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Pirates To Re-Sign Yoshi Tsutsugo

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The Pirates are reportedly re-signing Yoshi Tsutsugo on a one-year, $4MM guarantee. The deal is pending a physical. Tsutsugo is represented by Wasserman.

The Bucs and Tsutsugo have been in contact about a potential extension over the past few weeks, so it’s not a huge surprise they’ve eventually agreed on terms. After stints with the Rays and Dodgers didn’t prove particularly successful, Tsutsugo latched on with the Pirates on a major league deal in mid-August. It was a month-plus trial run with a team already well out of contention, but Pittsburgh could afford to give Tsutsugo everyday playing time down the stretch.

The left-handed hitting first baseman took full advantage, as MLBTR’s Steve Adams explored in late September. Over 144 plate appearances in black and yellow, Tsutsugo hit .268/.347/.535 and popped eight home runs. In addition to tapping into the raw power he’d shown for a decade as one of the better hitters in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball, Tsutsugo cut his strikeouts substantially in Pittsburgh. After fanning in 29.4% of his 303 plate appearances with Tampa Bay and Los Angeles from 2020-21, he went down on strikes in only 22.9% of his trips to the dish as a Pirate.

It remains to be seen if that run was a sign that Tsutsugo had turned a corner late in his second major league season. There’s a real chance he can’t sustain that kind of output over more than a 43-game sample, and Tsutsugo’s overall numbers as a big leaguer (.209/.309/.388 in 447 plate appearances) aren’t particularly impressive. At a modest $4MM guarantee, though, there’s little risk for the Pirates in giving the 29-year-old (30 on Friday) an opportunity to try to build off his late-season success over an extended showing. If he continues to perform over next season’s first couple months, the rebuilding Bucs could either look to hammer out a longer-term extension or try to move him at next summer’s trade deadline.

Tsutsugo has experience at both first base and in the corner outfield as a big leaguer. When discussing the possibility of bringing him back last week, Pittsburgh general manager Ben Cherington suggested the club would primarily look to deploy him at first base if a deal came together. Now that an extension has been agreed upon, it seems Tsutsugo is in line to assume regular first base duties next season.

That could make fellow lefty-hitting first baseman Colin Moran superfluous. Moran, who was a league average bat over 359 plate appearances in 2021, is projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz for a $4MM arbitration salary and could be a non-tender candidate.

Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette first reported the Pirates and Tsutsugo were in agreement on a one-year, $4MM deal.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Pirates To Make Coaching Staff Changes

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NOVEMBER 24: Pittsburgh is promoting field coordinator Mike Rabelo to third base coach, Mackey reports (on Twitter). Rabelo also spent the 2020 season on staff as the Bucs’ assistant hitting coach. Previous third base coach Joey Cora was let go at the end of the season.

NOVEMBER 23: The Pirates are hiring Andy Haines to be their next hitting coach, reports Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Pittsburgh fired previous hitting instructor Rick Eckstein in August.

Haines, 44, has spent the past three seasons as the Brewers’ hitting coach and previously logged one year on the Cubs’ staff as assistant hitting coach. Milwaukee’s offense was a touch below average over the course of Haines’ tenure on staff. Going back to the start of 2019, Brewers’ hitters (excluding pitchers) have a .243/.328/.425 cumulative line. By measure of wRC+, that checks in two percentage points below the league average, ranking 18th of the league’s 30 teams. Milwaukee ranked 19th in that category in 2021 alone.

The Bucs’ front office and manager Derek Shelton are taking far more than the Brewers’ results into account when deciding on additions to the staff, of course. Haines will be tasked with guiding a Pirates lineup that’ll likely have its share of growing pains over the next few seasons. Pittsburgh’s .243/.317/.376 line this past season was 12 points below league average according to wRC+, the third-worst mark leaguewide. Highly-touted young players like Ke’Bryan Hayes and Oneil Cruz are expected to have key roles on the 2022 club, and their respective developments could go a long way towards determining how quickly the Bucs can return to competitiveness.

