Pirates Rumors

Quick Hits: Marlins, Indians, Boras, Quade, Pirates

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | March 24, 2011 at 4:37pm CDT

Links for Thursday as the Braves name Brandon Beachy their No. 5 starter…

The Marlins released outfielder Chris Lubanski according to Matt Eddy of Baseball America (on Twitter). Lubanski, the fifth overall pick in 2003, hit .293/.361/.538 for the Blue Jays' Triple-A affiliate last year.
Indians president Mark Shapiro (@MarkShapiro) and GM Chris Antonetti (@IndiansGM) are now on Twitter. If you aren't following @mlbtraderumors, you're missing out and you could become follower number 70,000.
After an anonymous player ripped Scott Boras in ESPN the Magazine, the agent defended himself, telling Joel Sherman of the New York Post that he does tend to players even when their careers slow down. "Call Rick Ankiel. Call Andruw Jones. Call Alex Cora. Call Barry Zito," Boras said. "Our commitment to the player is extreme."
Cubs manager Mike Quade tells Bruce Miles of the Daily Herald how he learned to become a teacher.
Matt Eddy of Baseball America examines a number of out of options position players who are hoping to establish themselves in 2011. Check out MLBTR's list of out of options players here.
As ESPN.com's Jayson Stark explains, Pirates manager Clint Hurdle is bringing a 'why not us' attitude to the Pirates in sometimes unconventional ways.

Indians Notes: Durbin, Rodriguez, Tomlin

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | March 23, 2011 at 6:25pm CDT

A round of Indians-themed links as Cleveland plays Kansas City in Arizona…

As Bob Ford of the Philadelphia Inquirer explains, Indians reliever Chad Durbin was surprised to take a paycut this year given the robust market for relievers. "I didn't think my year dictated it should have been that way. I'm not saying I needed three years for 12 [million] – that's ridiculous – but we were fishing for whatever we could get," Durbin said.
The Indians expect the Pirates to return Josh Rodriguez, according to Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. The Rule 5 pick would be a welcome addition to one of the Indians' top affiliates.
In a mailbag for MLB.com, Jordan Bastian explains that Josh Tomlin appears to have a good chance of cracking the Indians' rotation.
On the infield, Jack Hannahan has a chance to be the Indians' Opening Day third baseman, Bastian reports.

Twins Willing To Trade Kevin Slowey For Relief

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | March 23, 2011 at 2:50pm CDT

Now that they have decided on Scott Baker as their No. 5 starter, the Twins are willing to trade Kevin Slowey for a late-inning reliever, according to Jon Paul Morosi and Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.

However, the Twins don’t have many promising trade possibilities, since two of the teams looking for a starter, the Brewers and Mariners, don’t have relievers to spare. The Cardinals, Dodgers, Blue Jays and White Sox seem inclined to replace injured starters with pitchers already in their respective organizations, according to FOX Sports.

Meanwhile, Pirates and Diamondbacks officials say they aren’t actively looking to trade for starting pitchers. As Morosi and Rosenthal point out, the Twins are able to consider moving a quality starter like Slowey because they have promising minor league starter Kyle Gibson.

Slowey didn't seem like a fit for the Blue Jays earlier in the spring, partly because Toronto already had a number of legitimate rotation options. Now that Brandon Morrow will start the season on the DL, the Jays could use the starting depth, but injuries to their relievers limit the likelihood that they can part with a late-inning arm.

Here's a list of other potentially available starters.

Pirates Release Fernando Nieve

By Tim Dierkes | March 22, 2011 at 2:00pm CDT

The Pirates released pitcher Fernando Nieve, reports Colin Dunlap of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The 28-year-old righty struck out eight and walked two in 7 1/3 spring innings, but somehow also managed to allow 17 hits.

Last year for the Mets, Nieve posted a 6.00 ERA, 8.1 K/9, 4.7 BB/9, 2.1 HR/9, and 37% groundball rate in 42 innings. 18.5% of his flyballs left the yard, a rate that led all of MLB among those with at least 40 innings. Nieve also made eight starts in Triple-A, posting a 5.63 ERA. He signed a minor league deal with the Pirates on December 1st.

