First off, my apologies for the tardiness in this. Jury duty got in the way. Anyways, you can find a full recap of all the roster moves that the Pirates made on Friday right here. The full story includes comments and explanations from GM Neal Huntington, too.
In review, the Pirates added seven players to the 40-man roster on Friday:
In order to have enough room for all these additions, the following players were removed from the 40-man roster:
A few things to note regarding all of this...
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]]>At 11:59 pm ET on Friday, all teams must have 40-man rosters set in preparation for the Rule 5 Draft, which will be held in Indianapolis on Dec. 10. That means the Pirates have some decisions and moves left to make in the next two days.
Currently, the club's 40-man roster has 36 players on it. Evan Meek and Jose Ascanio are both still listed as being on the 60-day disabled list, but they will both need to be added this week. Once they are, the Pirates will then have 38 players on that roster.
Given GM Neal Huntington's track record so far, you'd have to believe that the Pirates are planning to go into the Rule 5 Draft with the expectation of making a selection in it. That would mean that the club needs to leave a roster spot available for that Rule 5 pick. In essence, that gives the Pirates the ability to really only protect 39 players.
So who needs to be added before Friday? Members of the 2006 Draft class that were 19 or older when they signed are eligible for the Rule 5 Draft this year. You can find the full list of Pirates draft picks from '06 here if you're interested. Players who were signed at the age of 18 of younger get an extra year before they are eligible, which means that those signed out of high school or Latin America at 18 or younger in 2005 are now Rule 5 eligible.
The obvious add to the 40-man will be right-hander Brad Lincoln. He's the top pitching prospect in the system and would be snatched up in a heartbeat if left unprotected.
I think you can put outfielder Gorkys Hernandez in that category, too. While he may still be a bit further from the Majors than Lincoln, he is a prospect that the Pirates will protect.
Though right-hander Bryan Morris took a step back in Single-A this season, he's a likely addition to the 40-man because of his potential. It's hard for me to believe that the Pirates would leave one of the main pieces in the Jason Bay trade at risk to be taken. Can you imagine how that would look if he was.
Some of the other players (this is not an exhaustive list) that are Rule 5 eligible include: Shelby Ford, Miles Durham, Jim Negrych, Ramon Aguero, Michael Dubee, R.J. Rodriguez, Jared Keel and Michael Crotta.
If he's not protected, Kyle Bloom will again be among those eligible for the Rule 5 Draft. I'm noting him specifically because he was taken in the 2008 Rule 5 Draft by Detroit, but given back to Pittsburgh late in Spring Training.
Now, who is susceptible to being removed from the 40-man to make room for these additions? The Pirates would seem to have a sufficient amount of potential options. I'd list (in no particular order) Anthony Claggett, Phil Dumatrait, Steven Jackson, Brian Bixler and Argenis Diaz as the most likely to be removed. All would seem to be fairly easy to replace if lost.
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]]>... yes, the one about the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury. Well, meet your newest Allegheny County juror. It's not exactly the best timing with the Hot Stove simmering and about to get much more interesting in the coming days, but as it does, I'll be spending my days in the courtroom for the next week. Yes, a week. (insert collective sigh here)
That said, I probably can't get away with blogging or twittering during a trial, so I apologize ahead of time, but neither will likely be updated much during the day. Breaking news will be covered on the main site by someone filling in for me. And if any news surfaces during the day that warrants any follow-up here or on the main site, I'll take care of that in the evenings.
Sorry about the timing. But hey, if it makes you feel any better, my $9/day jury stipend didn't come close to covering the $24 parking fee I incurred today. Must come up with a parking Plan B for tomorrow...
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A few injuries to bring you up to speed on...
Pirates GM Neal Huntington confirmed that there have been no setbacks for Ascanio since that surgery. While players can sometimes recover and return in seven months, Ascanio is expected to be on an 8-9 month timetable. That means that best-case scenario would probably have him back pitching in Pittsburgh in May/June at the earliest. Ascanio is expected to be cleared to start throwing (very lightly) for the first time about the time the Pirates open up Spring Training camp.
Hansen received good news in his check-up last week. The nerve, which needed to regenerate, has gotten closer to the muscle in his back/neck that needs to be strengthened. It's finally proof of some progress for Hansen, who has been playing the waiting game this whole time. He's still highly unlikely to be able to compete for a spot in Spring Training, but this at least a sign that Hansen may be able to pitch again at some point in 2010.
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]]>Jason Bay remains the Pirates' last player to win Rookie-of-the-Year honors as center fielder Andrew McCutchen fell up short in his bid to win the award for his 2009 season. McCutchen finished fourth in the voting, with Florida's Chris Coghlan winning the honors. Pirates outfielder/first baseman Garrett Jones finished seventh.
