Pirates Sign Lyle Overbay
The Pirates signed first baseman Lyle Overbay to a one-year, $5MM deal, the team announced. Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review provided the amount. The statement from GM Neal Huntington:
"Lyle Overbay is solid major league player and we expect him to have a positive impact on our club offensively, defensively, and in the clubhouse."
The Pirates primarily used Garrett Jones at first base in 2010, but they expressed a desire to add a right-handed hitting complement. Overbay doesn't fit that description; GM Neal Huntington told MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch the new plan is to have Jones could pair up with new acquisition Matt Diaz in right field. Overbay will be the everyday first baseman.
Overbay, 34 in January, hit .243/.329/.433 in 607 plate appearances for the Blue Jays this year. His performance picked up after a rough start. Overbay is represented by Octagon.
Pirates Moving Close To Agreement With Lyle Overbay
11:44am: The Pirates are moving close to an agreement with Overbay, tweets Morosi.
8:37am: The Pirates have been talking with free agent first baseman Lyle Overbay, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. He says it's not clear whether they're making progress on a deal.
The Pirates primarily used Garrett Jones at first base in 2010, but they've expressed a desire to add a right-handed hitting complement. Overbay doesn't fit that description, though Jones could pair up with Matt Diaz in right field if Ryan Doumit is traded.
Overbay, 34 in January, hit .243/.329/.433 in 607 plate appearances for the Blue Jays this year.
Odds & Ends: Rivera, Mets, Bruce, Orioles, Dodgers
Links for Sunday….
- WEEI.com's Rob Bradford reports that Mariano Rivera's representatives initiated contact with the Red Sox, who eventually offered the closer a contract. Boston was never inclined to non-tender Jonathan Papelbon had they signed Rivera; they valued him at the back of their bullpen in the short-term, and the draft picks that would come their way if he signs elsewhere as a free agent in the long-term.
- SI.com's Jon Heyman has the scoop on the Mets new coaching staff (Twitter link). Dave Hudgens will be the hitting coach, Jon Debus the bullpen coach, Ken Oberkfell the bench coach, and Mookie Wilson the first base coach.
- Hal McCoy of The Dayton Daily News thinks the Jay Bruce extension is an excellent message.
- Jeff Zrebiec of The Baltimore Sun speculates that the Orioles could still sign two more relievers even after Koji Uehara's deal becomes official, and he wouldn't be against them signing a designated hitter type either.
- Seth Livingstone of USA Today looks at what Cliff Lee would mean to both the Yankees and the Rangers.
- Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times (on Twitter) breaks down the details of Jay Gibbons' contract with the Dodgers. $400K of Gibbons' $650K salary is guaranteed, and he could earn as much as $800K with incentives based on plate appearances (Twitter link).
- Hernandez's colleague at the L.A. Times, T.J. Simers, isn't a fan of the Dodgers' recent moves.
- Trading for Zack Greinke is still a possibility for the Brewers, according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
- Speaking to Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times, Andrew Friedman said the Rays are targeting "under-the-radar type guys that we feel fit us well and have a lot of upside."
- The Pirates haven't approached Andrew McCutchen about a long-term extension, but Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review suggests Jay Bruce's deal would be a good comparable if the two sides discuss anything.
- Clint Hurdle tells Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that his preference is for the Pirates to add two left-handed relievers.
- The Rockies agreed to minor league deals with a pair of players, including former Yankee first round pick Eric Duncan, according to MLB.com's Thomas Harding.
Odds & Ends: Guerrier, McCutchen, Blue Jays, Punto
As the baseball world says goodbye to Cubs great Ron Santo, here are some news tidbits heading into the weekend…
- The Red Sox have made an offer to reliever Matt Guerrier, reports WEEI.com's Alex Speier (as passed along in a tweet from WEEI.com's Rob Bradford).
- Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review looks at how Jay Bruce's extension might influence a future extension offer from the Pirates to Andrew McCutchen.
- Lyle Overbay would be a familiar solution to Toronto's search for a first base/DH partner for Adam Lind, but MLB.com's Gregor Chisholm thinks Overbay "does not appear to be a good fit" since Overbay wants an everyday job. Chisholm's piece also contains several quotes from Alex Anthopoulos from the winter meetings and what the Jays might look to do during the rest of the offseason.
- The Indians and Nick Punto had "meaningful negotiations" at the winter meetings, reports MLB.com's Jordan Bastian.
- Manny Ramirez will receive $15MM in deferred payments from the Dodgers over the next three years and $1.94MM for each of the next 16 years from the Red Sox, reports Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com (with a tip of the cap to Cot's Baseball Contracts).
- Larry Stone of the Seattle Times looks back at the 11-year contract Dave Stieb signed with the Blue Jays before the 1985 season.
- Also from Stone, Jack Zduriencik says the Mariners could be in the market for an extra infielder.
Pirates Sign Scott Olsen
The Pirates signed lefty Scott Olsen, the team announced. Olsen will earn about $500K with a chance to make another $3MM in incentives based on starts. The deal includes a $4MM club option for 2012. Olsen is represented by Sosnick Cobbe Sports.
