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Taking Stock Of The Pirates

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John Perrotto of Baseball Prospectus catalogues a decade and a half of poor decisions by the Pirates in his latest column, up at ESPN.com. Some of the team's more memorable gaffes:

  • Releasing Tim Wakefield.
  • Signing Pat Meares to a four year $15MM deal that surprised even Meares. 
  • Commiting nearly $10MM to Derek Bell, then claiming the deal sent "shock waves through baseball" during the same offseason that Alex Rodriguez signed for $252MM.
  • Giving Bronson Arroyo up on waivers only to have him return to Pittsburgh as an All-Star for the Reds and call the Pirates the "most inept organization in baseball."  

But the Pirates have shed some contracts in recent years and appear poised to get younger and better under current GM Neal Huntington. After next year they have commitments to Paul Maholm, Nate McLouth, Ian Snell, Ryan Doumit and Pedro Alvarez, but no one else. They reportedly have a good chance of signing 16-year-old shortstop prospect Miguel Angel Sano and are considering top talent with the fourth overall pick that they hold in this year's draft.

So what's the verdict on the Pirates? They don't appear likely to end their streak of 16 straight losing seasons this year, but are they on the right track? Or do they need new direction? What moves have to take place for the Pirates to join the best teams in the NL Central?

Pirates Reach Extension With Maholm

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FRIDAY: Dejan Kovacevic has the contract details – Maholm gets $14.5MM guaranteed.  $13.75MM for his three arb years, plus a $750K buyout for his $9.75MM 2012 club option.

THURSDAY, 9:15am: Maholm gets three years plus a club option for a fourth, says Kovacevic.  That option covers Maholm’s first free agent year.

Maholm, 26, posted a 3.71 ERA in 31 starts in 2008.

8:08am: According to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Pirates reached an agreement on a multiyear deal with starter Paul Maholm.  The deal is expected to cover his three arbitration years.  I imagine Maholm will earn something in the $12-13MM range for those three years.

This was Maholm’s first arb year; he submitted $3.8MM while the Pirates countered at $2.65MM ($3.225MM midpoint). 

Maholm Deal Becoming More Realistic

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Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes of Monday indications that a multiyear contract for Pirates starter Paul Maholm "is becoming more realistic by the day."  The Pirates have a February 10th hearing scheduled with Maholm, with the two sides facing a $1.15MM gap over the salary for his first arbitration year.  It’s been said the Bucs would like to sign Maholm for at least four years, which would buy out one year of free agency.  Using Ian Snell’s contract as a model, perhaps Maholm would get $24MM or so for those four years.  Snell’s deal, signed in March of ’08, has the team-friendly element of two club options though.

Kovacevic does the math and finds the Pirates have roughly $4MM to spend to bring in additional players this year, maybe a few million more depending on where Maholm and Nate McLouth’s salaries land.  Two free agent starters known to be on the radar are Braden Looper and Pedro Martinez.

Odds and Ends: Yamarin, Eaton, Atkins, Ohman

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Links for Monday…

Pirates Offered Maholm Deal; Talks Progress

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According to Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review the Pirates have made Paul Maholm an offer and continue to negotiate a multi-year contract with him. Maholm said he’s still "exchanging numbers" with the Pirates, but "the long term deal is still on the table."

The Pirates are hoping to work out a four year deal and buy out Maholm’s first year of free agency. Maholm, who’s arbitration eligible for the first time, said the numbers exchanged so far "aren’t far apart."

Pirates Notes: Maholm, Mientkiewicz, Alvarez

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The latest on the Pirates, from Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

  • Extension talks with Nate McLouth are dormant, but talks with Paul Maholm are not.  Maholm is arbitration-eligible for the first time this winter, so he’s under team control through 2011.
  • Doug Mientkiewicz was overwhelmed by the support he’s getting from Pirates fans.
  • Scott Boras apparently told the Pirates Pedro Alvarez was working very hard to stay in shape while their negotiations dragged, but team president Frank Coonelly says Alvarez "was not in good condition" when he showed up for the Florida Instructional League in September.

Pirates Pursuing Rocco Baldelli

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Pirates rumors from the tireless Dejan Kovacevic…

  • Kovacevic says the Pirates are in pursuit of free agent outfielder Rocco Baldelli.  The Bucs are serious about him, having spoken to his agents several times.  The Reds, Phillies, Red Sox, and Yankees are considered other suitors.
  • The team’s interest in Ty Wigginton has dropped off.
  • Doug Mientkiewicz remains on the radar, but no offer has been made.
  • Nothing cooking on the Jack Wilson front; he’s likely to remain the Pirates’ shortstop.
  • The Pirates offered slightly more than the $2.6MM Daniel Cabrera signed for with the Nationals.  D-Cab wanted to remain in the area.  The Pirates may choose not to pursue any other free agent starters.
  • We knew extension talks with Nate McLouth had fizzled; turns out nothing is close with Paul Maholm either.  Pirates president Frank Coonelly described the disconnect at Ryan Doumit’s press conference.

Doumit Signs Three-Year Extension

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MONDAY, 1:12pm: Kovacevic says Doumit is guaranteed $11.5MM with a maximum value of about $27MM.  His three arb years were bought out for $10.7MM.  He has further details at his blog.

SUNDAY, 11:21pm: Dejan Kovacevic says the Doumit contract has a one-time trigger for the option on his two free agency years.  Talks with Paul Maholm are in progress, but talks with Nate McLouth broke down.

7:31pm: Crasnick has the financials: it could be worth $20MM over four years or $30MM over five years.

4:42pm: ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick is reporting that the Pirates have reached an agreement on a three-year extension for Ryan Doumit, buying out his arbitration years.

Doumit, 27, hit .318/.357/.501 in 465 plate appearances in 2008. His .858 OPS ranks him alongside catchers such as Joe Mauer and Geovany Soto. Not bad company there.

The terms of the deal haven’t been released yet, but Crasnick says there is a club option for a fourth year as well. The Pirates will announce the deal in a press conference tomorrow.

Crasnick also says the Pirates are still working to sign Nate McLouth to an extension, but those efforts have reached a stalemate for now.

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.

Braves Interested In Maholm, McLouth, Snell

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4:54pm: Dejan Kovacevic learned that the Braves asked the Pirates about Maholm and Nate McLouth.  Neither player would come cheap.

3:35pm: According to John Perrotto of the Beaver County Times, the Braves are interested in Paul Maholm and Ian Snell but wouldn’t be willing to trade Tommy Hanson.  It’s hard to see the pitching-deprived Pirates trading either starter without getting MLB-ready pitching in return.  Perrotto adds that the Nationals also have interest in Snell.

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