Pirates Rumors

Odds & Ends: Gomes, Duchscherer, Chapman

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | December 22, 2009 at 12:39pm CDT

Some links for your Tuesday…

John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer says we shouldn't expect Jonny Gomes to sign any time soon.
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports says the Giants are looking to add a catcher and a starter, along with a big bat. Matt Holliday and Jason Bay don't seem likely to sign in San Francisco.
Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets that the Yankees checked in on Carlos Zambrano and Aaron Harang before acquiring Javier Vazquez.
The Mariners signed Mike Koplove to a minor league deal, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (via Twitter). The righty hasn't pitched in the majors since 2007.
Stephen Strasburg signed a multi-year deal with Topps, according to Chico Harlan of the Washington Post.
Harlan writes that the Nationals were hoping to sign Jon Garland, before turning to Jason Marquis.
The Yankees were the only team to pay the luxury tax this season. Their $226MM payroll cost them nearly $26MM in luxury tax, according to the AP (via the Star Ledger).
Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News tweets that the Yanks' trade of Melky Cabrera does not mean the club is likely to bring Johnny Damon back.
The Marlins are not in the mix for Matt Capps, according to Juan C. Rodriguez of the South Florida Sun Sentinel. The Marlins, coming off a year in which their $38MM payroll was the lowest in the game, don't have much to spend on relievers.
Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post says outfielder Carlos Gonzalez should be the next Rockie to receive an extension. Saunders says there's no need to lock the 24-year-old up this offseason (Gonzalez won't likely be arbitration-eligible until after 2011).
Marty Noble of MLB.com doesn't see indications that the Mets are all that interested in Joel Pineiro.
Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says the Pirates have yet to make Justin Duchscherer an offer. The righty is now deciding which offer to accept, so we can safely say he won't be signing with the Pirates.
Jorge Arangure Jr. of ESPN.com expects Aroldis Chapman to sign where the money is (via Twitter).

Yankees, Braves Agree To Vazquez Deal

By Howard Megdal | December 22, 2009 at 9:50am CDT

9:50am: Buster Olney of ESPN.com hears that the Yankees will send $500K to the Braves as part of the deal. Olney does not mention Vizcaino in the report, but O'Brien tweets that he is in the deal.

9:43am: Sherman tweets that the deal is done.

9:08am: Not surprisingly, the Yankees will pay Vazquez's entire salary, according to David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (via Twitter).

8:56am: Sherman tweets that the Braves are acquiring righty Arodys Vizcaino, Melky and Dunn for Logan and Vazquez.

8:40am: Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports tweets that it's a two for one deal. The money is still unclear, though it would be a surprise to see the Braves pay any of Vazquez's $11.5MM salary next year.

8:34am: The Yankees are closing in on a deal for Vazquez, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com. Heyman says the Yankees will acquire Vazquez and Boone Logan for Melky Cabrera, Mike Dunn and a prospect.

8:17am: Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets that the Yankees are working to re-acquire Javier Vazquez. The Braves have "always liked" Melky Cabrera and Nick Swisher, Sherman says.

TUESDAY, 8:08am: Olney reports (via Twitter) that the Yanks have inquired on Pirates pitchers Ross Ohlendorf, Paul Maholm and Zach Duke before. Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports tweets that the Yankees aren't trading for Duke or Mahlom (though he doesn't mention Ohlendorf).

MONDAY, 9:11pm: Now Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News tweets that the Yankees are "close to a deal for a starting pitcher, says a source. Still working on who, but I'm told it's not a salary dump deal."

8:55pm: Now Ken Davidoff of Newsday tweets "Hear that Yankees have 'two or three' serious trade talks for starting pitcher – Harang isn't one of them." FoxSports.com's Ken Rosenthal adds via Twitter: "Source: Yankees in 'active negotiations' for a starting pitcher. Not Harang. Trying to find out who."

8:07pm: Could this be related to what David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution wrote in the comments section of his blog earlier this evening?

"Got a call from a NY writer today wanting to know if I’d heard anything heating up between Yankees and Braves…. Apparently Yankees have hinted at doing “something big” soon. Don’t know if that means pitching."

