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NL Central Links: Greinke, Hamilton, Brewers, Pirates

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Earlier today we learned that Pirates owner Bob Nutting will not make any changes to the team's front office following the revelations of their military-style prospect training program. Here's the latest from Pittsburgh's division, the NL Central…

  • Brewers GM Doug Melvin recently spoke to Zack Greinke, but said the free agent right-hander "didn't tip hand" according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (Twitter). The two just talked baseball.
  • Money is an issue for the Brewers, reports Heyman (on Twitter). Melvin called his team a "very" long shot for Josh Hamilton, saying he'd need the market and bench coach/former Rangers coach Jerry Narron to do some selling.
  • Nutting told Michael Sanserino of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that the Pirates' payroll will grow organically. He declined to give either a ceiling or floor for next season's payroll, however.

Pirates Will Not Make Any Front Office Changes

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Despite embarrassing reports of military-style training programs for the team's prospects, Pirates owner Bob Nutting told Dejan Kovacevic of The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review that the team will not make any front office changes. President Frank Coonelly, GM Neal Huntington, and assistant GMs Kyle Stark and Greg Smith will all return.

“What we have been doing and what we’ll continue to do is a comprehensive review,” said Nutting. “But that is not a two-week or a four-week process. That is one that is going to continue as we evaluate every aspect of the organization. Because we need to get better.”

Nutting conducted an internal investigation into the club's developmental practices and stressed that he was not done, but he did acknowledge that this was not the right time to make a change. “I believe that our primary responsibility is to develop baseball players to play baseball and win championships at PNC Park … We are not and we should not be a military organization," he added, while also saying the training methods will stop immediately.

The Pirates came under heavy scrutiny when Kovacevic published a pair of reports in recent weeks detailing the team's training regimens. Top prospects Jameson Taillon and Gregory Polanco reportedly suffered minor injuries during the incidents. The Pirates had their best record since 1997 under Huntington this year, but a second-half collapse prevented the team from breaking the .500 barrier. He was hired as GM following the 2007 season.

Pirates Notes: Correia, Pierzynski, Millwood

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Here’s a look at some news on the Pirates courtesy of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review’s Rob Biertempfel..

  • Kevin Correia’s agent told the Biertempfel his client will test free agency and Bucs management has given no indication it will try to bring Correia back.  The right-hander requested a trade over the summer when Wandy Rodriguez’s arrival bumped him out of the rotation.  Correia posted a 4.21 ERA with 4.7 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 in 28 starts and four relief appearances last season.
  • General Manager Neal Huntington certainly will try to acquire a big league-ready catcher if he moves closer Joel Hanrahan over the winter.  If they try to acquire a backstop on the open market, they’ll find a rather shallow market at the position.  Potential targets include Gerald Laird, A.J. Pierzynski, Yorvit Torrealba, Kelly Shoppach, and Humberto Quintero.
  • The Pirates will stick with A.J. Burnett and Rodriguez at the top of their rotation and look for a veteran starter to bolster the back end of the starting five.  Given their budget restraints, the club may look at Kevin Millwood, Tim Stauffer, Chris Young, Carlos Villanueva, Jeff Francis, and Jeremy Guthrie.
  • Despite his up-and-down performance in 2012, right-hander James McDonald remains in the plans for the rotation next season.

Outrighted To Triple-A: Cardinals, Solis, Fick

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Here are today's outright assignments…

  • The Cardinals have outrighted Steven Hill, Bryan Anderson, and Adam Reifer to Triple-A, reports Brian Walton of Scout.com. Catchers Hill, 27, and Anderson, 25, have made brief cameos with St. Louis in recent years while Reifer, a 26-year-old right-hander, has never played in the show.
  • The Pirates have outrighted Ali Solis to Triple-A according to the MLB.com transactions page. Pittsburgh claimed the 25-year-old backstop from the Padres late last month, after he hit .283/.307/.419 with San Diego's Double-A affiliate and earned a September call-up.
  • The Astros outrighted Chuckie Fick to Triple-A, the team announced. Houston claimed the 26-year-old right-hander from the Cardinals in July, and he pitched to a 4.30 ERA in 23 innings for Houston down the stretch.

Pirates Exercise Option For Alvarez, Decline For Barajas, Release Takahashi

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The Pirates have exercised their 2013 club option for Pedro Alvarez and declined for Rod Barajas, reports Rob Biertempfel of The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (on Twitter). The team also released southpaw Hisanori Takahashi.

