Pirates Rumors

Odds & Ends: Brewers, Marlins, Red Sox, Calero

By Zachary Links | April 4, 2010 at 10:49pm CDT

Sunday night links..

While other clubs did some last minute tinkering today, Brewers GM Doug Melvin decided to stand pat with his lineup, writes Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.
For the first time in three years, the Marlins won't have the lowest payroll in baseball on Opening Day, writes Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald. Florida's payroll of $46MM ranks ahead of the Padres and Pirates.
Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com (via Twitter) didn't expect Scott Schoeneweis to make the BoSox roster after being released by the Brewers. Edes adds that he expects Alan Embree to make his way to the big league squad after he puts in more work in the minors.
The Mets have demoted reliever Kiko Calero to their Triple-A affiliate, according to Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com (via Twitter). Calero's deal – which he signed in early March – does not allow Calero to opt-out upon being assigned to the minors.
Jeff Zrebiec and Dan Connolly of The Baltimore Sun write that O's outfielder Nolan Reimold took ground balls at first base yesterday. Orioles GM Andy MacPhail told the Sun not to read too much into it, as they were only seeking to increase the 26-year-old's versatility. However, an item on ESPN's rumor page wonders aloud if the fielding practice could be about the club's future plans at the position without Luke Scott and Garrett Atkins.
A major league insider told Jordan Bastian of MLB.com that the extension given to Adam Lind is a good deal for both parties. The Blue Jays signed Lind to a four-year, $18MM pact yesterday morning.
Ken Gurnick of MLB.com points out that Carlos Monasterios is just the fourth Rule 5 draftee to make a Dodgers Opening Day roster.

Odds & Ends: Rule 5, Jones, Hechevarria, Brewers

By Steve Adams | April 4, 2010 at 4:28pm CDT

Links for Easter Sunday…

Baseball America's John Manuel provides updates on five Rule 5 picks: Carlos Monasterios with the Dodgers, John Raynor with the Pirates, Zachary Kroenke, who was optioned to the minors by the D'Backs, Kanekoa Texeira with the Mariners, and David Herndon with the Phillies.
Peter Gammons previews storylines for the 2010 season, such as emerging stars, prospects of the future, a slew of contenders, and the ever-present unpredictability of baseball.
Dave Campbell of the AP looks at Jacque Jones and how Minnesota's late-season surge in 2009 inspired a comeback attempt for 2010 when he was on the verge of retirement. Jones is reporting to Triple-A Rochester after hitting .366/.409/.585 with the Twins this spring.
In an interview with Mike Wilner of the FAN 590 in Toronto, Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos said while the team hasn't officially said anything about Adeiny Hechevarria, international cases like his are often slowed by visa issues and other approval processes.
Tom Haudricourt tweets that there will be no last-minute changes to the Brewers 25-man roster.
The San Francisco Chronicle's Susan Slusser spoke with recently-DFA'ed Jack Cust, who is shocked and offended by the move. Cust says he will accept a minor league assignment if he clears waivers, but won't let Oakland "walk all over" him. The 31-year-old slugger has led the A's in home runs the past three seasons. Slusser takes a deeper look at the Cust move in a separate piece.
Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times looks at what the Cubs' performance in 2010 means to Jim Hendry's job, and talks to several players about their positive relationships with the Chicago GM.
Elliot Johnson cleared waivers and will report to Triple-A Durham, according to Marc Topkin. He adds that the Rays have set their roster and are waiting to hear from Hank Blalock on whether or not he'll accept a minor league assignment.

Pirates Designate Ramon Vazquez For Assignment

By Mike Axisa | April 4, 2010 at 11:30am CDT

Dejan Kovacevic of The Pittsburgh Post Gazette reports that the Pirates have designated utility infielder Ramon Vazquez for assignment. The team has ten days to trade, release, or waive him, though Kovacevic says a release seems like a certainty. We chronicled the team's roster crunch earlier this morning.

The 33-year-old Vazquez hit just .230/.335/.279 in 239 plate appearances last year, playing all over the infield. The Pirates are still on the hook for the $2MM they promised him in 2010 as part of the two year, $4MM deal they gave him last season.

Kovacevic also mentions that Rule 5 Draft pick John Raynor and the out of options Hayden Penn have made the team's Opening Day roster, so we won't be seeing them on waivers anytime soon.

