Pirates Rumors

Odds And Ends: Strasburg, Huff, Pedro

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | July 15, 2009 at 2:24pm CDT

Some links to read through this afternoon…

ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick says the Nats "absolutely, positively must sign" Stephen Strasburg this summer. The Strasburg saga is just one of Crasnick's nine stories to watch in the second half.
Stan McNeal of the Sporting News says a fringe prospect should be enough for the O's to ship Aubrey Huff and his $8MM salary away.
Pedro Martinez said he was pitching hurt with the Mets, but feels better now, according to the AP (via ESPN).
Benjamin Kabak of River Ave. Blues says the Yankees would have to be prepared to give up a painful amount in a possible Roy Halladay deal.
Pirates reliever Tyler Yates had Tommy John surgery, according to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Check out my thoughts on the market for outfielders this offseason at NESN.com. Evans Clinchy of NESN.com believes it's now time for the Red Sox to lock Jason Bay up.

Odds And Ends: Sano, Gonzalez, Royals

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | July 14, 2009 at 4:14pm CDT

Here's some more reading material for the afternoon…

ESPN.com's Buster Olney runs through his first half surprises, including Ben Zobrist and the Tigers. He also says Roy Halladay and the Phillies are a perfect fit.
As Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports, Miguel Angel Sano's future is still up in the air. The Orioles and Pirates and the favorites to sign the Dominican shortstop, but the Twins, Rangers and a couple other teams could still be interested.
Adrian Gonzalez told WEEI.com's Alex Speier that winning matters most of all to him. Gonzalez is one of the players Speier looks at as potential fits in Boston, along with Prince Fielder and Victor Martinez.
Here, Speier says Tim Wakefield has been one of the best bargains in baseball since 2002.
Cameron Smith of the Washington Post says B.J. Ryan could be a nice addition for the Cubs.
Dave Sheinin of the Post reports that Bud Selig said the Nats are "on the right track."
Bradford Doolittle of the Kansas City Star says Royals GM Dayton Moore needs a better grasp of the game's statistical side.

Odds And Ends: Pirates, K-Rod, Jackson

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | July 13, 2009 at 6:58pm CDT

Some links to peruse in between home runs…

Here are the latest minor league transactions from Baseball America.
CBS Sports reports that Indian pitcher Rinku Singh picked up his first win as a pro. Check out Dejan Kovacevic's article on Singh's team, the Bradenton Pirates, which has players from five continents on its roster.
Danny Knobler of CBS Sports has a source who believes a Roy Halladay deal is more likely in the winter. It's hard to imagine Halladay's value being much higher than it is now.
Francisco Rodriguez told Kevin Baxter of the LA Times that he enjoys baseball less than he did growing up, but realizes it's a business.
Edwin Jackson isn't bitter about his Tampa Bay Rays tenure, according to Kevin Baxter of the LA Times.
The AP (via the Miami Herald) reports that a number of agents are pressing the Players' association to file a collusion grievance against teams.
John Perrotto of PiratesReport.com revisits a deal that would have sent Paul Maholm to Toronto for Alex Rios in 2005 and wonders if the Pirates and Jays could make the same deal work today.
Click here to listen to my chat with Justin Hull on 1570 The Score this afternoon.

Freddy Sanchez Rumors: Monday

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | July 13, 2009 at 8:33am CDT

The Pirates are not close to dealing Freddy Sanchez, and no deal has ever been imminent, according to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Teams have approached the Pirates about Sanchez, but the Pirates aren't "pushing hard" to trade him, as it appeared last week.

Meanwhile, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle says he keeps hearing a version of a possible Freddy Sanchez deal that would also send Zach Duke to the Giants. Schulman says the Giants could look to add pitching, as Randy Johnson, Ryan Sadowski and even Jonathan Sanchez are not sure things for a variety of reasons.

Odds & Ends: Church, Yuniesky, Pirates

By Steve Adams | July 12, 2009 at 3:54pm CDT

A few links for the afternoon as the All-Star Break approaches:

Ryan Church has no animosity or hard feelings towards the Mets organization. He says that he's appreciative of Omar Minaya and everything that he has done for Church over his career. He's also excited to be playing with Chipper Jones. Says Church:

"I grew up in the '90s as a big Braves fan. I'll never tell him, but he was my favorite player," he said. "It's cool now to be playing with him."

