Pirates Rumors

Odds & Ends: Jackson, Norman, Dye, Lester, Manny

By Mike Axisa | February 5, 2010 at 9:13pm CDT

Some links for Friday night…

MLB.com's Steve Gilbert tweets that the Diamondbacks and Edwin Jackson have made no progress towards reaching an agreement to avoid arbitration. A hearing is set for February 17th.
Chuck Finder of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette passes along a report from the independent St. Paul Saints that says that the Pirates have signed 25-year-old outfielder Anthony Norman to a minor league deal.
Several executives told Morosi that they expect Jermaine Dye to sign with an AL club, though no one's sure which one.
WEEI.com's Alex Speier says that Jon Lester's contract is one of the biggest bargains in baseball when you look at the deals Felix Hernandez and Justin Verlander just received. Lester signed a five-year deal last March that guaranteed him at least $30MM.
Bill Shaikin of The Los Angeles Times wonders if 2010 could be the final year of Manny Ramirez's career. If so, he has a chance to be just the eighth player in history to retire with a career OPS over 1.000.
ESPN's Keith Law says that the Orlando Hudson signing is a major upgrade for the Twins, likely enough to make them preseason favorites in the AL Central.
Meanwhile, Law thinks it's too risky for the Diamondbacks to give Mark Reynolds a multi-year contract right now. The two-sides have been discussing such a deal recently.
Jon Paul Morosi of FoxSports.com says the Mets are more likely to sign a pitcher rather than another catcher this month.
Susan Slusser of The San Francisco Chronicle has some quotes from Travis Buck regarding his standing with the A's following all of their outfield additions, and adds that the team has found some interest in Dana Eveland and Gregorio Petit, both of whom were recently designated for assignment.

Pirates Notes: Harper, Free Agents, Ankiel

By Tim Dierkes | February 4, 2010 at 8:21am CDT

This offseason, the Pirates spent about $14MM to add Akinori Iwamura, Octavio Dotel, Ryan Church, Brendan Donnelly, Bobby Crosby, D.J. Carrasco (non-guaranteed), and Javier Lopez. They shedded one decent-sized salary in Matt Capps, but re-invested in a veteran bullpen. Team president Frank Coonelly chatted with fans yesterday at MLB.com; let's take a look.

Asked about Bryce Harper, Coonelly said the Pirates are scouting the much-hyped potential draft pick but he "is clearly nowhere nearly as developed as Stephen Strasburg was this time last year." In a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article, Chuck Finder clarified that GM Neal Huntington was not saying Saturday that Harper ranked "No. 9, No. 10 or worse on their draft board." Reading Huntington's specific quotes, he didn't actually reveal much about the Pirates' draft plans.
Coonelly feels it's likely the Pirates head to Spring Training with the current group, but they'll be "keeping tabs on certain free agents who might be a fit if their financial demands soften." Maybe they'd bring in another fifth starter candidate?
Coonelly said Church was a better fit for the Pirates than Rick Ankiel, because the Pirates were not willing to guarantee Ankiel a starting job.
The Pirates' massive overhaul is over, as Coonelly stated, "We do not anticipate an exodus of players off the roster at this year's Trade Deadline."

