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No Extension Offers For Pirates’ Veterans

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According to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Pirates have not approached Adam LaRoche, John Grabow, and Jack Wilson about contract extensions.  All three are eligible for free agency after the season, and could be on the trading block in July.  More details:

  • LaRoche, 29, is hitting .222/.309/.449 in 178 plate appearances while earning $7.05MM.  He avoided his typical slow April but has been awful in May.  It seems excessive for the Mets to rent him for two months, in my opinion.
  • Grabow, 30, has a 4.95 ERA in 20 innings while earning $2.3MM.  He's not shutting down southpaws.  The market may be weak for him.
  • Wilson, 31, is at .260/.294/.385 in 103 plate appearances.  Kovacevic says the Pirates have not formally responded to Wilson's offer to renegotiate his $8.4MM 2010 club option at a lower rate.  He'd make sense for a contender seeking a defensive upgrade at shortstop.

Gammons On Ackley, Red Sox, Relievers

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ESPN's Peter Gammons has a new blog post up.  Let's take a look.

  • Gammons writes in praise of North Carolina's Dustin Ackley, who is likely to be chosen by the Mariners at #2 in June.  Ackley may wind up at center field or second base.
  • The Red Sox don't appear willing to trade young pitchers like Clay Buchholz, Michael Bowden, and Nick Hagadone.  The Sox have looked at bats such as Colorado's Matt Murton and Ryan Spilborghs, but for now aren't desperate enough to trade pitching.  Gammons wonders if, for the right bat, Boston would part with Manny Delcarmen.  He believes Delcarmen could close in the NL.
  • Gammons says the Mets think they could have Carlos Delgado back by August if he has hip surgery, allowing them to stay in-house for his replacements.
  • The Dodgers, Indians, Yankees, and Twins are looking for relief help.  Gammon names Jose Valverde, Huston Street, Danys Baez, Russ Springer, and John Grabow as future trade candidates.

Pirates Sign LaRoche, Duke, Grabow, Yates

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1:21pm: Kovacevic says the Bucs also avoided arb with Zach Duke ($2.2MM plus $100K in incentives), John Grabow ($2.3MM plus $75K in incentives), and Tyler Yates ($1.3MM plus $25K in incentives).

9:28am: According to ESPN’s Jayson Stark, the Pirates avoided arbitration with first baseman Adam LaRoche by signing him for $7.05MM for ’09.  He can make another $100K based on plate appearances.  Dejan Kovacevic reports the same.

LaRoche will be eligible for free agency after the season.  2009 would be a fine time to overcome his April/May inadequacies.

Pirates Rumors: McLouth, Maholm, Doumit

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WEDNESDAY, 6:22pm: Kovacevic says Doumit’s agent will meet with the Pirates later tonight to discuss their offer.  Rob Biertempfel says the Pirates did make offers to all three and want to finalize deals within six to eight weeks.

TUESDAY, 11:28pm: Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette offers up the latest information on the Pirates.

  • The Pirates have initiated extension talks with Nate McLouth, Ryan Doumit, and Paul Maholm.  The Braves inquired on McLouth and Maholm, but the Pirates’ demands were "way high" according to an Atlanta official.  Kovacevic mentions Jordan Schafer as someone who could be offered.
  • The Pirates had conversations with David Eckstein’s agent, but not negotiations.  The Bucs would probably have to trade a middle infielder for it to make sense.  They never made a formal offer to Mark Loretta, who signed with the Dodgers today.
  • The Jack Wilson market is tepid – the Twins have mild interest, the Dodgers have moved on to Rafael Furcal.
  • While the Pirates have gotten inquiries on John Grabow, teams apparently want to look at free agent options first.
  • John Perrotto says Jason Davis will refuse the Pirates’ Triple A assignment and head to Japan.

Pirates Rumors: Wilson, Millar, Bautista

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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

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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.

Stark’s Latest: Manny, Fuentes, Livan, Dunn

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ESPN’s Jayson Stark has a new Rumblings and Grumblings column up.

