Pirates Claim Chad Beck
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.
NL Central Notes: Pirates, Lohse, Reds
All five NL Central teams are in full-on offseason mode now that the Cardinals have been eliminated from the postseason. Here's the latest from what used to be baseball's only six-team division…
- The Pirates have continued putting their prospects through Navy SEALS-style exercises at all hours, Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports. Outfield prospect Gregory Polanco told Kovacevic that he injured himself in an unconventional drill that included sprints through ice water and leaping into a sand pit. Team president Frank Coonelly stated his support for the Pirates' baseball operations staff in late September, after news of the unconventional training methods surfaced.
- Kyle Lohse, a free agent this coming offseason, said he'd like to play for a winner, B.J. Rains of FOXSportsMidwest reports. The right-hander hasn't been in contact with the Cardinals about a new deal and is expected to sign elsewhere. "There are certain places I'd like to go and certain places I probably wouldn't," he said.
- John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer looks at the Reds' 2013 payroll commitments and determines that if GM Walt Jocketty does anything big this offseason, it will likely be with a trade rather than a free agent signing.
Arbitration Eligibles: Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pirates are next in our 2013 Arbitration Eligibles series. Matt Swartz's salary projections are below.
- First time: James McDonald ($3MM), Neil Walker ($2.9MM), Gaby Sanchez ($1.8MM)
- Second time: Garrett Jones ($4.4MM), Charlie Morton ($2.6MM), Chris Resop ($1.3MM)
- Third time: Joel Hanrahan ($6.9MM), Jeff Karstens ($3.8MM)
Hanrahan remains an asset for the Pirates, though this year's return to a big-time strikeout rate came with the unwanted side effects of a high walk rate and a lot of flyballs. On the surface, the Bucs have a guy who's converted 76 of 84 save opportunities the last two years with a 2.24 ERA and two All-Star game appearances. Hanrahan will be entering his walk year. With draft pick compensation for relievers mostly a thing of the past, GM Neal Huntington has to decide whether to trade Hanrahan or extend him in the neighborhood of $10MM per free agent year.
Elsewhere in the bullpen there's Resop, who added groundballs this year at the expense of strikeouts. The 29-year-old is hittable yet serviceable, and he's not terribly expensive.
The Pirates have three arbitration eligible starting pitchers. McDonald's ERA sat at 2.37 after a July 7th win; through 110 innings it seemed as if he'd turned a corner. He was brutal over his next 13 outings, with a 7.52 ERA in 61 frames. It was an odd season, but McDonald is expected to begin next year back in the Pirates' rotation. Now is not the time to consider trading or extending him.
Morton had hip surgery a year ago, but was able to make his season debut in mid-April. He lasted only nine starts before succumbing to Tommy John surgery. He has to be considered a non-tender candidate, as otherwise the Pirates would have to pay him a projected $2.6MM in 2012 to pitch at most three and a half months. Huntington must decide the value of the chance to control Morton for the 2014 season. The GM was noncommittal on the subject of Karstens, who had an injury-shortened 2012 as well. Since Karstens finished the season healthy, he might be on firmer ground than Morton.
Jones needs a platoon partner, but he did hit .289/.332/.556 with 25 home runs in 434 plate appearances against right-handed pitching. I think he's safe, though this could be the last raise the Pirates are willing to give him. Walker had another nice year, and the Pirates have flirted with extending the Pittsburgh native before. In March, I suggested five years and $27MM for the Super Two second baseman.
The Pirates acquired Sanchez from the Marlins at the July trade deadline. The 29-year-old was better for the Bucs, but still fell well short of the production of a typical starting first baseman. There's a decent chance he's non-tendered.
If only Hanrahan, Jones, Karstens, McDonald, Walker, and Resop are retained, the Pirates would be looking at an estimated $22.3MM for six arbitration eligible players.
Matt Swartz's arbitration projections are available exclusively at MLB Trade Rumors. To read more about his projection model, check out this series of posts.
Quick Hits: Soriano, Blue Jays, Phillies, Rockies
The Yankees will indeed make a qualifying offer to Rafael Soriano if he opts out of his contract, tweets Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. This morning, agent Scott Boras strongly hinted that the reliever would be opting out of his contract with the Bombers. Rather than make a guaranteed $14MM for next season, Soriano will instead choose a $1.5MM buyout and the uncertainty of the open market. Here's more Saturday night linkage..
- If John Farrell winds up in Boston, Sandy Alomar Jr. is the favorite to be the next manager of the Blue Jays, tweets Troy Renck of The Denver Post. Everyone Renck has spoken with believes that Alomar is ready to be a quality big league skipper.
- Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com looks at which corner outfielders are likely to remain with the Phillies and which ones are probably on their way out. Salisbury expects to see John Mayberry Jr., Domonic Brown, and minor league phenom Darin Ruf back in the mix while Juan Pierre, Laynce Nix, Ty Wigginton, and Nate Schierholtz seem likely to wind up elsewhere.
- More from Renck (via Twitter) as he expects to see the Rockies move an outfielder as they look to improve via trade this winter.
- Pirates second baseman Neil Walker hopes to see the club add some established impact players this winter, writes Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. However, he concedes that the Bucs will likely look to fill most of their holes from within.
Minor Moves: Slaten, Ohlendorf, Conrad
We'll keep track of today's minor moves in this post..
- Pirates left-hander Doug Slaten, Padres right-hander Ross Ohlendorf, and Rays third baseman Brooks Conrad are free agents after recent outright assignments, according to Matt Eddy of Baseball America (via Twitter). Slaten appeared in ten major league games for Pittsburgh while posting a 2.11 ERA with 5.1 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9 in 40 relief appearances in Triple-A. Ohlendorf had a 7.77 ERA with 39 strikeouts and 24 walks in nine starts and four relief appearances for the Padres over the summer. Conrad saw time in 49 games for the Rays and Brewers in 2012.
Quick Hits: Pirates, Francona, Tracy, Phillies
Sunday afternoon linkage..
- Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review wonders if the Pirates will take a step forward in 2013. Biertempfel notes that the Bucs find themselves with the same holes to fill as they did a year ago at catcher, first base, shortstop, right field, in the bullpen, and in the starting rotation.
- The hiring of Terry Francona as manager gives the Indians credibility heading into next season, opines Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (video link). Rosenthal believes that Francona was looking for a front office that he could really trust after his uncomfortable exit from Boston.
- Unless Jim Tracy believes that the Rockies are capable of reaching the playoffs next season, the veteran skipper should opt to part ways with the club, writes Mark Kiszla of The Denver Post. Kiszla suggests that Tracy should find a way to leave without forfeiting his $1.4MM salary, but it has been widely reported that he simply as a handshake agreement for 2013.
- Free agent options such as Josh Willingham and Yoenis Cespedes would have been a worthwhile investments for the Phillies last winter, writes Bob Brookover of the Philadelphia Inquirer. While there were missed opportunities for the club, Brookover is quick to note that injuries took their toll on the team in 2012 .
Cafardo On Johnson, Soriano, Hernandez, Hamilton
In today's column, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe writes that there are some General Managers who have a few regrets regarding last winter. Red Sox GM Ben Cherington wishes he had done more for the rotation. Angels GM Jerry Dipoto probably would have liked to boost the bullpen more during the team's spending frenzy which netted Albert Pujols and C.J. Wilson. Rockies GM Dan O'Dowd was asked to assess his own mistakes and said, “How long is this article? Just kidding. We all have regrets. When you make the amount of decisions we do, you make mistakes. So this year [Jeremy] Guthrie was acquired to give us innings, but Coors [Field] got him and that hurt us. We had such a lack of experience everywhere else. There was no margin for error, and I screwed up.” Here's more from today's column..
- Marlins pitcher Josh Johnson will be trade bait, despite talk to the contrary. Miami could get a ton from teams like the Orioles, Red Sox, Blue Jays, Royals, Rangers, Twins, and Dodgers. On the whole, the Marlins look like they're ready to clean house again.
- Cubs outfielder Alfonso Soriano would make a lot of sense for the Rays as a DH, especially since the Cubs would pick up the bulk of his final two years under contract. Soriano could also help the Blue Jays, Orioles, or Indians.
- Indians GM Chris Antonetti says that he expects Shin-Shoo Choo to be back with Cleveland next season as he enters his walk year, but he will also listen to offers for the 30-year-old. Choo could make sense for Boston as they face a similar situation with Jacoby Ellsbury. Cafardo suggests a deal involving a pitcher like Justin Masterson.
- Teams have offered the moon for Felix Hernandez in the past but there’s no chance that Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik is going to trade him now. King Felix is under contract through 2014 and the M's have the money to keep him beyond that. For his part, Hernandez is well-paid and loves playing in Seattle.
