Pirates Rumors

Discussion: Mike Rizzo’s Team-Building Strategy

By Brian Shephard | July 1, 2009 at 6:28pm CDT

Chico Harlan of the Washington Post has some interesting thoughts in the wake of yesterday's deal between the Nationals and Pirates. He argues that this trade was an indication of GM Mike Rizzo's team-building strategy, "which favors reliability over high-yield potential, a counter to predecessor Jim Bowden."

Harlan continues, "the trade, too, commences Washington's attempt to restock a malformed roster on which few outfielders can catch and few relievers can hold leads."

Meanwhile, Dave Cameron at Fangraphs argues that Nyjer Morgan might be more valuable than most give him credit for.

Morgan and Sean Burnett will both plug holes for the Nationals, but is this kind of deal a ticket to respectability for Washington? Is reliability a good return for the upside of Lastings Milledge? Pick a side!

Pirates Open To More Deals?

By Brian Shephard | July 1, 2009 at 5:39pm CDT

Ed Price at Fanhouse.com reports that the Pirates might be open to dealing more of their players. He cites "an official of an AL team" as saying that the Bucs have been "considering deals for [John] Grabow and closer Matt Capps."

Price writes that the Pirates are not simply attempting to dump salary; they will want power pitching prospects in return. He cites a "person familiar with the Pirates' thinking" who says that other teams would have to give up more for Capps, whose contract runs through 2011.

Grabow is a left-handed reliever who had his best season last year. He is currently sporting a 3.75 ERA with 32 K's in 36 innings. Capps, the Pirates' closer, is only 25 years old and has a 3.25 career ERA, though he has pitched to a less-impressive 4.72 ERA this year with 18 saves.

For those interested in the Pirates' overall strategy, this transcript of a chat with president Frank Coonelly is worth a read. There seems to be some unrest brewing among Pirates fans who, in the words of Coonelly, are asking, "When is now?"

Pirates Release Craig Monroe

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | July 1, 2009 at 3:16pm CDT

Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that the Pirates released outfielder Craig Monroe. They designated him for assignment about ten days ago after a disappointing Pirates stint that saw him hit just .215/.287/.354.

Odds And Ends: Pirates, Glaus, Melvin

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | July 1, 2009 at 9:59am CDT

Happy Canada Day to all of our Canadian readers from our Canadian writer! Now for some links…

This week's chat will take place today at 2pm CST.
Joel Sherman of the New York Post says Omar Minaya has been negligent when it comes to filling out his roster with talented role players.
Troy Glaus is ready to start rehabbing, according to Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. There's been speculation that the Cards could trade Glaus when he returns, but they could use his bat, too.
The Pirates signed another Taiwanese high schooler, Hsu Chi-wei, according to East Windup Chronicle.
Former D'Backs and Mariners manager Bob Melvin will accept an unspecified job with the Padres, according to MLB.com's Corey Brock.
Jorge Says No! takes a closer look at the Atlantic League to determine which players could make an impact oh a big league roster.

Olney On Pirates, Marlins, Escobar

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | July 1, 2009 at 9:23am CDT

ESPN.com's Buster Olney says yesterday's Pirates-Yankees trade proves we're looking at a buyer's market this year. The Pirates had to include $400k to shed part of Eric Hinske's salary, and they won't be the only ones including salary relief in trades. Here are the rest of Olney's rumors:

The suitors for players like Nick Johnson and Josh Willingham may start disappearing if the few teams who can take on salary decide to look elsewhere for help.
Olney says the Pirates acquired potential success in Lastings Milledge.
The Marlins are still looking aggressively for relievers.
Now that Mike Lowell's out, the Red Sox and Rockies seem to match up well for a possible deal that would send Garrett Atkins to Boston for a reliever.
The Braves are willing to trade Yunel Escobar for a good hitter.

Odds & Ends: Zambrano, Royals, Hinske

By Eddie Schmid | June 30, 2009 at 7:26pm CDT

A dosage of links to soothe and satisfy between innings:

Paul Sullivan at the Chicago Tribune got Carlos Zambrano to respond to the poll that 57.2% of Cubs fans think he should be traded: "Fine, trade me to Boston," he joked.
Joe Posnanski gives an in-depth look at the problems facing the Royals. "The Royals execs are smart people. But the more they do to this offense, the worse this offense gets," he says.
Rinku Singh and Dinesh Patel, cricket players from India who won a reality T.V. show called "Million Dollar Arm" and had never picked up a baseball until recently, are now set to play their first game for rookie-level Pirates affiliate Bradenton.
M.A. Mehta at the Newark Star-Ledger talked to Yankees GM Brian Cashman, who says the deal for Eric Hinske "made some sense…he's a pro."
Bart Hubbuch at the New York Post tweets that the Mets "inquired repeatedly" on Mark DeRosa but didn't like the price.
ESPN's Keith Law takes a look at some intriguing pitchers in the Cape League (Insider).
Kiley McDaniel tweets that Baltimore is a "serious darkhorse" for the services of Miguel Angel Sano, with the Pirates and Twins still favorites.
According to MLB.com's Rustin Dodd, the Royals have begun discussions with first-round pick Aaron Crow.

