Pirates Rumors

Rosenthal’s Latest: Peavy, Wilson

By Nat Boyle | November 30, 2008 at 10:12am CDT

Lots to cover in the latest from Ken Rosenthal:

Jake Peavy to the Cubs is still being explored despite complications: The Cubs are being sold. Ryan Dempster was re-signed for 4 years, $52MM. The Padres are trying to include a third party to net the package GM Kevin Towers is seeking. If this happened then the Cubs would need to move Jason Marquis. Rosenthal suggests the Padres could take him if the Cubs ate around $3MM of his $9MM owed next season, or the Cubs could deal him and cash to another team (Rosenthal suggests the Rockies, Reds, or Giants). Rosenthal also backs the rumors of the Orioles involvement as the third team and having interest in Felix Pie.
As an update to this post, the Dodgers stopped pursuing Jack Wilson when the Pirates asked for a third player in the package of Chin-Lung Hu and Delwyn Young as compensation for the Dodgers request for cash to reduce Wilson’s contract. Wilson is set to make $7.25MM next season with an $8.4 club option or $600,000 buyout, and the Dodgers don’t believe Wilson offers enough offensive production to justify those figures. The Pirates agreed to include cash and would offer more cash for a better prospect; however, the Dodgers did not want any part of that.

Pirates Rumors: Wilson, Paulino, Byrd

By Tim Dierkes | November 28, 2008 at 1:47pm CDT

Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is back on the scene to get us up to speed with the latest Pirates rumors. Let’s start with the team’s five veteran trade candidates:

Jack Wilson: The Tigers and Dodgers are said to be the main suitors. The problem is that neither team wants to send the Pirates top prospects while paying all of the $7.85MM Wilson has coming. Additionally, the Pirates do not view Dodgers shortstop prospect Chin-Lung Hu as a possible trade centerpiece. The Bucs have spoken to at least two other clubs about Wilson, but Kovacevic rejects the previously reported three-team scenario. It seems that some of the top free agent shortstops will need to sign to create a better market for Wilson.
Freddy Sanchez, Adam LaRoche: The Pirates have received "mere inquiries" on these two.
John Grabow, Ronny Paulino: Grabow is a free agent after ’09, so his trade value may never be higher. The Pirates are apparently pushing Paulino, but don’t want to sell low on him.
Ryan Doumit, Nate McLouth, Paul Maholm, Matt Capps: These four are described as "as close to untouchable as it gets" for the Pirates.
On the free agent front, the Pirates have made contact with Paul Byrd. However, GM Neal Huntington implied he’s not finding the starting pitching bargains he expected. The Pirates haven’t made offers to Doug Mientkiewicz or Jason Michaels; those players are considering proposals from other teams.
Kovacevic adds: "The Pirates also had discussed acquiring a right-handed power bat for the outfield through free agency, but there has been no known movement on that front." Just looking at who’s out there, I imagine this could be referring to Pat Burrell. Still, that’s entirely speculative and he’s probably out of their price range.

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Varitek, Burnett, Teixeira

By Cork Gaines | November 28, 2008 at 12:05pm CDT

Let’s take a look at what is being written around the Blogosphere…

River Ave. Blues debates Ben Sheets versus A.J. Burnett and wonders if Sheets will be the better bargain in the end.
Detroit Tiger Thoughts shows that Jason Varitek is not a good fit with the Tigers, even in a platoon situation.
Fire Brand of the American League lays down several reasons why the Red Sox should avoid signing Teixeira.
Where have you gone, Andy Van Slyke? sees no downside to the Pirates’ signing of Indian imports Dinesh Patel and Rinku Singh.
The ’Burgh Blues feels Eric Hinske is an economical fit for the Bucs.
Amazin’ Avenue does not see Raul Ibanez as an upgrade for the Mets, suggesting he may not be any better than Fernando Tatis.
The Baseball Opinion breaks down what the acquisition of Tyler Lumsden means for the Royals and Astros.
Batter’s Box takes a look a recent J.P. Ricciardi quote and the current state of the economy and wonders if the Jays are going to reduce their payroll.
Royals Review lists the ten best free agent signings in Royals history, topped by David Cone. Amazingly, four of the signings occurred in the last five seasons.

Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com. If you have a suggestion for this feature, Cork can be reached here.

Dodgers Talks For Wilson At Impasse

By Tim Dierkes | November 26, 2008 at 10:36pm CDT

WEDNESDAY, 10:34pm: Rosenthal actually posted this update last night, but we’re adding it now. He says the Pirates sought Hu, Delwyn Young, and a third player for Wilson. That caused talks to grind to a halt. Rosenthal added that the Dodgers are showing mild interest in Edgar Renteria but not Orlando Cabrera.

TUESDAY, 6:34pm: Rosenthal says the Pirates wanted Hu and two other young players, and the Dodgers balked at the price.

6:06pm: According to Ken Rosenthal, the Dodgers are again considering trading for Pirates shortstop Jack Wilson. The Bucs would like to receive Chin-Lung Hu in return to replace Wilson at short. The Tigers are known to have interest in Wilson as well. He’s set to earn $7.25MM in ’09 and has a $8.4MM option for ’10 with a $600K buyout. Wilson is known for his defense; he made sixteen more plays than the average shortstop in this year despite playing fewer than 700 innings.

Rosenthal says the Dodgers aren’t likely to sign Rafael Furcal and aren’t pursuing Orlando Cabrera or Edgar Renteria. He notes that four teams are in on Cabrera.

