Pirates Acquire Delwyn Young
1:07pm: Jen Langosch of MLB.com says the Pirates designated lefty reliever Dave Davidson for assignment to make room for Young. Langosch also has GM Neal Huntington's take on the acquisition in her blog post.
7:17am: According to Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times, the Pirates acquired outfielder Delwyn Young from the Dodgers for two minor league players to be named later. Young had been designated for assignment on Monday. Young, 26, hit .246/.321/.341 last year at Triple A but .337/.384/.571 in '07. He dealt with a strained oblique last year and began this season with an elbow issue.
Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette notes that the Dodgers had been offering Young to the Pirates as part of the Jack Wilson talks during the offseason.
Delwyn Young Drawing Interest
Tony Jackson of the LA Times tells us that Dodgers' outfielder Delwyn Young is drawing interest from numerous teams. The Indians, Pirates, and Phillies have all had scouts present in the past week during a rehab assignment. Jackson expects a move to be made in the next few days.
Young, 26, is out of options. Jackson wrote in an earlier piece that he expected Young's rehab stint to go the maximum 20 days because there doesn't appear to be a place for him on the 25-man roster.
Young hasn't been overly impressive in the Majors over parts of three seasons, but he's a switch hitter and possesses a .303/.363/.515 minor league line.
Odds & Ends: Swisher, La Russa, Twins
Happy Easter to those celebrating. Here are your Sunday links…
- Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette addresses the ever-popular question, "What if the Pirates had drafted Matt Wieters" in 2007?
- Sam Mellinger of the Kansas City Star did some number crunching and determined that forking over major cash for a free agent pitcher is often far too risky. 30 pitchers regressed after inking new deals, while only 13 improved.
- The Chicago Tribune's Paul Sullivan believes the Brewers might make a run at Jake Peavy later this season.
- Cardinals manager Tony La Russa has abandoned the idea of hitting his pitcher eighth for the last three games, and his club is suddenly on a winning streak. "Hitting the guy ninth we've got a winning record," said La Russa. "I don't want to mess around with it." (Quote courtesy of Rick Hummel with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch).
- Tyler Kepner of the New York Times examines the "evolution" of the trade that brought Nick Swisher to the Yankees. As Kepner notes, it "looks like a steal" at this point.
- The Twins are considering a uniform design change for the opening of Target Field in 2010. Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune wants your suggestions.
- You're obviously a baseball buff if you're checking MLBTR daily, so let me direct you to a brand new site chock-full of streaming baseball-related content. It's NBCSports.com's newest darling, "Circling The Bases," featuring the writing styles of Aaron Gleeman, Matthew Pouliot and Craig Calcaterra.
Odds And Ends: Hudson, Alvarez, Anderson
Links for Saturday…
- The Astros claimed 25-year-old pitcher Wilton Lopez off waivers from the Padres and assigned him to Double-A, according to this AP article.
- Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic relays some recent Orlando Hudson comments. O-Dog said the D'Backs made him an offer this offseason, it just didn't appeal to him.
- Matthew Cerrone of MetsBlog suggests that we could see the Mets release Marlon Anderson today to make room for Livan Hernandez.
- Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle sounds confident about the Astros' chances this year.
- John Perrotto of Pirates Report anticipates a 2009 MLB debut for Pedro Alvarez.
- Sean McAdam of the Boston Herald discusses Scott Boras in light of the Nick Adenhart tragedy.
- MLB.com's Scott Merkin reports that the White Sox still haven't found a fit for their leadoff spot.
The Jason Bay Trade Revisited
Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsbugh Post-Gazette recounts the details of the deadline deal that sent Jason Bay to Boston, specifically the final 7 minutes that reshaped the future of the Pirates organization. It's a really interesting read for any rumor-enthusiasts. Some points of interest:
- According to Kovacevic, before finally dealing Bay at the buzzer, Pittsburgh had been working on dealing Bay for over a year and a half.
- Before the 2008 season, the Bucs had come close to dealing Bay and catcher Ronny Paulino to Cleveland for Cliff Lee, Franklin Guttierez, and Kelly Shoppach. The Pirates did not feel it was enough and killed it.
- Just 20 minutes before the 4p.m. deadline, Kovacevic says the Braves and Rays were considered the primary trading partners, particularly the "prospect-rich Rays." But with only 15 minutes left, "the Pirates called each [team] to insist upon a specific prospect package and summarily were rejected," writes Kovacevic.
The Rays Index takes a look at this article from a Tampa Bay perspective.
