Pirates Claim Anthony Claggett
The Pirates claimed pitcher Anthony Claggett off waivers from the Yankees, according to a press release. The Yanks had designated him for assignment ten days ago. Claggett, a 25-year-old righty, was acquired by the Yanks from Detroit in the Gary Sheffield deal in November of '06. Upon reaching Triple A this year, Claggett's strikeout rate took a large drop to 4.7 per nine innings.
Odds & Ends: Webb, Griffey, Hoffman
Links for Monday…
- The NCAA is cracking down on the adviser/agent distinction for future draftees, presumably in response to the Andy Oliver ruling. ESPN's Jerry Crasnick has the story.
- Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic suggests parameters for a new Brandon Webb contract.
- Ken Griffey Jr. still isn't talking about 2010, according to Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times.
- Brewers GM Doug Melvin shares Trevor Hoffman's interest in a 2010 contract, according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.
- Joe Sheehan of Baseball Prospectus says Cubs GM Jim Hendry is "blatantly pandering to the disgruntled fan base" with the Milton Bradley suspension.
- David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution discusses the possibility of the Braves re-signing Adam LaRoche.
- Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star wonders if Robinson Tejeda's recent performance is for real.
- Pirates GM Neal Huntington is not pleased to have so many players declining to play winter ball, according to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
- We'll be keeping a close eye on Kevin Millwood's start tonight in Oakland. His $12MM option for 2010 vests if he records 13 outs.
Pirates Eyeing Rick Ankiel, Possibly John Grabow
The Pirates have money to spend in free agency and a desire to be more aggressive than last year, GM Neal Huntington told Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Huntington admitted that former Pirates may be of interest, leading Kovacevic to speculate that lefty reliever John Grabow could be a target. Kovacevic also learned that outfielder Rick Ankiel is on the Pirates' radar.
A few weeks ago, we discovered that the Pirates will have less than $30MM committed heading into 2010 after beginning this season with a $48.7MM payroll.
Grabow may re-sign with the Cubs before reaching free agency. But if not, it's pointless for a team like the Pirates to spend even a few million on a walk-happy 32-year-old lefty reliever. The situation would only be compounded if the Cubs offer arbitration to Grabow, who projects as a Type A free agent.
Kovacevic suggests Ankiel's "superb athleticism is a potentially fine fit for PNC Park's spacious left field," and I agree. It's been a brutal year (.234/.286/.390), but Ankiel has suffered through groin and shoulder injuries. He'd be intriguing on a one-year deal in the $3MM range. Plus, such a signing would prove the Pirates can deal with Scott Boras despite last year's Pedro Alvarez drama (Chris Bootcheck's minor league deal notwithstanding).
Odds & Ends: Chipper, Ordonez, Schultz
Links for Wednesday…
- Chipper Jones explained his stance toward retirement to Tim Gunter of 790 The Zone.
- Braves manager Bobby Cox was noncommittal on 2010, talking to Jeff Schultz of the Atlanta Journal Constitution.
- Amelia Rayno of the Detroit News notes that Magglio Ordonez's $15MM option for 2011 will vest with 1080 plate appearances between 2009 and 2010. Meanwhile Cot's Baseball Contracts reveals that 135 starts or 540 PAs in '10 will do the trick.
- ESPN's Buster Olney informed us yesterday about a potentially interesting free agent reliever named Mike Schultz. The former D'Backs minor leaguer has been tearing it up in Japan the last two years.
- Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch notes that a top five Cy Young finish for Adam Wainwright in 2010 or 2011 would cause his 2012 and 2013 options to vest. This year, his maximum bonus is $250K if he wins the award.
- Derrick Goold of the P-D has a discussion going about the Cardinals' third base plans for next year.
- Conor Glassey of Baseball America looks at next year's draft class, which is of course led by Bryce Harper.
- Murray Chass has posted several interesting columns since his website's inception. His latest on the Pirates is not one of them. It's a simplistic view of Neal Huntington's plan, with the Nyjer Morgan trade as Chass' main beef. And is he suggesting the organization would've been better off re-signing Freddy Sanchez and Jack Wilson instead of trading them? Plus, Chass uses the opinion of one anonymous "baseball official" in advancing the notion that the Pirates will have explaining to do to MLB regarding their revenue-sharing money. Wouldn't a consensus assessment of execs have been more useful?