Brown’s Latest: Fuentes, Hoffman, Wilson, Aurilia

By Tim Dierkes | November 26, 2008 at 7:13pm CDT

Here’s a look at the latest from Yahoo’s Tim Brown.

The Mets kicked around the idea internally of signing both Brian Fuentes and Trevor Hoffman. The eighth inning would be a tough sell for either pitcher though.
Brown says that if the Angels fail to sign Mark Teixeira they will try to sign C.C. Sabathia as well as a closer like Fuentes.
The Dodgers want the Pirates to eat "a huge chunk" of the $7.85MM Jack Wilson has coming.
The Giants and Dodgers have shown interest in Rich Aurilia.

Odds and Ends: Kawakami, Griffey, Greinke

By Tim Dierkes | November 25, 2008 at 1:05pm CDT

Links for Tuesday…

The weekly chat has been moved to Wednesday at 2pm CST this time.
I’ll be on Seth Stohs’ radio show tonight around 8pm CST.
From NPB Tracker: Kenshin Kawakami has switched to Dan Evans as his agent, while Koji Uehara wants a rotation spot and multiple years.
Ken Griffey Jr.’s agent, Brian Goldberg, has been in contact with nine teams (six AL, three NL). The Mariners were one of the AL teams.
It’s been over a decade since the White Sox signed a free agent from another team for more than $20MM.
Justin Morneau would like the Twins to add one more bat.
East Windup Chronicle has scouting reports on Rinku Singh and Dinesh Patel.
Things are quiet with the Dodgers – no recent talks for Manny Ramirez, "no real movement" on C.C. Sabathia.
Rany Jazayerli questions the Royals’ nonchalance toward signing Zack Greinke.
Nothing is close with the Tigers and Joe Beimel, and the team will not make an offer to Junichi Tazawa (partially to preserve their relationships in Japan).
The Brewers signed Jason Bourgeois to a minor league deal. Bourgeois, 27 in January, hit .286/.335/.404 in Triple A this year.
Quietly, the Indians signed reliever Greg Aquino. He pitched well in Triple A this year but missed time with a hamstring strain.

Pirates Sign Patel, Singh

By Tim Dierkes | November 24, 2008 at 5:14pm CDT

5:14pm: It’s official – the Pirates signed Patel and Singh.

3:39pm: Pirates GM Neal Huntington would not confirm the report when speaking to MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch, but said the Pirates are very interested in signing the two pitchers.

1:30pm: Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker passes along a report from Yahoo! Japan: the Pirates signed Indian pitchers Dinesh Patel and Rinku Singh to minor league deals. Patel and Singh were finalists in the Million Dollar Arm contest in India.

Tigers Interested In Jack Wilson

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | November 22, 2008 at 11:10am CDT

Ken Rosethal just updated his column to include the latest on Jack Wilson.

According to Rosenthal’s source, the Tigers are one of several teams interested in trading for Wilson. The 30-year-old shortstop will earn just over $7MM next year and he has a club option for 2010.

Rosenthal adds that the Pirates would like to acquire Marlins catcher Matt Treanor and then trade him to Detroit along with Wilson.

Wilson could start at short for the Tigers, and Treanor could become their back-up catcher.

Odds And Ends: Lowell, Vazquez, Tazawa

By Ben Nicholson-Smith | November 22, 2008 at 10:46am CDT

Links for Saturday…

Ken Rosenthal comes up with a few possible suitors for Mike Lowell if the Red Sox sign Mark Teixeira. He lists the Dodgers, White Sox, Tigers and Brewers as possible fits.
Nick Piecoro likes Ramon Vazquez as a fit for the D-Backs.
Highly coveted Japanese pitcher Junichi Tazawa pitched a complete game shutout in Osaka, walking no one and striking out 10.
John Van Benschoten will move on from the Pirates and try to sign with another team.
Luke Hudson will also leave his old club, moving on from the Royals instead of accepting an assignment to AAA.
Bobby Crosby is out of the loop amid the rumors swirling about Rafael Furcal.
Mike Scarr takes a look at the market for middle infielders.

Odds and Ends: Weathers, Montero, Springer

By Tim Dierkes | November 21, 2008 at 3:25pm CDT

Links for Friday…

MLB.com’s Anthony Castrovince says the Indians signed Andy Cannizaro and Damaso Espino to minor league deals.
MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon says the Reds are still talking to David Weathers’ agent, despite the reliever’s comment about flipping the page.
RotoAuthority looks at Blue Jays outfielder Travis Snider, from a fantasy baseball point of view.
Mum’s the word from C.C. Sabathia and his agents.
Rany Jazayerli likes the Royals’ acquisition of Coco Crisp and respects Dayton Moore’s bullpen-building skills.
Click here to download an mp3 of me chatting with Greg Schaum of KCSP 610 about the Royals last night.
Nick Piecoro says the Diamondbacks haven’t been able to find a match on a trade for Miguel Montero, despite discussions with the Red Sox and other teams.
The Cardinals spoke to Russ Springer’s agent recently, but he’s drawing interest from several clubs.
The Phillies won’t make a move in response to the Chase Utley injury, but one blog believes Jerry Hairston Jr. now makes more sense.
John Van Benschoten, the 8th overall pick in the 2001 draft, chose minor league free agency over re-signing with the Pirates.
Sidney Ponson’s grievance against the Orioles will finally be heard next month.

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