Pirates Outright Michael Perez

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The Pirates announced this afternoon that catcher Michael Pérez has cleared waivers and been assigned outright to Triple-A Indianapolis (via Rob Biertempfel of the Athletic). He’ll have the right to refuse that assignment in favor of minor league free agency.

The Bucs designated Pérez for assignment last week in order to open 40-man roster space for prospects whom they didn’t want to leave available in the Rule 5 draft. That could end his Pittsburgh tenure after just one season, as Pérez joined the organization after the 2020 campaign via waiver claim from the Rays. The 29-year-old tallied 231 plate appearances as Jacob Stallings’ primary back-up, hitting just .143/.221/.290 with seven home runs.

Pérez hasn’t hit much over his four-season MLB career, owning just a .181/.253/.302 cumulative line. He’s rated as a slightly below-average pitch framer, per Statcast, but his career 26.8% caught stealing rate is almost three percentage points higher than this year’s league average mark.

Pirates To Sign Jose Quintana

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The Pirates have agreed to a deal with left-hander Jose Quintana, according to FanSided’s Robert Murray (Twitter link).  MLB Network’s Jon Heyman adds that Quintana’s contract is a one-year, Major League pact, and Jason Mackey of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that Quintana will earn around $2MM (both links to Twitter).  The signing will become official once Quintana passes a physical.  Quintana is represented by the Wasserman Agency.

Quintana was one of the more durable and generally solid starters in baseball from 2012-19, when the southpaw pitched for the White Sox and Cubs.  However, thumb injuries and lat inflammation limited Quintana to only 10 innings for the Cubs in 2020, and he also spent about three weeks on the injured list this past season due to shoulder inflammation.  That IL stint was only one of the issues Quintana faced in 2021, after he signed a one-year, $8MM deal with the Angels last winter.

The left-hander had only a 6.75 ERA over 53 1/3 innings in Anaheim, and then a 4.66 ERA over 9 2/3 innings with the Giants after being claimed off waivers at the end of August.  It all worked out to a 6.43 ERA as a whole over 63 frames, though Quintana’s SIERA (3.94) and xFIP (3.75) were more than respectable.  A 3.78 BABIP may be the standout statistic in that regard, as Quintana received very little help from the Angels’ poor defense.

Batted-ball luck wasn’t the only culprit to blame for Quintana’s numbers, however.  He allowed a ton of hard contact and his 11.8% walk rate was easily the highest of his career.  On the flip side, Quintana’s 28.6% strikeout rate was also the highest of his career, and his whiff rate was well above the league average.  Quintana was also quite a bit more effective as a reliever than as a starter last year, as the Angels moved him to the bullpen in the wake of his rotation struggles.  This could hint at a new direction for Quintana as he enters his age-33 season, or at least a fallback option for the Pirates if Quintana doesn’t produce as a starter.

Given Pittsburgh’s need for starting pitching, it seems likely that the Bucs will use Quintana in their rotation to begin the year and hope that he can regain some of his pre-2020 form as a reliable innings-eater.  The Pirates don’t have much big league experience in their projected starting five, and the team surely wants to avoid a repeat of 2021, when a plethora of injuries and trades resulted in the Bucs having to dig deep into their depth chart to cover starts.  Should Quintana pitch well, Pittsburgh could also dangle him as a trade chip at the deadline.

Quick Hits: Carpenter, Pirates, Tsutsugo, Braves

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Matt Carpenter has heard from a few teams about a potential contract, but he is “super prepared for an extremely slow free-agency pace here,” the former Cardinals All-Star told The Athletic’s Katie Woo.  “I totally understand that I’m not necessarily a highly sought-after free agent and that there are a lot of unknowns going forward.”  Even without the uncertainty of labor talks and a potential transactions freeze looming this offseason, Carpenter likely would have faced a thin market anyway considering his lack of production over the last three seasons.