Odds And Ends: Alvarez, DePodesta, Strasburg
A few links for Saturday…
- Chuck Finder of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette heard from a talent evaluator who says Pedro Alvarez is the most talented Pirates prospect since Barry Bonds.
- Amalie Benjamin of the Boston Globe looks at some of Chris Carter's quirks.
- Jon Paul Morosi of the Detroit Free Press believes the Tigers need a top-notch closer.
- According to Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune Padres executive Paul DePodesta now reports to GM Kevin Towers, not CEO Sandy Alderson.
- ESPN.com's Buster Olney expects Gary Sheffield to help the Mets.
- MLB.com's Lisa Winston notes that only eight of the 21 Rule 5 draftees are still with their new teams.
- MLB.com's Jennifer Langosch has some minor Pirates transactions.
- And Stephen Strasburg improved to 6-0 last night with six strikeouts in as many innings. The prospect is averaging almost two punchouts per inning, so this is nothing for him.
- Kevin Baxter of the LA Times reports that Torii Hunter thought Strasburg looked sharp.
Odds & Ends: McPherson, Izzy, Hammel
Happy April Fools, or something. Here are your Wednesday night links…
- Mike Axisa over at River Ave. Blues believes the Yankees should take a long look at former top prospect Dallas McPherson.
- Sam A. Miller of the Orange County Register presents some best-case scenario projections for the 2009 Angels.
- Jason Isringhausen is going to stick it out with the Rays. He'll be placed on the disabled list to start the season, but could be pitching for Tampa by mid-May.
- Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus discusses some of the Rays' offseason moves with RaysProspects.com. He also touches on Jason Hammel's trade value.
- Pirates president Frank Coonelly hosted a chat with fans at MLB.com on Wednesday.
- Mariners Rule 5 pick Jose Lugo, a reliever, has been returned to the Twins.
- Another Rule 5 pick, catcher James Skelton, has been waived by the Diamondbacks.
- If you missed it, take a look at Tim's Tuesday chat.
- Join the fun! Add MLBTR to your Twitter following tonight. And hey, while you're at it, why not check out your (attention craving) friend Drew Silva as well?
Pirates DFA Romulo Sanchez
Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that the Pirates have designated reliever Romulo Sanchez for assignment. The club has 10 days to waive, trade or release him. Sanchez, 24, pitched in just two spring games before the Pirates demoted him to minor league camp. He allowed one run.
The move was made to free up roster space for Craig Monroe, who has hit .281 with six home runs and 13 RBI this spring.
Marlins Release Dallas McPherson
10:39pm: Frisaro says the Marlins released McPherson, as they were unable to find a trade.
10:36am: Joe Frisaro of MLB.com has the latest on the Marlins.
- Out of options Marlins shortstop Robert Andino remains on the Pirates' radar; the interest dates back to at least the Winter Meetings. Frisaro wonders if the idea of an Andino-Brian Bixler swap could be reignited. However, with Andino being out of options and Bixler raising his profile during Spring Training, that seems unlikely. My own speculation – the San Diego would be a good destination for Andino.
- Frisaro says the Marlins appear to be shopping third baseman Dallas McPherson, who is also out of options. McPherson, 28, hit .275/.379/.618 with 42 home runs in 448 at-bats last year at Triple A. Projection systems remain unimpressed, but I'd like to see what he could do in Minute Maid Park.
- The Marlins are eyeing lefty relief help, with Frisaro naming Pittsburgh's Sean Burnett and free agent Ron Villone as possibilities.
Niemann/Hammel Rumors: Padres, Pirates, Rockies
4:53pm: According to John Perrotto of Pirates Report, the Pirates are also interested in Niemann. He says the Bucs also remain interested in Robert Andino and Jeff Baker.
Additionally, Ed Price of AOL Fanhouse says the Rockies have jumped in on Hammel.
11:16am: Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune wrote Saturday regarding the Padres' interest in Rays pitcher Jeff Niemann:
In return, the defending American League champions have inquired about Padres prospects Simon Castro, Wynn Pelzer, Juedy Valdez and Nick Schmidt. The Padres have deemed the price too high. Niemann is out of minor league options, reducing the Rays' trade leverage.
Out of those four Baseball America likes righty Castro the most, ranking him 14th among Padres prospects. Pitchers Pelzer (16) and Schmidt (21) also make their top 30.
Niemann will make a minor league start today, perhaps his last chance to win the fifth starter job. The decision will probably be made today; Jason Hammel appears to be the favorite. UPDATE: Niemann tossed six scoreless innings.