Pirates Rumors

Verducci On Halladay, Pirates, Extensions

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | August 4, 2009 at 3:36pm CDT

Tom Verducci of SI.com says the media has unfairly called the Blue Jays losers in the aftermath of the trade deadline. Verducci says the Jays should not have been expected to lower their asking price for Roy Halladay. Here are a few other notes to take a look at:

Among all players 36 and older only Raul Ibanez, Chipper Jones, Mike Cameron and Craig Counsell play the field and have enough plate appearances to qualify for the batting title.
Verducci says the Pirates chose "the proper philosophy" when they dealt so many players this summer. One executive says the Pirates obtained quantity, but not necessarily quality.
Clubs would rather rely on youngsters than guarantee lots of money to veteran players in multi-year deals.
The lack of extensions this year could lead to a collusion charge from the players' union.

Which Teams Shed Salary At The Deadline?

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | August 4, 2009 at 11:42am CDT

Yesterday we found that the Cardinals led the group of 12 teams that took on at least $1MM leading up to the trade deadline. They took on $6.6MM and were the only team to add as much as $5MM in payroll. So what about the sellers? Here's a look at the teams that traded away at least $1MM in 2009 salary this summer. Again, all totals are approximate:

The Indians trimmed $8.1MM from their payroll, trading Mark DeRosa ($2.9MM), Victor Martinez ($2MM), Cliff Lee ($2MM) and Rafael Betancourt ($1.2MM).
The Pirates shed $7.3MM in trades, according to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
The A's saved $5MM by dealing Matt Holliday ($3.7MM) and Orlando Cabrera ($1.25MM).
The Mariners' decision to trade Jarrod Washburn saved them $3.6MM.
The Padres saved $2.8MM in the Jake Peavy deal.
The D'Backs shed $1.4MM by trading away Felipe Lopez.
The Orioles saved $1MM by trading George Sherrill.

Seven teams saved $1MM or more this deadline. The Indians, Pirates and A's saved considerably more than that this year and the Padres saved considerably more than that in the future. Surprisingly, the Nationals don't appear on this list. Their decision to trade Joe Beimel saved them $700k and they're paying Nick Johnson to play for the Marlins, so ironically, the team everyone thought would sell wasn't much of a seller.

Odds And Ends: Jays, O’s, Dodgers, Sano

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | August 4, 2009 at 9:47am CDT

Some links to read this morning…

Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston told MLB.com's Jordan Bastian that the Jays will need improved offense to contend next year.
The Orioles have nearly completed their rebuilding process, MLB.com's Spencer Fordin says.
Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun suggests the O's could make room for Brian Matusz by parting ways with Melvin Mora.
Diamond Leung reports that the Dodgers acquired Harvey Garcia from the Pirates for a PTBNL or cash.
The Dodgers never acquired a big-name starter, so Yahoo's Tim Brown says the team will have to win without a Manny Ramirez-esque infusion of talent this summer- unless they add a pitcher who clears waivers, of course.
What's new with Miguel Angel Sano? His agent wants to let interest develop, according to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Several teams are interested, including the Pirates.

Odds & Ends: Yankees, Pirates, Rays

By Eddie Schmid | August 3, 2009 at 8:19pm CDT

Some links on this not-necessarily-manic Monday:

Jen Langosch at MLB.com has a nice scorecard put together of the Pirates' recent acquisitions and how they've performed so far, as well as a rundown of the players they were dealt for.
Fred Mitchell at the Chicago Tribune has an amusing piece about the lengths what MLB general managers go to keep their stress levels low this time of year.
MLB.com beat reporter Lyle Spencer answers fan questions, including why they let Roy Halladay get away.
Jim Callis at Baseball America re-ranks the Pirates' and Indians' systems after their major prospect acquisitions.
Brian Hoch at MLB.com answers Yankees fans' questions, specifically about the trade deadline and why the team was mostly inactive.
R.J. Anderson at Fangraphs re-visits the circumstances that led to the Rays obtaining Wade Townsend, who was released today.