Odds & Ends: Hudson, Wang, Brewers, Cabrera

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 31, 2010 at 2:22pm CDT

Some links for your Sunday…

Bryce Harper is not among the top ten on the Pirates' draft rankings currently, reports Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Jason Marquis, Ryan Zimmerman, Nyjer Morgan, and Ivan Rodriguez have all voiced their desire for the Nats to sign Orlando Hudson, tweets MLB.com's Bill Ladson.
The Phillies have talked about Chien-Ming Wang, but don't believe he's a fit, according to Scott Lauber of the News Journal.
Brewers pitching coach Rick Peterson says it's up to Mark Mulder to decide if he wants to pitch for the Brewers, according to this tweet from Haudricourt.
The Brewers have pulled their latest offer to Corey Hart and are preparing for an arbitration hearing with him, writes Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Orlando Cabrera wasn't willing to move from shortstop, so he picked the Reds over the Rockies, tweets Yahoo's Tim Brown.
Chien-Ming Wang will end up on one of the coasts, according to this tweet from Jon Heyman of SI.com.
Melvin Mora is talking extensively with the Rockies and another club, writes Troy Renck of the Denver Post.
The Dodgers are in the midst of talks with Garret Anderson, writes Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times.
Tony Jackson of ESPN.com adds Reed Johnson, Gabe Gross and Brian Giles to the list of backup outfielders the team is considering.
The Indians are talking about bringing Russell Branyan back, according to Terry Pluto of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. A reunion seems unlikely unless Branyan doesn't see appealing offers elsewhere.
The Brewers engaged Jason Marquis but backed off since they were convinced he would sign with the Mets, writes Ken Davidoff of Newsday.

Odds & Ends: Indians, Mets, Verlander

By Mark Polishuk | January 30, 2010 at 9:37pm CDT

As Tommy John's long-lost brother Elton once said, Saturday night's alright for fighting…and also for posting news links.

The Tribe's quiet offseason is recapped by Paul Hoynes of The Cleveland Plain Dealer, who also looks at how busy the other AL Central teams have been in comparison.
MLB.com's Marty Noble outlines how he would have handled the Mets' offseason if he had been the GM, both if the team's goal was to contend or to rebuild (Noble's preference).
Steve Kornacki of MLive.com thinks Justin Verlander's reported five-year, $75MM offer from the Tigers "is too sweet a contract for Verlander to pass on," even without the sixth year that the pitcher wants.
Mark Sheldon of MLB.com passes along some tidbits from Dusty Baker on the Reds Winter Caravan. Baker said that reliever Mike Lincoln (who last started a major league game in 2000) was a contender for the No. 5 spot in the Reds' rotation, and that the club had considered moving top prospect Yonder Alonso to catcher. John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer sums these ideas up as candidates for the "sometimes-managers-say-the-darnedest-things file."
MLB.com's Bryan Hoch believes the Yankees have finished their roster tinkering before spring training, and talks to Yankees manager Joe Girardi about New York's offseason moves.
Chuck Greenberg, the incoming general managing partner of the Texas Rangers, is profiled by Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News.
MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch was all over the Q&A sessions with Pirates management during the team's PirateFest event. Here is her latest transcript of a similar sessions with various Pittsburgh players.
Jon Heyman of SI.com tweets his guesses about the destinations of some of the free agent infielders left on the market. He sees Orlando Hudson in Washington, Orlando Cabrera in Cincinnati and Felipe Lopez in St. Louis.
Count the White Sox out of the running for Johnny Damon or Hank Blalock, says Scott Merkin of MLB.com, since both are too costly for the limited space left in the team's budget. When asked about the possibility of Damon in Chicago, Sox GM Kenny Williams rhetorically asked, "Who is his agent?"

Pirates Talk: Miguel Sano, Ownership, Prospects

By Mike Axisa | January 30, 2010 at 5:01pm CDT

Here's some Pirates chatter, courtesy of The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review's Karen Price and Dejan Kovacevic of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette…

When asked why the team failed to sign Miguel Sano at FanFest, GM Neal Huntington gave a very interesting response.
"Take your frustration level and multiply it by a million when I got the phone call (that Sano signed with the Minnesota Twins)," Huntington said. "I didn't get it done. I relied on the agent to live by his word that he'd come back to us and give us a chance to make our final bid. We never got the chance."

"We were never in the game for a player even looking for $250,000 out of Latin America before," he said. "This may be one time we were overly aggressive — we moved too quickly."

