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Joel Pineiro

Cardinals Sign Pineiro For Two Years

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Rather than test the market, Joel Pineiro has come to a two-year agreement with the Cardinals.  I’d mentioned earlier that I thought he was in line for a Jason Marquis 3/21 type deal.  According to Ken Rosenthal, it’s a two-year, $13MM pact. This seems like a solid move by John Mozeliak.  That’s the going rate or even a mild discount for a fourth starter, and Pineiro could be decent.

The Cards now have Adam Wainwright, Braden Looper, and Pineiro locked into the ’08 rotation.  According to Joe Strauss (linked above), the goal remains to acquire a "front-line" starter.  The Cards seemingly have about $20MM to spend this winter, and $5MM or so of that will go to Pineiro (depending on backloading).  Can a front-line starter and a power-hitter/shortstop be had for roughly $15MM total?

It can be done – Edgar Renteria makes a little more than $6MM, leaving maybe $9-11MM to spend on the starter.  Jon Garland and A.J. Burnett each make $12MM, Dontrelle Willis would be more affordable.  Guys like Joe Blanton and Noah Lowry are supercheap.  It just depends on how extensively the Cardinals want to mortgage their future to make a 2008 push.  They’ll either do it by trading good young players or by giving out at least one ill-advised long-term contract. 

Cards Negotiating With Joel Pineiro

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Cardinals interim GM John Mozeliak has already exercised Jason Isringhausen’s option and re-signed Russ Springer.  Next up: hammer out a multiyear pact with Joel Pineiro before he files for free agency.

Pineiro wants to start next year, and the Cardinals are definitely on board with that.  They have roughly $20MM to spend for at least two starters and a shortstop.  Some of that will probably have to come via the trade market. 

I don’t expect Pineiro to come cheap.  He posted a 3.96 ERA in 11 starts for the Cards, his first taste of the National League.  He bears some similarities to fellow future free agent Kyle Lohse, in that they’re relatively young and revived their careers in the NL.  Pineiro was HR-prone as a Cards starter, but he showed a career-low walk rate.

If he were to hit the open market, Pineiro would surely match Jason Marquis’ three-year, $21MM contract.  Wouldn’t surprise me to see him get the 3/25 of an Adam Eaton or Miguel Batista.  Surely Pineiro’s agent, Arn Tellem, is aware of this.  If Pineiro doesn’t test the waters, it would imply that he’s willing to settle for less money to remain a Cardinal.  I don’t see the Cards giving him a three-year deal. 

Cardinals Have Work To Do

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Joe Strauss has had several insightful articles lately about the future of the Cardinals.  Let’s discuss.

  • The Cardinals have $83.8MM committed to 12 players for 2008.  Even worse, they don’t know what they’re going to get out of Scott Rolen, Jim Edmonds, Chris Carpenter, Juan Encarnacion, and Mark Mulder. They are spending $45MM on those five and may get very little production.
  • Next year’s payroll may approach $115MM on the high end, but that doesn’t mean the Cards have $30MM to burn.  Their 0-3 guys will earn roughly $5MM in aggregate, and the arbitration-eligible group may run another $5MM even if a few are cut loose.  So I’m thinking more like $20MM to burn, and Walt Jocketty will have to stretch that money pretty far.
  • The Cardinals need a power hitter, two starters, and a shortstop.  Tony La Russa, if he returns, won’t be "going young."
  • Joel Pineiro could be one of the starters, but if the Cards view him as a cheap #5 they’re going to be disappointed.  He’ll get paid.
  • An earlier Strauss article has a couple of rumors of note.  We learned that the Cards were fairly close to signing Miguel Batista last winter and almost traded Anthony Reyes to the Phillies this summer.

Here’s what I see happening this winter.  The Cards will fill the rotation spots with one mid-level signing and one cheaper wild card type guy.  I could see a Carlos Silva being paired with a Matt Clement.  Randy Wolf could fill the wild card role if the Dodgers won’t have him back.

It might make sense to fill the shortstop hole and need for a power bat in one fell swoop.  On the surface it seems like Miguel Tejada would fit the bill and Edgar Renteria wouldn’t, though Renteria outslugged Tejada this year.  Regardless I expect the Cardinals to make an aggressive push for one of them (Larry Borowsky of Viva El Birdos got me thinking along these lines).

Molony On Jennings, Slowey

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Jim Molony’s column today at MLB.com has many good trade rumors that I haven’t seen elsewhere.  Let’s discuss.

  • Molony says at least a dozen scouts watched Jason Jennings toss a quality start last night.  He needed it; I was beginning to think he wasn’t right.  Still, the performance probably isn’t enough to cause some team to offer a package for Jennings superior to two draft picks.
  • The Diamondbacks and Pirates had a scouting presence at the Astros-Dodgers game.  Interesting players appearing in the contest included James Loney, Andre Ethier, Wilson Betemit, Mark Loretta, Morgan Ensberg, Jason Lane, Chad Qualls, Dan Wheeler, and Brad Lidge. You connect the dots, I have no idea.
  • The Red Sox suggested sending Joel Pineiro to the A’s for Bobby Kielty in a swap of unwanteds; they were rebuffed.
  • The Phillies and Braves watched Matt Morris allow four runs in six innings on Tuesday.  They also may have been monitoring Steve Kline, who also pitched.
  • A Devil Rays scout watched the Twins in Toronto on Tuesday.  Ty Wigginton is thought to be a target for Minnesota.  Perhaps the Rays’ scout fancied Scott Baker, who started for the Twins and went seven innings.  Baker would be a stupendous return for Wiggy, in my opinion.
  • The Phillies had their assistant GM scouting Kevin Slowey’s start on Saturday.  Molony suggests Minnesota might want Pat Burrell.  That would involve a ridiculous amount of salary relief and a lack of Slowey.  Slowey allowed one run in six innings in the game.
  • UPDATE: Just realized that the above pair of bullets seem to have originated from La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.  The scout watching the Twins on Tuesday was Lee Elia.  Not sure why Molony didn’t cite this source, but I suppose he may have come across the info independently.

Pineiro On The Block?

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The Boston Herald reports that scouts from several teams have been monitoring 28 year-old former starter Joel Pineiro.  He and his $4MM+ salary may be deemed expendable by the Red Sox with Papelbon closing.

The Globe’s Jeff Horrigan mentions the Reds as a good fit, as their bullpen remains questionable.  I believe that newly signed free agents have trade veto power for at least the first few months, but I can’t find the exact rule in writing yet.  If Pineiro can get himself over to the NL on a team with an open closing situation (Giants, Marlins?) he should jump at the chance.

UPDATE: A guy who would know dropped me a line – a player cannot be traded within six months of signing.  He doesn’t believe it’s a veto thing; it just isn’t allowed.  The Red Sox signed Pineiro around January 4th, so I’m not sure how this would work.

UPDATE 2: Another fellow told me that if a newly signed free agent is to be traded before June 15th, he must give his permission.  That is the only restriction.

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