- According to Maury Brown of The Biz of Baseball, minor league attendance dropped by only 2.9% this year.
Odds & Ends: Morneau, Nats, Pirates
Some links for Tuesday…
- Justin Morneau will miss the rest of the season because of a stress fracture in his lower back, according to ESPN.com's Jim Caple.
- Ian Desmond, who could figure into the Nationals' middle infield plans next year, has taken some good-natured heat from his teammates for wearing these around, writes Chico Harlan of the Washington Post. Desmond has reached base in nine of his 14 major league plate appearances, but the Nats may look for a free agent shortstop after the season.
- Doug Mientkiewicz tells Chuck Finder of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that the Pirates have made the right decisions this year, as difficult as some of them have been for the fans.
- Neither Kevin Millwood nor Rangers manager Ron Washington is expressing concern over Millwood's 2010 option, according to Anthony Andro of the Dallas Morning News. Millwood, who is less than 5.0 innings away from guaranteeing himself a $12MM payday next year, could start as soon as Friday.
Odds & Ends: Pirates, Schneider, Claggett
A few links to start the evening off…
- When asked if the Pirates might pursue a free agent this winter to address their lack of power, Dejan Kovacevic of The Pittsburgh Post Gazette said the team has indicated "that they will wait until they see which of the current players might take a step forward, then identifying needs." That sounds like a "no," or at least a "probably not."
- MLB.com's Bill Ladson said he would not be surprised if Brian Schneider returned to the Nationals as a backup catcher next year, but he would have to take a big paycut. Schneider has already said he doesn't expect to return to the Mets next year, and after making $4.9MM this year, he should be prepared to take a big paycut wherever he goes.
received when thethey will wait until they see which of the current players might take a step forward, then identifying needs
Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09257/997985-63.stm?cmpid=pirates.xml#ixzz0R7cZcwUs
- The Yankees designated reliever Anthony Claggett for assignment to clear room on the 40-man roster for Freddy Guzman, reports Peter Abraham of The Journal News. Claggett was originally acquired in the deal that sent Gary Sheffield to Detroit, and got annihilated in his brief callup (33.75 ERA & 5.62 WHIP in 2.2 IP) this year.
Odds & Ends: Pirates, Fielder, Nationals
Links for Monday…
- The Pirates have not approached any players about extensions, according to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Kovacevic guesses Zach Duke is the likeliest extension candidate. Also in that article, Kovacevic notes "no new exchanges" between the Bucs and Miguel Angel Sano.
- ESPN's Buster Olney speculates that Prince Fielder will be traded to the Red Sox this winter. Thoughts?
- Mark Zuckerman of the Washington Times runs through possible free agent targets for the Nationals. He figures they can spend nearly $20MM without increasing payroll.
- Baseball America's Jim Callis weighs in on the returns in the two Mark DeRosa trades this year.
- Hideki Irabu was granted his release from his independent league team in Japan, according to Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker.
- MLB.com's Jim Street addresses the future of Felix Hernandez and Adrian Beltre in his latest Mariners mailbag.
Odds And Ends: Sweeney, Padres, Saito
Some links for the morning…
- We already knew Mike Sweeney would consider signing with the Mariners and Angels after the season. Now MLB.com's Jim Street adds the Padres to Sweeney's list of preferred clubs.
- Like GM Kevin Towers, Padres CEO Jeff Moorad expects the team to be "competitive" next year, according to Bill Center of the San Diego Union-Tribune.
- Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald reports that Takashi Saito will make $500k when he appears in his next game. Even more incentives kick in if he continues picking up appearances throughout the season's final month.
- Pirates GM Neal Huntington tells Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review that Joel Hanrahan has seemed like a different pitcher in Pittsburgh because he was unlucky as a member of the Nationals.
- ESPN.com's Rob Neyer doesn't expect the confusion surrounding Jose Valverde's age to have much of an effect on the contract he signs in the winter.
Rosenthal On Garcia, Pirates, Papelbon
The latest from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports…
- Rosenthal says Florida's Chris Coghlan deserves the NL Rookie of the Year award. Andrew McCutchen, Garrett Jones, J.A. Happ, Randy Wells, and Tommy Hanson are also in the mix…who do you like?