The Pirates’ Roster Crunch

By Mike Axisa | April 4, 2010 at 9:47am CDT

We've seen a bevy of players designated for assignment and/or released in the past few days as teams were finalizing their Opening Day rosters. The deadline for clubs to submit their 25-man roster is 2pm CT today, and perhaps no one has more decisions to make than the Pirates, as Karen Price of The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review explains.

At the moment, Pittsburgh's 40-man roster is full, but they have to find room for relievers Jack Taschner and D.J. Carrasco, who've made the team. One spot can be freed up by placing reliever Jose Ascanio on the 60-day disabled list as he recovers from shoulder surgery. Price mentions that the other 40-man spot is likely to come at the cost of Hayden Penn, Ramon Vazquez, John Raynor, or Steve Pearce.

The Pirates claimed Penn off waivers just last week, but that doesn't mean they aren't willing to designate him for assignment today. He's out of options, so he'd have to clear waivers to be sent to the minors anyway. As a Rule 5 Draft selection, the Pirates have to keep Raynor on their 25-man roster all season or offer him back to the Marlins. Pearce has a leg up on the other guys because he has a minor league option remaining.

Vazquez will earn $2MM this season, but was told that he wasn't on the team a few weeks ago, making him a candidate to be either traded or released. Cutting him loose and eating his salary isn't the most desirable move, but it's probably best for the team. After a breakout season with the Rangers in 2008, Vazquez hit just .230/.335/.279 in 239 plate appearances last year, but at least he's capable of playing all over the infield. With Bobby Crosby and Ronny Cedeno on board, that last point may be moot.

Joel Hanrahan is likely to start the year on the 15-day DL because of an elbow issue, so the team could carry Penn to start the season. Optioning Pearce and releasing Vazquez would give the team the 25-man and 40-man roster spots for Taschner/Carrasco, then they'd just have to figure out what to do with Raynor, who's in a unique spot. We'll find out their decision by this afternoon, one way or the other.

Rays Acquire Virgil Vasquez

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | April 2, 2010 at 9:09am CDT

The Rays acquired Virgil Vasquez from the Pirates for a player to be named later, according to Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. We heard yesterday that the two clubs were talking about a possible deal involving Vasquez.

The 27-year-old right-hander appeared in 14 games for the Pirates last year. He pitched to a 5.84 ERA in 44.2 innings, with 5.8 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9. Vasquez also made 19 starts at Triple A, where he posted a 3.93 ERA with 6.0 K/9 and 1.3 BB/9. He combined an 89 mph fastball with a slider, a curve and a change-up last year, according to FanGraphs.

Odds & Ends: Rangers, Pirates, Dye, Schoeneweis

By Luke Adams 2 | April 1, 2010 at 9:53pm CDT

A few Thursday evening links….

Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News writes that, with all their spring acquisitions, the Rangers have potentially turned their bench from a weakness into a strength.
Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (via Twitter) hears that the Pirates are engaged in "very minor" trade talks with the Rays. Kovacevic says that right-hander Virgil Vasquez could be involved.
Anthony Witrado of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel speaks to Brewers GM Doug Melvin, who does not deny that the team has or had interest in Jermaine Dye.
Scott Schoeneweis has earned the final spot in the Red Sox bullpen, reports Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe. Schoeneweis signed with Boston on a minor league deal, and will earn $500K for making the big league roster.
Despite not spending a single dollar on a major league free agent this year, the Marlins' use of revenue sharing money has satisfied league officials, according to Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post.