However, Carpenter sees possible changes to the sport as helpful to his chances of landing a new job.  Should the DH come to the National League, for instance, or “the potential of banning and limiting shifts” becomes a reality, Carpenter might draw more interest.  Within a week of his 36th birthday, Carpenter reiterated that he wants to continue his career into a 12th big league season, but seemed at peace with whatever the offseason will bring.  “If I play, no matter where, I’ll be perfectly happy with that,” Carpenter said.  “And if I don’t, and if I’m staying home and going to be a dad and I finished my career with one and only one organization, I’ll be perfectly happy with that as well.”

More from around baseball…

  • The Pirates are still “hopeful” of re-signing Yoshi Tsutsugo, GM Ben Cherington told The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review’s Kevin Gorman and other reporters.  The two sides were in talks before free agency opened, though Cherington didn’t give any hints about any possible progress towards a deal.  Tsutsugo started games at first base and both corner outfield positions for the Pirates in 2021, and while that versatility would still be factored into Pittsburgh’s plans for next season, Cherington did note that “most of our conversations have been around first base.”  That doesn’t seem to bode well for Colin Moran, who is currently penciled in as the Pirates’ first baseman for next year, and is (like Tsutsugo) a left-handed hitter.  For what it’s worth, Tsutsugo has shown reverse-splits tendencies during his two MLB seasons, though that amounts to only 447 total plate appearances.
  • The Braves have six seasons remaining on their current TV contract with Bally Sports, and the team will soon receive an increase in their annual revenues from that deal, Tim Tucker of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes.  Beginning in 2023, the Braves will receive over $100MM per year, and that number will rise to close to $120MM by 2027.  It isn’t known if this increase will directly impact payroll, but Atlanta president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos has said the Braves have more available to spend in 2022.  The TV contract and other details about the team’s business were revealed in a Liberty Media (the Braves’ parent corporation) investors conference this past Thursday, which included Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei saying that there weren’t any plans to sell the Braves.  Given all the positive information presented to investors, it isn’t surprising that Liberty Media would want to keep the team, as revenues generally continued to rebound both in the wake of the pandemic, and with the Braves’ World Series run adding even more of a benefit.  As Maffei simply put it, “it has been a pretty good run” for Liberty Media since buying the club in 2007.

Pirates Designate Michael Perez For Assignment

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The Pirates announced they’ve selected four prospects — infielder Liover Peguero and outfielders Canaan Smith-Njigba, Travis Swaggerty and Jack Suwinski — to the 40-man roster. To create space, the club designated catcher Michael Pérez for assignment.

A waiver claim out of the Rays organization last offseason, Pérez saw 70 games worth of action with the Pirates behind number one catcher Jacob Stallings. Unfortunately for both player and team, Perez continued to struggle at the plate despite providing serviceable defense behind it. Through 231 plate appearances the left-handed catcher produced at a .143/.221/.290 clip, though he did hit a career-best 7 home runs. He’s likely to latch onto an organization this winter as catching depth.

Liover Peguero, acquired in the trade that sent Starling Marte to Arizona, is ranked the #5 prospect in a solid Pittsburgh farm system. The speedy 20-year-old performed respectably last season across 90 games at the high-A level, setting a new high watermark in home runs with 14 to go with 28 steals (in 34 tries). The resulting .270/.332/.444 output, plus what scouts consider to be above average defense at shortstop, gave Pittsburgh ample reason to protect their up-and-coming prospect.

The 22-year-old Canaan Smith-Njigba was a 4th-rounder by the Yankees in 2017 before they traded him to Pittsburgh as part of the Jameson Taillon deal. A solid .274/.398/.406 led to a cup of coffee at Triple-A, and a terrific showing in the Arizona Fall League has the left fielder knocking on the Major League door.

Centerfielder Travis Swaggerty, a first-round draft pick by Pittsburgh in 2018 and a one-time top 100 prospect in the eyes of some evaluators, saw little action this past season. The left-handed hitter produced a decent .220/.333/.439 line in 12 Triple-A games before incurring a season-ending shoulder injury. Well-rounded tools at a premium position, plus his pedigree, will keep him in the Pirates organization for awhile longer.