Pirates Trade Reactions

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | June 30, 2009 at 4:28pm CDT

Jack Wilson is unhappy with the deal that sent Nyjer Morgan and Sean Burnett to Washington, according to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Wilson argues that the majority of the Pirates' recent moves haven't worked out and says many current Pirates won't be around long enough to enjoy any positives from Neal Huntington's changes.

Some reactions to the Pirates-Nats deal from Twitter: Joel Sherman says the Pirates won; John Perrotto is surprised by the talent the Pirates acquired; Jon Heyman says at least the Nats have an outfielder who can catch now and Keith Law says it's an easy win for the Pirates. Dave Cameron at Fangraphs likes the deal for the Nats and says they got a useful player in Morgan.

Recapping The Pirates Trades

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | June 30, 2009 at 4:01pm CDT

The Pirates dealt their starting left-fielder, their most relied-upon reliever and a utilityman for a former top prospect, a power bullpen arm and a couple low-level prospects in a pair of deals today. Here's a recap of who the Pirates obtained:

Casey Erickson – one of the players obtained in the Hinske deal, Erickson was pitching in A ball. He'll turn 24 in August, so he hasn't moved through the minors particularly quickly, but he struck out 37 in 44 innings without allowing many runs.
Eric Fryer – this catcher/outfielder was also playing in A ball for the Yanks, though for a different team. Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus says neither player is anything special; they're just "bodies."
Lastings Milledge – the 12th overall pick in the 2003 draft, Milledge shot through the minors, but has put up a pedestrian .261/.326/.400 line in the major leagues. He's just 24 and the Pirates should have him under team control through 2013.
Joel Hanrahan – the 27-year-old reliever has been hit hard this year, but his strikeout rate remains high and he's actually lowered his walk rate from last year. Like Milledge, Hanrahan should be under team control through 2013.

And a look at what they gave up to get it:

Eric Hinske – ostensibly he can play at any corner infield or outfield position and he hits righties well. The 31-year-old makes $1.6MM this year and the Pirates will send $400k to the Yankees to cover part of the cost.
Nyjer Morgan – the former hockey player will turn 29 later in the week. So far he has 18 steals and an OBP of .351. He won't even be arbitration-eligible until after 2011.
Sean Burnett – the Pirates have relied on the 26-year-old over and over this year and it's worked. He's allowed 37 baserunners in just over 32 innings, striking out 23. He won't hit free agency until 2012 at the earliest.

So how did Neal Huntington do today? We won't know for a while, but he got talented players without giving away major pieces of the franchise's future.

Odds And Ends: Hinske, Pirates, Astros

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | June 30, 2009 at 3:04pm CDT

Links for Tuesday…

Joel Sherman of the New York Post heard that Eric Hinske cleared waivers two weeks ago.This means the Mets, Yankees or any other team could have had him for the $800k remaining on his salary.
Sherman believes the Pirates won the other trade they made today, acquiring Lastings Milledge and Joel Hanrahan from the Nats.
Tom Verducci of SI.com names his All-Star team and it's heavy on youth.
Astros first rounder Jiovanni Mier told MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo that the pace of the game is noticeably faster in the pros.
Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle says Mike Hampton and Russ Ortiz are making Ed Wade look smart.
Just one month to go until the trade deadline, so be sure to follow MLBTR on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.

Pirates, Nats Agree To Multi-Player Trade

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | June 30, 2009 at 1:40pm CDT

1:40pm: Kovacevic says the teams have agreed in principle to exchange Lastings Milledge and Joel Hanrahan for Nyjer Morgan and Sean Burnett.

1:39pm: Chico Harlan of the Washington Post and MLB.com's Bill Ladson agree that the Nats and Pirates are close to completing a deal.

1:35pm: The deal isn't complete, but Kovacevic has an update. It would also send Sean Burnett to Washington and Joel Hanrahan to Pittsburgh.

12:05pm: The Pirates already made one deal this morning, but that's not stopping them from talking trades. Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that the Pirates are close to dealing Nyjer Morgan to the Nationals for Lastings Milledge. However, nothing is final yet.

We first heard of the possible swap on the weekend.

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