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Pirates Still Willing To Trade Andrew McCutchen, Josh Harrison

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Pirates general manager Neal Huntington put both right fielder Andrew McCutchen and infielder Josh Harrison on the block earlier this offseason, though he wasn’t able to find a palatable deal for either. With spring training approaching, Huntington remains willing to trade either player, reports Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.

After he couldn’t secure a taker for McCutchen at the Winter Meetings in December, Huntington declared that the five-time All-Star would likely continue in Pittsburgh. The Pirates have since decided to shift the longtime center fielder to right, where he’ll attempt to bounce back from a highly disappointing 2016 in which his production declined in the field, at the plate and on the base paths. McCutchen was his typical durable self, having eclipsed the 150-game plateau for the sixth time in seven full seasons, but he logged a career-low fWAR (0.7) across 675 plate appearances. That mostly came on account of mixing a slightly above-average batting line (.256/.336/.430) with a major league-worst minus-28 Defensive Runs Saved.

Despite his stunning drop-off last season, McCutchen still comes with a relatively appealing contract. The 2013 NL MVP has two years and $28.5MM left on his deal, including a $14.5MM club option for 2018. However, the 30-year-old has highly rated outfield prospect Austin Meadows pushing for a spot behind him in Pittsburgh. Baseball America, ESPN’s Keith Law and MLB.com all regard the 21-year-old Meadows as one of the game’s 10 best prospects, and it stands to reason he’s not going to knock either of McCutchen’s fellow starting outfielders, Starling Marte or Gregory Polanco, out of the organization. Marte and Polanco, after all, are younger than McCutchen and under team control at eminently affordable prices through 2021 and 2023, respectively.

Harrison, meanwhile, is controllable for up to four more seasons – including two club options – at a maximum of $39.5MM. Like McCutchen, Harrison endured a rough 2016; unlike McCutchen, though, Harrison doesn’t carry a star-caliber track record, which has surely made it that much more difficult for Huntington to find a quality return for him. Since he earned his lone All-Star nod in 2014 and then inked an extension the next spring, Harrison has slashed a mediocre .285/.318/.389 over 971 trips to the plate. Harrison, to his credit, put up a career-high 19 steals and registered a plus DRS (eight) in 1,077 innings at second base in 2016. Nevertheless, thanks largely to a subpar .283/.311/.388 batting line in 522 PAs, he accounted for a below-average 1.5 fWAR.

Huntington tried in November to jettison Harrison in order to re-sign then-free agent Sean Rodriguez, and failing to do so led Rodriguez to join the Braves. Now, barring a late-winter deal, the 30-year-old Harrison will start 2017 at the keystone in Pittsburgh. It seems an ideal scenario for the club would include dealing him and opening up an everyday job for utilityman Adam Frazier. The 25-year-old impressed as a rookie last season, as he hit .301/.356/.411 in 160 PAs and totaled double-digit appearances at second, left field and right field, and Huntington took notice.

“We believe [Frazier] will evolve into a very versatile defensive player who can swing the bat,” Huntington told Stephen J. Nesbitt of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette last month. “We also see a role in which he progresses into a regular, where he takes a position, grabs hold and never let’s go. It’s just we have somebody in front of him right now in some places. His opportunity is going to be to bounce around the field and do what he does well.”

Elsewhere on Pittsburgh’s roster, if Rule 5 pick Tyler Webb makes the team, it could could lead Huntington to trade either Tony Watson or Antonio Bastardo, writes Biertempfel. Webb, Watson, Bastardo and Felipe Rivero would give the Pirates four left-handed relievers. While both Watson and Bastardo have come up in trade rumors this offseason, the former would clearly warrant a greater return. Watson last year wasn’t as effective as he had been from 2013-15, as his 4.37 FIP paled in comparison to the combined 2.92 figure he recorded over the previous three years. On the plus side, the former setup man and current closer did exceed the 65-inning mark for the fourth straight season and post a 3.06 ERA. He’s also set to rake in an a reasonable salary in the $6MM neighborhood in 2017, which is his final season of team control. Bastardo is entering a contract year, too, but the Pirates’ reported willingness to eat some of the $6.5MM he’s owed hasn’t paved the way for a trade.

