Pirates Claim Xavier Paul
The Pirates claimed outfielder Xavier Paul off waivers from the Dodgers, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. Paul had been designated for assignment on April 18th to make room for Jerry Sands. The Pirates announced they transferred Scott Olsen to the 60-day DL to open up a 40-man roster spot for Paul. They'll make a 25-man roster move once Paul reports to Pittsburgh.
Paul, 26, hit .325/.384/.579 in 250 Triple-A plate appearances last year, playing all three outfield positions in his third stint at the level. The success did not carry over to the big leagues. Paul last cracked a Baseball America handbook prior to the 2010 season, at which point he was rated a couple of spots ahead of Sands at 23rd among Dodgers prospects. BA praised Paul's raw talent, but said he doesn't have enough power to compensate for his strikeouts. He's a good defender with plus speed.
Paul is the ninth player Pirates GM Neal Huntington has claimed off waivers since the beginning of 2010, according to MLBTR's Transaction Tracker.
Pirates Notes: Clement, Wood, Sanchez
If they continue at their current pace, the Pirates will win 69 games this year, a level they haven't reached since 2004. That year, Oliver Perez posted a 2.98 ERA with 239 strikeouts, Jason Bay slugged .550, and Jose Mesa saved 43 games. Today's Bucs links:
- Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports has a feature on the Jeff Clement, one of few draft picks among the first dozen in 2005 who has yet to become at least a big league regular. The Mariners nearly chose Troy Tulowitzki third overall instead of Clement, but GM Bill Bavasi apparently drafted for need. Clement's agent Brodie Van Wagenen believes his client didn't get a legitimate opportunity with the Mariners. Clement is trying to move forward as a first baseman for the Pirates, once he recovers from knee surgery.
- Regarding recent low-risk pickup Brandon Wood, GM Neal Huntington told Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, "Our scouts still see the authority off the bat, they still see the raw power, they still see the impact. Obviously the guy with this kind of pedigree, sometimes a change of scenery helps these guys. Our due diligence we did said it's a good person, it's a hard worker who needed a change of scenery." Wood's Pirates debut will come tonight at third base, batting sixth against John Lannan and the Nationals.
- Freddy Sanchez took his '09 trade from the Pirates to the Giants hard, he told Brink's colleague Dejan Kovacevic. It didn't help that he wasn't able to contribute much to his new team due to knee and shoulder injuries.
- Be sure to check out MLBTR's Pirates Facebook and Twitter pages and RSS feed. For my look at the team's 2012 contract issues, click here.
Cafardo On Dodgers, Upton, Doumit, Red Sox
Do not expect Dodgers owner Frank McCourt to go quietly into the night, writes Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. The McCourt-Bud Selig saga could turn out to be one of the great sports legal battles of the 21st century. While he's been silent publicly, major league sources close to McCourt indicate he is flabbergasted by Selig’s actions, and that he has not been able to discuss the issues with the commissioner face-to-face. Here's more from Cafardo's Sunday column..
- A couple of major league evaluators say the Rays could explore moving B.J. Upton if they fall out of contention, or even if they’re in contention. They’d like to make a deal similar to the Matt Garza trade, in which they received good talent, including Sam Fuld.
- The Pirates received calls on catcher Ryan Doumit this winter but the talks eventually petered out. The Red Sox could be in the market for a backstop, but one talent evaluator says that Doumit isn't a great receiver and the club is better off sticking with Jarrod Saltalamacchia. Pittsburgh’s Chris Snyder, who is off to a hot start, could also be available.
- The Nationals are thought to be in the market for a center fielder and/or someone who can add give a boost to the Nats offense.
- The White Sox lead the majors with six blown saves, but one club exec stands by the team's decision to let Bobby Jenks go. Even though Jenks may do very well with Boston, it was the right decision, even if it doesn't look like it right now.
- Cafardo was surprised to see BoSox chariman Tom Werner issue a statement that he wasn’t interested in pursuing ownership of the Dodgers. Werner has Los Angeles roots and was once the owner of the Padres. The chairman himself pointed out that his business and personal relationships with John Henry are too good to walk away from.
Pirates Designate Josh Rodriguez For Assignment
SATURDAY: Pirates GM Neal Huntington told Colin Dunlap of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette there "is a process that we have to go through," when asked about Rodriguez's future. "The first is the ability to see if there's a trade partner out there. The second is he'd have to clear waivers. We will work through those two processes first and go from there."
FRIDAY: The Pirates designated infielder Josh Rodriguez for assignment and recalled Pedro Ciriaco from Triple-A, according to the team. Ciriaco appears to be a placeholder for new Pirate Brandon Wood, who was claimed today from the Angels.
Rodriguez, 26, was claimed by the Pirates from the Indians as the first pick in the December Rule 5 draft. If he's not traded or claimed in the next ten days, the Pirates have to offer him back to the Indians for $25K or work out a trade to keep him. If another team picks up Rodriguez, they'll still be subject to the Rule 5 restriction of keeping him in the Majors all year.
Rodriguez received only 14 big league plate appearances this year. Last year at Triple-A he hit .293/.372/.486 in 364 plate appearances, spending most of his time at shortstop. Baseball America ranked him 24th among Pirates prospects, noting that "his upside appears to be as a utility player."
Pirates Claim Brandon Wood
The Pirates claimed shortstop Brandon Wood off waivers from the Angels, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Wood had been designated for assignment by the Halos late Tuesday, and the Pirates were first in line in the waiver order.
