For real this time.
Liriano passed physical. Deal with #Pirates finally official.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) February 8, 2013
It’s gotten to the point where I won’t believe Francisco Liriano is actually a Pirate until I see him in uniform. Still no word yet on the terms of the contract, but I would assume there is some language in there protecting the Pirates if he were forced to miss any time due to his broken right arm.
Confirmed: #Pirates close to minor league contract with FA lhp Jonathan Sanchez.
— Rob Biertempfel (@BiertempfelTrib) February 5, 2013
It looks like the Pirates have found their contingency plan to Francisco Liriano in LHP Jonathan Sanchez.
Pirates fans will most likely remember Sanchez as the piece the Neal Huntington wanted from San Francisco in the Freddy Sanchez trade, but the Giants refused to part with him. That was in 2009 when a then 26-year old Sanchez was making a name for himself, thanks to tossing a no-hitter on July 10th. He would go on to post a 3.07 ERA in 33 starts the next year and looked like he was entering his prime.
But then things fell apart for Sanchez last season when he combined to go 1-9 with a 8.07 ERA over 64 2/3 innings.
If the deal, is in fact, a minor league deal, I don’t fault the Pirates for at least giving him a look. For four years between 2008 and 2011, Sanchez was an effective starting pitcher. He is now 30 years old and the Pirates find themselves in a very low-risk situation if they can sign him.
Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports reported today that the Pirates and Francisco Liriano have agreed to terms on a two-year contract. Again.
Liriano and the Bucs agreed to a deal worth $12.75 million over two years earlier in December, but we found out it was being delayed when news broke that Liriano had broken his non-throwing arm.
The new deal still allows Liriano to make the agreed-upon $12.75 million over the two years unless he misses time in 2013 due to that specific injury. This is a very rare instance where a Major League contract is not fully guaranteed. So to recap, if Liriano doesn’t go on the disabled list this season due to the right arm injury, he will make the full amount of the contract. If he does, he makes less.
Liriano posted a 5.34 ERA over 156 2/3 innings last season between the Twins and White Sox. If healthy, he is expected to start the season on the Pirates’ rotation along with A.J. Burnett, Wandy Rodriguez, James McDonald, and most likely Jeff Karstens, with Jeff Locke and Kyle McPherson competing for a spot as well.
#Pirates and @gabysanchez15 agree on 1-year deal worth $1.75M plus bonuses to avoid salary arbitration. #MLB
— BHSC (@BHSCouncil) January 18, 2013
Gaby Sanchez hit .241/.323/.397 with four home runs in 130 plate appearances after being acquired at last season’s trade deadline from Miami.
Per Jon Heyman, the Pirates have exchanged arbitration figures with both Neil Walker and James McDonald [link and link].
According to Heyman, Walker filed at $3.6 million while the Pirates are offering $3 million.
McDonald filed at $3.4 million and the Pirates at $2.65 million.
Walker is a Super Two player, meaning this is the first of four arbitration eligible seasons. McDonald is in his first eligible season of the normal three that a player receives.
One would think the Pirates and Walker will settle things before going to an arbitration case since they are only $600,000 apart in their figures. McDonald and the Pirates are a little further apart, but still have time to figure out an amount.
Garrett Jones remains as the only arbitration eligible player to neither agree to terms nor exchange figures. Last year, the Pirates and Jones went to arbitration over a $250,000 difference, with the Pirates winning the case. Figures had to either be exchanged or an agreement reached by 1 PM ET today, so I’m sure something has happened and we just don’t know about it yet.
This is nice to see.
Source: #Pirates, RHP Jeff Karstens agree to terms on one-year contract, pending physical
— Bill Brink (@BrinkPG) January 14, 2013
In an off season that has pretty much been the definition of “meh,” this is a move that makes some sense. Jeff Karstens, when healthy has been a very solid pitcher of the previous seasons and the Pirates are in need of some starting pitching.
In 19 games (15 starts) last season, Karstens posted a 3.97 ERA and 66:15 K:BB ratio over 90 2/3 innings. After starting the season on the disabled list due to right shoulder inflammation, his season was cut short thanks to a strained hip flexor muscle.
The deal is pending a physical and Karstens looks to make $2.5 to $3 million once the details are announced.