Joe Posnanski continues to lament the recent acquisition of Yuniesky Betancourt by the Royals, stating that either the numbers are right, or the Royals are right. Posnanski's bet seems to be on the numbers.
MLB.com's Jen Langosch has some notes on the Pirates, including an update on Ian Snell who allowed one run on seven hits through six innings in his most recent Triple-A start. That outing lowers Snell's ERA to 0.45 since being demoted. We've heard Snell's names in trade rumors this year, and he appears to be taking some strides toward re-establishing his value. Langosch also mentions the two international signings that Mike wrote about here yesterday, and I feel obligated to give my vote to Dovydas Neverauskas for having the coolest name in baseball.

Renck’s Latest: Freddy Sanchez, Giants, Rockies

By Nat Boyle | July 12, 2009 at 10:30am CDT

Troy E. Renck has some thoughts on why it doesn't make sense for the Rockies to acquire Roy Halladay if they can't afford to retain his services beyond 2010. In the same piece, he has a few more footnotes:

Freddy Sanchez will be traded. The Giants could land him for Jonathan Sanchez and a prospect.
The Giants are "lukewarm" on Matt Holliday but like Jermaine Dye. Brian Sabean recently defused rumors involving Dye.
If Garrett Atkins is traded, Seth Smith could become Todd Helton's backup at first base. He's been taking throws in batting practice. Renck feels Smith needs to get more at bats if the Rockies want to make the playoffs. Smith is hitting .295 with 1.04 BB/K and an impressive .902 OPS in 70 games.

Freddy Sanchez Rumors: Saturday

By Mike Axisa | July 11, 2009 at 9:59am CDT

Yesterday we learned that the Pirates are "pushing hard" to trade All Star second baseman Freddy Sanchez before this year's trade deadline, but nothing appears imminent right now. Here's the latest roundup of Sanchez rumors courtesy of Dejan Kovacevic of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Rob Biertempfel of The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and Gordon Edes of Yahoo! Sports.

Kovacevic says the Mariners and Twins remain interested in Sanchez.
The Rockies' interest has cooled off of late, and they're now focused on acquiring bullpen help.
Biertempfel adds a new team to the mix: Tampa Bay.
Edes reports that a NL Central team is involved, and speculates that it could be the Cubs.
Sanchez's $8MM vesting option based on plate appearances is an obstacle in any trade.

Odds & Ends: Halladay, Rays, Indians, Rockies, Draft

By Mike Axisa | July 10, 2009 at 8:01pm CDT

With another round of deals today, we're reminded that the trade deadline is just three weeks away. Here's some evening linkage…

Joe Haggerty rounds up Peter Gammons' weekly appearance on ESPN Radio's Mike & Mike this morning. Among many other topics, Gammons touched on Roy Halladay, saying that he believes "there’s about a 20 percent chance that Halladay gets traded."
MLB.com's Zach Schonbrun writes that Rays owner Stuart Sternberg says the team is unlikely to cut payroll during the season, assuming they stay in the hunt of course.
The Indians aren't so lucky. Paul Hoynes of The Cleveland Plain Dealer says that when "it comes to setting next year's payroll, the Indians are going to be looking to cut corners because of the economy." He mentions Rafael Betancourt and Kelly Shoppach as candidates to be moved because of their salaries.
The Denver Post's Troy Renck says the Rockies are unlikely to move Ryan Spilborghs and "aren't in a hurry" to trade Garrett Atkins.
Team president Frank Coonelly refuted a report saying that the Pirates had "essentially completed a deal" with fourth round pick Zack Dodson, according to Dejan Kovacevic.
Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com reports that the Orioles have signed four more draft picks.

Pirates Release Chris Snelling

By Mike Axisa | July 10, 2009 at 5:26pm CDT

John Perrotto tweets that the Pirates have released outfielder Chris Snelling to make room on the Triple-A Indianapolis roster for the recently acquired Lastings Milledge. Snelling owns a career .302-.392-.456 batting line in the minors, but has struggled to stay healthy and managed just a .244-.360-.400 line in close to 300 big league plate appearances.

Pirates Hope To Deal Adam LaRoche

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | July 10, 2009 at 9:01am CDT

The Pirates would like to deal Adam LaRoche and his $7MM salary, but he's only attracting minimal interest, according to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The 29-year-old first baseman becomes a free agent for the first time after the season. He's hitting .259/.345/.464 with 12 homers so far, better than he usually does in the first half. Over the course of his career, LaRoche's OPS is 129 points higher in the second half.

The Pirates are prepared to continue dealing after July 31st, since some of their players, possibly LaRoche, could clear waivers, allowing them to make more moves.

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