Team president Frank Coonelly said that the Pirates offered Sano $2.6MM, however he ended up taking $3.15MM from the Twins. MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch provided more quotes from the Q&A sessions here (Friday's session) and here (Saturday's session).
Pittsburgh Penguin co-owners Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle made a "very serious" offer to buy the Pirates in a face-to-face meeting with owner Bob Nutting about four months ago, however they did not receive a response. Nutting, who has owned the Pirates for just over three years, has firmly stated that the team is not for sale.
In an Insider only piece at ESPN.com, Matt Meyers explains how the team's hoarding of prospects through trades and the draft will lead to a brighter future for Pirates fans.

Odds & Ends: Prospects, Livan, Cardinals, Damon

By Mike Axisa | January 27, 2010 at 9:51pm CDT

Some links for Wednesday night…

MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo released his list of the top 50 prospects in the game. Jason Heyward and Stephen Strasburg rank one-two.
Livan Hernandez sent a contract proposal to Nationals' GM Mike Rizzo back in December, but he never received a response according to a tweet from MLB.com's Bill Ladson.
MLB.com's Matthew Leach reports that Cardinals' GM John Mozeliak confirmed that any pickups from here on out would be on the offensive side of the roster.
Scott Boras said that "The Yankees never even made an offer to me regarding Johnny Damon during the entire process," according to a tweet from Tyler Kepner of The New York Times. In a second tweet, Kepner says Boras indicated that the two-year, $14MM offer the team reportedly made was conditional on whether or not Nick Johnson would sign.
ESPN's Jorge Arangure reports that 17-year-old righty Rafael DePaula is back on the market after being suspended for a year by MLB after lying about his age. His agent hopes to have him signed within the next 15-20 days, and Arangure mentions that both the Yankees and Red Sox are interested.
Pirate relievers Anthony Claggett and Steven Jackson both cleared waivers according to MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch, and have been outrighted to Triple-A Indianapolis. Claggett was designated for assignment to make room on the roster for Octavio Dotel, Jackson for Ryan Church.
Astros' GM Ed Wade said that signing Wandy Rodriguez to a long-term deal would become a "front-burner discussion for us" if he repeats his 2009 success in 2010, reports MLB.com's Brian McTaggart. Wandy had a 3.02 ERA with an 8.4 K/9 in 205.2 innings last season.
Craig Calcaterra of NBCSports.com says that the Braves have discussed Johnny Damon recently, but came up with three reasons why he wasn't a fit.
David Murphy of The Philadelphia Daily News lays out the Phillies' payroll commitments for the next four years. As of right now, the team stands to shed almost $70MM off the books following the 2011 season.

Kovacevic Talks To Pirates Owner Nutting

By Tim Dierkes | January 25, 2010 at 8:49am CDT

Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette grilled Pirates owner Bob Nutting yesterday; let's take a look at the interview.

Nutting says Miguel Angel Sano's $3.15MM bonus with the Twins, $550K more than the Pirates' offered, "was comfortably within the range" of what the Bucs could've paid.
GM Neal Huntington has "lots of flexibility" in payroll, but Nutting does not want to divert from the long-term plan.
Asked if the Pirates would "someday spend at the level of the Brewers and Reds," Nutting replied in the affirmative. That'd be the $75-80MM range. The Pirates currently project to fall under $40MM in 2010.
Nutting assured Kovacevic the Pirates are "using our revenue-share dollars appropriately."
By my count, the Pirates have added about $14MM for winter acquisitions Akinori Iwamura, Octavio Dotel, Ryan Church, Brendan Donnelly, Bobby Crosby, D.J. Carrasco (non-guaranteed), and Javier Lopez. Matt Capps, who received $3.5MM from the Nationals, was the one well-paid subtraction.