The former top prospect is now 26 years old, and in 494 big league plate appearances with the Angels he hasn't had success. The Pirates present the perfect opportunity for redemption, as they're one of few teams that can give Wood regular at-bats at shortstop with some leeway for struggling. The scouting report is three years old, but before the '08 season Baseball America said Wood had unexceptional range but could "handle shortstop just fine" defensively. Though he's a shortstop by trade, Wood has played third base as well. MLB.com's Lyle Spencer wrote recently, "It was fascinating to see how different he was when he was in the lineup at shortstop rather than at third."
The claim was a no-brainer for Pittsburgh, a team with few interesting players in the shortstop pipeline. Ronny Cedeno is currently the starter, though the club sought upgrades all winter. The Pirates were able to get Wood for nothing, after the Angels seemingly kept the asking price high on him for years. The Pirates will have to open up a 40-man roster spot to accommodate Wood, and they've said they'll make the corresponding move this afternoon.
Photo courtesy of Icon SMI.
Brandon Wood Rumors: Pirates, Blue Jays
26-year-old infielder Brandon Wood was designated for assignment late Tuesday by the Angels, and there is "zero chance of him clearing waivers," tweets USA Today's Bob Nightengale. He'd be a fit for many clubs at shortstop or third base, as I outlined here, but he's more likely to land with a club that can give him some leeway to struggle in the Majors. Claims are due in by noon eastern time today, reports Colin Dunlap of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The latest:
- The Blue Jays "expressed interest in trading for Wood as recently as this offseason," according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports, so they could be interested now.
- The Pirates will "almost surely" place a claim, tweets Dunlap. They have first dibs, as 2010 records are used within the first 30 days of this season to determine waiver order. The team's 40-man roster is currently full, so they'll either have to designate someone for assignment or put someone on the 60-day DL if they win a claim on Wood. Keep in mind that claims might not come into play if a team simply trades for Wood.
- Brewers GM Doug Melvin told MLB.com's Adam McCalvy (Twitter link) that his team discussed going after Wood, but demurred since Milwaukee has no spot for him. I named the Brewers as one potential candidate for Wood yesterday.
Garrett Olson Clears Waivers
WEDNESDAY: Olson cleared waivers and has been outrighted to Triple-A, tweets Colin Dunlap of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
FRIDAY: The Pirates announced that they designated Garrett Olson for assignment to create roster space for another southpaw, Joe Beimel. After a stint on the disabled list due to elbow inflammation, Beimel is set to pitch for the Pirates for the first time since 2003.
Pittsburgh claimed Olson from the Mariners in March and he allowed two hits and three walks in 4 1/3 innings, striking out four and posting a 2.08 ERA. Last year, the 27-year-old 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 with the Mariners. Olson, a 2005 first rounder, started 33 games for the Orioles in 2007-08 before they traded him.
Pirates Sign Blaine Boyer, Brett Sinkbeil
The Pirates signed pitchers Blaine Boyer and Brett Sinkbeil to minor league deals, tweets Baseball America's Matt Eddy.
Boyer, 29, signed a minor league deal with the Mets in January after being non-tendered by the Diamondbacks, but was designated for assignment on April 10th. He elected free agency rather than accept an assignment to the Mets' Triple-A club. Boyer posted a 4.26 ERA, 4.6 K/9, 4.6 BB/9, 0.5 HR/9, and 65.8% groundball rate in 57 relief innings for Arizona last year. His groundball rate ranked third in baseball among those with 50 innings, and he averages around 94 miles per hour on his fastball, so he'll keep getting chances.
Sinkbeil, the 19th overall pick in the 2006 draft, was released by the Marlins in late March.
Quick Hits: Mariners, Indians, Orioles
Links on a rainy Saturday afternoon in New York..
- Buster Olney of ESPN (via Twitter) believes that Jack Zduriencik's challenge with the Mariners is a lot like Neal Huntington's when he took over with the Pirates. Both GMs, he says, had to work from almost nothing in the farm system.
- The Indians will have to make a move to create a roster spot for the returning Grady Sizemore, writes Paul Hoynes of The Plain Dealer. The Tribe could theoretically shed spare outfielders Austin Kearns or Shelley Duncan but will most likely demote Travis Buck as he has an option remaining.
- Steve Melewski of MASNSports writes that Orioles newcomers Vlad Guerrero and Derrek Lee usually get off to solid starts. Early on in 2011, both veterans have struggled at the plate.
Draft Notes: Cole, Rendon, Hultzen, Gray
It's far too early in the spring for teams to have their draft boards finalized, as Keith Law pointed out at ESPN.com this week. With nearly two months remaining between now and the draft, a lot can change, but that doesn't stop Law from passing along the latest on the early intentions of some teams with high picks:
- Law hears that the Mariners will take either Gerrit Cole or Anthony Rendon with the second pick in the draft, depending on which player is available after the Pirates select first overall.
- The D'Backs, who pick third, covet Virginia left-hander Danny Hultzen, according to Law.
- The Orioles are 'extremely likely' to take a college pitcher with the fourth overall pick. They could take Hultzen or Georgia Tech left-hander Jed Bradley.
- The Royals (5th pick) are also likely to take a college arn and they're interested in UConn right-hander Matt Barnes, Hultzen and Bradley.
- The D'Backs (7th pick) and Cubs (9th pick) have Vanderbilt right-hander Sonny Gray high on their internal rankings, according to Law.