Five years ago Nieve was the Astros' third-best prospect in the eyes of Baseball America. Back then he was said to have a plus fastball and slider, and a comparison to Ugueth Urbina was considered a positive.

Pirates Release Garrett Atkins

By Tim Dierkes | March 21, 2011 at 7:04am CDT

The Pirates released infielder Garrett Atkins, reports Colin Dunlap of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The 31-year-old veteran had been competing for the team's backup corner infield job with Andy Marte, Steve Pearce, and Josh Fields after signing a minor league deal in December. All along, the expectation was that Atkins would either make the team or become a free agent.

In 17 Spring Training games this year, Atkins hit .129/.182/.290 in 33 plate appearances. His last useful season was 2008, so he'll probably have to crush Triple-A pitching to earn another shot in the Majors.

Non-Roster Notes: Chavez, Stairs, Atkins

By Steve Adams | March 20, 2011 at 2:09pm CDT

As we cruise through Spring Training and gear up for Opening Day, let's take a look at some news on some notable non-roster invitees around the league…

Whether or not Yankees manager Joe Girardi wants to acknowledge it, there's "no way" Eric Chavez doesn't make the team out of camp, tweets ESPN's Wallace Matthews.
Nationals manager Jim Riggleman told MLB.com's Bill Ladson there's a "good chance" that Matt Stairs breaks camp with the team.
MLB.com's Jennifer Langosch writes that Garrett Atkins is hoping to re-kindle his career with the Pirates, but to this point has done nothing to distinguish himself from his competition (Steve Pearce, Andy Marte, and Josh Fields). Atkins was just 4-30 this spring entering play today.

Quick Hits: Putz, Castillo, Varitek, Pirates, Ortiz

By Zachary Links | March 19, 2011 at 10:30pm CDT

Links for Saturday evening..

New to Arizona, J.J. Putz tells Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports that he's a perfect fit for the Diamondbacks.
Second baseman Josh Barfield is competing for a utility spot on the Phillies but isn't concerned with talk of Luis Castillo, writes Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com.
Brian MacPherson and Tim Britton of The Providence Journal wonder how much longer Red Sox catcher Jason Varitek will continue to play. Varitek could be asked to backup Jarrod Saltalamacchia in 2011 but could still be given plenty of playing time in a platoon. McPherson set the over/under at 2.5 years but Britton takes the under, pointing out that the list of catchers who have played the most games is chock full of players who retired before reaching 40-years-old. The team captain will celebrate his 39th birthday in less than a month.
Pirates left-hander Joe Beimel was scratched again due to elbow pain today, which seems to contradict what GM Neal Huntington said yesterday after picking up Garrett Olson off of waivers, tweets Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Huntington insisted yesterday that the addition of Olson was not motivated by concern about Beimel or Scott Olsen.
Pittsburgh right-hander Kevin Hart was on the bubble for a roster spot with the club and out of options for 2011, but the club will now have more time to consider him after a shoulder injury sent him to the 60-day DL, writes Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com.
Dave Cameron of Fangraphs rallies against the tyranny of the corner label.
Red Sox veteran David Ortiz told Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com that the pressure isn't off, even with the new additions.
ESPN's Buster Olney (Insider req'd) hears from a talent evaluator that the best way for Kevin Millwood to get back to the big leagues is by signing with a team and pitching in games. "That's no way to win a job — sitting at home," said the source. Millwood's fastball was clocked at 85 mph during a recent workout.
The Rangers ackowledge that Chris Davis has opened some eyes with his strong Spring Training, writes MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan. He's under consideration for a roster spot, though teams have inquired about his availability.
Now without star second baseman Dan Uggla, the Marlins are once again in a transitional phase, writes Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com.
While he really enjoyed his time in Houston, Lance Berkman is happy to be with the Cardinals, writes MLB.com's Brian McTaggart.

Pirates Claim Garrett Olson

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | March 18, 2011 at 12:55pm CDT

The Pirates claimed Garrett Olson off of waivers from the Mariners, the teams have announced.