Hard to imagine the Yankees will go another round with Javier Vazquez, but could this mean Derek Lowe? Like Harang, the Yankees could be among the few teams able to take on Lowe's three-year, $45MM deal.

7:49pm: ESPN.com's Buster Olney tweets the following: "Yankees working very hard tonight on deal for starting pitcher. Remember that they came close to deal for Aaron Harang in summer."

If Harang is indeed the target, the Yankees could be one of the few teams that could afford him. Harang is due $12.5MM in 2010, with a $12.75MM team option for 2011 (and more likely, a $2MM buyout).

Harang pitched to a 4.21 ERA in 162 1/3 innings with Cincinnati in 2009, though his peripherals- 142 strikeouts, 43 walks- were strong.

With Andy Pettitte, C.C. Sabathia and A.J. Burnett all under contract for 2010- acquiring Harang would likely spell the end of either Philip Hughes or Joba Chamberlain in the 2010 rotation plans.

Pirates Sign Javier Lopez

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | December 21, 2009 at 8:57am CDT

The Pirates signed left-hander Javier Lopez, as first noted by a team press release on December 18th. Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says the deal is worth $775K with another $550K in appearance-based performance bonuses.

Lopez struggled through 14 appearances with the Red Sox last year, but enjoyed prior success in Boston. The 32-year-old pitched to a 2.70 ERA from 2006-08, allowing fewer hits than innings pitched. That ERA may be a little deceptive, given his strikeout rate (5.8 K/9) and walk rate (4.2 BB/9) during the three-year period, but Lopez does have major league success to build on in Pittsburgh.

Kovacevic notes that Lopez is the only lefty reliever on the Pirates' 40-man roster. Talking to Lopez, Kovacevic learned that part of the appeal of Pittsburgh was the opportunity to pitch to both righties and lefties and possibly toss multiple innings per appearance.

Tim Dierkes contributed to this post.

Capps To Select Finalists Soon

By Tim Dierkes | December 19, 2009 at 7:13pm CDT

SATURDAY, 7:13pm: Capps confirmed to ESPN Radio Chicago today that he has had preliminary discussions with the Cubs about joining the club.

THURSDAY, 6:26pm: The Washington Nationals are one of Capps' finalists, reports MLB.com's Bill Ladson. Of all the interested teams, Washington should provide one of the clearest paths to a closing role for Capps.

4:51pm: The Pirates non-tendered reliever Matt Capps Saturday night, and roughly half the teams in baseball have inquired. Pirates GM Neal Huntington explained the non-tender decision in an MLB.com chat today:

Despite wanting to retain Matt and making an aggressive offer that we believed would be at or near his free-agent value prior to the tender deadline, we felt that the risk of an arbitration award at a substantially higher amount was not a good business decision for us…Obviously, we would have preferred to get something of value in trade for Matt, but given his track record beginning in the second half of 2008, his trade value was limited throughout the summer and again this offseason.

Capps may be able to find a two-year deal. While he'd like to close, his agent Paul Kinzer told Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports that he'd accept a set-up role with a contender. The following teams have been linked to Capps: the D'Backs, Cubs, Orioles, Rangers, Rockies, Marlins, Nationals, Mets, Tigers, and Yankees (we're still about six teams short, five if you count the Pirates). Kinzer told Rosenthal Capps "plans to select five or six finalists by the weekend, then make his decision."

White Sox Acquire Juan Pierre

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | December 18, 2009 at 12:57pm CDT

FRIDAY, 12:57pm: The Dodgers will obtain Ely and Link to complete the deal, tweets MLB.com's Scott Merkin.

TUESDAY, 11:44am: The Dodgers will choose two pitchers from a list of arms that could contribute in the majors next year, according to ESPN.com's Jayson Stark. The teams will complete the trade on or before January 7th, 2010, according to a Dodgers press release.

11:31am: The Dodgers have officially announced the deal, according to Hernandez. Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports hears that John Ely and Jon Link are heading to the Dodgers. The Tigers and Pirates also had interest in Pierre, according to Morosi.

10:43am: The White Sox will pay $3MM of Pierre's salary in 2010 and $5MM of it in 2011, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney. That means the Dodgers will pay the remaining $10.5MM.

