Who Goes In A Pittsburgh Firesale?
With Nate McLouth now playing in Atlanta, a number of still-Pirates vented about the decision. Coincidentally, the two players quoted, Freddy Sanchez and Adam LaRoche, are likely to be prime targets for Pittsburgh to deal.
Sanchez is a middle infielder having a typical Freddy Sanchez season: .321/.359/.488, with below-average defense at second base. A number of teams should be interested in Sanchez, and in his age-31 season, Sanchez isn't likely to be part of the next great Pirates' team. He's scheduled to make $6.1MM in 2009, with an $8MM option for 2010 that vests if he reaches 635 plate appearances.
As for LaRoche, a 29-year-old who can hit pretty well and play first base, he's also likely to be shown the door. LaRoche is making $7.05MM in 2009, and teams that acquire him have the advantage of getting the second-half LaRoche. LaRoche is a career .776 OPS hitter in the first half, but .907 OPS in the second half.
While he didn't vent in the linked article, Jack Wilson could also be on the move. Not only does he make $7.25MM, he's also in his age-31 season. However, his .264/.291/.380 line — even with solid defense at shortstop — means the haul Pittsburgh gets for Wilson could be limited.
Odds & Ends: Igarashi, Cubs, Cardinals
Links for Friday…
- Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker talks about hard-throwing Japanese reliever Ryota Igarashi, perhaps the top free agent from the country for the 2009-10 offseason.
- I did a Q&A over at Coast to Coast Baseball.
- Some doubt with the sale of the Cubs to the Ricketts family: Tribune owner Sam Zell said, "We've made it very public that the Cubs don't fit into the long-term picture of the Tribune. So if the Ricketts deal doesn't get done, I'm sure there will be other ones."
- In separate articles, Dan Uggla and Octavio Dotel comment on the possibility of being traded.
- Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle says Edgar Renteria was a good signing for the Giants, if you ignore the actual contract. Eh?
- Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch discusses various third base trades the Cardinals could make.
- SI's Tom Verducci likes Freddy Sanchez for the Rays. What's wrong with Willy Aybar and Ben Zobrist?
- Mark Bradley of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution talked to Braves GM Frank Wren about the team's need for a bat.
- FanGraphs' Matthew Carruth asks: Where's Odalis Perez?
Odds & Ends: Mets, Cubs, Astros
Links for Monday…
- Nationals GM Mike Rizzo told Baseball America's Jim Callis that the team's #10 overall draft pick will not be influenced by signability. MLB.com's Bill Ladson's source believes negotiations between Rizzo and Scott Boras for Stephen Strasburg will go well, given their past history.
- Regarding Friday's call for MLBTR writers, I still have many applications to review. I will keep you updated here on the site.
- McCovey Chronicles discusses The Jonathan Sanchez Paradox.
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post names Nick Johnson, Aubrey Huff, and Mark DeRosa as the most probable trade targets for the Mets if Carlos Delgado is out for an extended period of time. Check out MLBTR's discussion of this topic from Saturday. SI.com's Jon Heyman also weighed in today.
- Daniel Kaplan of SportsBusiness Journal has an update on progress made on the sale of the Cubs.
- On Sunday, Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette wrote that Freddy Sanchez's current contract clause will likely cause the Pirates to avoid vesting options in the future.
- On June 1st, Alyson Footer will begin a new job working for the Astros. The new MLB.com beat writer will be Brian McTaggart, who covered the team for the Houston Chronicle.
Pirates Not Influenced By Sanchez Vesting Option
Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette asked Pirates president Frank Coonelly whether recent days off for second baseman Freddy Sanchez were related to the player's 2010 vesting option, which is based on plate appearances. Coonelly was offended by the suggestion, saying contractual clauses do not have a bearing on the manager's lineup decisions. Kovacevic explains Sanchez's option:
If he makes 635 or more plate appearances this season, or if he makes 600 plate appearances and is chosen for the All-Star Game, his $8.5 million option is automatic. If he does not break those thresholds, the Pirates still can pick up the option if they choose.
Despite Coonelly's annoyance, it's not out of line to wonder if a last place, cost-conscious team would have an eye on an $8.5MM vesting option. Sanchez is off to a fine .317/.361/.528 start in 133 plate appearances. Assuming he doesn't make the All-Star team, he needs 502 more PAs in the team's 130 remaining games. Since Sanchez is averaging more than 4.15 per game as the team's #2 hitter, he's on track to trigger the option.
