Pirates Rumors

Odds and Ends: Pirates, Royals, Gagne

By Tim Dierkes | February 18, 2009 at 12:08pm CDT

Links for Wednesday…

Joe Torre plans to retire as a manager after the 2010 season, learned MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick.
Braves blog Talking Chop talked to ESPN’s Keith Law about the farm system.
Baseball America’s Jim Callis spoke to one assistant GM who believes teams will cut back in the international market, partially because they can do so without a major backlash from fans. Callis also has the ’09 draft order at that link.
Maury Brown of The Biz of Baseball looks at the $69MM+ teams spent on first-round draft picks last year.
Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says the Pirates have anywhere from $41.75-$75.15MM tied up in Nate McLouth, Paul Maholm, and Ryan Doumit, all of whom were signed this winter. In a blog post, Kovacevic notes how the McLouth talks did a 180 when Frank Coonelly stepped in.
Alex Speier of WEEI talked to Red Sox execs John Henry and Larry Lucchino about the salary cap idea as well as the team’s offseason.
Aubrey Huff, a free agent after the season, isn’t worried about the future according to Roch Kubatko of MASN.
Chris Forsberg of the Boston Globe relays quotes from Jonathan Papelbon about the long-term deal that did not materialize this winter.
Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star discusses the idea of releasing Mark Teahen and John Buck to sign Orlando Hudson, which some Royals fans are pushing for.
Pitcher Kevin Correia turned down better deals to sign with his hometown Padres, according to MLB.com’s Corey Brock.
Newly signed Brewers reliever Eric Gagne hopes to atone for his 2008 season, says Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.

Will Ohman Has Three Offers

By Tim Dierkes | February 17, 2009 at 11:46am CDT

TUESDAY: MLB.com’s Corey Brock talked to a Padres source who considers an Ohman signing a long shot. We learned earlier today that the same goes for the Phillies.

MONDAY: According to ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick:

Will Ohman, one of the top relievers left on baseball’s free agent market, has major league offers in hand from the Pirates, Marlins and Padres, but plans to continue discussions with three contending teams before making a decision on his destination for 2009, his agent said Monday. The Phillies, Mets and Dodgers have all stayed in touch with Ohman, but their interest has yet to progress beyond the talking stage.

Crasnick doesn’t believe the Pirates, Marlins, or Padres would be willing to go past $1MM on a one-year deal. Joe Beimel and Dennys Reyes also remain unsigned.

Pirates Finish Arbitration Cases

By Tim Dierkes | February 17, 2009 at 11:44am CDT

The Pirates have resolved their six arbitration cases. Here are the details, courtesy of Maury Brown of The Biz of Baseball:

2009 Pirates Players in Salary Arbitration
#	Date	Player Name	Service Time	Position	Agreement
1	1/20/09	Zack Duke	3.094	SP	1/$2.2M
2	1/20/09	John Grabow	5.016	RP	1/$2.2M
3	1/20/09	Adam LaRoche	5.000	1B	1/$7.05M
4	1/20/09	Tyler Yates	4.050	RP	1/$1.3M
5	1/30/09	‡ Paul Maholm	3.037	SP	3/$14.5M
6	2/17/09	‡ Nate McLouth	3.056	OF	3/$15.75M

‡ Settlement reached after player exchanged figures with club

Pirates, McLouth Agree To Extension

By Cork Gaines | February 17, 2009 at 10:24am CDT

10:24am: Troy Renck of the Denver Post has the breakdown:

$2MM in 2009; $4.5MM in 2010; $6.5MM in 2011 with club option 2012 for $10.65MM or $1.25MM buyout. His $1.5MM signing bonus is payable between March 2009 and July 2009. His base salary in 2010 increases by $200K for All Star in 2009; $200K for GoldGlove in 2009; $100K for Silver Slugger in 2009. His base in 2011 increases by $200Kfor All Star in 2010; $200K for Gold Glove in 2010; $100K for Silver Slugger in 2010. His base in 2012 increases by $300K for All Star in 2011; $300K for Gold Glove in 2011; $150K for Silver Slugger in 2011.

9:58am: The AP says McLouth’s deal is worth $15.75MM over three years.

6:49am: According to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Pirates have agreed to a three-year contract with Nate McLouth, avoiding arbitration. There is a team option for 2012. No other details are available at this time.

McLouth was eligible for arbitration for the first time this offseason. This deal buys out all three arbitration years and gives the Pirates control of McLouth’s first season of free agency.

Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com and can be reached here.

McLouth Feels Agreement Is Possible

By Tim Dierkes | February 13, 2009 at 2:23pm CDT

Pirates outfielder Nate McLouth, who has an arbitration hearing scheduled for Tuesday, has a feeling that the chances of reaching an agreement have increased since he last spoke to MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch.