10:28am: Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times says the Dodgers will acquire two players to be named later.

9:52am: The White Sox acquired Juan Pierre from the Dodgers for two minor league pitchers, according to Yahoo's Tim Brown (and confirmed by Ken Rosenthal). The Dodgers will take on roughly half of Pierre's salary. The outfielder has $18.5MM remaining on his deal ($10MM next year and $8.5MM in 2011), so the Dodgers are taking on about $9MM.

Pierre, 32, hit .308/.365/.392 in 425 plate appearances for the Dodgers last year. He stole 30 bases and played well in the outfield, according to UZR (though we don't want to draw sweeping conclusions from 750 innings of work).

The White Sox had shown interest in Scott Podsednik and Brett Gardner, but they appear set with their new addition. If Pierre performs close to last year's levels, the White Sox will have themselves a bargain (depending on the pitchers they give up).

Odds & Ends: Cubs, Vazquez, Matthews

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | December 18, 2009 at 12:23pm CDT

Some links for Friday…

Jayson Stark and Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com expect the Cubs to go after free agent center fielders now that they've dealt Milton Bradley.
John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer doesn't expect the Reds to deal Aaron Harang in the near future.
The Chiba Lotte Marines signed Bryan Corey, according to NPB Tracker.
A source close to Javier Vazquez tells MLB.com's Mark Bowman that it's highly unlikely the pitcher would approve a trade to a west coast team like the Angels. The Braves are still interested in trading Derek Lowe.
USA Today's Bob Nightengale says it would be an upset to see anyone but the Cardinals sign Matt Holliday.
Now that the Dodgers have traded Juan Pierre, the Angels are optimistic about unloading Gary Matthews Jr. and his contract, according to Ed Price of AOL FanHouse. The Angels will have to eat some of the $23MM owed to Matthews if they hope to deal him.
O's reliever Jim Johnson tells Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun that he's glad to have new acquisition Mike Gonzalez around.
Mike Lupica of the New York Daily News says the Yankees still need another arm. Brian Cashman says the Yankees aren't done.
Tyler Kepner of the New York Times expects the Yanks to spend big on next year's free agent class.
New Blue Jay Kyle Drabek tells the Toronto Sun that he doesn't plan on changing his approach, though he does feel some pressure as a major piece of the Roy Halladay trade.
Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says the Pirates evaluate players and then stand by the figures they decide on almost all the time. This approach prevents the Pirates from over-spending and sometimes prevents them from signing their targets (like Miguel Angel Sano).
Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports that the Brewers expect Claudio Vargas to take his physical today and finalize his deal.
Yahoo's Jeff Passan examines Scott Boras' relationship with mystery teams.

Odds & Ends: Orioles, Dodgers, Beltre, Pujols

By Luke Adams 2 | December 17, 2009 at 9:28pm CDT

Let's round up some Thursday evening links….

The Baltimore Sun's Dan Connolly hears from Orioles officials that the team isn't serious about Matt Holliday or Adrian Gonzalez. This probably means that, despite their flurry of recent activity, Baltimore is done spending for now.
Jon Weisman at Dodger Thoughts takes a look at the Dodgers' salary obligations for 2010.
Todd Zolecki of MLB.com follows up on the Roy Halladay–Cliff Lee blockbuster by breaking down Halladay's extension and relaying Lee's reaction to the trade.
While the Cardinals wait on Holliday, Mark DeRosa is exploring his other options, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Yahoo's Tim Brown adds a surprising team to a list of otherwise predictable suitors for Adrian Beltre: the Oakland Athletics. ESPN.com's Buster Olney follows up on this point, noting that the A's do have interest, but not at $10MM a year.
The Marlins still could retain Dan Uggla, according to MLB.com's Joe Frisaro. However, the team hasn't been in contact with his agent since the Winter Meetings, so a trade looks more likely. We heard some details earlier today about discussions the Marlins and Giants have had regarding Uggla.
Albert Pujols' agent, Dan Lozano, tells Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that the Cardinals' negotiations with Holliday won't affect a possible Pujols extension: "Albert respects Matt and would love to have him as a teammate and hopes he gets his money, but Matt’s situation must be seen as independent of Albert’s."
A source tells Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports that Adam Dunn "is not going anywhere for now."
Newsday's Ken Davidoff thinks that Johnny Damon's run in New York is about to come to an end.
Jeff Wilson of the Dallas Morning News says that if the Mike Lowell trade falls through because of Lowell's health, the Rangers have other targets, including Vladimir Guerrero, Jermaine Dye, and Jim Thome. Morosi says we should know about the Lowell deal "one way or the other" by the end of the weekend.
Pirates GM Neal Huntington answers fans' questions about his team's future in an MLB.com mailbag.