Olsen, 27, posted a 4.54 ERA with 7.4 K/9, 3.6 BB/9 and a 37.1% ground ball rate in 37 2/3 innings of relief for the Mariners last year. It was his second season in Seattle after two seasons with the Orioles, the organization that drafted him in the first round of the 2005 draft.

Olson figures to compete with Joe Beimel and Scott Olsen for left-handed relief jobs in manager Clint Hurdle's bullpen once he arrives in Pirates camp. Kirby Arnold of the Daily Herald first reported the claim.

Quick Hits: Feliz, Bonser, Pavano, Mets, Overbay

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | March 10, 2011 at 4:42pm CDT

Links for Thursday, as the White Sox announce that Dayan Viciedo will miss 3-4 weeks with a fractured right thumb…

Scott Miller of CBS Sports says it's starting to seem likely that the Rangers will move Neftali Feliz to the rotation.
Yahoo's Jeff Passan argues that the Rangers will keep Feliz in the rotation, where he has pitched this spring, if they know what's best.
Rival teams sense that the Rangers would prefer to move Michael Young before his ten and five rights kick in this May, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney (on Twitter). They won't give him away, though.
Boof Bonser has a clause in his contract that allows him to opt out if he doesn't make the Mets, according to Andy Martino of the New York Daily News (on Twitter). The Mets would love to keep Bonser regardless, but he isn't sure what he'll do if he isn't on the team's Opening Day roster.
Richard Sandomir and Ken Belson of the New York Times report that the Mets' owners were in financial trouble before Irving Picard filed a $1 billion lawsuit against them.
One talent evaluator tells Olney that Carl Pavano looks like the best pitcher in Florida this spring (Twitter link).
Lyle Overbay told Ron Musselman of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that he signed with the Pirates because "they were going in a better direction" than some of the other interested teams. Overbay, the oldest player on the Pirates roster, says he liked the idea of playing under new manager Clint Hurdle.

Who Could Be Released This Month?

By Tim Dierkes | March 8, 2011 at 1:44pm CDT

With certain contracts, there comes a time when a team would prefer to pay the player to go away and free up a roster spot. For example, two years ago the Tigers ate $14MM in releasing Gary Sheffield and the Phillies assumed $8MM to let Geoff Jenkins go. Here's a look at some big money players who I think stand a chance of being cut this month.

Oliver Perez, Mets: one year, $12MM. A team insider told ESPN's Adam Rubin three days ago that Perez is highly likely to be released. Today Perez allowed three runs in the first inning of a split-squad game and followed that with a couple of scoreless frames.
Luis Castillo, Mets: one year, $6MM. Rubin wrote that Castillo "appears destined for the same fate" as Perez, despite the team's unsettled second base situation.
Carlos Silva, Cubs: one year, $13.5MM. The Cubs are only on the hook for $8MM to Silva this year, as they're receiving $5.5MM from Seattle. The Cubs' last two rotation spots are too early to call, but if Silva continues to pitch poorly in his next few outings and isn't amenable to long relief, the Cubs might have to let him go.
Armando Galarraga, Diamondbacks: one year, $2.3MM. The D'Backs would only be on the hook for roughly $380K if they release Galarraga by the 15th, whereas Zach Duke's salary is guaranteed. If Aaron Heilman or Barry Enright makes the rotation, Galarraga or Duke would have to slide to the bullpen or be released.
Barry Zito, Giants: three years, $64.5MM. Most teams would be thrilled with a low 4.00s ERA from their fifth starter, so the idea of releasing Zito was strange from the start.
Aaron Rowand, Giants: two years, $24MM. The Giants have a crowded outfield, and cutting Rowand makes sense. They've also got Nate Schierholtz, who is out of options.
Milton Bradley, Mariners: one year, $12MM. Bradley's legal issues aside, Spring Training seems to be going well enough for him. He's even playing center field today. This one is hard to call right now.
Danys Baez, Phillies: one year, $2.75MM. Baez had a rough first year for the Phillies, but he can probably squeeze his way onto the Opening Day roster.
Ryan Doumit, Pirates: one year, $5.6MM. Doumit isn't generating much trade interest, but releasing him would be a last resort and probably won't be necessary prior to Opening Day.

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