Poll: Pirates Extension Of Neal Huntington
This morning, the Pirates announced that they extended GM Neal Huntington's contract through 2014 with a club option for 2015. In his four years on the job, the Bucs' farm system has gotten an infusion of talent and the club has shown that they are willing to spend on the draft. Most recently, the Pirates gave sizeable deals right-hander Gerrit Cole and outfielder Josh Bell. Pittsburgh also saw success on the major league level as they briefly sat atop the NL Central in late July before a slide in August.
While it appears that the club is headed in the right direction, the Pirates' record in three full seasons under Huntington's watch has been 186-299. Unless they practically run the table to close out the season, this year will mark the team's 19th consecutive losing campaign.
All things considered, do you agree with the Pirates three-year extension of Huntington's contract?
Do You Agree With Huntington's Three Year Extension?
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Yes 70% (3,233)
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No 30% (1,376)
Total votes: 4,609
Pirates Extend Neal Huntington
The Pirates have extended GM Neal Huntington's contract through 2014, according to a team release. The three-year extension also includes a club option for 2015.
Huntington, 42, was hired by Pittsburgh in September 2007, and has added young talent such as Jose Tabata, Pedro Alvarez, Jameson Taillon, and Gerrit Cole to the organization over the last few years. Although the team's streak of losing seasons will reach 19 in 2011, Pittsburgh stayed in contention well into the summer, and will retain a solid core of players going forward.
"While there is still much work to be done," said Pirates chairman Bob Nutting. "Neal and his staff have done an exceptional job of overhauling the scouting and development systems while building a strong foundation by aggressively acquiring talent through all possible avenues. We have begun to see that positive impact on the Major League level this season and expect that improvement to continue as we execute our plan in building a winning organization."
To revisit the signings and trades Huntington has made since he became the Pirates GM, check out MLBTR's Transaction Tracker.
Cafardo’s Latest: Epstein, Nationals, Ethier, D. Lee
With October fast approaching, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe polled experts around the league on the relative strength of the potential playoff teams. As expected, the Phillies topped the list, but the experts' choice for the second-best team may surprise you. Check out Cafardo's piece for the full rankings, along with quotes on each club, as we run down the hot stove highlights from the rest of the column:
- The "baseball community has not dropped" rumors that Theo Epstein could be in the mix for the Cubs' GM opening, says Cafardo. I'd be pretty shocked if Epstein ended up in the Windy City, but if he did, Boston's search for a replacement would probably have them considering many of the same candidates being linked to the Cubs.
- League rules require the Nationals to conduct a managerial search that includes minority candidates this offseason. However, that process may be merely a formality; the team seems very likely to simply retain Davey Johnson for 2012, if he wants to return.
- While GM Ned Colletti has said the Dodgers are prioritizing long-term deals for Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier, the Dodgers' financial situation isn't entirely clear, leading Cafardo to speculate that Ethier will be a trade candidate this winter.
- As we heard last weekend, Clint Hurdle would like to see Derrek Lee in a Pirates uniform next season. Michael Sanserino of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has more on that possibility.
Heyman On Pujols, Huntington, C.J. Wilson
SI's Jon Heyman leads his latest column with a discussion of the Albert Pujols situation, which is due to flare up once the season ends. Heyman's sources say the Cardinals are "not overly confident" about retaining Pujols. Heyman hears the Cardinals are not inclined to increase their offer much from nine years and around $210MM, although the SI writer thinks the team could reduce the number of years to boost the average annual value past the $23MM range. Heyman hears Pujols is "not overly thrilled" that the Cardinals' offer last winter wouldn't place him in the top ten among MLB player salaries, though by my count there are only five players currently averaging $23MM or more as their AAV.
Heyman has plenty more musings on the Pujols topic in the column; here are a few other highlights…
- The Pirates intend to extend the contract of GM Neal Huntington. He says the Bucs have waited for the draft and trade deadlines to pass. Huntington was hired four years ago.
- "There are some who could see" Rangers ace C.J. Wilson "wanting to go to his native Southern California." Heyman views the Angels as a threat for Wilson.
- Heyman says Angels people suggest they would have been willing to resume extension talks with Jered Weaver next year if they hadn't reached a deal by the team's deadline this year.
- The Twins are interested in re-signing reliever Joe Nathan, though they won't be picking up his $12MM option.
Quick Hits: Anthopoulos, Lee, Sabathia
On the one-year anniversary of Stephen Strasburg's Tommy John surgery, let's look at some links from around the league. Strasburg, by the way, will be making his first start back from the injury this coming Tuesday.
- Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos spoke to MLB.com's Gregor Chisholm about his recent trip to Japan. Anthopoulos acknowledged that he went to see Yu Darvish, but he called it "due diligence" and noted that there are also free agents (like Hisashi Iwakuma) worth looking at. The link offers plenty of quotes, so make sure you click through.
- Pirates manager Clint Hurdle told Rob Biertempfel of The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review that he's lobbying for the team to re-sign Derrek Lee after the season, but neither Lee nor GM Neal Huntington would indicate that it's a possibility. "I'm not going to close any doors," said the first baseman, "but it's something I haven't even thought about."
