Pirates Rumors

Pirates Not Looking To Trade For Pitching

By Luke Adams 2 | April 23, 2010 at 9:31am CDT

Following a historic loss against the Brewers yesterday, the Pirates are still not looking to trade for starting rotation help, according to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Although the team acknowledged that the rotation needs to be upgraded, they have no plans to look outside the organization to do so.

The Pirates' 7.23 ERA ranks last in all of baseball, and the starting rotation has played a significant part in the club's struggles. Daniel McCutchen and Charlie Morton have been extremely ineffective in three starts each, combining to allow 37 earned runs in just 21.1 innings.

Nonetheless, GM Neal Huntington says a trade is unlikely, despite the team being a prime candidate to make a move. For now, the Pirates will recall Kevin Hart, wait for Ross Ohlendorf to get healthy, and hope Morton can straighten things out. The club also has top prospect Brad Lincoln waiting in the wings in Triple-A Indianapolis, but is unconvinced that he's quite ready to be promoted to the majors.

Earlier in the week, we outlined some potentially available starting pitchers, which the Pirates could look into if they changed their stance on a trade. Of course, given the team's usual place in the NL Central standings, they're probably more likely to be sellers than buyers.

Odds & Ends: Bell, Dye, Ortiz, Davis, Strasburg

By Tim Dierkes | April 19, 2010 at 9:32pm CDT

Links for Monday…

The MLBTR Forums are rocking with over 3,600 members. Join the discussion today! Just added a prospects section; we've also got areas to discuss trade rumors, free agents, the draft, general baseball, fantasy baseball, and every team.
Tom Krasovic tweets that the Twins have a scout at tonight's Padres-Giants game, but it's just a routine visit. He adds that Heath Bell remains on Minnesota's radar, but the two sides haven't talked since Spring Training.
The Giants have no interest in Jermaine Dye, tweets Henry Schulman of The San Francisco Chronicle. The reasons are the same as they've been all winter: defense and asking price.
More changes could be coming to the Dodgers' bullpen, says Dylan Hernandez of The Los Angeles Times. Russ Ortiz was designated for assignment yesterday, and Hernandez thinks Ramon Ortiz could be next.
Talking to MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith, I learned that teams can now safely promote minor leaguers for their MLB debuts with no chance of the player amassing 172 days of service in 2010. By promoting '08 first-rounder Ike Davis today, the Mets ensured that he will be under team control through 2016 instead of 2015. In contrast, the Braves have Jason Heyward through '15.
On that same topic, agent Scott Boras told MLB.com's Peter Gammons that Stephen Strasburg starting in the minors "had nothing to do with money."
Joe Posnanski digs into Forbes' team revenue numbers, noting that the Yankees made $173MM more than any other team.
MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch tells us Hayden Penn has accepted the Pirates' Triple A assignment in lieu of electing free agency.
In a statement, Cal Ripken said he looks forward to continued talks with the Orioles about a position in the organization.

Odds & Ends: Davis, Cano, Athletics, Pirates

By Luke Adams 2 | April 18, 2010 at 6:31pm CDT

As today's games try to top Ubaldo Jimenez's no-hitter and the Mets' marathon victory, let's browse a few links….

