Pirates Rumors

Odds & Ends: Peavy, Pirates, Deadline

By | August 1, 2009 at 4:59pm CDT

A couple more links for your Saturday evening enjoyment…

The White Sox introduced Jake Peavy at a press conference this afternoon and Scott Gregor of the Arlington Heights Daily Herald grabbed a few quotes. "I’ve never been more happy to be in a place where they’re committed to winning," said the former San Diego ace.
Evan Grant of Dallas Magazine breaks down the "winners" and "losers" from this season's non-waiver trade deadline, going beyond simply naming teams. Check it out.
According to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Pirates have suspended highly-touted pitching prospect Bryan Morris indefinitely for displaying "unprofessionalism" during his Thursday start for Single-A Lynchburg.
The trade deadline has passed, but we here at MLBTR are not slowing down. Keep in mind the August draft-pick signing (August 17) and waiver (August 31) deadlines. And if you haven't already, check us out on Twitter.

Blue Jays Acquire Sean Smith

By Tim Dierkes | July 31, 2009 at 1:50pm CDT

From Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, via Twitter: the Blue Jays acquired Double A pitcher Sean Smith from the Pirates for future considerations.

Pirates Willing To Listen

By Tim Dierkes | July 31, 2009 at 11:33am CDT

According to Jon Paul Morosi and Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, the Pirates are "probably, but not necessarily," done dealing. The writers suggest the Bucs will listen on pitchers Paul Maholm, Zach Duke, and Matt Capps, but are not shopping them.

Odds And Ends: Inge, Zumaya, Marlins, Wang

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | July 30, 2009 at 6:35pm CDT

More links with less than a day until the deadline passes…

Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski told Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports that he's not prioritizing players who can play third, even with Brandon Inge's knee pain.
As MLB.com's Jason Beck reports, Joel Zumaya will have season-ending surgery.
Speaking of injured pitchers, Chien-Ming Wang could miss an entire year, according to Tyler Kepner of the New York Times.
Here's a photo of Cliff Lee in Phillies duds, courtesy of AOL FanHouse's Jeff Fletcher.
Marlins president David Samson said on 790 The Ticket that his team has made ten different offers around the league, according to the Miami Herald.
Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times reports that the Rays are involved in "a number of scenarios," but aren't likely to make big trades within the next day or so.
The Pirates, who have been more active than anyone, aren't expecting to make more trades, according to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Rockies Interested In Hendrickson, Downs, Nick Johnson

By Tim Dierkes | July 30, 2009 at 4:54pm CDT

4:54pm: Tracy Ringolsby of FOX Sports says the Rockies also have an eye on Washington's Nick Johnson as a bench bat. A .410 OBP bench bat.

11:00am: Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post wrote earlier today that the Rockies "increased their pursuit" of Orioles southpaw Mark Hendrickson (.253/.303/.422 against lefties this year). Renck confirms that the Rox balked at the asking price – Eric Young, Jr. – for John Grabow and Joe Beimel. By the way, in case you missed it, Renck notes that the Rockies signed 43 year-old righty Mike Timlin to a minor league deal.

Via Twitter, Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun throws another name into the mix for Colorado: Blue Jays closer Scott Downs. Downs, signed through 2010, would certainly exact the highest price of all the relievers linked to the Rockies.

Cubs Acquire John Grabow, Tom Gorzelanny

By Tim Dierkes | July 30, 2009 at 4:50pm CDT

4:50pm: The Pirates' return of Hart, Ascanio, and Harrison is confirmed by a press release from the Cubs. Gorzelanny will head to Triple A Iowa. The Pirates keep adding arms; I guess this means they like Hart more than Gorzelanny.

4:47pm: ESPN Chicago says the Cubs sent pitchers Kevin Hart and Jose Ascanio to Pittsburgh for Grabow and Gorzelanny. Ed Price, via Twitter, says the Cubs are also sending third baseman Josh Harrison.

4:43pm: Finally a possible name as part of the package going to Pittsburgh. Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus, via Twitter, hears pitching prospect Jay Jackson may be in the deal. Jackson, a starting pitcher, was a ninth-round pick last year and ranked ninth on Baseball America's list of Cubs prospects.

3:22pm: Via Twitter, Kovacevic says Grabow and Gorzelanny to the Cubs is almost or "just about" done, while Chris De Luca of the Chicago Sun-Times says they closed the deal for Grabow. ESPNChicago's Jon Greenberg says the Cubs are "in the process of finalizing" the deal for Grabow. Heyman terms the deal for both hurlers as "very close."