- In a piece for ESPN Insider, Dan Szymborski looked at what the next few years could have in store for Yankees ace CC Sabathia, and also explained how pitchers of similar size performed into their 30s. Sabathia can opt out of his contract after the season, and Szymborski concludes that "losing him is more expensive than keeping him, and there is little evidence that his size will be a problem going forward."
Braves Notes: Carroll, Wilson, Diaz
Congratulations to Chipper Jones, who hit his 450th career home run tonight. Here’s the latest on the franchise that selected the switch-hitter first overall 21 years ago…
- The Braves, who had interest in Jamey Carroll before acquiring Jack Wilson, could likely have acquired Carroll for a low-level prospect, according to Steve Dilbeck of the LA Times. It’s believed that the Dodgers would have covered the remainder of Carroll’s $2.3MM salary, Dilbeck writes.
- The player to be named in the Matt Diaz trade will be a low-level prospect from an agreed-upon pool of players, according to David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (on Twitter).
- The Braves added Diaz because they’re looking ahead to a possible playoff matchup against the Phillies, ESPN.com's Buster Olney writes (on Twitter).
Braves Acquire Matt Diaz
Matt Diaz is returning to the Braves, as the Pirates announced they've traded him to Atlanta for a player to be named later or cash considerations. Diaz fits the Braves' desire to add a right-handed hitting bench bat, and of course they had him in the organization from 2006-10 before non-tendering him last winter.
Diaz, 33, is hitting .259/.303/.324 in 231 plate appearances for the Pirates this year while playing mostly right field. He was signed to a two-year, $4.25MM deal in December, but hasn't shown the expected power production against left-handed pitchers. David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution notes on Twitter that the Pirates are sending some cash to the Braves to offset Diaz's $2MM salary for 2012. The Braves might not be done dealing, hears ESPN's Buster Olney (Twitter link).
GMs Neal Huntington and Frank Wren have matched up on three prior trades according to our Transaction Tracker, most notably the June '09 deal that sent Nate McLouth to Atlanta.
ESPN's Buster Olney first reported the trade. Photo courtesy of Icon SMI.
Phillies Acquire John Bowker
WEDNESDAY: The Phillies announced the trade. They are sending a player to be named later or cash considerations to the Pirates for Bowker, and Jose Contreras goes to the 60-day DL to make room on the 40-man roster.
TUESDAY: The Phillies acquired outfielder John Bowker from the Pirates, reports Jim Salisbury of CSN Philly. Bowker is expected to join the Phillies for Wednesday's game in Cincinnati. Salisbury says reliever Michael Schwimer was sent to Triple-A to create a spot on the active roster, though the Phillies will still need to open a 40-man spot.
Bowker, a 28-year-old left-handed hitter, has spent most of the year at Triple-A, where he's hit .308/.351/.487 in 445 plate appearances while playing the outfield corners and first base. The Pirates acquired Bowker from the Giants at last year's trade deadline in the Javier Lopez deal, designated him for assignment in April of this year, and outrighted him to Triple-A a few days later.
Bowker, a third-round pick in 2004, is one of eight players in Giants history to homer in his big league debut. He played college ball at Long Beach State, where he was a teammate of Troy Tulowitzki and Jason Vargas.
Pirates Release Joe Beimel
TODAY: The Pirates have released Beimel, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.
AUGUST 23rd: The Pirates announced they've designated lefty reliever Joe Beimel for assignment to open a spot on the active roster for Ross Ohlendorf.
Beimel, 34, has a 5.33 ERA, 6.0 K/9, 3.2 BB/9, 2.1 HR/9, and 41.2% groundball rate with 34 hits allowed in 25 1/3 innings this year after surrendering a longball to Ryan Braun last night. Several contenders, including the Yankees and Phillies, are known to be seeking a veteran lefty. Beimel has been decent against left-handed hitters this year, but he's only faced 46 of them.
The Pirates signed Beimel to a minor league deal in January; the southpaw has ties to Pittsburgh. His yearly salary while in the Majors is $1.75MM.
Pirates Notes: Maholm, Lee, Ludwick, Jones
Despite the Pirates' midseason flirtation with the pennant race, they're going to finish below .500 again, barring a late-season surge. Here's the latest on the 62-71 Pirates from Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review…
- The Pirates still haven’t approached Paul Maholm about a possible extension, according to Biertempfel. The club has a $9.75MM option for Maholm in 2012 and they expect to keep him around, despite the shoulder strain that currently has him on the disabled list. "It's a no-brainer to want to try to keep him here," GM Neal Huntington told Biertempfel.
- Derrek Lee and Ryan Ludwick will get lots of playing time when they return from the disabled list, since it could affect the Pirates' ability to attract players to Pittsburgh. "How you treat players is a recruiting piece," Huntington said.
- The Pirates haven’t given up on Garrett Jones, who is hitting well in August and now has a .249/.331/.452 season line with 15 homers.
- Right-hander Chris Leroux would like to move from the bullpen to the rotation, but that seems unlikely, according to Biertempfel. Leroux, who has been excellent in 13 innings out of the ‘pen this year, is out of options.