The Astros will likely make a roster room to clear the way for Lance Berkman's return, tweets Alyson Footer of MLB.com.
A Mets official told Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated that the club has to "win now" (link goes to Twitter). Earlier today, Mike Jacobs was DFA'd in a move that could clear space for Ike Davis.
Benjamin Kabak at River Ave. Blues looks back at the Alfonso Soriano–for-Alex Rodriguez trade, and how the Rangers had the opportunity to select Robinson Cano as a second player in the deal. Instead, they chose Joaquin Arias. Think they regret that one?
Joel Sherman of the New York Post lists ten players and managers who are on the hot seat two weeks into the 2010 season, with Jerry Manuel and Dave Trembley earning the top two spots. Mike Puma of the New York Post writes that Mets' players have jumped to Manuel's defense, while Bill Madden of the New York Daily News thinks that Orioles' players have given up on Trembley.
With Michael Wuertz nearly ready to come off the DL, the Athletics will have to clear a roster spot for him. Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle runs down a few of the players whose status could be in jeopary, including the recently acquired Edwar Ramirez and the out-of-options Chad Gaudin.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Dejan Kovacevic examines the Pirates' organization in search of pitchers with ace potential.
In a mailbag, Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer defends the Indians' signings of supposed "marginal, aging players." He also notes that if the Indians end up losing the Cliff Lee deal, they have no one to blame but themselves, since they scouted many of the same Phillies prospects when they discussed a potential CC Sabathia trade in 2008.
Fantasy baseball season is in full swing, and saves are at a premium as always. Don't forget to follow @closernews to keep up with the ever-changing late-inning scenarios in Major League Baseball!

Largest Contracts In Team History

By Mike Axisa | April 17, 2010 at 12:14pm CDT

We've already looked at the largest contracts by service time and position, so let's now dig up the largest contracts ever given out by each of the 30 teams. These are in terms of guaranteed money only, but some could end up being even larger because of incentives and option years.

Angels: Torii Hunter, five years, $90MM
Astros: Carlos Lee, six years, $100MM
Athletics: Eric Chavez, six years, $66MM
Blue Jays: Vernon Wells, seven years, $126MM
Braves: Chipper Jones, six years, $90MM
Brewers: Ryan Braun, eight years, $45MM
Cardinals: Matt Holliday, seven years, $120MM
Cubs: Alfonso Soriano, eight years, $136MM
Diamondbacks: Randy Johnson, four years, $53.4MM
Dodgers: Kevin Brown, seven years, $105MM
Giants: Barry Zito, seven years, $126MM
Indians: Travis Hafner, four years, $57MM
Mariners: Ichiro Suzuki, five years, $90MM
Marlins: Hanley Ramirez, six years, $70MM
Mets: Johan Santana, six years, $137.5MM
Nationals: Ryan Zimmerman, five years, $45MM
Orioles: Miguel Tejada, six years, $72MM
Padres: Jake Peavy, three years, $52MM
Phillies: Chase Utley, seven years, $85MM
Pirates: Jason Kendall, six years, $60MM
Rangers: Alex Rodriguez, ten years, $252MM
Rays: Wilson Alvarez, five years, $35MM
Reds: Ken Griffey Jr., nine years, $116.5MM
Red Sox: Manny Ramirez, eight years, $160MM
Rockies: Todd Helton, nine years, $141.5MM
Royals: Gil Meche & Mike Sweeney, both five years, $55MM
Tigers: Miguel Cabrera, eight years, $152.3MM
Twins: Joe Mauer, eight years, $184MM
White Sox: Frank Thomas, seven years, $64.4MM
Yankees: Alex Rodriguez, ten years, $275MM

Thanks to Cot's Baseball Contracts for the info.

Odds & Ends: Penn, Veras, Beimel, Mientkiewicz

By Mike Axisa | April 16, 2010 at 4:48pm CDT

Links for Friday…

Hayden Penn cleared waivers and now has until Monday to decide whether to report to Triple A or become a free agent, according to MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch (via Twitter). The Pirates designated Penn for assignment Monday.
Jose Veras, who was designated for assignment Wednesday, has been outrighted to Triple A by the Marlins, according to Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post (Twitter link). This presumably means Veras cleared waivers.
The Rockies called up Joe Beimel, according to the team. Beimel's deal pays him $850K in the major leagues.
ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick heard that Bret Boone is trying to recruit Doug Mientkiewicz and Bobby Kielty for his Golden League team (Twitter link).
ESPN.com's Keith Law offers updates on some of the top prospects eligible for this June's draft, including Bryce Brentz, an outfielder who Law considers "one of the top college bats in this draft."
Fred Lewis and his representatives had been asking the Giants for a trade for nearly a year, according to Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle.
FanGraphs' Jack Moore calls the Lewis deal a no-brainer for the Blue Jays and a head-scratcher for the Giants.
Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun takes us on a must-read behind the scenes look at the Adeiny Hechavarria signing.
Recent injuries to Jacoby Ellsbury and Mike Cameron will test Boston's depth, says WEEI.com's Alex Speier.
Matt Eddy of Baseball America brings us up to date on the latest round of minor league transactions. Among the notable players released: Brady Clark and Curtis Thigpen.

