Pirates Rumors

July 2 Update: Abad, Peguero, Sanchez

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | May 26, 2010 at 2:35pm CDT

We're still more than a month away from July 2nd, when teams can officially sign a new crop of international talent. That means most of us are thinking about Bryce Harper, Manny Machado and the other American, Canadian and Puerto Rican prospects eligible for the upcoming amateur draft. But Melissa Segura of SI.com has the latest on some international players who are attracting heavy interest (all Twitter links):

Righty Luis Alvaro Abad is attracting interest from the Yankees, Astros, A's and Blue Jays.
Six to eight teams are pursuing dominican shortstop Estalin Peguero and interest is heating up.
Elvis Sanchez is also picking up momentum; the Mets, Pirates and Astros appear to be interested.

Odds & Ends: Reds, Rookies, Pelfrey, Lima, Alvarez

By Luke Adams 2 | May 23, 2010 at 2:35pm CDT

Links for Sunday, as we await tonight's Subway series rubber match….

The Cincinnati Enquirer's John Fay looks at what a trip to the disabled list for Homer Bailey would mean for the Reds' rotation. Bailey left today's game after just 2.1 IP with shoulder soreness. Fay writes that it won't be Aroldis Chapman, who is having his next start pushed back due to a blister.
Joel Sherman breaks down the tremendous amount of talent in the rookie class of 2010, and wonders if it ranks among the best ever.
In a separate article, Sherman profiles Mike Pelfrey's success so far in 2010, and relays that the New York right-hander wants manager Jerry Manuel to keep his job.
Former MLB pitcher Jose Lima has died of a massive heart attack, reports Enrique Rojas of ESPNDeportes (via Twitter). Our condolences go out to Lima's family and friends.
Tracy Ringolsby of FOX Sports lists ten veteran players who he thinks deserve to be traded to another team.
Pirates fans could see 2008's second overall pick, Pedro Alvarez, arrive in Pittsburgh soon, writes Bob Cohn of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Alvarez is hitting just .243 at Triple-A Indianapolis this season, but he has homered ten times and slugged .497.
The Chicago Sun Times' Rick Morrissey says that Ryne Sandberg might not be a good fit as the eventual manager of the Cubs, even if fans would love to see it.
With Rays Senior VP of baseball operations Gerry Hunsicker in Houston this weekend, Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle looks back on Hunsicker's tenure as the Astros' GM.

Odds & Ends: Orioles, Scheppers, Pirates, Blue Jays

By Mark Polishuk | May 21, 2010 at 5:55pm CDT

As we prepare for a weekend of watching AL pitchers take ineffective swings, here are a few news items…

Dave Cameron of Fangraphs thinks the Orioles should take advantage of their terrible start by being the first team to put its assets on the trade market.
Texas relief prospect Tanner Scheppers could be in the majors by the All-Star Break or even sooner, predicts John Sickels of MinorLeagueBall.com.
ESPN.com's Jason A. Churchill looks at what the Pirates might do with the second overall pick in next month's amateur draft.
The Blue Jays want "a top prospect" for either Scott Downs or Jason Frasor, tweets ESPN's Buster Olney, and other teams consider that to be too high a price for either reliever.
Olney also notes (via Twitter) that Seattle is still looking for batting help.
Matt Eddy of Baseball America discusses several prospects in a chat with fans. In regards to Indians prospect Lonnie Chisenhall, Eddy predicts that Cleveland will buy out Jhonny Peralta (for $250K) rather than pick up his $7MM club option in 2011, and then have Chisenhall take over as the everyday third baseman. Chisenhall has just a .641 OPS at Double-A Akron this season, so it might be too much to expect him to move up to the majors that quickly.
Larry Stone of the Seattle Times compares the situations of fading future Hall-of-Famers Ken Griffey Jr. and Trevor Hoffman.
ESPN's Rob Neyer thinks Colorado can do better than Luis Castillo or Kazuo Matsui if the club is serious about improving itself at second base.
Trevor Plouffe, Minnesota's first-round pick (20th overall) in the 2004 amateur draft, will make his major league debut tonight for the Twins, reports Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

Odds & Ends: Millar, Yankees, Royals, Darvish

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | May 20, 2010 at 4:03pm CDT