Here is a breakdown of the voting:
|
|
1st-place votes |
2nd-place votes |
3rd-place votes |
Total |
|
Chris Coghlan |
17 |
6 |
2 |
105 |
|
J.A. Happ |
10 |
11 |
11 |
94 |
|
Tommy Hanson |
2 |
6 |
9 |
37 |
|
Andrew McCutchen |
2 |
5 |
|
25 |
|
Casey McGehee |
1 |
3 |
4 |
18 |
|
Randy Wells |
|
1 |
|
3 |
|
Garrett Jones |
|
|
2 |
2 |
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]]>For any of you Pirates fans (and I know there are a lot of you who fit in this category) who were holding out hope that shortstop Jack Wilson would make a return to Pittsburgh, I'm sorry to squash those hopes.
On Friday, Wilson and the Mariners agreed to a deal that will keep the shortstop in Seattle through 2011. The two-year deal is worth $10 million.
Wilson, who was traded to Seattle on July 29 in a seven-player deal, left Pittsburgh with the door still open for a possible return. In fact, he confirmed with me on Friday that if he had become a free agent, he would have strongly considered returning to the Pirates if Pittsburgh had shown interest in resigning him.
As it turns out, though, Wilson's offer from the Mariners was too good to pass up. The deal that Wilson signed with Seattle was worth $2 million more than the two-year extension the Pirates offered the shortstop back in July.
Wilson hit .244 in 31 games with Seattle, but was plagued by injuries during his two-month stint there.
With Wilson's deal, now both he and Freddy Sanchez have signed multi-year deals with the clubs that acquired each in July.
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]]>I know this list has surfaced in other stories on the site, but so you have it in a concise form, here are the Pirates players eligible for arbitration, along with their service time:
The cut-off for "Super Two" players becoming arbitration eligble was at two years, 139 days. You'll notice that Karstens made that cut-off by five days.
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]]>Obviously, folks, you will be able to find all of your Pirates-related news this offseason on this blog. But for those of you with an interest in following the Hot Stove landscape across Major League Baseball, I wanted to direct you to MLB.com's Hot Stove blog.
The link you'll need is right here.
All 30 beat writers will be updating this blog with breaking news, rumors and speculation. If that's something that keeps you sane until Spring Training kicks up, you should make it one of your daily online stops.
OK... done with my shameless plug. Thank you.
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This isn't earth-shattering news to bring you or anything, but in case anyone has been sitting on the edge of their seats for such information, the Pirates have released times for their 2010 regular season games.
I would expect those times to be reflected on the schedule that we have posted on pirates.com, but they haven't been yet. Anyways, if you're curious, here are the highlights:
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]]>For the last few weeks, I've been working with people from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to get a blog set up for right-hander Ross Ohlendorf, who was interested in sharing information about what he is doing during an eight-week internship with the department. Here is some background on the internship for those who missed the story I wrote about Ohlendorf a few weeks back.
We finally got a blog going on Tuesday, and Ohlendorf has already published his first entry. You can find his blog here. You will also notice that there is a link to his blog on the pirates.com homepage.
Ohlendorf has committed to blogging through his internship, but maybe with some encouragement and feedback from you guys, he'll continue to blog through the rest of the offseason and even during the year. I'm sure he'd love to hear your questions, which you can leave in the comments section, of course.
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]]>Are there really only 98 days until pitchers and catchers report to Bradenton, Fla., for Spring Training? Wow.
The Pirates have now released important Spring Training dates and the club's schedule for anyone who is curious. Here are some highlights:
Feb. 17: Pitchers and catchers must report before the end of the day
Feb. 18: First workout for pitchers and catcher (noon)
Feb. 22: Position players must report before the end of the day
Feb. 23: First full squad workout (9 a.m.)
As for the team's Grapefruit League schedule, it can be found right here.
You'll notice that the Pirates will host the Phillies on March 6 in the team's home opener at McKechnie Field. The Phillies, Yankees and Red Sox each make two visits to Bradenton. The Pirates' only home night game comes against the Orioles on March 10.
Also worth noting is the Pirates close out their spring schedule with two exhibition games against the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park on April 2 and 3. I'll leave the over/under on inches of snow that fall during those days at two. Any takers?
And if you're planning on spending part of your winter with the Bucs in Bradenton, here is all the ticket information you will need.
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]]>The Florida State League owners have approved the Pirates' bid to purchase Cincinnati's high-A club, which was the final step in Pittsburgh's pursuit to move one of the organization's Minor League affiliates to Bradenton, Fla.
With this approval from the FSL, the Pirates have assumed control of the Reds' Single-A team in Sarasota, Fla., and is relocating that club to Bradenton, which is already Pittsburgh's Spring Training and Gulf Coast League home.
The Reds no longer had a need for a team in Sarasota since the club has moved its Spring Training home to Goodyear, Ariz.
"We are extremely excited to bring our High-A team to Bradenton," said Pirates president Frank Coonelly. "This was an investment that our general manager Neal Huntington and director of player development Kyle Stark believed would further enhance the development of our minor league players by stabilizing this critical level of player development in an outstanding environment for teaching and instruction."