Lastly, Jack Suwinski, acquired in this past summer’s Adam Frazier deal, had a decent 2021 season in his own right. The 23-year-old popped 19 home runs across 111 games at the Double-A level, culminating in a strong .262/.383/.485 slash. Though most of that production came prior to the trade, MLB.com lists Suwinski among the Pirates top prospects (#29) and projects him as a bat-first option in right field.

Pirates Release Three Players

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The Pirates announced they’ve released three players: right-hander Tanner Anderson, catcher Taylor Davis and utilityman Phillip Evans. Pittsburgh’s 40-man roster now sits at 37.

Anderson and Davis each made it to the majors at the very tail end of the regular season. Anderson was selected to the big league club on September 30. He made his first and only appearance of the season that night, tossing five innings of two-run ball out of the bullpen. It was very brief homecoming for the 28-year-old, who began his MLB career with the Bucs in 2018.

While Anderson has now earned a major league call in three separate seasons, he has just 12 appearances and 38 2/3 cumulative innings to show for it. Anderson owns just a 5.82 ERA in that limited time, but he has a 4.52 mark in more than 200 career Triple-A frames. That includes a 4.01 ERA over 51 2/3 innings between the A’s and Pirates’s top affiliates in 2021, albeit with an unexciting 12.3% strikeout rate.

Davis only made two MLB appearances, collecting a couple of singles in five at-bats. He’s appeared in parts of four major league campaigns but hasn’t tallied more than 20 plate appearances in any year. The 31-year-old spent most of this past season with the Triple-A affiliates of the Orioles and Bucs, hitting .248/.344/.325 between the two stops.

Evans has the most big league time of this group. He played in just under half the Pirates’ games in 2021, picking up 247 plate appearances while starting games at all four corner spots on the diamond. Evans drew walks at a robust 11.3% clip but didn’t make a huge offensive impact. He popped just five home runs en route to a .206/.312/.299 slash line.

Pirates Designate Jose Soriano For Assignment, Select Diego Castillo

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Nov 14: Soriano has cleared waivers and been returned to the Angels, per Jack Harris of the L.A. Times.

Nov 7: The Pirates announced that right-hander Jose Soriano has been designated for assignment.  The move opens up a 40-man roster spot for infielder Diego Castillo, whose contract has been selected to the 40-man.

Soriano threw only 3 2/3 innings for Pittsburgh’s A-ball affiliate in Bradenton this season, as the 23-year-old had to undergo his second Tommy John surgery in as many seasons.  Soriano first went under the knife in February 2020 when he was still a member of the Angels organization, but the Pirates rolled the dice and selected Soriano in last December’s Rule 5 draft.

Soriano’s latest surgery took place in mid-June, so considering the usual 13-15 month timeline for TJ recoveries and the fact that this is already Soriano’s second operation in such a brief period, it certainly doesn’t seem like he’ll see any action during the 2022 season.  It’s a brutal outcome for a youngster who showed such intriguing promise when pitching in the Angels’ farm system, as Soriano drew plenty of attention thanks to his big fastball and strikeout numbers.  Soriano has mostly worked as a starting pitcher, but he was seen as a potential power reliever or even a closer candidate thanks to his one-two punch of a fastball and curve, even if walks continued to be an issue.

Not to be confused with the veteran reliever of the same name, the Pirates’ Diego Castillo is a 24-year-old infielder who joined the organization from the Yankees this past July as part of the Clay Holmes trade.  Castillo hadn’t hit much over his first four minor league seasons, but after the canceled 2020 minor league campaign, his bat took a big step forward in his return to action.  Castillo hit .278/.355/.487 with 19 home runs in 440 total plate appearances in 2021, with those PA split over the Yankees’ Double-A team and the Pirates’ Double-A and Triple-A affiliates.

Between this development at the plate and his ability to play second base, third base, and shortstop, Castillo has put himself on the radar as a candidate to reach the majors next season.  As noted by Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Castillo would’ve been eligible for minor league free agency if the Pirates hadn’t put him on the 40-man roster.