Odds & Ends: Tatis, Astros, Ludwick, A’s

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | January 22, 2010 at 4:42pm CDT

Some links for Friday…

Buster Olney of ESPN tweets that the Nationals have put Josh Willingham on the market once again. If they move the soon-to-be 31-year-old, it could clear the way for Adam Dunn to be moved to the outfield. Willingham recently avoided arbitration with the Nats, agreeing to a one-year, $4.6MM pact.
Mike Puma of the New York Post hears that the Mets could bring Fernando Tatis back if they don't re-sign Carlos Delgado. However, the Mets have not contacted Tatis' agent.
The Astros appear unwilling to talk multi-year deals with arbitration-eligible players Wandy Rodriguez, Hunter Pence and Tim Byrdak, according to Ed Price of AOL FanHouse (via Twitter).
The Cards and Ryan Ludwick avoided arbitration and agreed on a one-year $5.45MM deal for 2010, according to Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
A's prospect Grant Desme is retiring from baseball to "pursue the priesthood," according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. Baseball America ranked Desme the club's eighth-best prospect this offseason.
Craig Brown of Royals Authority doesn't see why the Royals signed Scott Podsednik if they were going to add Rick Ankiel, too.
Tyler Hissey ranks the remaining free agents. Check out our comprehensive free agent list right here.
ESPN.com's Buster Olney hears that the Mariners have been working on possible deals involving Jose Lopez.
Olney says Jim Thome is talking with a few teams.
Could the Brewers lock Prince Fielder up to a deal that keeps the first baseman in Milwaukee after the 2011 season? MLB.com's Adam McCalvy asked Brewers GM Doug Melvin if the club might extend Fielder soon and Melvin said: "I don't know the answer to that."
Meanwhile, another big left-handed slugger is just looking for a job. Jim Thome remains available, but White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen tells MLB.com's Scott Merkin that he's happy to rotate players in and out of the DH spot this year.
The Pirates, who are likely done making major moves this offseason, project to have an Opening Day payroll of $35.65MM, according to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Matt Cerrone of MetsBlog tweets that the Mets are close to making a deal.
Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik says he's going to "tweak and add" before the season starts, according to Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times.

Odds & Ends: Gagne, Stairs, Dotel

By Zachary Links | January 21, 2010 at 10:04pm CDT

Thursday night linkage..

Shannon Drayer of 710 ESPN Radio talked to M's GM Jack Zduriencik, who declined to disclose how much money the club had left to spend this offseason. One baseball source told Drayer that the M's likely have "a little left, but not much."
Scott Lauber of The News Journal tweets that Phillies GM Ruben Amaro was less than impressed after watching Eric Gagne throw yesterday, saying "He was okay." We first heard about Gagne's comeback back in December, when the 34-year-old said he would be open to pitching in the minors.
Matt Stairs, who is still hoping to land a job at the age of 41, has dropped 31 pounds in order to get himself in game shape, according to Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com. In 129 plate appearances last season, Stairs posted .194/.357/.379 with 5 HRs.
Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette spoke to recently signed Octavio Dotel who told him that the Pirates were the only team to offer him the role of closer. Dotel says that he's not worried about being rusty after not closing since 2007.

Pirates Sign Octavio Dotel

By Mike Axisa | January 21, 2010 at 7:51pm CDT

The Pirates officially signed reliever Octavio Dotel to a one-year deal with a club option for 2011. Dotel will earn $3.25MM in 2010, plus bonuses for games finished. The 2011 club option, which becomes mutual if the 36-year-old is traded, is for $4.5MM with a $250K buyout. Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette broke the news of the agreement and added the details via Twitter.

Dotel, 36, will close for the Pirates in 2010. Last year for the White Sox he posted a 10.8 K/9, 5.2 BB/9, and 3.32 ERA in 62.3 innings, so control may be an issue. Dotel had joined the Sox on a two-year, $11MM deal in January of '08.

For a guaranteed payout of roughly $6MM, Pirates GM Neal Huntington has revamped his bullpen by adding Dotel, Brendan Donnelly, D.J. Carrasco, and Javier Lopez. The Bucs subtracted '09 pen members Matt Capps, Jesse Chavez, Steven Jackson, Denny Bautista, Phil Dumatrait, and Chris Bootcheck this winter.

Tim Dierkes contributed to this post.

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