Links on a memorable Thursday afternoon for Brooks Conrad and the Braves…

Kevin Millar will join NESN as an analyst, according to Amalie Benjamin of the Boston Globe (via Twitter). Millar signed with the St. Paul Saints earlier this month.
The Yankees signed utility player Jeff Natale and assigned him to Triple A, according to Pete Cava of the Times Leader via River Ave. Blues. The 27-year-old posted a .298/.432/.446 line in five seasons in the Red Sox organization.
Royals GM Dayton Moore says winning the World Series is an eight or ten year process, according to MLB.com's Dick Kaegel.
Sam Miller and Dan Woike of the Orange County Register run through some players the Angels could target, including Miguel Tejada and Will Ohman.
Top Japanese pitcher Yu Darvish says his father has known agents like Arn Tellem and Scott Boras for years, according to Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker who translated from Chunichi. Darvish says he wants to keep playing in Japan.
Tom D'Angelo of the Palm Beach Post wonders if the Marlins should trade Hanley Ramirez. It's a hypothetical question as the Marlins aren't looking to move their shortstop.
Gene Collier of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says Pirates manager John Russell deserves an extension, especially now that some top Pirates prospects are nearing the major leagues.
ESPN.com's Rob Neyer understands why Ken Griffey Jr. wants to play, but questions whether Junior deserves a roster spot on the Mariners.
Adam LaRoche explained in March that he didn't reject a two-year $17MM offer from the Giants, even though they were interested in him last winter. He repeated as much to Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle, adding that he has no hard feelings towards the Giants.

Pirates Sign Six From Latin America

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | May 18, 2010 at 4:47pm CDT

The Pirates signed six Latin American players including Venezuelan outfielder Willy Garcia, according to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Pirates Latin American scouting director Rene Gayo says the club believes Garcia, who received a $280K bonus, has "an athletic body with a chance to develop five tools."

The club also signed five other players, including four pitchers. The new additions include right-handers Brayan Almonte, Oderman Rocha and Jose Luis Acosta and left-hander Angel Sanchez. The Pirates also signed first baseman Jose Roman.

Odds & Ends: Pirates, Yankees, Storen, Mets

By Zachary Links | May 16, 2010 at 9:40pm CDT

Links for Sunday night..

The Pirates have promoted Bryan Morris to Double-A after a sensational start to the season, writes Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com. The 23-year-old starter, who has a 0.60 ERA, could earn another promotion by August according to GM Neal Huntington. Morris was one of the main pieces the Pirates received in the Jason Bay trade in July of '08.
Joel Sherman of the New York Post (via Twitter) points out that three former Yankees set-up men have been released in the last 24 hours: Chad Gaudin, Edwar Ramirez, and Brian Bruney.
Nats pitching coach Steve McCatty says that the club has not yet determined Drew Storen's role and that they will "ease him in", tweets Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post.
Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com writes that Mets GM Omar Minaya will accompany the team on their trip to Atlanta, though a team official insists that he will be there just to lend support.

Odds & Ends: Storen, Duchscherer, Johnson

By Luke Adams 2 | May 16, 2010 at 2:56pm CDT

Links for Sunday, as we wait to see if the Dodgers can extend their six-game winning streak….

Ken Rosenthal writes that the Nationals promoted the 10th overall pick from the 2009 draft, Drew Storen, today. Storen had annihilated minor league hitters across two levels this season.
Ozzie Guillen understands the reasoning behind GM Kenny Williams' recent public confirmation that he's losing patience with his ballclub, writes Ken Falkoff on MLB.com.
Two players signed to one-year deals, Justin Duchscherer and Nick Johnson, could require surgeries that would sideline them for most or all of this season. MLB.com's Jane Lee and Wallace Matthews of ESPNNewYork have the details.
Bill Ladson of MLB.com tweets that Willy Taveras may not accept a minor league assignment if he clears waivers. Taveras was DFA'd by the Nationals last night.
Luis Ayala has exercised the opt-out clause in his contract, according to Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times (via Twitter). The Dodgers will have to add Ayala to their 25-man roster by Monday afternoon or release him.
Earlier in the week, MLB.com's Chris Haft floated the idea of the Giants moving Aubrey Huff to left field to make room at first base for Buster Posey. According to John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle, Huff is open to the idea and thinks Posey would do well at first base.
Speaking of Posey, John Sickels asks who you'd rather have: the Giants' prospect or Carlos Santana of the Indians.
The Cleveland Plain Dealer's Paul Hoynes details the Indians' changing draft strategy, and fields readers' Tribe-related questions in a mailbag.
Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette lists the top ten best investments made by the Pirates' current regime.

