to be good going forward.”
The Phillies don’t figure to be one of the NL contenders in 2016. They should, however, be fun, as FanGraphs’ Paul Swydan writes. They suddenly have only a handful of over-30 players, and the younger ones offer a mix of power (Maikel Franco), defensive ability (Odubel Herrera), speed (Cesar Hernandez) and, among the Phillies’ young pitchers, control (Aaron Nola). Then there’s top prospect J.P. Crawford, who could make his debut in 2016, along with a number of other very interesting minor leaguers, including Nick Williams, Andrew Knapp, Dylan Cozens, Jake Thompson, Vincent Velasquez and Mark Appel.

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