Pirates Designate Hayden Penn For Assignment

By Mike Axisa | April 12, 2010 at 5:52pm CDT

5:52pm: Penn was DFA'd in order to make room on the roster for lefty Brian Burres, writes Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Burres has a 6.01 ERA with 5.7 K/9 and 7.1 BB/9 in 265 big league innings.

4:37pm: The Pirates have designated righty Hayden Penn for assignment according to the team. They claimed him off waivers from the Marlins just two weeks ago.

The 25-year-old Penn appeared in three games for Pittsburgh this year, giving up eight hits and eight runs in just 2.1 innings. He walked three and struck out no one. Penn's Triple-A numbers are strong; he's posted a 3.85 ERA and a 7.5 K/9 in 278.1 innings at the level.

Top Trade Chips: NL Central

By Mike Axisa | April 10, 2010 at 9:40am CDT

Let's continue our series looking at each team's top trade chips with the NL Central…

Astros: Teams can ask for Hunter Pence, but it's just not happening. 26-year-old catcher J.R. Towles and his five years of team control could be shopped with top prospect Jason Castro coming up behind him. If Houston falls way out of it, Roy Oswalt could be made available, but it would be a massive PR hit. He's owed $31MM through 2011 with a $16MM option ($2MM buyout) for 2012, and would have to approve any trade. Dealing him would signify the start of a full rebuilding effort.
Brewers: Yovani Gallardo was never going to be moved in the first place, but his new contract extension all but guarantees it. Manny Parra seems to have fallen out of favor, but a lefty who can dial it up to the mid-90's will always have value on the trade market. He still has three years of arbitration eligibility ahead of him.
Cardinals: The Cards dealt away most of their top prospects for Matt Holliday and Mark DeRosa last year, so there's not much left to move. Triple-A catcher Bryan Anderson and Double-A outfielder Daryl Jones could be used in a trade since the big league team is pretty well set at those positions. Jones is more highly regarded of the two. Colby Rasmus is untouchable, obviously.
Cubs: Josh Vitters, the third overall pick in 2007, watched his name pop up in trade rumors involving Jake Peavy last year. If Chicago is willing to eat some of the $26.5MM left on his contract, there would be interest in Kosuke Fukudome.
Pirates: Neal Huntington has completely turned over the team's roster since taking over in September 2007, dealing away every notable veteran player. He did, however, build up a nice inventory of veteran relievers this offseason. Octavio Dotel, D.J. Carrasco, Brendan Donnelly, and Javier Lopez could all be used as trade fodder this summer.
Reds: Cincinnati is clearly a team on the rise, but one young player they could make available is the blocked Yonder Alonso. The power hitting first baseman masquerading as a left fielder in Double-A has all six years of team control left, and is the best trade chip in the division.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Norris, Braves, Yankees

By Mike Axisa | April 9, 2010 at 9:56am CDT

One year ago today, 22-year-old Angels' starter Nick Adenhart was killed by a drunk driver just hours after shutting out the A's for six innings. The lone survivor from Adenhart's car, his friend and Cal State Fullerton catcher Jon Wilhite, recovered from his injuries well enough to throw out the first pitch at an A's game in July. The drunk driver, 23-year-old Andrew Thomas Gallo, is still awaiting trial. Tom Krasovic of AOL FanHouse recently spoke to a few members of the Angels about the Adenhart tragedy.

