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Who Goes In A Pittsburgh Firesale?

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With Nate McLouth now playing in Atlanta, a number of still-Pirates vented about the decision. Coincidentally, the two players quoted, Freddy Sanchez and Adam LaRoche, are likely to be prime targets for Pittsburgh to deal.

Sanchez is a middle infielder having a typical Freddy Sanchez season: .321/.359/.488, with below-average defense at second base. A number of teams should be interested in Sanchez, and in his age-31 season, Sanchez isn't likely to be part of the next great Pirates' team. He's scheduled to make $6.1MM in 2009, with an $8MM option for 2010 that vests if he reaches 635 plate appearances.

As for LaRoche, a 29-year-old who can hit pretty well and play first base, he's also likely to be shown the door. LaRoche is making $7.05MM in 2009, and teams that acquire him have the advantage of getting the second-half LaRoche. LaRoche is a career .776 OPS hitter in the first half, but .907 OPS in the second half.

While he didn't vent in the linked article, Jack Wilson could also be on the move. Not only does he make $7.25MM, he's also in his age-31 season. However, his .264/.291/.380 line — even with solid defense at shortstop — means the haul Pittsburgh gets for Wilson could be limited.

Gammons On Glavine, Pirates, Mets

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Speaking on ESPN Radio, Peter Gammons said Tom Glavine wants to pitch again. Here are the details, as well as a transcription on Joe Haggerty's blog, Hacks with Haggs:

  • Texas could be a fit for Glavine and though the Dodgers don't appear to be interested, Gammons suggests they could reconsider. 
  • Gammons says the Pirates are trying to build long term and believes it's the only way for them to end their streak of losing seasons.
  • The Mets don't appear likely to trade for an expensive shortstop, but they may have to deal for some offensive help if they want to keep up with the Phillies.  

Odds And Ends: Atkins, Ortiz, Bedard

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Some links for your Friday morning…

Miguel Angel Sano’s Value

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Earlier in the week we heard that the Pirates are not likely to award a record bonus to 16-year-old Dominican prospect Miguel Angel Sano. Kiley McDaniel of Baseball Prospectus reports that Pittsburgh would be willing to approach the $4.25MM the A's awarded to Michael Ynoa. BP's sources suggest the Pirates have a "bid ceiling" of $4MM, but that may not be a hard ceiling.

As McDaniel says, the Pirates can afford to award Sano a large bonus, but they cannot afford to bid against themselves. Apparently "nearly every Latin insider" believes the Pirates will land Sano, so they need to avoid hyping him up too much even though they believe he's "better than any player" they'll pick in the draft. Pirates president Frank Coonelly sounded interested but restrained when discussing the prospect yesterday.

Odds And Ends: Oswalt, Pirates, Glavine

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More links for Thursday afternoon as we wait for Randy Johnson to take his first crack at the 300-win plateau …

Reactions To McLouth Deal, Glavine’s Release

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The Braves caught our attention yesterday with two major moves. They released Tom Glavine and then traded for Nate McLouth an hour later. Here's an assortment of reactions from around the majors:

  • Joel Sherman of the New York Post talked to one executive who believes the Pirates sent a mixed message by signing McLouth to an extension and dealing him soon after. One team official says the Pirates never shopped McLouth, which suggests they were impressed by the Braves' offer.
  • ESPN.com's Rob Neyer says he usually loves deals like this for the team acquiring young talent. In this case, he doesn't believe the Pirates got enough. For the Braves, however, it's a "brilliant" move.
  • MLB.com's Adam Rosenberg reports that McLouth will arrive in Atlanta today.
  • MLB.com's Jen Langosch sees both sides of the deal for the Pirates: It's possible Neal Huntington could have traded McLouth for more, but the three players he obtained are good ones.
  • In spite of all the analysis, Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says we won't really know who won this deal for months or even years.
  • Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review says the fan reaciton has been "mostly negative."  
  • John Smoltz's reaction to the Braves' decision to release his former teammate: "That's not how you treat people." Smoltz disagrees openly with the move in the rest of his discussion with Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. 
  • Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports says Glavine can prove the Braves wrong by pitching well for another team.
  • Yahoo's Jeff Passan believes it took a "healthy dose of emotional detachment" to cut Glavine, one that signaled "a clean break from the Braves' old identity."