Gorzelanny, who is from Evergreen Park, IL, has a 2.48 ERA in 15 Triple A starts this year. He won 14 games in the bigs in '07, but was derailed by back, shoulder, and finger problems in '08. We still don't know what the Pirates will get back in this deal, but it ought to be something decent.

2:56pm: Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that the Cubs and Pirates are discussing a deal that would send Grabow and Tom Gorzelanny to Chicago. No deal is in place and other teams remain interested in Grabow.

2:21pm: Heyman (via Twitter) thinks the Cubs are getting closer on Grabow, and could acquire another pitcher as well.

1:27pm: SI's Jon Heyman says the Cubs and Pirates are in "serious discussions" about Grabow.

11:58am: ESPN's Jayson Stark says the Cubs are "strictly mining the lefthanded reliever market" and not looking for a bat. Bruce Miles of the Daily Herald concurs.

10:51am: Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports say the Cubs prefer Pittsburgh's John Grabow over Washington's Joe Beimel, and they continue to discuss the lefty reliever with the Pirates. The FOX report suggests the Cubs will stay internal for their Reed Johnson replacement.

Grabow currently ranks as a Type A free agent in the wacky world of Elias, but for his team to have a chance at draft picks they'd have to offer him arbitration and risk paying him more than $2.3MM if he accepts.

9:02am: The Cubs are looking for a left-handed hitter who can play right field, according to Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times. While they're not optimistic about a deal, the plan would be to create a platoon with the disappointing Milton Bradley. Wittenmyer says the Cubs have about $2-3MM of payroll room to work with.

Two players on the radar: Mark Teahen of the Royals and Jeremy Hermida of the Marlins. The Royals are looking for a center fielder in return, however. Teahen has $1.37MM left on his contract. Hermida has $847K remaining. Both players can be under team control through 2011. Either player would still leave some wiggle room for the Cubs to acquire a left-handed reliever.

Marlins In Serious Talks For Heath Bell

By Tim Dierkes | July 30, 2009 at 1:48pm CDT

1:48pm: A Rosenthal/Morosi source says the Rangers aren't in on Bell, Sherrill, or Matt Capps.

11:49am: ESPN's Buster Olney says the Marlins declined the request for Miller or West, leaving talks between the two clubs at a standstill.

Meanwhile, Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post says the Marlins are also in on George Sherrill.

11:12am: SI's Jon Heyman tells us the Marlins are "are in serious discussions to try to land Padres closer Heath Bell." Heyman says it looks like it could be Andrew Miller or Sean West, names that have been put forth in previous reports. Either young lefty seems like a solid return for Bell. Heyman notes that the Yanks also have interest, but the Fish "are in good position to make a deal." Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi at FOX Sports acknowledge interest from the Yanks, but say the teams have not had serious discussions. The writers also mention the Rangers "on the periphery."

Rosenthal and Morosi wrote yesterday that 10 to 15 teams are pursuing Bell. He's under team control through 2011 and sports a 2.01 ERA this season.

Odds & Ends: Yankees, Mets, Red Sox

By Tim Dierkes | July 30, 2009 at 12:30pm CDT

Thursday linkage…

La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune says the Pirates wanted Aaron Hicks or Danny Valencia from the Twins for Freddy Sanchez. LEN3 has a few other hot stove tidbits as well.
ESPN's Keith Law finds the Giants' trade of Tim Alderson for Sanchez reasonable, due to "slippage in Alderson's stuff."
Tony Massarotti of the Boston Globe talks about how major additions such as Halladay, Adrian Gonzalez, or Victor Martinez would help the Red Sox. Via Twitter, ESPN's Amy K. Nelson heard from a source guessing that Gonzalez has a ten percent chance of being moved.
Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post reports via Twitter that the Mets designated pitcher Elmer Dessens for assignment to make room for catcher Robinson Cancel.
Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports say the Mets "do not intend to give up a significant prospect" in their quest to add a left-handed reliever.
Via Twitter, Ken Davidoff of Newsday informs us that the Blue Jays expanded their coverage of the Yankees' farm system. Davidoff feels that this coverage more likely reflects the Yanks' interest in relief help than in Roy Halladay.
The Pirates don't have anything serious going on with relievers Matt Capps or John Grabow, according to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. They might be done.
Joe Smith and Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times find the Rays unlikely to make a major deal, with Cliff Lee off the table.
ESPN's Buster Olney lists all kinds of holes that could be filled via the trade market for various clubs.

