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Pirates Had Another Offer For LaRoche

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Before the Pirates dealt Adam LaRoche to Boston, a second team made them an offer, according to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. An unknown club proposed a deal that would have sent a major leaguer and a borderline prospect to Pittsburgh for LaRoche. The Pirates would have had to take on the major leaguer's salary in the deal, which wasn't proposed by the Giants.

They've made four trades already, but the Pirates could continue dealing. GM Neal Huntington tells MLB.com's Jesse Sanchez that none of his players are untouchable.

Red Sox Acquire Adam LaRoche

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9:18pm: Baseball America's Matt Eddy has a comprehensive rundown of both prospects Pittsburgh acquired for LaRoche. Eddy likes Diaz's defense, but his bat is "a bit light for a regular role." He says Strickland's fastball gives him a chance to be a big league reliever, but he needs to refine his secondary pitches.

2:09pm: Kovacevic says the Pirates are not sending any cash to the Red Sox.

1:09pm: Danny Knobler of CBS Sports reports that the Pirates are sending cash to the Red Sox to contribute to the remainder of the $7.05MM LaRoche makes this year. They also sent cash to the Yankees in the Eric Hinske deal.

1:02pm: ESPN.com's Keith Law says Diaz's glove could make him a legitimate MLB backup in spite of his bat. Strickland is "probably a reliever at best." 

12:31pm: Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus says Diaz is a very good defender who doesn't hit much. He says Strickland is a projectable righty with a fastball around 90 mph and average secondary stuff.

12:21pm: Ben Badler of Baseball America says the pair of prospects isn't much, not that the Pirates should expect more for two months of LaRoche.

12:05pm: Speier reports that the Pirates receive pitcher Hunter Strickland and shortstop Argenis Diaz.

11:49am: Alex Speier of WEEI.com reports that Manny Delcarmen will not be part of the trade.

11:45am: What you need to know about LaRoche: He's a 29-year-old first baseman hitting .247/.329/.441; he has a history of playing well in the second half; his defense is slightly below average; he makes $7.05MM this year before becoming a free agent and he's on the cusp of projecting as a Type B free agent, though he's currently below the cut.

11:15am: Kovacevic says the Pirates have traded LaRoche to the Red Sox.

11:00am: John Perrotto says LaRoche has been traded.

10:58am: Kovacevic says LaRoche is not in today's lineup.

10:56am: Ed Price of MLB FanHouse hears that LaRoche has been traded.

10:44am: Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says the Pirates clubhouse is buzzing over the possiblity that Adam LaRoche will soon be traded. However, LaRoche is taking batting practice and is expected to play today.

Edes On Lee, Feliciano, Pirates

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Yahoo's Gordon Edes says the Phillies and Dodgers are interested in Cliff Lee, but the Indians aren't anxious to move him. Not only would it mean trading Cy Young Award winners in back-to-back years, it would diminish the team's chances at contending next season. Here are the rest of Edes' rumors:

  • The Dodgers would have interest in Pedro Feliciano if the Mets become sellers.
  • The Brewers scouted Brad Penny over the weekend, but a trade seems unlikely now that Tim Wakefield's on the DL.  
  • At least one NL executive believes the Pirates are ready to move almost anyone. Zach Duke, Paul Maholm, Matt Capps, John Grabow, Freddy Sanchez, Adam LaRoche and Jack Wilson could all be targets.
  • It looks like the Reds would listen to offers for Francisco Cordero. However, he has no-trade protection and an big contract. 
  • The Red Sox had a scout watch Nick Johnson this weekend.

Sanchez And Wilson Reject Extensions

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MONDAY 7:15pm: Langosch has an update on the situation, and says that Sanchez and Wilson both express desire to continue negotiations to stay with the Pirates despite their early contract rejections, citing a "miscommunication." The players believed the original offers to be "take-it-or-leave-it" and didn't think they were negotiable.

SUNDAY 2:27pm: MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch informs us that both Freddy Sanchez and Jack Wilson have rejected the contract extensions offered to them by the Pirates.

 Sanchez, 31, received an offer for a two-year extension worth $10MM. Wilson, also 31, received an offer for a two-year, $8MM extension. Both extensions would have voided the players' options for 2010. Sanchez has an $8MM vesting option with 600 plate appearances, and Wilson has an $8.4MM club option. General manager Neal Huntington commented on the rejections:

"We've not received a counter to this point, so in our minds, they are not interested in even the foundation that we've laid. The response is such that they don't even feel we are in the same ballpark because they feel like years, dollars, the foundation is so far off their expectations that it's not worth countering."

Huntington felt both deals were fair, citing the fact that only four of the 107 position players that were free agents this offseason received deals greater than two years in length.

Rob Biertempfel reports that both Sanchez and Wilson responded "with a firm 'no'" to the offers.

With no counteroffers from Wilson and Sanchez, the Pirates will likely listen to offers on their middle-infield tandem as the trade deadline approaches.

Odds And Ends: Nats, Schedule, Wang

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Some links for the afternoon…

  • Jay Jaffe of Baseball Prospectus (via ESPN)  determines that among contenders, the Yankees, Rays and Rangers will have the toughest opposition the rest of the way.
  • ESPN.com's Rob Neyer suspects the Pirates extended offers to Freddy Sanchez and Jack Wilson so they could say they did. Realistically, Neyer says it's hard for the Pirates to pay veteran players fair market value.
  • Count Nationals interim manager Jim Riggleman among those who believe teams will continue to trade well into August, according to Tracee Hamilton of the Washington Post.
  • Within the piece, acting GM Mike Rizzo hints that Nick Johnson could return to the Nats next year.
  • Tyler Kepner of the New York Times suggests we shouldn't expect Chien-Ming Wang to return for a while, "if at all." He experienced tenderness playing catch today. 