Olsen, 27 in January, posted a 5.56 ERA, 5.9 K/9, 3.0 BB/9, 1.1 HR/9, and 46.5% groundball rate in 81 innings for the Nationals this year. He had labrum surgery in July of '09, and shoulder soreness lingered into the 2010 season. He pitched well through his first seven starts, with a 3.15 ERA in those 40 innings. ESPN's Keith Law wrote, "To have value to the Pirates he'll need to locate his fastball better and improve his barely-average changeup."
Olsen joins Kevin Correia as the new members of Pittsburgh's rotation, which lost Zach Duke to a trade and could see Paul Maholm depart as well. Ross Ohlendorf and James McDonald figure to take a couple of spots.
MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch first reported on Monday that a deal was close and ESPN's Jerry Crasnick reported the agreement.
Pirates Close To Deal For Kawakami?
THURSDAY, 9:35am: The Pirates seem to be close to a deal for Kawakami, tweets Biertempfel. He says money is one issue, as is the possibility of the Pirates moving Paul Maholm.
1:10pm: The Braves are trying to see whether the Pirates or Orioles will pick up more of Kawakami's salary, tweets Biertempfel.
WEDNESDAY, 11:39am: The Pirates and Braves are still discussing a Kawakami trade, tweets Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
TUESDAY, 2:41pm: A Braves-Orioles Kawakami deal won't happen, tweets Connolly.
12:54pm: The Braves appear destined to unload righty Kenshin Kawakami, picking up much of the $6.67MM tab. The Pirates were linked to Kawakami yesterday, but Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review feels they may have cooled on him given the deals for Kevin Correia and Scott Olsen. Biertempfel says the Orioles are in the mix; Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun reports that the two teams have talked several times.
Kawakami is not the only available Braves starter; David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets that they'd trade Brandon Beachy in the right deal.
Pirates Acquire Valdez From D’Backs To Complete Duke Trade
The Pirates acquired righty Cesar Valdez from the Diamondbacks to complete the Zach Duke trade, the team announced on Twitter.
Valdez, 26 in March, tossed 20 innings for Arizona this year as a rookie. He also did his second Triple-A stint, posting a 5.90 ERA, 8.5 K/9, 4.5 BB/9, and 1.1 HR/9 in 97 2/3 innings. Heading into the '09 season, Baseball America ranked Valdez seventh among Diamondbacks prospects. They called his changeup "a legitimate plus pitch" and labeled him a potential back-rotation starter.
The Diamondbacks acquired Duke from the Pirates in November after he'd been designated for assignment. I'm guessing the Pirates' return was contingent on the D'Backs hammering out a deal with the arbitration eligible lefty, which they did for a $4.25MM guarantee.
Rule 5 Draft Links
This year's Rule 5 draft kicks off in about an hour. Here are a couple of free preview-type links from MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo and Baseball America's John Manuel. We'll cover the Major League phase here at MLBTR. Draft order is determined based on the reverse order of 2010 records.
- The Pirates pick first, and MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch expects them to take shortstop Josh Rodriguez from the Indians.
Pirates Rumors: Maholm, Hall, Doumit, Colon
The Pirates appear to have added Kevin Correia, Matt Diaz, and possibly Scott Olsen at the Winter Meetings, and they're not done. They've made an offer to Kevin Gregg and have also been linked to Aaron Heilman, Jeremy Accardo, Justin Duchscherer, and Brendan Ryan. The latest:
- The Pirates are offering Paul Maholm in potential trades, according to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Twitter link).
- The Rockies aren't interested in Doumit, according to Troy Renck of the Denver Post (Twitter link).
- Nick Cafardo implies that the Pirates have an offer out to Bill Hall and he could become their regular second baseman, which would be surprising to me given Neil Walker's presence. MLBTR has learned that Hall would not displace Walker at second if the Pirates sign him.
- The Pirates are trying hard to trade Ryan Doumit and are willing to eat salary, reports MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch.
- The Pirates are currently scouting Bartolo Colon in the Dominican Republic, reports Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. For more on Colon, check out Nick Collias' November article.
- Kovacevic says the Pirates expressed interest in utility man Alfredo Amezaga, but it's "pretty preliminary." Amezaga is trying to come back from microfracture knee surgery performed in July of last year. He appeared in one minor league game in 2010.
Orioles In Serious Talks For J.J. Hardy
7:11pm: The Twins and Orioles are still working on a Hardy deal, tweets Smith.
4:23pm: The teams were never close to a deal today, according to MLB.com's Brittany Ghiroli (on Twitter). The Pirates are also talking to the Twins about Hardy, according to Scott Miller of CBS Sports. Meanwhile, Jason Bartlett's availability will likely shape talks to an extent and the Rays are apparently going to trade their shortstop.
2:28pm: A deal is unlikely to be completed today, tweets Kelsie Smith of the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
12:58pm: The Orioles are in serious trade negotiations with the Twins for J.J. Hardy, tweets Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun via his colleague Jeff Zrebiec. Zrebiec believes two Orioles minor league pitchers would be involved, including Brett Jacobson.