The two sides have a $1.05MM gap – McLouth submitted $3.8MM, while the Pirates submitted $2.75MM for his first arb year salary. Langosch notes that the Bucs haven’t had a hearing since Jack Wilson’s in ’04.

Pirates Invite 17 To Camp

By | February 12, 2009 at 8:49pm CDT

MLB.com’s Jen Langosch has pieced together a list of the Pirates’ non-roster spring training invitees. Check ’em out:

RHP Denny Bautista, RHP Chris Bootcheck, RHP Jason Davis, LHP Daniel Haigwood, RHP Juan Mateo, RHP Daniel McCutchen and RHP Brian Slocum; catchers Eric Kratz and Miguel Perez; infielders Shelby Ford, Garrett Jones, Pedro Lopez, Anderson Machado and Andy Phillips; outfielders Andrew McCutchen, Craig Monroe and Jeff Salazar.

Friday is the official report date for pitchers and catchers.

Latest On Bobby Abreu

By Tim Dierkes | February 10, 2009 at 4:54pm CDT

4:54pm: SI.com’s Jon Heyman lists five teams considering Abreu: the Angels, Braves, Pirates, Reds, and Mets. The Pirates are a new one.

3:58pm: A source told Crasnick that the Angels have "strong interest" in Abreu. The Braves remain in the mix.

10:33am: Here’s what ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick had to say regarding the market for Bobby Abreu yesterday:

While Seattle and Atlanta are monitoring Abreu’s status and staying in contact with his representatives, the Mets continue to maintain they’re not in the mix.

Meanwhile Adam Rubin of the New York Daily News wrote this morning:

A Mets official did not rule out signing free-agent outfielder Abreu, but indicated that any contract likely would have to be for one year at less than $4MM.

Other teams loosely linked to Abreu in recent days: the White Sox, Angels, and Dodgers. Abreu is in line for a huge pay cut from last year’s $16MM. The remarkably quiet market for Abreu and other corner outfielders this offseason is tied strongly to defense. ESPN’s Peter Gammons talked to a GM who said a few days ago:

I still believe that one of the factors that has hurt some of the good offensive free agents this winter, like Manny Ramirez, Abreu and Adam Dunn, is the concern about how many runs they give back defensively. There is a great deal more appreciation for defense than there was a decade ago.

McLouth, Pirates May Head To Hearing

By Tim Dierkes | February 6, 2009 at 10:11am CDT

According to Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Nate McLouth’s arbitration hearing is scheduled for February 17th. He says the $1.05MM gap between McLouth and the Pirates on the player’s ’09 salary has "frozen" talks. Biertempfel says the team’s last hearing was in ’04, when Jack Wilson won.

This is McLouth’s first arbitration year; he’s under team control through 2011.

Pirates President Chats With Fans

By | February 4, 2009 at 6:51pm CDT

Pirates president Frank Coonelly hosted a chat with fans over at MLB.com Wednesday afternoon and discussed various hot stove issues. We’ll summarize it here, but it’s also definitely worth checking out.

Coonelly doesn’t see a scenario in which the Pirates would move Jack Wilson. At least not right now. "I expect Jack to be our Opening Day shortstop this year," Coonelly said.
The organization has shied away from signing Type A free agents this offseason because the Pirates "value (their) draft choices so highly."
Coonelly had this to say on the prospect of adding free agent Adam Dunn: "Right now, the salaries that he is expecting do not fit within our budget. If other moves were made and Dunn fit within our budget, he is someone who we would consider."
There have not been discussions on a long-term contract with Nate McLouth since the two sides exchanged arbitration numbers a few weeks ago. "It looks like those discussions have ended for this year and we will likely have a one-year deal with Nate," said Coonelly.
And, finally, Coonelly states that his "expectations are high" for this season: "I would never want to make predictions as to the number of games that we will win, but I am confident that we will play better than we did in 2008 and surprise a lot of people with our performance."

Pirates Sign Eric Hinske

By Tim Dierkes | January 30, 2009 at 8:46pm CDT

8:46pm: Kovacevic says pitcher T.J. Beam was designated for assignment by the Pirates to make room for Hinske. Beam, 28, posted a 4.14 ERA and 4.7 K/9 in 45.6 innings for the Bucs this year.

12:45pm: According to Dejan Kovacevic, the Pirates announced the signing of Eric Hinske today. He’ll earn $1.5MM plus a possible $1MM in incentives.

Hinske was one of the best free agent bargains a year ago, as he hit .247/.333/.465 for the Rays at an $800K salary. He’ll be a useful, versatile player for the Bucs if kept away from lefties.

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