As part of the swap between the Reds and Pirates, Cincinnati will move its high-A team to Lynchburg, Va., which had been home to the Pirates' high-A team since 1995. The Hillcats approved the exchange even though the Pirates had one year remaining on their contract with Lynchburg.
The Pirates' new Bradenton club has not yet been given an official name or logo, though that is expected to be announced in the next few weeks. So, too, will the team's 140-game schedule for 2010. However, the Pirates have already announced that the high-A club will open its season on April 8 in a night game at McKechnie Field.
As a byproduct of this purchase and move, the Pirates are also expected to make renovations to McKechnie Field. That will not only benefit the FSL and GCL teams, but also Pittsburgh's Major League club, which plays its Grapefruit League games at McKechnie Field during Spring Training.
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]]>Hopefully some of you were able to tune in and watch the Arizona Fall League's Rising Stars game on MLB Network on Saturday night. If you didn't, however, here is how the Bucco representatives in the contest fared:
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]]>The Pirates continue to retool the club's 40-man roster, with three more players being removed from it on Friday. Right-handers Virgil Vasquez and Eric Hacker were outrighted to Triple-A Indianapolis. Catcher Steve Lerud was sent outright to Double-A Altoona.
With the three subtractions, the Pirates now have 36 players on their 40-man roster. Relievers Evan Meek and Jose Ascanio remain on the 60-day disabled list and will take two of those vacant spots soon. The Pirates have until Nov. 20 to finalize their 40-man roster in advance of the Rule 5 Draft on Dec. 10.
None of Friday's three roster moves comes as much of a surprise. Vasquez and Hacker both spent minimal time on the Major League roster in 2009. Lerud spent all of last season as Altoona's primary catcher.
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]]>There's probably no question I get asked more frequently than that one. I'm not sure what people think I do -- take a three-month vacation or go hibernate in my house.
My answer to the question is: Actually, I do quite a bit. Sure, there's a lot less traveling involved, and if I'm lucky, I get some nights and weekends free for a change. But as any true baseball fan knows, the news keeps flowing 24/7/365 (well, maybe not on Christmas, if we're lucky).
The offseason has now officially started, meaning the hot stove season is about to get into full swing. Below you'll see a list of important dates to keep handy over the next few months as we work our way closer to Bradenton, Fla., for Spring Training 2010.
(On a side note... the Spring Training schedule/dates have not been released yet, but expect for them to be made public soon).
IMPORTANT DATES:
This is today, of course, and marks the first day of a 15-day period in which players with enough Major League service time can begin filing for free agency.
This doesn't affect the Pirates directly because there are no players on the club that can become free agents. Other teams with players bound for free agency have this 15-day window to also negotiate exclusively with its players.
That exclusive period for negotiations ends on this day, giving all teams the ability to talk with all eligible free agents. Let the madness begin...
This will affect the Rule 5 Draft that happens a few weeks later during the Winter Meetings. Teams have until this date to set tweak its 40-man roster. After Nov. 20, any players left off of the Major League 40-man roster who have played four years in the Minors (if drafted when 19 or older) or five years in the Minors (if drated when 18 or younger) are eligible to be snatched up in the Rule 5 Draft.
The Pirates do have some decisions to make before this date. The Pirates have one vacancy on their 40-man roster and have a number of players that are expected to be added: Evan Meek (60-day DL), Jose Ascanio (60-day DL), Brad Lincoln (Rule 5 eligible), Gorkys Hernandez (Rule 5 eligible) and Bryan Morris (Rule 5 eligible).
Teams who have players that are determined to be Type A or Type B free agents (status is determined through this nifty Elias point system) have the opportunity to offer those players arbitration. If the player accepts, the two sides then are bound to negotiate. If the player declines, the team then receives either one or two compensation Draft picks in 2010 from the team that eventually signs this player.
Again, this does not affect the Pirates this year since they have no free agents.
Baseball's annual rumor mill extravaganza kicks of in Indy for three days of 'he said, she said' and then culminates with the Rule 5 Draft. The Winter Meetings actually sound much more glamorous to those who never go. The reality is, it's a lot of shooting down nonsensical rumors and watching baseball writers go crazy amid speculation.
The final day of the Winter Meetings is when the Rule 5 Draft is held. The Pirates have made a selection in each of GM Neal Huntington's first two years, so it's likely they will again.
Two days after the Winter Meetings end, teams have to make final decisions about whether to tender a contract to players that are eligible for arbitration. Players who aren't tendered contracts become free agents. Those that are then have the ability to negotiate with the team in hopes of trying to avoid a February arbitration hearing.
The Pirates have four arbitration-eligible players: Matt Capps, Ronny Cedeno, Zach Duke and Jeff Karstens (Super 2). As things stand now, I'd expect the Pirates to offer a contract to each one.
That should take you through the end of 2009 in terms of hot stove hot dates. Now the only question left: how many days until Spring Training?
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