  • Some teams won’t go anywhere near Manny Ramirez given the way he exited Boston.  Opinions range on whether he’ll get two, three, or four years this winter.  Will he turn it off again after signing a long-term deal?  And will other players use the same strategy to escape their contracts?
  • The Rays are likely to stand pat, despite recent injuries.
  • Rockies players haven’t hit the waiver wire yet; Dan O’Dowd plans to wait until month’s end.  Stark wonders whether the Cards could win a claim on Brian Fuentes.  Not likely, given the contenders in front of them in waiver order.
  • All kinds of near-deals in the final minutes on deadline day – John Grabow to the Phillies, Ian Snell to the Rockies, and Jason Bay to the Rays.
  • Livan Hernandez’s incentives get expensive in a hurry once he hits 160 innings, and the Twins are on the hook for those.
  • Stark talked to officials from two teams who didn’t think the Reds would’ve offered Adam Dunn arbitration.

Marlins, Red Sox, Pirates Talking Manny Trade

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12:03am: Baseball Prospectus’ Kevin Goldstein believes the Pirates will end up with Stanton, Tucker, and Hermida.

11:21pm: Heyman says there’s some prospect haggling but the teams are optimistic a deal will get done.  The Marlins and Red Sox seem certain to make a swap, while the Pirates are trying to enhance their part.  They are still at risk of being replaced by another club.

Gordon Edes of the Boston Globe thinks a deal may be close, but not done.  So we’ve got journalists on both sides of the fence, but everyone seems optimistic.

10:33pm: The Palm Beach Post says a tentative agreement has been reached, despite Gammons’ comments.  Here’s the deal:

Marlins get: Manny Ramirez, cash, prospect from Red Sox
Red Sox get: Jason Bay, John Grabow
Pirates get: Ryan Tucker, Jeremy Hermida, one prospect from Red Sox, perhaps another prospect from Marlins

10:22pm: More from Gammons.  The deal is definitely not done – the Bucs aren’t yet satisfied with the players they’d get from Boston for Bay.  Nothing has been done in regards to Manny’s no-trade or paperwork to the Commissioner’s Office.

Gammons expects this to go right down to the wire.

10:11pm: Kovacevic believes Ryan Tucker might end up with the Pirates, though it’s tentative.

9:05pm: Gammons: talks will continue into Thursday.  Good, it’ll give me something to do.

8:50pm: Will Carroll believes the Commissioner’s Office has been informed of a Red Sox-Pirates-Marlins trade even though the teams haven’t agreed on the prospects.  Here’s how he sees it:

Marlins get Manny Ramirez, one prospect (BOS), and cash (likely Ramirez’s remaining salary)
Pirates get Jeremy Hermida and three prospects (two FLO, one BOS)
Red Sox get Jason Bay and John Grabow

8:48pm: Perrotto clarifies a bit – Grabow could go to Florida with Stanton joining the Pirates.  Interestingly, the Pirates are still talking to the Rays about Bay.

8:29pm: Here’s the latest.  MLB.com says we’re moving closer to the three-team deal.  The Pirates could receive a minor leaguer from the Red Sox.  Dejan Kovacevic says the Pirates would receive four or more prospects for Bay, as well as Hermida.  John Grabow could end up in Boston or Florida.  Perrotto says it could be expanded to have Jed Lowrie go to Pittsburgh and Jack Wilson to Boston.  The Bucs also like Red Sox prospect Hunter Jones.

7:46pm: Rosenthal talked to a Marlins official who said there’s "no way" Stanton is in the deal.  The Fish might want young players back if they’re giving up prospects.

7:33pm: Gordon Edes of the Boston Globe characterizes it as "strong interest" from the Marlins but not a done deal.  Jon Heyman also has the Fish in the lead.  Will Carroll has some kind of Bay/Marlins multiteam deal in the final stages.  Jim Molony says the talks are real but a Manny to Florida deal is unlikely.  Meanwhile, Manny keeps talking his way out of Boston.

7:23pm: Jayson Stark says the Red Sox are trying to get Stanton, Ryan Tucker, and one of Willingham/Hermida for Ramirez.

6:24pm: MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro is hearing about a three-way deal that would also send Jason Bay to the Red Sox.  Hermida would wind up in Pittsburgh.

5:56pm: Baseball Prospectus’ John Perrotto has multiple baseball sources saying the Red Sox are on the verge of sending Ramirez to Florida for three players, including outfielder Mike Stanton.  Dan Graziano says Hermida would be in this deal.

MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro said his baseball sources aren’t dismissing it.

5:31pm: The latest: Buster Olney says the Sox are in "serious conversations" with the Marlins about Ramirez.  The Red Sox would kick in money and want three players back, one of whom would probably be Willingham or Hermida.  Progress on this is said to be "slow," per Ken Rosenthal’s source.

3:24pm: Mike Berardino just can’t see the Manny-Marlins thing happening at all.  The Marlins remained mum on the topic when Berardino asked, but he cited many reasons why it didn’t make sense.  Also keep in mind that the Josh Willingham mention was speculation from Ken Rosenthal, not a rumor.

ESPN’s Jayson Stark agrees with others saying Manny is staying put.  He notes that the rumors could resume into August due to Ramirez’s salary.  Awesome!

11:22am: ESPN’s Andrew Marchand says the deadline for a Manny trade might be 3pm CST today, as he has to sign paperwork 24 hours prior to a deal to waive his no-trade rights.  However, it is possible that Ramirez already signed away his no-trade rights for some teams.

9:31am: Ken Rosenthal says Manny is a longshot to be traded.  As it was all along.  Sounds like the Red Sox will decline his ’09 option.

8:24am: Late last night, Will Carroll of Baseball Prospectus had an interesting rumor:

One good source told me that he had heard that the Marlins were involved, willing to give up Jeremy Hermida and Boston-area product Jeff Allison, but I couldn’t confirm this. I just don’t see this deal getting done.

I imagine the Red Sox would be willing to eat all of Ramirez’s salary to get a player like Hermida.  As Carroll said, it seems unlikely.

Jason Bay Rumors: Wednesday

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8:37pm: Bay doesn’t seem to be on the Cardinals’ radar.  However, talks continue with Tampa Bay according to John Perrotto.  Bay could also end up in Boston in a three-team deal.

5:59pm: Jayson Stark reports that the Rays and Pirates haven’t had much dialogue today, and that talks have slowed.  The Pirates have backed off just a bit, but may want to see what happens with Manny Ramirez in case they can get the Red Sox interested.

3:16pm: Kovacevic has more.  Brignac and Jeff Niemann’s names are coming up in the Tampa Bay talks.  ESPN’s Jayson Stark heard the same, and adds that Hellickson, David Price, and Wade Davis are off-limits.

The Cardinals are in on Bay but not John Grabow.  Kovacevic says Colby Rasmus is untouchable, making the Pirates lean toward the Rays.  He adds that the Mets seem out of the running.

1:23pm: The Pirates and Rays are still talking, with the Cardinals lingering.  Dejan Kovacevic says Reid Brignac and Jeremy Hellickson are on the Bucs’ radar.

12:30pm: Heyman talked to one NL source who puts the chances of a Bay trade at 50-50.  The Pirates are looking around to see if they can beat the Rays’ offer.

11:13am: SI.com’s Jon Heyman checks in on Bay.  He says the Rays are flirting, while the Mets, D’Backs, and Cardinals are also in the mix.  ESPN’s Buster Olney says the Rays and Pirates are "talking constructively to bridge the gap."  Rays manager Joe Maddon admits some "very interesting stuff" is on the table.

8:43am: According to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Pirates are deep into talks with the Rays and other teams about left fielder Jason Bay.  However, no "truly elite prospect" has been offered yet, and the chances are better than 50-50 that Bay stays.  And who would move to right field for the Rays – Bay or Carl Crawford?  The Braves are considered out of the mix.

Shortstop Jack Wilson seems likely to stay, while reliever John Grabow will probably be dealt.

Stark’s Latest: Aurilia, Fuentes, Orlando Cabrera

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New collection of rumors from ESPN’s Jayson Stark…

  • The Twins have asked the Giants about Rich Aurilia.  They’ve been dangling Boof Bonser for a position player; would they trade him back to San Francisco for Aurilia?
  • On the Phillies’ radar: John Grabow, Will Ohman, Arthur Rhodes, and Jack Taschner.
  • A Brian Fuentes trade remains doubtful.
  • The White Sox will trade Orlando Cabrera for the right pitcher.  The Sox aren’t generating much interest in their prospects.
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