Pirates Designate Iwamura, Send Him To Minors
TUESDAY, 9:07pm: Langosch tweets that the Bucs weren't able to find a trade partner for Iwamura, and thus the infielder will be optioned to Triple-A.
5:27pm: ESPN's Buster Olney tweets that the Pirates are in fact willing to eat a lot of the money owed to Iwamura in order to trade him.
4:50pm: The Associated Press reports (via ESPN) that the Pirates will actively try to trade Iwamura. They would presumably pay most of the $2.5MM remaining on his salary in any deal.
WEDNESDAY, 2:43pm: The Pirates have designated Akinori Iwamura for assignment, according to MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch (via Twitter).
With top prospect Pedro Alvarez joining the team today and Andy LaRoche sliding into a utility role, there was no room left on the roster for the underachieving Iwamura. The Pirates acquired the 31-year-old infielder from the Rays in the offseason, making him their highest-paid player. However, in 193 plate appearances for Pittsburgh this season, Iwamura hit just .182/.292/.267.
The Pirates will be on the hook for the rest of Iwamura's $4.85MM salary, less the pro-rated portion of the major league minimum if he catches on with another club.
Amateur Draft Signings: Tuesday
Here's the round-up of today's mass signings and individual agreements between teams and players from the 2010 Amateur Draft. The list of first-rounders and supplemental round picks to sign can be found here.
- Pittsburgh has signed 14th-rounder Bryce Weidman and 22nd-rounder Adalberto Santos, reports Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com.
- John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports that the Reds have signed two more of their picks.
- Dylan Hernandez of The Los Angeles Times tweets that the Dodgers signed their second and seventh round selections — namely, right-hander Ralston Cash and right-hander Ryan Christenson.
- The Cubs agreed to terms with five draft picks today, according to a team press release. Third-rounder Micah Gibbs was the highest-drafted player amongst the new Cubs.
- Corey Brock of MLB.com tweets that the Padres signed fifth-round pick Rico Noel and eleventh-rounder Brian Guinn.
- A Padres team press release confirmed the signings of Noel and Guinn, and also announced that the club had agreed to terms with six other draft picks.
- Anthony Andro of the Dallas Morning News reports that Texas agreed to terms with sixth-rounder Brett Nicholas.
- According to an Angels press release, the team has signed second-rounder (81st overall) Daniel Tillman, a right-handed pitcher from Florida Southern College.
- Chris Sale passed his team physical and thus his contract with the White Sox was officially announced by the club today, via press release.
Using Postseason Odds To Identify Sellers
Buyers and sellers can be hard to identify this time of year, since so many teams are often within a few games of a playoff spot. It's not even July yet, but a number of clubs have extremely slim odds of becoming contenders and appear likely to sell. Here are the teams that have less than a 1% chance of making the playoffs in 2010, according to the postseason odds report at Baseball Prospectus.
- Orioles
- Royals
- Indians
- Mariners
- Nationals
- Astros
- Pirates
- Diamondbacks
Other than those eight clubs, the A's (7% chance of making the playoffs), White Sox (6%), Cubs (5%) and Brewers (2%) are potential sellers to watch. The White Sox, winners of ten of their last 12, have dramatically improved their chances of playing meaningful games down the stretch. They have shown that anything is possible, but the eight teams listed above seem like good bets to become sellers within the next six weeks.
In case you're wondering, BP suggests the Rangers (81%) are the safest bet to make the playoffs.
Some Interest In Iwamura
Pirates GM Neal Huntington told Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review that "a handful of clubs have expressed some level of interest" in Akinori Iwamura. When the Pirates designated the infielder for assignment last week, it became apparent that they would eat most of the $2.4MM owed to Iwamura in any deal.
Realistically, the Pirates have to absorb salary if they want to move Iwamura. The 31-year-old hit .182/.292/.267 in 193 plate appearances this year. That's a steep drop from his established level of production (.281/.354/.393 entering the season), so teams could think of Iwamura as a good buy-low candidate, or a player in steep decline.
The Rockies, Angels and Twins are among the teams that could use infield help. Most clubs have not been interested, but Huntington said he expects some closure early this week.
Pirates Acquire Adam Davis
The Pirates have acquired Adam Davis from the Indians, according to the MLB.com Transactions page. Davis, 25, has been assigned to the Bradenton Marauders.
The former third-round draft pick spent the bulk of this year in advanced-A Kinston, posting a slash line of .225/.333/.375 with three homers. He also had a five game stint for Double-A Akron where he had an OPS of .498.
Jack Taschner Declares Free Agency
Pitcher Jack Taschner has declared free agency after refusing an outright assignment to the minors from the Pirates, tweets Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com. The left-hander was DFA'd by Pittsburgh early last week.
In 17 appearances this season, Taschner posted an ERA of 6.05 with 7.9 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9. The 32-year-old threw his fastball at an average of 89.6 mph in 2009 but has seen that dip to 88.8 in 2010. His pitch velocity has steadily declined across the last three seasons.
Amateur Draft Signings: Friday
Here are the updates on which picks have signed with the clubs that selected them in last week's draft. Keep tabs on which first rounders and sandwich picks have signed by checking out our detailed breakdown.
- Top selections that were locked up today: Cito Culver signed with the Yankees, Taijuan Walker agreed to terms with the Mariners, and the Rangers signed Mike Olt.
