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Pirates Designate Duke, LaRoche, Young

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The Pirates have designated Zach Duke, Andy LaRoche and Delwyn Young for assignment, according to a team press release.  The moves do not come as a surprise, as MLBTR pegged all three as non-tender candidates earlier this month.

Following a season where he posted a 5.72 ERA in 29 starts, Duke was seen as a non-tender candidate given that he could've earned a $5MM salary through arbitration this winter.  In six seasons in Pittsburgh, Duke delivered a 4.54 ERA in 160 games (all but one of them a start) with a 1.92 K/BB ratio and a 4.7 K/9 rate.  Duke was an All-Star in 2009, has a couple of solid seasons under his belt and is left-handed, so it's likely he'll find work at the back end of another team's rotation.  MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch reports that the Pirates tried to negotiate a new deal with Duke and also explored trade possibilities before finally designating the southpaw.

LaRoche joined the Pirates as part of the big Manny Ramirez/Jason Bay three-team deal in July 2008.  He was Pittsburgh's regular third baseman in 2009 but became expendable after the Bucs called up Pedro Alvarez to man the hot corner.  Once seen as a promising infielder in the Dodgers organization (he was ranked 19th among all major league prospects by Baseball America in both 2006 and 2007), LaRoche has a .224/.304/.338 line in 1228 career plate appearances with L.A. and Pittsburgh.

Young is another former Dodger prospect who joined the Bucs in April 2009.  Young has an impressive career OPS of .876 in eight minor league seasons, but has never been able to find regular playing time at the major league level.  His line in two seasons with the Pirates: .255/.312/.393 in 595 plate appearances, with time spent at second base, third base, and the outfield corners.

Odds & Ends: Soria, Garland, Abreu, Ramirez

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Here's a round-up of news tidbits from around the majors today…

  • The Royals might as well also trade Joakim Soria if they're going to move Zack Greinke this winter, reasons Sports Illustrated's Jon Heyman (Twitter link).  Soria will make $4MM next season and then has team options worth $6MM, $8MM and $8.75MM in 2012, 2013 and 2014, respectively.  Those are big numbers for a closer on a non-contending team, but if Soria is moved to the rotation and keeps producing, those salaries will be bargains.  Interestingly, Soria has a limited no-trade clause that gives him the right to veto deals to the Cardinals, Cubs, Phillies, Red Sox, Tigers and Yankees. 
  • Heyman also tweets that Colorado wants to sign Jon Garland to a one-year contract with an option for 2012, but Garland will probably find a guaranteed multi-year deal elsewhere.
  • Bobby Abreu would be happy to become a full-time DH if the Angels were to sign a left fielder like Carl Crawford, reports MLB.com's Lyle Spencer.
  • Manny Ramirez's 2010 season is compared to the most recent walk years of Vladimir Guerrero and Gary Sheffield by Sports Illustrated's Tom Verducci.  We know that Scott Boras sees Ramirez as this year's Guerrero, but Verducci points out that with the glut of DH-types on the market this winter, there's at least a chance that Ramirez could end up without a contract as Sheffield did last offseason.
  • Speaking of Manny, MLB.com's Jane Lee shoots down a reader's query about Ramirez possibly ending up in Oakland.  She says Ramirez is too expensive, would cost the A's a draft pick to sign him and Ramirez "wouldn't exactly fit the veteran-leadership mold the club is looking to also get out of their DH next year."  Bad news for those of us that thought Ramirez would end up in Oakland green in 2011.  Keep in mind that since Manny is highly unlikely to be offered arbitration by the White Sox on Tuesday, draft pick compensation will not be a factor.
  • Doug Melvin might be in "a no-win situation" in his attempts to trade or hold onto Prince Fielder, writes The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's Anthony Witrado.
  • Tribe GM Chris Antonetti tells MLB.com's Jordan Bastian that a third baseman and a starting pitcher are his club's offseason priorities.  Antonetti says the Indians are specifically looking for a veteran hurler who can eat innings and provide "certainty" within the otherwise young rotation.
  • Now that Zach Duke has been designated for assignment, Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review tweets that the odds of the Pirates signing a free agent starter have risen.  Biertempfel mentions Jorge de la Rosa, though the Bucs will have to out-negotiate several other clubs to sign him.
  • David Waldstein of the New York Times thinks Bob Melvin will be the next Mets manager, though he notes that "if this really were a horse race, I would box Melvin and [Terry] Collins in an exacta."

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Uggla, Rollins, Giants, Upton

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On this date 20 years ago, a 26-year-old Barry Bonds took home his first National League MVP Award thanks to a .301/.406/.565 season with the Pirates. He went on to win the award again in 1992, his final season in Pittsburgh, and then five more times with the Giants. The latter part of Bonds' career was clouded by PED allegations, but he did hit .301/.424/.566 in his final three seasons with the Pirates and .305/.438/.600 with far more unintentional walks (825) than strikeouts (685) from 1990-1998, age 26-34. Barry could have retired at that point and waltzed into the Hall of Fame on the first ballot.

Here's a look at the best the baseball blogosphere had to offer this week…

If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here.

