Odds & Ends: Posey, Maybin, Penny
Links for Wednesday…
- Due to Bengie Molina's injury, the Giants have changed their mind and called up top prospect Buster Posey according to Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News. So Posey's clock starts earlier than planned.
- Speaking of service time, MLBTR's Ben Nicholson-Smith tells me Cameron Maybin's call-up gives him 129 days of service time after this year. That puts him on the fringe of Super Two status after the 2011 season.
- ESPN's Jerry Crasnick ranks the impact of trades made by contenders in July. He talked to an exec who thinks Matt Holliday "could make an extra $3MM a year as a free agent this winter because of his strong finish."
- Yahoo's Gordon Edes has his trade deadline winners and losers.
- Ryan Doumit's agent Matt Sosnick shot down recent negativity surrounding his client, while Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette gets to the bottom of the catcher's recent benching.
- Brad Penny still hates the Dodgers, a team he'll face twice this month according to Baggarly. Baggarly also has a quote from Penny ripping on the Marlins.
- Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel has more from Brewers shortstop J.J. Hardy, who knows he gained trade value when the team delayed his free agency.
- J.C. Bradbury of Sabernomics wonders whether the Braves should pick up Tim Hudson's $12MM option for 2010. Hudson has the right to void that option, not that he would. Back in January Dave O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution said the Braves "fully intend to exercise it, barring some unexpected turn of events."
- Dave Cameron of FanGraphs notes that Kendry Morales has matched the production of the Angels' former first baseman, $180MM man Mark Teixeira.
- Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic has comments from Diamondbacks GM Josh Byrnes on the team's Jon Rauch–Kevin Mulvey swap. Piecoro says the D'Backs have about $23MM to work with this winter as they presumably look to add pitching.
- Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times guesses Ken Griffey Jr. will retire after this season.
Odds And Ends: Dodgers, Doumit, Pujols
More links for Friday evening…
- Pedro Moura of the LA Daily News reports that the Dodgers have signed 23 of their draft picks.
- ESPN.com's Rob Neyer says the Pirates should consider trading Ryan Doumit once he shows he's healthy.
- The man who would make such a move possible, Pirates first rounder Tony Sanchez, will make his pro debut tomorrow, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
- My take: Even though Sanchez receives praise for his polished game, he'll need some time to develop, so if the Pirates plan on having a winning season in the next couple years, holding onto Doumit makes sense.
- ESPN.com's Tim Kurkjian polled 11 MLB players about their ultimate pitcher-hitter confrontation. All 11 chose Albert Pujols and seven chose Roy Halladay.
Odds And Ends: Webb, Doumit, Blanks
Links for Friday morning…
- Bill Conlin of the Philadelphia Daily News argues the Phillies should declare prospect Michael Taylor off-limits.
- Mark Kiszla of the Denver Post says the 2009 Rockies are nothing like the version that stunned us with a late-season surge two Septembers ago.
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports argues the Nationals need to fire Manny Acta or assure him that he'll manage all season.
- Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic says Brandon Webb had a setback and could miss the entire year.
- Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette wonders whether the Pirates have considered moving Ryan Doumit to first base or right field when he returns.
- The Padres called up their top prospect, Kyle Blanks, according to Baseball America's John Manuel.
- Ben Klayman and Megan Davies of Reuters report that the Ricketts family has a rival in its bid to buy the Cubs, as an old bidder is again involved.
Taking Stock Of The Pirates
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.
Odds & Ends: Nady, Doumit, Boyer
Links for Tuesday…
- SI.com's Jon Heyman says Xavier Nady will not require elbow surgery and may return within a month.
- Bad news for the Pirates: Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says catcher Ryan Doumit will likely miss 8-10 weeks due to wrist surgery.
- Dave Cameron of FanGraphs says Matt Murton belongs in the Majors.
- Wallace Matthews and Ken Davidoff of Newsday each write about Jason Giambi's time in New York.
- With news that Demetri Martin will play Paul DePodesta in the Moneyball movie, Jon Weisman says not to judge the film before watching it. Personally I am looking forward to the movie. Martin is hilarious and Brad Pitt can be very good (12 Monkeys being the best example).
- Joel Sherman of the New York Post wonders why the Mets paid Fernando Tatis $1.7MM if they weren't committed to using him.
- Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch has quotes from Cardinals GM John Mozeliak about the Brian Barton–Blaine Boyer swap.
- Via NPB Tracker, a comeback for Hideki Irabu?
- RotoAuthority looks at Geovany Soto's slow start.
Pirates Pursuing Rocco Baldelli
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
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 Close To Extension With Doumit, Not McLouth
According to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Pirates are close to signing catcher Ryan Doumit to an extension. Doumit, 28, had a breakout year with a .318/.357/.501 line in 465 plate appearances. He’s arbitration-eligible for the first time.
Kovacevic learned that talks with Nate McLouth‘s agent for an extension are "close to dead," according to his agent. The two sides were never close on the dollars. McLouth is under team control through 2011 anyway.
Pirates Rumors: McLouth, Maholm, Doumit
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
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.