On a much less somber note, here's a look at what's being written around the web during the season's first week…

The Dodgerhater sat down for a chat with Astros pitcher Bud Norris.
Capitol Avenue Club looks at ten players the Braves could attempt to lock up to long-term deals.
At Home Plate wonders if the Yankees' big money deals will come back to haunt them.
El Lefty Malo muses about the Giants' poor track record for developing position players.
Where Have You Gone Andy Van Slyke? is excited for what they call "the first true season of the Neal Huntington era."
The Cubs Reporter looks at the Cubs' ownership history.
South Side Sox has some fun with retired numbers.
Fenway Nation doesn't like the lack of speed on Boston's bench.

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

Pirates Release Ramon Vazquez

By Tim Dierkes | April 8, 2010 at 12:53pm CDT

The Pirates unconditionally released infielder Ramon Vazquez, according to a team press release. Vazquez had been designated for assignment four days ago. The Pirates will assume Vazquez's $2MM salary, less the league minimum if another team signs him.

MLBTR's Luke Adams looked at Vazquez's situation earlier this week, noting that he should have value to a few clubs at the league minimum salary. The 33-year-old hit .230/.335/.279 last year in 239 plate appearances, playing second base, shortstop, and third base and dealing with a knee injury.

GM Neal Huntington's plan when signing Vazquez in December of '08 may have been to find a credible back-up middle infielder in case the team traded Freddy Sanchez and/or Jack Wilson. But you have to question his $4MM commitment to Vazquez, a journeyman platoon player who still didn't hit lefties in his career year '08 season.

Odds & Ends: Lerew, Cuba, Coonelly, Hechavarria

By Tim Dierkes | April 7, 2010 at 9:02pm CDT

Links for Wednesday…

Anthony Lerew cleared waivers and accepted an assignment to Triple-A, tweets Bob Dutton of The Kansas City Star. The Royals designated Lerew for assignment over the weekend.
Kat O'Brien of The Cincinnati Enquirer wrote a very interesting piece about what happens in Cuba once their players defect. Said one local cab driver: "[Aroldis] Chapman doesn't exist. He never existed."
Pirates' team president Frank Coonelly chatted with fans at MLB.com. He fielded a question about what the Pirates would do with the second overall pick in June's draft if for some reason the Nationals pass on Bryce Harper.
The Tigers released minor leaguer Kory Casto, reports Tom Gage of The Detroit News. Casto had been signed to a minor league deal after a .271/.334/.378 performance for the Nationals' Triple A club. Baseball America ranked him fourth among Nats prospects heading into the '07 season.
Which of Zach Duke, Paul Maholm, and Ryan Doumit is most likely to be traded this summer? Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette tackles the question.
SI's Jon Heyman speculates that the Phillies would probably have to trade Raul Ibanez to be able to retain Jayson Werth after this season.
Adeiny Hechavarria's visa has been approved and he's headed to the U.S. to take his physical this week for the Blue Jays, tweets ESPN's Jorge Arangure Jr.
Yahoo's Jeff Passan suggests the Rays will have long-term difficulty competing, while Jonah Keri offers a rebuttal.
Rocco Baldelli still has hopes of playing baseball, according to this FOX Sports Florida article. He's currently rehabbing a shoulder injury and working with Rays minor leaguers.
ESPN's Adam Rubin says the Mets will not place Canadian third base prospect Shawn Bowman on waivers until they've exhausted trade possibilites.
In search of an accurate Mariners payroll number, Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times arrives at about $93MM.
Tracy Ringolsby of Inside The Rockies explains why free agent Braden Looper would be a good fit for Colorado. On a related note, Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post learned that the Rockies are not interested in Jarrod Washburn.
Elsewhere on the "nothing brewing" front, Jim Bowden of FOX Sports tweets that Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik told him the team has had no discussions regarding Pedro Martinez.

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