Morosi On Soriano, Pirates, Tigers

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Joaquin Benoit agreed to a lucrative three-year deal yesterday, but a former bullpen mate of his could be waiting a lot longer for his free agent payday. As Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports explains, Rafael Soriano may find more teams pursuing him if he shows some patience. Here’s how some teams other than the Angels could end up in pursuit of the former Rays closer, plus other hot stove notes:

  • If the Red Sox send Daniel Bard or Jonathan Papelbon to Arizona in a potential Justin Upton trade, they could be willing to spend on Soriano.
  • The Rangers could be looking for a closer if Cliff Lee signs elsewhere and Neftali Feliz moves to the rotation and the White Sox may non-tender Bobby Jenks.
  • Agent Scott Boras says closers like Soriano are rare. “A closer of this caliber — at 30 — is almost never in the marketplace.”
  • A source suggests to Morosi that the Pirates could deal Evan Meek or Joel Hanrahan and sign a replacement.
  • The Tigers would now like to add left-handed relief and are considering J.C. Romero.

Jorge De La Rosa Rumors: Wednesday

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5:30pm: The Nationals, Pirates, and Orioles have been the most aggressive De La Rosa suitors, tweets Renck, while the Brewers are no longer in the mix.

4:22pm: The Nationals met today with Jorge de la Rosa's agent Bobby Barad, tweets ESPN's Jerry Crasnick.  Barad told SI's Jon Heyman earlier that seven or eight teams are in on his client.  From previous reports, it appears that the Rockies, Orioles, Pirates, Rangers, Yankees, and Brewers comprise most of those clubs.  The Nationals have also been linked to Carl Pavano and Brandon Webb this offseason as they look to upgrade their rotation. 

De La Rosa, a Type A free agent, will net the Rockies a pair of draft picks if he turns down an arbitration offer.  His Elias score is 74.422, so the Rockies won't necessarily receive a first-rounder from another club.  Also working against them is the fact that the first-round picks of the Pirates, Orioles, Nationals, and Brewers are protected.

Odds & Ends: Gordon, Anderson, Phillies, Park

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Links for Wednesday, the second day of the GM Meetings, as Ron Gardenhire and Bud Black take home Manager of the Year honors…

At Least Four Teams After Brandon Webb

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The Dodgers, Pirates, Twins, and Rangers are interested in free agent righty Brandon Webb, tweets ESPN's Jerry Crasnick.  He adds that we should not rule out the Nationals, Reds, and Cardinals.

MLBTR speculated on the Cards recently, though they just tied up decent money in Jake Westbrook.  The Reds have an advantage in their proximity to Webb's Kentucky home.  On Monday, Webb's agent Jonathan Maurer provided MLBTR with a detailed look at Webb's late season throwing sessions.  Maurer said Webb is "ready to start 30 plus times in 2011" after shoulder surgery knocked him out for 2009 and '10.

Huntington On Rotation, Doumit, McCutchen

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Pittsburgh GM Neal Huntington describes the market for available starters as "thin," but says the Pirates "need" to upgrade their rotation. Huntington told MLBTR that he is mindful of pitching prospects such as Rudy Owens, Jeff Locke, Bryan Morris, Jameson Taillon, Stetson Allie and Luis Heredia who are rising through the Pirates system. But they won't prevent him from offering multi-year deals to free agents.

"We're not opposed to multi-year deals for the right player," Huntington said. "But what we can't do is vastly overpay in terms of years and/or dollars just to get somebody … to make ourselves feel better in November. We've got to pay players for what they're going to do, not what they've done."

The Pirates don't have a distinct preference for left-handers or right-handers. Ideally, they'd get a pitcher who can strike people out, but as Huntington points out, every other team wants just that. Recent reports suggest the Pirates are interested in former Rockies lefties Jeff Francis and Jorge de la Rosa. 

Former Rockies manager Clint Hurdle, now the Pirates' skipper, has not yet discussed Ryan Doumit's 2011 role with Huntington in detail. At this point, Huntington says the Pirates can see him filling a number of roles in 2011.

"We've got the ability to have him catch some; he can be the complement to Chris Snyder; he's got the ability with some Spring Training work to maybe go play some at first and then also the opportunity to go play out in right field. So he's got some versatility," Huntington said.

Huntington declined to comment specifically on Andrew McCutchen, but he acknowledged that the Pirates generally have interest in giving top players security with extensions that cover some free agent seasons. 

Five Teams Interested In Jeff Francis

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Free agent lefty Jeff Francis is drawing interest from at least five clubs, tweets ESPN's Jerry Crasnick: the Pirates, Mariners, Brewers, Astros, and Rockies.

Francis, 30 in January, posted a 5.00 ERA, 5.8 K/9, 2.0 BB/9, 0.9 HR/9, and 47% groundball rate in 104 1/3 innings this year for the Rockies.  Baseball Prospectus' SIERA stat suggests Francis' work was more deserving of an ERA around 4.00.  Francis missed all of last season after having shoulder surgery in February of '09, and had some lingering issues this year.  The Rockies declined his $7MM club option earlier this month.  If Francis' shoulder checks out, many teams will have interest in plugging him into the back end of their rotation on a one-year, incentive-laden deal.

Odds & Ends: De La Rosa, Mariners, Thames

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Links for Tuesday, as the GM Meetings commence in Orlando and we await the announcement of the NL Cy Young winner…

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