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Nate McLouth

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Some early thoughts about the Nate McLouth deal from around the blogosphere…

  • Bob Smizik says the Pirates send a message to their fan base with the move: The present be damned. "His trade is bound to have a pronounced negative impact on the clubhouse, much like last season when the team collapsed after the July trades of Xavier Nady and Jason Bay." That seems a little extreme, but the Pirates did just move perhaps their most recognizable player.
  • Bucs Dugout is naturally excited by the prospects in the deal, but they're not blown away. They also note that this kind of move makes perfect sense given the Bucs' current situation, and that they should be listening to offers for their other veterans as well.
  • Talking Chop declares the move a win for the Braves, but says the biggest story is how fast Frank Wren & Co. have acted to correct the team's flaws. I still can't but wonder if they'll continue to look for an upgrade in rightfield as well.

Mike Axisa writes for River Ave. Blues.

Braves Acquire Nate McLouth

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7:19pm: Kovacevic has comments from Pirates' GM Neal Huntington on the deal:

"This may be the toughest decision we have made in my time with the organization. Nate is a quality player and person but, as we have said several times, tough decisions will need to be made as we build and sustain a championship-caliber organization. Nate has worked as hard as any player to become a starting major league Player, proving wrong anyone who may have doubted him. When we signed Nate to a long-term contract, we did so with the intent on having him remain part of our core of homegrown talent. But the quality and quantity of talent we are receiving in this trade moves us closer to our goal of building that sustainable championship-caliber club and compelled us to move a very good player and an outstanding young man."

Huntington also comments on the three prospects the Pirates acquired, and says none of them will be in Pittsburgh immediately.

6:10pm: According to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Braves acquired Nate McLouth from the Pirates today.  Dave O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution says the Braves are sending three prospects to the Pirates for him.  MLB.com's Mark Bowman names them: starters Jeff Locke and Charlie Morton and center fielder Gorkys Hernandez.

McLouth is signed through 2011 with a 2012 club option on an extension agreed to in February.  This is probably not what he had in mind upon signing the deal, but the Pirates couldn't resist.  Morton is big league ready, while Locke and Hernandez, also highly regarded, are further off.  Andrew McCutchen will join the Bucs to replace McLouth in center field.

Pirates President On McCutchen, Draft, Sano

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Pirates President Frank Coonelly told fans that the Pirates plan on pursuing Miguel Angel Sano, but said they'll also be able to spend on the drraft. Here are the specifics from Coonelly's MLB.com chat:

  • Andrew McCutchen, who's playing well in Triple A, will likely play in the majors at some point this season. 
  • A quote worth passing along: "Contrary to some suggestions in the media, however, we have no intention of attempting to save money in the Draft so we can apply it to one or more high profile international players." 
  • Instead, he says the Pirates plan to acquire top talent through the draft and through international free agent signings. 
  • Like any 16-year-old, Sano is no sure thing, if you ask Coonelly.  
  • But since Sano's unlike most 16-year-olds, the Pirates will make him an offer.  
  • "If Miguel decides that he has an offer that is superior to the one that we present to him, we will continue to have a strong presence in the Dominican," Coonelly said.

Record Bonus Unlikely For Miguel Angel Sano

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Miguel Angel Sano, the 16-year-old Dominican prospect who's drawing interest from several Major League teams, isn't likely to receive a record bonus from the Pirates, according to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Kovacevic sees "strong indications from the team's front office" that the Pirates won't surpass the $4.25MM bonus the A's paid Michael Ynoa last year. 

Instead, the Pirates believe that Sano's talent and the market for his services place his value closer to the $2-3MM given to elite prospects other than Inoa. The Pirates remains "intensely interested" in Sano, who can sign with whoever he chooses on July 2nd.

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