Odds & Ends: Red Sox, Lee, Rays

By Eddie Schmid | July 29, 2009 at 11:28pm CDT

Some links to (maybe) cap an already wild day in rumor-land:

Joe McDonald at the Providence Journal thinks the Red Sox need to make a major deal.
Dan Novick at the Hardball Times wonders if the Lee trade was a win-win.
John Campanelli at the Cleveland Plain-Dealer gets reactions from Indians fans on the Lee deal. Suffice to say, they ain't happy.
Nationals acting manager Jim Riggleman wants to see the team's core remain intact, says Chico Harlan at the Washington Post.
Marc Topkin at the St. Petersburg Times says the Rays "seem unlikely" to make a big deal.
Geoff Baker at the Seattle Times thinks the Mariners' deals today for Ian Snell and Jack Wilson probably spell some more trades on the horizon–potentially involving Jarrod Washburn.
The Nationals released Julian Tavarez today, who had cleared waivers. Corey Patterson also cleared waivers and has been released from the Triple A club, reports Bill Ladson at MLB.com.
David Laurila at Baseball Prospectus has a profile and some quotes from new Pirate Tim Alderson.

Giants Acquire Freddy Sanchez

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | July 29, 2009 at 6:19pm CDT

6:19pm: Kovacevic says that no money is being exchanged in the Sanchez deal, which makes it all the more impressive for the Pirates. Keith Law (Insider) recently ranked the 20-year-old Alderson the 26th-best prospect in all of baseball.

5:51pm: Kovacevic is reporting that the minor leaguer is AA pitcher Tim Alderson. This is an impressive haul for Sanchez–Alderson was ranked the #4 prospect in the Giants' system by Baseball America. What we thought was a salary dump deal has turned into a pretty solid coup for the Pirates.

5:46pm: Henry Schulman at the San Francisco Chronicle is reporting that it's a done deal, Sanchez straight up for a minor-leaguer. Stay tuned for the name.

5:42pm: Instead of making a scheduled flight to Phoenix, Sanchez has apparently been asked to stay at AT&T Park in San Francisco, reports Kovacevic. Looks like we'll find out the details of a deal very soon.

4:52pm: Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports hear that the Pirates are talking to the Giants, Twins and at least one other team about Sanchez, but don't have a deal in place.

4:43pm: Kovacevic reports that the Giants' doctors found no major problems with Sanchez's knee and consider him day-to-day.

3:31pm: Kovacevic hears that the Pirates turned down Sanchez's offer. He proposed a deal that would have paid him $6MM next year, $6.5MM in 2011 and $7.5MM in 2012.

3:17pm: Langosch hears that Sanchez's offer is for $20MM over three years.

Meanwhile, Kovacevic hears that the Pirates have absolutely "no deal" in place, though the Giants and Pirates have the framework for one.

2:52pm: Kovacevic hears that the Giants are examining Sanchez within the hour. Is there a deal in place? Kovacevic hears 'yes' and 'no.'

2:46pm: Kovacevic reports that Sanchez made the Pirates a three-year offer.

2:40pm: MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch reports that the Giants and Pirates have a deal in place that would send Sanchez to San Francisco. The Giants will look at the infielder's knee this afternoon before deciding whether to complete the deal, which wouldn't send any major leaguers to Pittsburgh.

However, Kovacevic says no deal is in place.

2:20pm: SI.com's Jon Heyman says the Giants are in serious talks for Sanchez. The teams are discussing John Bowker, Kevin Frandsen and Jesus Guzman.

2:04pm: Joel Sherman of the New York Post hears that the Giants are "definitely getting Freddy Sanchez." The Pirates already traded Jack Wilson today, so they could conceviably lose their entire double play combo in one day.

10:27am: Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette hears that the Pirates worked on possible trades involving Freddy Sanchez and Jack Wilson until late last night. The Giants seem to have the greatest chance of acquiring Sanchez since GMs Brian Sabean and Neal Huntington had extensive discussions earlier in the week and may even have set up the framework of a deal.

The Twins are interested in John Grabow and Sanchez, whose knee injury may have slowed down the trade process. Meanwhile, the Red Sox still have interest in Wilson.

And you're not the only one checking out the Pirates rumors. Chuck Finder of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that Sanchez and Wilson are MLBTR readers. We're glad to have them aboard!

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