Market For Mike MacDougal

By Tim Dierkes | December 17, 2009 at 2:22pm CDT

ESPN's Jayson Stark looks at the market for recently non-tendered reliever Mike MacDougal in a Rumor Central post today. Stark says eight to ten teams are "actively pursuing" MacDougal, with the Phillies most interested. Stark names the Orioles, Pirates, Cardinals, Mets, and A's as other suitors.

The Nationals had the worst bullpen ERA in baseball in 2009 (5.09), so their decision to non-tender MacDougal isn't a good sign. The righty, 33 in March, struck out only 34 while walking 38 in 54.3 innings this year. Despite a 96 mph fastball and a strong groundball rate, MacDougal would be a risky late-inning bullpen addition if he costs several million.

Multiple Teams Watching Kelvim Escobar

By Tim Dierkes | December 16, 2009 at 10:53pm CDT

WEDNESDAY, 10:52pm: Peter Greenberg, Escobar's agent, informed FOX Sports' Jon Paul Morosi that representatives from the Yankees and Twins were also at the throwing session (via Twitter).

WEDNESDAY, 2:54pm: Zavarce tweets that the Rays, Cubs, Brewers, Giants, Pirates, Tigers, Mariners, and A's are on hand to watch Escobar throw. Several of those clubs are new additions to the list of suitors.

TUESDAY, 10:17am: If you speak Spanish and would like to read Zavarce's full article about Escobar, click here to download a PDF.

MONDAY, 1:08pm: The Mets offered a minor league deal to pitcher Kelvim Escobar, reports Efrain Zavarce for Venezuelan newspaper El Nacional. According to Zavarce, the Rays are also interested. We cannot find Zavarce's article online, but follow him on Twitter if you speak Spanish. Hat tip to ESPN's Jorge Arangure Jr., who pointed followers to Zavarce's article and provided translation.

We learned during the Winter Meetings last week that the Mariners, Brewers, Orioles, Mets, and Yankees are other suitors for Escobar, who will pitch as a reliever in 2010 in hopes of preserving his shoulder.

Chapman Works Out In Front Of 15 Teams

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | December 16, 2009 at 9:03pm CDT

WEDNESDAY, 9:03pm: That workout session must've really turned some heads. Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus tweets that "an insider" predicted Chapman's eventual contract may be worth as much as $30MM.

WEDNESDAY, 3:18pm: Arangure Jr.'s latest blog post is a must-read; it contains learnings from the Chapman throwing session yesterday. Among them: Chapman is in good shape, he's made some mechanical adjustments, and he doesn't come off as someone with makeup issues. Chapman is now up for bidding.

TUESDAY, 1:38pm: Cuban lefty Aroldis Chapman worked out in front of about 15 teams in Houston today, according to Jorge Arangure Jr. of ESPN.com. The Astros and Pirates were there, along with the Angels, Marlins, Pirates, Orioles, Yankees, Red Sox, Nationals and others.

The Dodgers weren't there because they don't have the money, according to Arangure Jr.'s Twitter. We shouldn't expect the Pirates to sign Chapman, either. They're not serious players for him according to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

The teams saw the 21-year-old throw for five minutes two different times. Chapman's fastball topped out at 96 mph and he also threw his slider and change-up. Arangure Jr. expects several teams to meet with him today.

Another note, again from Arangure Jr.: Chapman's previous agency, API, is suing the pitcher's current agency, the Hendricks brothers. The lawsuit alleges that the Hendricks brothers interfered with API.

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