Alvarez will earn $700K next season and would have remained under team control as a pre-arbitration eligible player had Pittsburgh declined the option. Barajas, 37, hit .206/.283/.343 with 11 homers this year and will receive no buyout rather than a $3.5MM salary. Takahashi, 37, was due to hit free agency so his release is just procedural. He pitched to a 5.54 ERA in 50 1/3 innings split between the Angels and Pirates in 2012.

Outrighted To Triple-A: Clement, Fryer, McCutchen

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The latest outright assignments from around MLB…

  • The Pirates outrighted Jeff Clement, Eric Fryer and Daniel McCutchen to Triple-A, according to Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (on Twitter). Fryer, who appeared in six games with the Pirates this past season, elected to become a minor league free agent. Clement appeared in 23 games for the 2012 Pirates, collecting two singles, two walks and one double in 24 plate appearances. McCutchen faced two batters this past season, walking one and allowing a hit to the other. The right-hander spent most of the season pitching in relief at Triple-A.

Diamondbacks Claim Gustavo Nunez

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The Diamondbacks announced that they claimed shortstop Gustavo Nunez off of waivers from the Pirates (Twitter link). The 24-year-old recently completed his sixth professional season.

Nunez appeared in just 14 games this past year, playing with three of the Pirates' affiliates. In six years playing in the Pittsburgh and Detroit organizations the Dominican infielder has a .266/.321/.349 batting line.

Offseason Outlook: Pittsburgh Pirates

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The Pirates will look to add offense and acquire pitching depth in the hopes of ending their streak of 20 consecutive losing seasons.

Guaranteed Contracts

Arbitration Eligible Players (estimated salaries)

Contract Options

Free Agents

There’s no easy fix for the Pirates, who enter the offseason with many needs and limited resources. Yet there’s some hope, even after consecutive late-season collapses, that 2013 will be the year the Pirates end their streak of 20 straight losing seasons. For the streak to end, GM Neal Huntington will have to pursue upgrades on the pitching staff and at multiple positions around the diamond.

Joel Hanrahan - Pirates (PW)

Pirates president Frank Coonelly has publicly expressed support for his team's front office executives. But the question persists: how long can upper management support the unconventional, military style player development methods which led to at least one injured prospect? Rival executives have said they consider these methods unacceptable and excessively risky.

The Pirates, who spent $52MM on payroll in 2012, have committed $28MM to next year's team with another $22MM or so projected to go to arbitration eligible players. Unless they unexpectedly increase payroll they aren't going to be signing elite free agents this coming winter.

The Pirates have lots of questions in their starting rotation in the short and long-term. A.J. Burnett and Wandy Rodriguez are in place atop the rotation for 2013, and James McDonald will be a welcome addition if he can replicate the form he showed in the first half of this past season. Beyond that there’s Charlie Morton, who’s recovering from Tommy John surgery, non-tender candidate Jeff Karstens, and a number of rookies. The Pirates have some intriguing young rotation candidates such as former first overall selection Gerrit Cole, but that’s not necessarily enough to keep them in games for the duration of a six-month season.

Kevin Correia's not expected to re-sign in Pittsburgh after losing his rotation spot late in the regular season. The Pirates could explore free agency for potential bargains such as Ervin Santana, Bartolo Colon, Scott Feldman, Francisco Liriano, Chris Young and Kevin Millwood. Perhaps they can follow the template that landed them Burnett and Rodriguez and acquire Chris Capuano or Aaron Harang from the Dodgers with Los Angeles taking on some salary. Huntington has had success with this type of deal in the past and might look to replicate it this winter, with his club still in need of pitching.

The Pirates could obtain some starting pitching by trading their closer, Joel Hanrahan (pictured). The right-hander’s salary projects to jump to the $7MM range, so it’s time for Huntington to complete a trade. It doesn’t make sense for the Pirates to allocate 15% of their budget to a reliever who pitches 4% of their innings. The Dodgers, Angels and Tigers are among the large market teams that could be seeking shutdown relievers this winter. Perhaps Huntington can move Hanrahan to one of those clubs while getting useful, controllable pieces in return.