- For the AL ROY, Rosenthal sticks with his preseason choice of Rangers shortstop Elvis Andrus. Jeff Niemann, Andrew Bailey, Nolan Reimold, and Gordon Beckham are other top contenders.
- Rosenthal has a few possible Nationals managerial candidates: Diamondbacks third base coach Chip Hale, Bobby Valentine, and Bob Melvin. It's also possible Jim Riggleman is retained.
- I was not aware of this – Freddy Garcia's deal with the White Sox has a 2010 option with a $1MM base and $2MM in incentives. Garcia has an 89mph fastball these days, but he's posted quality starts in three of four tries (against the Yankees and Red Sox).
- The Pirates would only trade starters Paul Maholm or Zach Duke if they receive "a young major league starter of similar quality, plus another piece." I mentioned that the Bucs look pretty good for 2011, but Rosenthal says team officials are not conceding 2010.
- Rosenthal's source describes a Jonathan Papelbon trade as "pretty unrealistic." Jayson Stark's sources had a similar opinion.
- Rosenthal rattles off the teams that have had past interest in Marlins second baseman Dan Uggla, who is getting pricey: the Orioles, Twins, Giants, D'Backs, Dodgers, and Cardinals.
Offseason Outlook: Pittsburgh Pirates
Next up in our Offseason Outlook series, the Pirates. Their commitments for 2010:
C – Ryan Doumit – $3.55MM
C – Jason Jaramillo – $400K
C/IF – Robinzon Diaz – $401K
1B/OF – Garrett Jones – $400K
2B – Delwyn Young – $406K
SS – Ronny Cedeno – $823K+
3B – Andy LaRoche – $414K
IF – Ramon Vazquez – $2MM
IF – Steve Pearce – $408K
IF – Brian Bixler – $404K
LF – Lastings Milledge – $452K
CF – Andrew McCutchen – $400K
RF – Brandon Moss – $415K
Other possibilities: 1B/C – Jeff Clement – $405K, 3B/OF – Neil Walker – $400K
SP – Paul Maholm – $4.5MM
SP – Zach Duke – $2.2MM+
SP – Ross Ohlendorf – $414K
SP – Charlie Morton – $405K
SP – Daniel McCutchen – $400K
Other rotation candidates: Jeff Karstens – $402K, SP – Kevin Hart – $408K, Jose Ascanio – $405K
RP – Matt Capps – $2.3MM+
RP – Jesse Chavez – $402K
RP – Evan Meek – $401K
RP – Joel Hanrahan – $420K
RP – Steven Jackson – $400K
RP – Phil Dumatrait – $402K
RP – Failed rotation candidate
Other commitments: Pedro Alvarez – $500K
Non-tender candidates: Tyler Yates – $1.3MM+, Craig Hansen – $825K+, Denny Bautista – $400K+, Chris Bootcheck – $600K+
Because of all the competition on this club, the above roster is just a rough projection for 2010. The Pirates entered the 2009 season with a $48.7MM payroll. My rough estimate has their 2010 commitment at about half that, before arbitration raises for Cedeno, Duke, and Capps. The payroll should still fall under $30MM.
In my opinion, the Pirates are taking the right approach to rebuilding under GM Neal Huntington. Huntington has a clear long-term focus, and isn't afraid to pull the trigger on a trade that will help the team in the future. Gone from the team's Opening Day lineup: Nyjer Morgan, Freddy Sanchez, Nate McLouth, Adam LaRoche, Jack Wilson, and John Grabow. Eric Hinske, Ian Snell, Tom Gorzelanny, and Sean Burnett were also traded.
The game's best prospects are almost always off-limits, but the Pirates have added a variety of quality young players. Since they don't have veterans clogging up starting jobs and payroll, there's been an opportunity for players like McCutchen, Jones, and Ohlendorf to emerge. Based on his recent history it would not be surprising if Huntington is willing to listen on Doumit, Maholm, and Capps this winter and next summer.
It's a boring analysis, but expect the Pirates to stay on course by mostly avoiding the free agent market, remaining open to trade ideas, and spending on the draft. 2009 was a year of transition as the veterans were sent packing. The team will continue sorting through its inventory in 2010; competing in 2011 does not seem out of reach.