Pirates “Open” To Trading Josh Harrison

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The Pirates have attempted to swing a trade involving infielder Josh Harrison and remain open to doing so, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Pittsburgh had hoped to deal Harrison and re-sign Sean Rodriguez, per the report, though was unable to complete such an arrangement before Rodriguez joined the Braves.

Harrison, 29, has seen his production at the plate tail off following a breakout 2014 campaign. He’s guaranteed another $19MM on the extension he signed the following winter, which covers two more seasons as well as buyouts on a pair of successive club options for 2019 and 2020.

The Bucs doubled down on Harrison after he put up 550 plate appearances of .315/.347/.490 hitting, with 13 home runs and 18 steals, in that 2014 season. He followed that up with league-average production in the following year, but fell further in 2016. Over his 522 trips to the plate, Harrison managed only a .283/.311/.388 slash with four homers.

Harrison’s bat is based largely on contact, as he rarely strikes out (14.3% for his career) or walks (3.5%). While his speed continues to allow him to generate a fairly elevated batting average on balls in play, Harrison slumped to 27.7% hard contact and a 19.5% line-drive rate in 2016, both of which fell shy of his output in the prior two years.

There is other value to be found in the infielder. He swiped 19 bags in his most recent season and has continued to rate as a quality overall baserunner. And Harrison’s glove rates well at both second and third. He’s also capable of playing the corner outfield or, in a pinch, shortstop.

The question for teams that might consider a move Harrison is whether they see any possibility that he’ll return to the power output he showed three years back. His .175 isolated slugging mark has dipped to just over .100 in the ensuing years, which rates well below average and leaves him as more of a quality utility infielder than an everyday option. Given Harrison’s inability to spend regular time at short, it’s somewhat unclear whether another organization would be willing to take over the fairly expensive contract.

For Pittsburgh, Harrison remains penciled in at second base as things stand. While David Freese remains available as an option at third after signing an extension in August, Rosenthal says that Jung Ho Kang would not be moved from the hot corner to second in the event that Harrison is dealt. Instead, it seems, the organization would consider youngsters Alen Hanson and Adam Frazier if they find a trade partner. Alternatively, the Pirates could pursue another external addition.

Josh Harrison Out Remainder Of Season Due To Groin Strain

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The Pirates have issued a press release announcing that infielder Josh Harrison has suffered a right groin strain and is projected to require four to six weeks in order to recover, thus ruling him out for the remainder of the regular season. Should the Pirates make a last-minute surge and find themselves in the postseason, Harrison could potentially return in mid-October if his recovery period proves to be on the shorter end of the spectrum provided by the team. Harrison tells MLB.com’s Adam Berry that he’ll perform his rehab with the team and continue to travel with the club (Twitter link).

Harrison, 29, will see his regular season come to a close with a .283/.311/.388 batting line, four homers and a career-high 19 stolen bases on the year. Though he’s capable of playing all over the diamond, Harrison has served as Pittsburgh’s primary second baseman this season, with David Freese manning third base in the lengthy absences of Jung Ho Kang, Jordy Mercer handling shortstop and Sean Rodriguez filling in at three infield spots and both corner outfield positions.

Harrison is in the second season of a four-year, $27.3MM contract extension that was signed early in the 2015 season and called for him to earn a reasonable $5MM in 2016. He’s guaranteed salaries of $7.5MM and $10MM in each of the next two seasons, and the Bucs have club options that are worth $10.5MM and $11MM, respectively, for the 2019 and 2020 seasons. While Harrison hasn’t played up to the standard that earned him that contract — he batted .315/.347/.490 with a career-best 13 homers in 2014 — he’s been a useful piece for the Pirates in each of the past two seasons and figures to continue to operate as such moving forward. The power he displayed in 2014 always seemed a bit dubious — six of his homers that year were of the “just enough” variety, and he’d never topped seven homers in a previous professional season — but Harrison has maintained his excellent contact skills (14.6 percent strikeout rate this year), delivered consistently above-average value on the basepaths and provided perennially above-average defense at second base.