Odds & Ends: Offenses, Ben Snyder, Kelly Johnson

By Tim Dierkes | March 31, 2010 at 1:45pm CDT

Action-packed links for Wednesday…

NL offense rankings are up at RotoAuthority, courtesy of CHONE projections and the Baseball Musings lineup analysis tool. The Rockies are on top and the Padres bring up the rear, but plenty will change as the season unfolds.
Two closers were named in recent days, and our Twitter account @CloserNews passed along the info instantly to allow you to make the winning fantasy pickups.
The Rangers are attempting to work out a trade with the Giants that will allow them to retain Rule 5 lefty Ben Snyder, tweets Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Snyder already cleared waivers, reports MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan. Sullivan also notes that Matt Treanor chose not to exercise his out clause; he's headed to Triple A.
WEEI's Rob Bradford writes that although the Rangers are scouting Mike Lowell today and they're more interested in him than any other club, a deal is unlikely now and the Rangers would want the Red Sox to pay almost all of his salary. Bradford also notes that earlier this offseason, the Rangers expressed interest in Jed Lowrie.
Free agent Kevin Millar hopes to continue his playing career, he explained on ESPN's Waddle & Silvy show.
Diamondbacks second baseman Kelly Johnson strongly considered offers from the Blue Jays, Pirates, and Indians, reports Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic.
The A's feel that out of options players Eric Patterson and Jake Fox would not clear waivers, so they're likely to send Landon Powell and Adam Rosales down (Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reporting).
Baseball America's Matt Eddy offers analysis and predictions for seven out of options pitchers.
The Orioles are looking for a suitor for catcher Chad Moeller, who is "shocked and disappointed" about not making the team according to Dan Connolly and Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltmore Sun. Peter Schmuck feels that Moeller was a better choice than Craig Tatum.
Jeff Suppan explained to MLB.com's Adam McCalvy that he's not dealing with a phantom neck injury, despite the convenient timing.
Though they could've saved $750K, the Nationals chose not to cut Scott Olsen according to MLB.com's Bill Ladson.
Dave Cameron of FanGraphs knows the Mariners, and he analyzes the organization's health in this article.

Brandon Moss Designated For Assignment

By Tim Dierkes | March 29, 2010 at 2:08pm CDT

The Pirates designated Brandon Moss for assignment to make room for waiver claim Hayden Penn, reports MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch.

Moss, 26, hit .236/.304/.364 in 424 plate appearances for the Pirates last year, playing both outfield corners. Moss is out of options, so he'll have to clear waivers if he's to be sent to the minors. He joined the Pirates at the '08 trade deadline along with Craig Hansen, Bryan Morris, and Andy LaRoche, with the Pirates giving up Jason Bay.

Pirates GM Neal Huntington recently admitted to WEEI's Alex Speier that in hindsight, there was a better deal on the table for Bay. Moss and Hansen have not panned out, and as Speier says, "the value of the deal for Pittsburgh will be determined largely by what happens with LaRoche and Morris."

Pirates Claim Hayden Penn

By Tim Dierkes | March 29, 2010 at 12:16pm CDT

The Pirates claimed pitcher Hayden Penn off waivers from the Marlins, tweets Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald. Penn is out of options, and the Marlins weren't able to get him through.

Penn, 25, posted a 4.11 ERA, 8.0 K/9, and 3.3 BB/9 in 70 Triple A innings last year. The Marlins acquired him a year ago from the Orioles for Robert Andino. Penn was a highly-regarded prospect four years ago, as Baseball America said he had "three plus pitches that he throws for strikes." Nice pickup by Neal Huntington.

Rosenthal’s Latest: D’Backs, Robertson, Pirates

By Mike Axisa | March 27, 2010 at 9:32am CDT

Some notes from Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com…

The Diamondbacks continue to pursue a number three or four starter in the wake of Brandon Webb's setback. A club official acknowledged that such a pickup was possible, but “I don’t think any team will be willing to give up that kind of pitcher at the start of the season.”
Rosenthal says the team has infield depth to use in a trade, and reiterated that they'd love to move Chris Snyder and the $11.25MM left on his contract. The Rangers and Red Sox are said to be looking for infielders, and the Mariners could join them following Jack Hannahan's injury.
The Tigers are shopping Nate Robertson, but Arizona doesn't consider him enough of an upgrade. Zach Duke and Paul Maholm are not available.
The best available starter may be Chad Gaudin, who was released by the Yankees on Thursday.
The Brewers considered a Jeff Suppan for Snyder trade, but didn't want to take on Snyder's 2011 salary. Suppan will earn $12.5MM this season, the final one on his contract.
The Cubs do not expect to make a trade for a reliever before Opening Day, but they've scouted Jason Frasor and Scott Downs, plus Luke Gregerson of the Padres.
Nick Green has an out clause in his minor league contract, but the Dodgers may add him to the roster to serve as the backup shortstop.

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