- Josh Hamilton says that he won't take a discount to stay with the Rangers, but that's where he's likely to land as it's hard to read the market for him. The Tigers, Nationals, Pirates, Phillies, Angels, Mariners, Blue Jays, and Orioles shouldn't be ruled out. The Yankees and Red Sox also can't be crossed off the list but neither market is a strong fit for Hamilton.
- Jake Peavy would appear to be a target for the Red Sox once his $22MM option is declined by the White Sox. The 31-year-old could also end up staying put in Chicago or returning to the NL.
- Former catcher Brad Ausmus, currently serving as a special assistant to the GM in San Diego, said that he would have interest in the Red Sox managerial vacancy. As of Friday, however, he has yet to be contacted. Ausmus turned down a chance to be interviewed for the Astros job earlier this fall.
- The Red Sox are pursuing John Farrell, but Ryne Sandberg could be on their list, even though he was just named as the Phillies' third base coach and is likely being groomed for Charlie Manuel's job. Cherington tried to get Sandberg to take Boston's Triple- A job a couple of years ago.
- While some have accused Bobby Valentine of ignoring advanced scouting reporters, Cafardo says that he saw the manager reading them every time he visited his office.
Minor Moves: 28 Players Elect Free Agency
A total of 28 players — all with big league time under their belts — recently elected free agency after finishing the year in Triple-A. Here is the full list, courtesy of the International League and Pacific Coast League transaction pages…
- Infielders: Brian Bixler (Astros), Sean Burroughs (Twins), Blake DeWitt (Cubs), Alberto Gonzalez (Rangers), Angel Sanchez (Astros), Nate Spears (Red Sox), Drew Sutton (Pirates)
- Outfielders: Travis Buck (Astros), Ryan Langerhans (Angels), Mitch Maier (Royals), Darnell McDonald (Yankees), Jai Miller (Orioles), Trent Oeltjen (Dodgers), Jason Pridie (Phillies), Mike Wilson (Mariners)
- Right-handed Pitchers: Roman Colon (Royals), Mike Ekstrom (Rockies), Jack Egbert (Mets), Ryota Igarashi (Yankees), Evan Meek (Pirates), Scott Richmond (Blue Jays), Kip Wells (Padres), Randy Wells (Cubs), Dan Wheeler (Indians)
- Left-handed Pitchers: Alex Hinshaw (Cubs), Cesar Jimenez (Mariners), Zach Kroenke (Diamondbacks), Garrett Olson (Mets)
NL Central Notes: Correia, LaHair, Snyder, Brewers
With tonight's 3-0 win over the Cubs, the Astros have now recorded three straight shutouts for the first time since 1986. It's a small measure of consolation for a team that has already clinched the worst record in baseball and the first overall pick in next year's amateur draft. Here's the latest from Houston and elsewhere around the NL Central…
- Kevin Correia cracked the 170-inning plateau with tonight's start, earning him a $100K bonus, tweets Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Correia will be a free agent this winter and is rumored to be parting ways with the Pirates, given that he's already requested a trade earlier this season.
- Bryan LaHair thinks he has a 50-50 chance of being traded by the Cubs this offseason, he tells ESPN Chicago's Doug Padilla.
- Astros GM Jeff Luhnow is undecided about bringing back Chris Snyder next season, though he's been impressed by Snyder's veteran leadership, reports MLB.com's Brian McTaggart. The Astros and Snyder have a $4MM mutual option for 2013, an option that seems unlikely to be exercised by the club given Snyder's poor hitting this season and the fact that $4MM is a high price for a backup catcher. It's possible the Astros could decline the option and still bring Snyder back on a smaller contract.
- Ron Roenicke tells reporters (including MLB.com's Adam McCalvy) that the Brewers will bring their current coaching staff back next season.
Non-Tender Possible For Karstens
Pirates right-hander Jeff Karstens is a non-tender candidate following an injury plagued season, Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports. Karstens has missed time with shoulder, groin and hip injuries this year, though he has pitched well when healthy.
“Jeff gives you everything he has every time he gets the ball,” GM Neal Huntington said.
Huntington said “it’s a bit early” to reveal what role Karstens will have on the 2013 team. The GM did not seem enthused while discussing Karstens’ chances of winning a rotation spot next year, Biertempfel writes. This could indicate that the 30-year-old will be non-tendered this December when the Pirates must decide whether to offer contracts to eligible players.
Karstens earned $3.1MM in 2012 and would obtain a modest raise if Pittsburgh tenders him a contract this coming offseason. When healthy, Karstens posted a 3.97 ERA with 6.6 K/9 and 1.5 BB/9 in 90 2/3 innings, mostly as a starter.