Yankees Interested In Starling Marte, Bryan Reynolds

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The Yankees are known to be looking for center field help, and the club is considering options at the top of the free agent and trade markets.  MLB Network’s Jon Morosi tweets that the Yankees and Mariners are among the teams interested in acquiring Bryan Reynolds from the Pirates, while on the free agent front, NJ.com’s Brendan Kuty reports that “Starling Marte is, at the very least, on the Yankees’ radar.”

This isn’t the first time that the Bronx Bombers have looked into Marte, as the Yankees had some talks with the Marlins about a potential swap back in July.  Marte ended up being dealt to the A’s, while the Yankees instead augmented their outfield by acquiring Joey Gallo from the Rangers.  As for Reynolds, New York joins the long list of teams who have reportedly asked about Pittsburgh’s All-Star center fielder in the last six months alone — the Astros, Guardians, Marlins, Brewers, and Braves have all been linked to Reynolds, and Seattle tried to deal for Reynolds prior to the trade deadline.

Aaron Hicks, of course, is ostensibly already the Yankees’ starting center fielder, so landing a proven everyday star like Marte or Reynolds would amount to a major sea change in the team’s outfield depth chart.  However, Hicks has battled multiple injuries in recent years, including a wrist surgery in May that ended his 2021 season after 32 games.  Hicks is expected to return to baseball activities in December and be ready for Spring Training, yet as GM Brian Cashman told reporters yesterday, “We just want to make sure we put the best team out there, so no guarantees right now for anybody….We just don’t have a pure center fielder at this point with the unknown of Aaron Hicks not playing for a while.”

If Hicks is healthy and Marte, Reynolds, or another notable starting outfielder was added, New York would suddenly be awash in outfield options.  Aaron Judge obviously has right field locked down, Giancarlo Stanton would play every day as either the DH or in the corners, and the likes of Gallo, Miguel Andujar, Clint Frazier, and Estevan Florial are also on hand.

In the event of a Reynolds trade, it isn’t out of the question that any of those latter three names could be part of the very big trade package the Pirates would demand in any Reynolds deal.  None would be headliners in that trade package, however, as Andujar, Frazier, and Florial have all seen their star prospect status dim over the last couple of years.  Gallo or Hicks probably wouldn’t have much trade appeal for the rebuilding Pirates, though either veteran could potentially be flipped in another deal if the Yankees were looking to create room, even if New York would likely have to eat a good portion of the $41MM left on Hicks’ contract.

Should the Yankees balk at Pittsburgh’s asking price for Reynolds, signing Marte wouldn’t come with any prospect cost, even if he might require something in the neighborhood of a four-year, $80MM contract.  This type of spending shouldn’t necessarily be beyond a Bombers team that ducked under the luxury tax line last season, even if the Yankees additionally gave out some big dollars to address their needs at shortstop, first base, or perhaps in the rotation.

Joakim Soria Retires

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Right-handed pitcher Joakim Soria is retiring, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, relaying word from Soria’s agent. The 37-year-old pitched for nine different teams over 14 MLB seasons.

Soria made his MLB debut for the Kansas City Royals back in 2007, throwing 69 innings with an ERA of 2.48 and notching 17 saves. He became a mainstay of the Royals’ bullpen through the 2011 campaign. In those five seasons, he pitched 315 1/3 innings with an ERA of 2.40 and racked up 160 saves. He was an All-Star twice, in 2008 and 2010.

That would prove to be the best stretch of Soria’s career, although he continued to be an effective reliever for another decade, pitching for the Rangers, Tigers and Pirates, returning to the Royals, and then stints with White Sox, Brewers and Athletics. In 2021, he started the season with the Diamondbacks and was later traded to the Blue Jays.

Over his entire career, he threw 763 innings with an ERA of 3.11, along with 831 strikeouts and 229 saves. MLBTR congratulates Soria on a fine career and wishes him all the best in his future endeavors.

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