Joel Sherman of the New York Post believes the Mets are more likely to trade for a number two starter than sign a free agent like John Lackey or Jarrod Washburn this offseason. Sherman can see the Mets pursuing Jose Contreras, who will also be a free agent after the season.
Steve Melewski of MASN.com suggests it's time for the Orioles to move on from Melvin Mora, who has become unhappy in Baltimore.
Mora told Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun that he'll play for "somebody else" next year.
Nick Canepa of the San Diego Union-Tribune says it's "not in the best interest of baseball" that the Padres had to trade Jake Peavy.
There's a $7.3MM difference between what the Pirates will spend this year and what they expected to spend at the beginning of the season, according to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Odds & Ends: Deadline, Halladay, French

By Mike Axisa | August 2, 2009 at 8:56pm CDT

Just a few more links on a slow rumors night…

Scott Miller of CBSsports.com posts his deadline winners and losers. Unlike most of the reaction pieces we've seen, Miller defends Pirates GM Neal Huntington "as he stubbornly sticks to his vision." I think Huntington put it best when he said "We don't feel like we've broken up the 1927 Yankees."
Jordan Bastian of MLB.com says that now that the deadline has passed, Blue Jays ace Roy Halladay can focus on just pitching. I know it comes with the territory, but it must be tough having to answer the same questions about what you think will happen day after day.
MLB.com's Jim Street writes that getting traded to the Seattle in the Jarrod Washburn deal was a dream come true for Luke French, who somehow grew up a Mariners fan in Colorado.

Odds & Ends: O’s, Halladay, Pirates

By Eddie Schmid | August 2, 2009 at 1:40pm CDT

Some links as we ponder what team might be desperate enough to pick up Sidney Ponson:

Peter Schmuck at the Baltimore Sun notes that the George Sherrill trade sends mixed signals about whether the Orioles believe they can contend in 2010.
Nick Cafardo at the Boston Globe has a lot of interesting stuff from Blue Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi in the aftermath of the Roy Halladay talks.
Pirates owner Bob Nutting was "emphatic" in saying that ownership would not change for the near future, says Dejan Kovacevic at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Kovacevic also talked with general manager Neal Huntington, and has the highlights of that interview.
Recently dealt Orlando Cabrera says he'd be interested in returning to the A's as a free agent this offseason, says Susan Slusser at the San Francisco Chronicle.
Bill Madden at the New York Daily News calls the Indians' and Pirates' trade deadline "a disgrace."
Indians GM Mark Shapiro is "not looking for applause now" for the Cliff Lee and Victor Martinez deals, says Bud Shaw at the Cleveland Plain-Dealer.
Bob Klapisch from FOX Sports looks at how each divisional race is impacted by the flurry of deals made at the end of July.

Rosenthal’s Full Count Video: Yankees, Dodgers, Pirates

By Mike Axisa | August 1, 2009 at 5:56pm CDT

The tireless Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com has a new Full Count video up. Let's dive in…

Yankees GM Brian Cashman told Rosenthal that he was "very aggressive" going after pitching help, whether it be high-end starters, low-end starters, or relievers. "I was on all of it," Cashman said.
Cashman specifically targeted Jarrod Washburn, but the Mariners asked for top prospect Austin Jackson in return. The Yankees were also "one of several clubs" to inquire about Felix Hernandez.
Rosenthal says Heath Bell was their primary target among relievers, as the idea was to make him the primary setup man for Mariano Rivera, and possibly put Phil Hughes or Alfredo Aceves back into the rotation.
The Dodgers "never got close" in their attempted blockbuster for Adrian Gonzalez and Bell. The deal would have helped Los Angeles' rotation by shortening the game from the back end with another elite reliever.
They still have issues in the rotation however, as Jason Schmidt topped out at 87 last night. Only two National League clubs have gotten fewer innings out of their starters than the Dodgers.
We won't know the true result of the Pirates' firesale until 2011 or 2012, but the early returns on the Jason Bay trade are not good. Rosenthal says the Rays may have been willing to pay more for Bay at the time, possibly including the since-traded Jason Hammel and/or Edwin Jackson in a package.
Hitters and relievers will be in "ample supply" during the August waiver period, but quality starting pitchers … not so much. Doug Davis might be one of the best available starters, and the Diamondbacks will need to be realistic about a return since they are unlikely to offer him arbitration after the year.
There was "precious little action" on Davis in July. When Rosenthal mentioned to a club official that the offers for Davis might not be much better in August, the official responded "they can't be much worse."

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