Freddy Sanchez Wants To Stay In Pittsburgh
Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette talked to Pirates second baseman Freddy Sanchez, who wants to stay with the team beyond this season. Under his current contract, Sanchez has three ways to remain a Pirate in 2010:
- Team chooses his $8MM club option over the $600K buyout
- Option vests with 635 plate appearances
- Option vests with 600 PAs and an All-Star game selection
Presumably the Bucs are not going to be terribly interested in exercising the club option. But 635 PAs is possible; Sanchez had 632 in '06 and 653 in '07. Sanchez mostly batted first and second in the lineup last year.
According to Kovacevic, Sanchez doesn't want the contract clause to become a factor. He just wants to have a strong, healthy season and "everything will take care of itself." It was Sanchez who urged Jack Wilson to approach the Pirates about an extension. Sanchez wants to be part of the next winning Pirates team.
Pirates Rumors: Wilson, Millar, Bautista
Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette checks in from Vegas with the latest Pirates rumors.
- At some point during the Meetings, the Pirates and Tigers will meet to discuss Jack Wilson. It has been suggested that the Tigers are backing off on Wilson; they worked out Adam Everett last week. The Dodgers are also in the mix, with recent discussions involving the possible restructuring of Wilson’s contract.
- Other trade candidates: John Grabow, Ronny Paulino, Freddy Sanchez, and Adam LaRoche.
- The Pirates’ "power bat" addition could be Kevin Millar, muses Kovacevic.
- Reliever Denny Bautista is a non-tender candidate. We’ll add him to the list.
- The Pirates have not yet made extension offers to Ryan Doumit, Nate McLouth, or Paul Maholm.
Pirates Rumors: Wilson, Paulino, Byrd
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.
Pirates Rumors: Wilson, Sanchez, LaRoche
More Pirates stuff courtesy of Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
- Shortstop Jack Wilson played very little since breaking a finger on August 31st, but he wanted a plate appearance in front of the die-hard season ticket crowd yesterday at the team’s final home game. Wilson received a standing ovation, with fans knowing his Pirates career may end with a trade this winter. Kovacevic says Wilson is a "highly likely trade target," while GM Neal Huntington insists he is not trying to trade his shortstop. He will definitely listen though.
- Kovacevic adds Freddy Sanchez as a trade candidate, but feels Adam LaRoche will stay put. If the Bucs move both middle infielders, they could have a $30MM payroll in ’09.
Pirates Have Multiyear Offer Out To Sanchez
Pirates president Frank Connelly verified tonight that at some point this offseason, the Bucs made a multiyear offer to second baseman Freddy Sanchez. It doesn’t mean anything is close, however. Sanchez and the Pirates are currently $800K apart on their 2008 figures.
Back on January 7th, Dejan Kovacevic reported that Sanchez had not received a multiyear offer. But even at that time the Pirates were keen to the idea of signing Sanchez through his two remaining arbitration years and tacking on an option to buy out his first of free agency. Ultimately I could see a guaranteed third year.
The 30 year-old Sanchez hit .304/.343/.442 as the Pirates’ second baseman in ’07. Meanwhile the average NL second baseman hit .272/.341/.418.
Bucs May Extend Capps, But Not Sanchez
Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has the latest regarding new GM Neal Huntington’s plans for closer Matt Capps and second baseman Freddy Sanchez.
Capps, 24, posted a fine 2007 (2.28 ERA) in his first year as the Pirates’ closer. He’d be under team control through 2011 anyway if the Pirates went year-to-year with him. But Huntington has an offer to Capps out for three or four years, buying out most or all of his arbitration years. Kovacevic notes that this is a strategy Huntington observed under Mark Shapiro in Cleveland.
Huntington appears to have less faith in 30 year-old second baseman Sanchez. He seems to have developed into a solid .800 OPS guy, and his second half in ’07 showed further upside. Sanchez has two more years under team control; if the Pirates gave him an extension they’d want it to buy out his first year of free agency in 2010. Sanchez would probably not be amenable to that, but even going two years would give the Pirates more cost certainty. At any rate, it would make sense for Huntington to entertain offers on Sanchez.