Pirates Notes: Morton, Pitching, Melancon, Niese, Nicasio, Kang

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The Pirates are one of several teams holding a FanFest today. Reporters, including MLBTR’s Charlie Wilmoth, were on hand for the Q&A with GM Neal Huntington. The Pirates’ GM admitted that today’s Morton swap was mostly about payroll relief, although the club does like David Whitehead.

Here’s more Pirates notes:

  • Today’s trade of Charlie Morton will likely instigate “multiple moves,” tweets Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. After the move, the Pirates payroll is around $88MM with a target of about $105MM per Biertempfel (tweet). Huntington told reporters including MLB.com’s Adam Berry (tweet), “A big part of the motivation was to free some dollars to allow us to deepen the club, to reestablish some depth.“
  • Industry sources implied to Biertempfel (tweet) that pitchers like Scott Kazmir, Mike Leake, or others over $10MM per season are not on the Pirates radar. However, there is no doubt that at least one starting pitcher is on the agenda. The rotation presently consists of Gerrit Cole, Francisco Liriano, Jon Niese, and Jeff Locke. Presumably, the club prefers for Locke or Niese to fill a long relief role with Allen Webster serving as minor league depth. Top prospect Tyler Glasnow is not expected to reach the majors early in the season.
  • Closer Mark Melancon is expected to earn $10MM in arbitration per MLBTR estimates, but the club is under no pressure to trade him, tweets Biertempfel. The team could potentially get by in the late innings with Tony Watson, Arquimedes Caminero, and new acquisition Juan Nicasio. However, a bullpen with Melancon is certainly more robust. With the market for quality closers at a premium, Pittsburgh would find it difficult to replace Melancon. Per Huntington, “if somebody steps up and gives us a return that’s significant enough to motivate us to get a little bit uncomfortable, then we get a little bit uncomfortable.” (h/t to Wilmoth for the quote).
  • In commenting on Nicasio, Huntinton told Wilmoth, “We do think there are some things we can help him with. Now, is it going to be enough to make him a good starter? Time will tell. Is it going to be enough to make him a really good reliever? Time will tell.” The Pirates have developed a reputation as a haven for reclamation projects which could make Nicasio an interesting player to watch.
  • Comparing recent acquisition Jon Niese to the market, Huntington said “he’ll continue to put up numbers similar to guys who are getting sixty, seventy, eighty, ninety million dollars in free agency — we have three, essentially, one-year contracts with Jon Niese.” While Niese comes with less cachet than somebody like Mike Leake, it’s true that they project to perform similarly. As such, Huntington may very well beat the market with this swap.
  • Huntington says Jung-ho Kang is more likely to return in April than May, per Berry (tweet). If true, this is a lucky break for the club. They currently have some combination of Josh Harrison, Jordy Mercer, Alen Hanson, and Pedro Florimon penciled in for second base, shortstop, and third base. An injury or poor performance from Hanson could leave the club scrambling for reinforcements.
  • The Pirates will retrench in 2016 with an aim to contend again in 2017, writes John Perotto of the Beaver County Times. While the club will still pursue a postseason berth next year, they’ll have their eyes on developing top prospects like Josh Bell, Glasnow, and Jameson Taillon.

Pirates Activate Josh Harrison From DL, Designate Josh Wall

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The Pirates announced today that they have reinstated Josh Harrison from the disabled list and designated right-hander Josh Wall for assignment to clear room on the active roster.

Harrison tore the UCL in his left thumb on July 6 — an injury that required surgery to correct. He’s returned to action slightly faster than the Pirates anticipated, as their initial announcement said he’d be sidelined for seven weeks. The loss of Harrison left the Pirates short-handed and contributed to the acquisition of Aramis Ramirez. Now that Harrison is back, he’ll presumably split time at third base and in right field, possibly at the expense of some playing time for Ramirez and Gregory Polanco. Given his defensive prowess and solid bat, it’d be surprising if Harrison weren’t in the lineup on an everyday basis.