- In addition to reaching an agreement with Walker, the Mariners signed ninth-rounder Luke Taylor and nine other players. The M's have now locked up 28 of their 50 selections, per a team release.
- The Diamondbacks signed two of their top three picks, according to Steve Gilbert of MLB.com (via Twitter). Right-handed pitchers James Bradley (56th overall) and Robert Rowland (88th) signed with the D'Backs. Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic tweets the financial details.
- MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch reports that the Pirates also agreed to terms with a pair of right-handed arms, fifth-round pick Tyler Waldron and 12th-rounder Vincent Payne.
- The Orioles agreed to terms with their fourth-round pick, writes Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun.
- The Giants signed eight draft picks, according to the team's official transactions page.
Odds & Ends: Maybin, Blue Jays, Orioles, Oswalt
Links for Thursday night, as interleague play keeps Dan Haren's 1.000 OPS out of Arizona's lineup….
- Following tonight's game, the Marlins optioned Cameron Maybin to the minors, tweets Joe Frisaro of MLB.com. As MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith noted yesterday, the team might avoid having Maybin become a super two player after 2011 if they keep him in the minors for a few weeks.
- Not many draft signings to pass on today, but the Blue Jays announced that they've signed their 16th-round pick, Canadian Dalton Pompey. Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun says (via Twitter) that Pompey gets a $140K bonus.
- While the Orioles have yet to discuss such a plan, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports explains why he thinks the club could hire a manager and not immediately put him in the dugout.
- Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News believes the Rangers are the frontrunners for Roy Oswalt if the sale of the team moves forward by early July.
- In a Q&A with MLB.com's Bill Ladson, Nationals manager Jim Riggleman says Roger Bernadina's performance is convincing the team they don't need to acquire a right fielder.
- Cody Ross tells Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post that he hopes the Marlins become buyers rather than sellers: "We want to get somebody to help us rather than see some of us gone."
- Pirates president Frank Coonelly met with reporters today and addressed Akinori Iwamura's DFA, Pedro Alvarez's promotion, and the team's recent trades. MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch has the details.
Pirates Extended Huntington, Russell
2:30pm: MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch passes on a statement from Coonelly which confirms the extensions and says dismissing Russell "is not the appropriate response" to the team's struggles. Coonelly sounds confident in the team's progress, but says "a contract will not prevent us from making a change if one is appropriate and thus contract status truly is irrelevant."
2:22pm: The Pirates extended Russell and Huntington last offseason, according to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (via Twitter).
10:53am: The Pirates have extended GM Neal Huntington’s contract through 2011 and may have picked up manager John Russell's option for next season, according to a major league source who spoke to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Pirates president Frank Coonelly chose not to comment on the contracts of Russell and Huntington.
The timing of the extensions would be odd, but not unprecedented. The 23-42 Pirates appear headed for an 18th consecutive losing season and Russell’s job security appears anything but certain. Rosenthal reports that Huntington, whose contract was set to expire after the season, believes in Russell and shoulders much of the blame for the team’s disappointing play.
Huntington has drafted aggressively (Jameson Taillon, Stetson Allie, Pedro Alvarez) and pursued international free agents with gusto since taking over. He has acquired some promising youngsters (Jose Tabata, Tim Alderson, Bryan Morris) in deals for proven players, though he has given up many valuable players along the way (Jason Bay, Tom Gorzelanny). Like any GM who has been around for a few years, there are commendable moves and regrettable ones in Huntington's history.
The Royals, who might be the American League’s answer to the Pirates, made a similar move last summer. They extended GM Dayton Moore in the midst of a largely disappointing 2009 season.
John Russell On The Hot Seat In Pittsburgh?
WEDNESDAY, 12:52pm: Rosenthal and Morosi report that there is some sentiment among those above and below Coonelly and Huntington that Russell should be dismissed. That could mean that ownership is unhappy with Russell, though the FOX Sports duo reports that majority owner Bob Nutting has not discussed firing Russell with the team's president and GM.
TUESDAY, 9:31pm: ESPN's Buster Olney hears from sources that "there is absolutely nothing to the speculation" about Russell being fired (via Twitter). Rosenthal also tweets that Pirates president Frank Coonelly has denied that discussions about Russell's future have taken place.
8:58pm: With Pedro Alvarez on the verge of making his debut in the black-and-gold, the young prospect might never get to play for current Pirates manager John Russell. Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports.com report that the team is "holding internal discussions" about Russell's fate, though it isn't apparent if the manager might be fired soon or possibly until after the season.
Russell "has drawn criticism within the industry for his stiff, impassive demeanor," according to Rosenthal/Morosi. With the likes of Alvarez, Brad Lincoln and Jose Tabata either on the major league roster or nearing it, Pittsburgh management might want a new face in the dugout to signify this fresh start for the organization.
Russell has a 152-234 record since being hired as the Pirates' manager before the 2008 season, though given Pittsburgh's roster, it's hard to attribute their lack of success to Russell's managerial skills. Rosenthal/Morosi say that the Bucs will look inside the organization for an interim manager to finish out the season, and note that former Indians manager Eric Wedge and Cardinals bench coach Jose Oquendo are long-term candidates to take over the job.