A trade would prompt the Pirates to pursue relief help, especially since free agent right-hander Jason Grilli has a case for a multiyear deal, and could be priced out of Pittsburgh. Huntington has had past success finding effective relievers without overpaying for them. Grilli and Chris Resop, for example, were acquired for next to nothing. Replicating this success won’t be easy, but it’s one way for the Pirates to avoid spending $5MM per season on relievers. Whether it’s a Rule 5 selection, a late-winter bargain or a waiver claim, the Pirates must seek affordable bullpen help.

The Pirates also have significant needs on offense after ranking 24th in runs scored among MLB's 30 teams. They’re expected to seek a starting catcher at a time that a number of starting backstops are eligible for free agency. Mike Napoli's power would be a welcome addition to the Pirates' offense, so it makes sense to check in and see if a deal could work for both sides. However, top options such as Napoli and Russell Martin might not be affordable for the Pirates.

If that's the case they could simply seek a part-time backup for Michael McKenry, the 27-year-old who posted a .233/.320/.442 batting line in 275 plate appearances this past season. There’s “zero chance” the Pirates will exercise Rod Barajas’ option at $3.5MM according to Rob Biertempfel. Yet Barajas has said he'd be interested in re-signing at a lower figure, so that's a possibility (by the way, the team's other option, a $700K club option for Pedro Alvarez, will definitely be exercised).

Catcher was just one of the positions at which the Pirates struggled offensively in 2012. The team’s first basemen (24th in OPS, .693), shortstops (26th in OPS, .604) and left fielders (28th in OPS, .635) were among the least productive in MLB at their respective positions. 

Garrett Jones figures to start at first base again after hitting 27 home runs and posting a .274/.317/.516 batting line in 2012. Jones struggles against left-handers, which means Gaby Sanchez, a noted lefty masher, could add value in a complementary role. For all of his offensive struggles, Clint Barmes remains a highly-regarded defender. The Pirates should explore trades for shortstops in case there’s a deal to be had, but the trade value of shortstops who add value on offense and defense figures to be extremely high, especially when there’s not a strong class of free agents.

The Pirates have an assortment of corner outfield options in Travis Snider, Alex Presley, Jose Tabata and Starling Marte. Unfortunately Tabata's coming off of a disappointing year, Snider and Presley have had trouble against lefties and Marte remains an unknown commodity at the MLB level. Adding a prominent outfielder via trade or free agency seems unlikely given the Pirates' needs and resources. Hopefully for manager Clint Hurdle two of these players emerge as capable regulars in 2013. The group includes some players who began their professional careers as highly ranked prospects, so the potential for breakout seasons seems to be there. 

As I suggested earlier, the Pirates have a relatively large arbitration class that includes some non-tender candidates. Karstens could be cut loose with a projected salary approaching $4MM. There also appears to be a chance that Morton and Sanchez will be non-tendered. The group includes at least one extension candidate in first time eligible second baseman Neil Walker. The Pirates would do well to lock Walker up if they can limit costs for his four arbitration years and obtain control of at least one free agent season.

Huntington has at least one more chance to end the Pirates streak of losing seasons. If the first four months of this past season are any indication, the Pirates might be able to do even better than .500 in 2013. First things first, though. The Pirates must use their limited resources to find pitching and improve their below average offense.

Photo courtesy of US Presswire.

Pirates Claim Ali Solis

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The Pirates have claimed catcher Ali Solis off of waivers from the Padres, according to Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (via Twitter).  Catcher Eric Fryer and first baseman Jeff Clement were designated for assignment to make room for Solis and right-hander Chad Beck to make room on the 40-man roster.

Solis, 25, spent the year in Double-A San Antonio, posting a slash line of .283/.307/.419 with six homers in 87 games.  The catcher also saw his first big league action in September, appearing in five games for the Padres.

Fryer, 27, owns a .204/.291/.275 slash line across two Triple-A seasons  Clement, 29, spent 23 games on the varsity squad and hit .276/.340/.486 in 112 Triple-A games this year.

Pirates Claim Chad Beck

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The Pirates have claimed right-hander Chad Beck off of waivers from the Blue Jays, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca reports (on Twitter). The Blue Jays had designated Beck for assignment earlier in the week to create 40-man roster space for Bobby Wilson.

Beck joined the Blue Jays organization in 2008 when Toronto acquired him from Arizona for David Eckstein. The 27-year-old appeared in 14 games for the Blue Jays this year after spending most of the season at Triple-A. Beck posted a 1.31 ERA with 4.5 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 in 48 innings at Las Vegas in 2012.

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