Odds & Ends: Marlins, Pirates, Gammons

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A fresh batch of links on a busy Sunday evening around the baseball world…

  • Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post suggests the Marlins may quickly turn into trade-deadline "sellers" if they continue to fall back in the NL East.  We probably won't see one of those classic "fire sales," but a few chips may be dealt.
  • According to MLB.com's Jennifer Langosch, the Pirates are having a little trouble agreeing to terms with a few of their younger draft picks because the Commissioner's Office "frowns on clubs that offer above-slot money."  It's an interesting read.
  • If you're into moving images, ESPN's Peter Gammons has a new video up previewing the July 31 trade deadline.  He talks Giants, Rockies, Red Sox, Phillies, Astros and, of course, Roy Halladay.
  • The Cleveland Plain Dealer's Terry Pluto is confused as to why the Indians continue to give playing time to Jhonny Peralta while Andy Marte is at Triple-A, and just a phone call away.

Deadline Strategies: Astros, Pirates

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With the deadline rapidly approaching, we'll try to keep you updated on teams' strategies as much as possible. Here's a look at a bit of news from today:

  • Don't look for the Astros to make any significant moves. General manager Ed Wade says that the team isn't in position to trade prospects or add salary. Wade states that last year the team had a desperate need for pitching, which resulted in acquisitions of Randy Wolf and LaTroy Hawkins. This season, he's thrilled with both Roy Oswalt and Wandy Rodriguez, while relievers Doug Brocail and Chris Sampson will be coming off the disabled list soon, lessening the need for a move.
  • The Pirates aren't sellers, per se, according to Neal Huntington. He says the Pirates are looking to improve the organization and are heading in the right direction, but also notes that many teams get into trouble by inaccurately evaluating themselves.

Odds & Ends: Glaus, Pirates, Schmidt, Cubs, Reds

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A few links for your Saturday evening reading…

  • MLB.com's B.J. Rains says that Troy Glaus is going to work out in the outfield as he rehabs from offseason shoulder surgery. The Cardinals haven't committed to using him in the outfield when he returns, they're just giving it a try to see what happens. Glaus played five innings in left field tonight before moving to first base. The Cards have been looking to add a bat seemingly all year.
  • John Perrotto of Pirates Report.com says that it's unlikely Jack Wilson and Freddy Sanchez sign extensions. This morning we learned that the Bucs lowballed both players with their offers.
  • Jason Schmidt will return to the Dodgers' rotation on Monday, reports MLB.com's Ken Gurnick. It'll be just his seventh start for the Dodgers since signing his three year, $47MM deal in Decemeber 2006, and his first since June 16th of 2007.
  • The Cubs have signed second round pick D.J. LeMahieu, according to Carrie Muskat of MLB.com. LeMahieu was the 79th overall pick in last month's draft, which has an expected slot recommendation of around $460k.
  • Bronson Arroyo wants to see the Reds kept together at the trade deadline rather than having the veterans sold off, says MLB.com's Mark Sheldon.

Pirates Ask Wilson, Sanchez To Take Pay Cuts

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Both Dejan Kovacevic of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and John Perrotto of PiratesReport.com are reporting that the Pirates asked Jack Wilson and Freddy Sanchez to take sizable pay cuts when they presented them with contract extension offers yesterday. Wilson, who is making $7.25MM this year, was offered a two year deal plus a club option. Financial terms aren't known, but the offer reportedly includes a significant pay cut. Perrotto says the club has already privately decided to buy out Wilson's $8.4MM option for 2010 for $600k.

Sanchez, who is only 252 plate appearances away from having his $8MM option for 2010 vest, was offered a two year deal worth around $10MM. The extension reportedly seeks forfeiture of that 2010 option as well. Kovacevic says that he feels the team is "most interested in securing Wilson and trading Sanchez."

The Pirates have given both players a small window of opportunity to accept the deals, as they want to have as much time as possible to work out trades should the players reject the offers, according to Rob Biertempfel of The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.

"This is something that needs to be resolved quickly, one way or the other," general manager Neal Huntington said Friday. "If there isn't common ground, I think we'll know pretty quickly. We can't let it linger and inhibit the trade process."

"Instead of trading and wondering what could've been, we decided to step forward and see if there's something that could be done to keep them here," Huntington said.

"If a perfect world, we bring them both back under contracts that are favorable to them and favorable to us. But if we get one, then we get one. If we can't either, we can't get either."

Biertempfel echoes what FoxSports.com's Jon Paul Morosi wrote yesterday, that the team might be making lowball offers that Wilson and Sanchez have no choice but to reject just to they can come back and say they tried to extend them before making a trade. The team was heavily criticized when they traded Nate McLouth and Nyjer Morgan in separate deals earlier this year.

Odds & Ends: Pirates, Sano, White Sox, Blue Jays

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Here's some links to check out as you celebrate the return of a full slate of baseball games…

  • Jon Paul Morosi of FoxSports.com says something doesn't add up about the Pirates reported interest in signing Jack Wilson and Freddy Sanchez to contract extensions. He wonders if the team will make low-ball offers that the players have no choice but to reject just so they can say "The players refused our offers and left us with no choice but to trade them away and improve our organization's future."
  • Twins vice president of player personnel Mike Radcliff is in the Dominican Republic to take a look at Miguel Angel Sano, according to Charley Walters of The Pioneer Press.
  • Mark Gonzales of The Chicago Tribune notes that when asked about the team's interest in acquiring Roy Halladay, White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said ""I don't think were going to give up half the organization for one player."
  • Dave Cameron at FanGraphs has reached the top ten in his series of post about the 50 MLB players with the most trade value.
  • The Blue Jays have signed their fourth round pick according to Bob Elliott of The Toronto Sun.
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