Brian Bass Clears Waivers

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | May 15, 2010 at 12:47pm CDT

SATURDAY, 12:47pm: MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch reports that Bass has cleared waivers and accepted an assignment to Triple-A.

MONDAY, 3:03pm: The Pirates designated Brian Bass for assignment, according to Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (via Twitter). The right-hander is out of options, so he'll be exposed to other clubs, but the Pirates wanted to make room for Ross Ohlendorf.

Bass, 28, allowed nine hits and eight walks in 6.1 innings for the Pirates this season for a 12.79 ERA. The Pirates signed Bass to a minor league deal in January, a month after the Orioles non-tendered him. Bass appeared in 48 games for the Orioles last year, logging 86.1 innings. He allowed 106 hits a year ago with 5.6 K/9 and 4.6 BB/9 so it wasn't a surprise when the Orioles declined to offer Bass a contract.

Within ten days we'll see Bass traded, released or, if he clears waivers, assigned to the minor leagues. Bass has been just part of the problem for a Pirates pitching staff that ranks last in the National League in runs allowed (195) and earned runs allowed (179).

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Greinke, Blalock, Berkman

By Mike Axisa | May 14, 2010 at 9:51am CDT

Lots of cool things have happened on May 14th throughout baseball history. Mickey Mantle joined the 500 homerun club in 1967 (just the sixth player to do so at the time); Reggie Jackson passed Mantle on the all-time homer list with his 537th on the same 1986 day that Cardinals' utility player Jose Oquendo became the first non-pitcher in history to get a decision when he took the loss in extra innings; Doc Gooden threw his no-hitter in 1996, and the Mets set a single game franchise record with seven steals against the Giants in 2009 without the help of Jose Reyes. Also, this happened in 2008.

Here are a few links from around the web…

Royals Authority thinks about the unthinkable: trading Zack Greinke.
Pittsburgh Lumber Co. busts the myth that Neal Huntington can't spot talent.
DRays Bay wonders if the Rays should cut Pat Burrell and replace him with Hank Blalock.
The Crawfish Boxes looks at Lance Berkman's trade value.
Feeling Dodger Blue says that Garret Anderson may not be long for the Dodgers.
At Home Plate says that Carl Crawford's future is uncertain.

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

Latin Links: Alderson, Coa, Batista, Pirates

By Nick Collias | May 10, 2010 at 7:59am CDT

The latest from the Caribbean and beyond…

Sandy Alderson has been doing the rounds stateside to describe his reform efforts in the Dominican Republic. Aside from last week's lengthy interview with MLB.com's Jesse Sanchez, Alderson spoke with the New York Times' Michael S. Schmidt on Saturday and the San Diego Union-Tribune's Tim Sullivan yesterday. One interesting revelation from the most recent piece: Alderson concedes that the strongest resistance to his presence has come not from the oft-vilified independent agents known as "buscones," but rather from what Sullivan labels "MLB employees whose interests appear to be in conflict and whose income may be a product of working both sides of the street."
The Yankees signed 17-year-old Venezuelan catcher Rainiero Coa, according to Annelida Yoris Rivas at the Venezuelan paper Nueva Prensa (link in Spanish). A lengthy bio in the decidedly lo-fi Diario el Progreso gives more details: Coa is a recently converted third baseman/shortstop whose hitting in international junior tournaments drew interest from a number of clubs. However, his defense and arm behind the plate were what sealed the deal at a recent Yankees tryout in Venezuela.
Switch-hitting shortstop Jean Carlos Batista has agreed to terms with the Astros, according to the Dominican Prospect League site. Batista reportedly led the league in average and led his team in every offensive category for most of the DPL's season. Last year, Kiley McDaniel at Baseball Prospectus labeled Batista a "five-tool talent" and reported heavy interest in the prospect.
The Pirates also inked two 17-year-olds from the DPL, right-handed starter Isaac Sanchez and speedy left-handed outfielder Miguel DeAza.

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