Wall, 28, had his contract selected to the roster earlier this week after a 15-inning game that left Pittsburgh’s bullpen short-handed. Wall has appeared in the Majors in each of the past three seasons, totaling 13 2/3 innings, but he’s yet to pitch in the Major Leagues this season. Instead, he’s spent the year at the Triple-A level, where he owns a very strong 2.93 ERA with 8.5 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9 in 30 2/3 innings.

Pirates Could Try To Add Talent Ahead Of Deadline

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Pirates manager Clint Hurdle says Josh Harrison’s recent injury could lead to the Bucs being “aggressive with early opportunity to add” this month, MLB.com’s Tom Singer tweets. Harrison is set to miss seven weeks with a torn UCL in his thumb. Since Harrison could return by the end of August, acquiring offensive help earlier, rather than at the deadline the end of the month, would perhaps best help the Pirates best compensate for his absence.

The Bucs have a capable replacement in Jung-Ho Kang taking over for Harrison at third base, but the loss of the versatile Kang leaves the Pirates with an underwhelming bench of Chris Stewart, Sean Rodriguez, Steve Lombardozzi, Gorkys Hernandez and Travis Ishikawa. It already looked possible that the Pirates would consider pursuing an outfielder at the trade deadline, and that still looks like a possibility, even though young right fielder Gregory Polanco has shown signs of life lately — again via Singer on Twitter, Hurdle says left fielder Starling Marte’s side injury could force him to the disabled list if he doesn’t respond well to pregame tests. (Marte might not miss many games even if he’s placed on the DL, however, given that the All-Star break will cover several of the 15 days he’ll be required to miss.)

The Pirates could pursue a variety of possible third base or outfield options, then, likely leaning toward a right-handed hitter if they pursue help in the outfield. Purely speculating here, but one would think a player like the switch-hitting Ben Zobrist, who’s capable of helping in both the infield and the outfield, would be especially attractive. Aramis Ramirez could be another possibility at third, with Harrison potentially returning to a super-utility role once he’s reinstated from the DL.

Josh Harrison Out Seven Weeks With Thumb Injury

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JULY 8: Harrison has a torn UCL in his left thumb and is expected to miss seven weeks after surgery, Pittsburgh announced.

JULY 6, 2:51pm: Harrison says he’ll receive a second opinion once the swelling in his hand goes down, but for the time being, there’s no specific diagnosis or timeline on his recovery, per MLB.com’s Adam Berry (on Twitter).

2:36pm: Pirates third baseman Josh Harrison will miss the next six weeks with a torn ligament in his thumb, reports Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (Twitter links). Harrison injured his thumb while sliding into second base on Sunday, according to Biertempfel.

Harrison will be placed on the disabled list to accommodate the club’s roster claim of Travis Ishikawa, the Pirates announced. The loss of Harrison likely means that the Pirates’ infield alignment will feature Jung Ho Kang at third base and Jordy Mercer at shortstop for the foreseeable future. Harrison will also no longer be an option to spell Gregory Polanco in right field against left-handed pitching, as he’s done on occasion this season.

The 27-year-old Harrison signed a four-year extension with the Pirates this offseason and got off to a slow start in the wake of that deal. However, he’s turned it on since the beginning of May, batting .302/.335/.391 in that time with a pair of homers and nine steals. Most of his defensive work this season has come at the hot corner, where Ultimate Zone Rating and Defensive Runs Saved peg him at slightly below average to average, although he grades out as a plus defender there over the course of his entire career.

Harrison’s loss makes the club’s offseason acquisition of Kang that much more crucial, as Kang’s versatility will soften the blow of losing Harrison’s productivity for the next month and a half.

Huntington On Kang, Harrison, Kingham

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Here are the highlights of Pirates GM Neal Huntington’s Sunday chat with the media, via Stephen J. Nesbitt of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

  • The Pirates acquired versatile infielders Jung-Ho Kang and Sean Rodriguez to give Clint Hurdle more tactical options and to allow the team to be more “proactive” about resting starters, Huntington says. Both players have, perhaps, been more useful than the Pirates anticipated — Kang is hitting .304/.369/.435 and has lately worked his way into regular duty, and Rodriguez has seen plenty of time at first base as well as the outfield corners.
  • Third baseman Josh Harrison struggled early in the season after signing an extension in Spring Training, but he’s hit well recently, batting .488/.511/.714 in his last two weeks before today’s game against the Mets. “It looks like a guy that’s having fun playing the game again,” says Huntington. “Just showing up with energy every day and trying to do everything in his power to help a club win versus trying to justify.”
  • Prospect Nick Kingham has yet to get a second opinion for his elbow injury, two weeks after it was reported he was going to seek one. “Nick chose a very busy doctor. Our hope is to get him in this week, and we’ll have an update after that,” Huntington says. Kingham has not pitched since May 6, but the severity of his injury is still unclear. He was set to provide the Pirates with rotation depth this season. MLB.com ranks him the sixth-best prospect in a strong Bucs system.

NL Notes: Asche, Franco, Kang, Rockies

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The Phillies announced that Cody Asche will be optioned to Triple-A and converted into an outfielder. That move seems all but certain to herald the return of top prospect Maikel Franco, a third baseman. As Ryan Lawrence of the Philadelphia Daily News tweets, Philadelphia will wait until at least Friday to formally move Franco up, which will ensure that the club will add an additional year of control.

  • Meanwhile, Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. says that the club is continuing to talk with other clubs, as Todd Zolecki of MLB.com tweets. “We’ve been in dialogue about a lot of things,” said Amaro. “That really hasn’t stopped since the offseason.” Obviously, with Philadelphia having long been established as a seller, plenty of homework and groundwork has already been accomplished heading into the summer.
  • Jung-ho Kang continues to produce at the plate for the Pirates, and Ron Cook of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says that it isn’t too soon to increase his workload. The Pittsburgh front office and field staff is favorably impressed with Kang’s effort to adapt to his new environment, both on and off the field. Colleague Adam Bittner, meanwhile, offers a counterpoint, arguing that both Josh Harrison and Jordy Mercer have enough of a track record and promise in their peripherals to warrant continued patience.
  • Rockies GM Jeff Bridich addressed his club’s pronounced struggles, as MLB.com’s Thomas Harding reports. “We have a good collection of players,” said Bridich. “And at this point, meaning the last two weeks of the season, they’ve added up to a bad team.” Colorado’s head baseball decisionmaker went on to discuss the fundamental problems he sees, such as a failure to move runners and hit when runners do reach scoring position (on the offensive side) and issuing too many walks while failing to attack the strike zone (for the club’s pitchers). While there may be plenty of truth in that assessment, and while it would surely be hard for Bridich to say much else at this stage, the fact remains that a broader roster shake-up looks like an increasingly strong option for the front office to consider.

Neal Huntington On Harrison, Kingham, Tabata

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Here’s the latest on the Pirates from GM Neal Huntington, courtesy of the Post-Gazette’s Paul Zeise:

  • Huntington feels that third baseman Josh Harrison, who’s hitting just .173/.209/.282 after today’s game, is pressing to prove he deserves the extension he received last month. Huntington feels that players react one of three ways after receiving a new contract. Some players relax and play better as a result; others, content with their newfound wealth, stop trying as hard. And then there’s Harrison. “The third case, which is what we believe is the case with Josh, he is trying to justify the contract, he is trying to show those who doubted him and show those of us that had faith in him that he is deserving.”
  • Prospect Nick Kingham, who injured his elbow last week, is seeking a second opinion. Huntington is not yet willing to say what doctors believe Kingham’s injury is. Heading into the season, MLB.com, Baseball America and Baseball Prospectus all ranked Kingham in the bottom half of their lists of the top 100 prospects in the game. He was pitching reasonably well for Triple-A Indianapolis and likely will make his big-league debut this season if he can return to health. The news that he’s seeking a second opinion suggests that his injury is significant, however.
  • Jose Tabata is hitting .338/.416/.397 at Indianapolis, but it doesn’t sound like Huntington is anticipating that the often frustrating outfielder will return to Pittsburgh, even though he’s signed through at least 2016. “We have been very open with Jose that while we hope his return to the big leagues [is] with us, he is a guy who may need to get somebody else’s attention and have somebody come get him,” says Huntington.
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