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Knobler: Tigers Not Interested in Joel Hanrahan

Published on December 15, 2012 by in Features1, Rumors

The Tigers are in need of a late-inning reliever or closer and have a young, solid starting pitcher that they are likely to trade. The Pirates need a solid starting pitcher and have a late-inning reliever or closer that they are likely to trade.

Because of those two things, many have wondered that a deal involving the Pirates’ Joel Hanrahan and Tigers’ Rick Porcello makes sense for both teams. But Danny Knobler of CBS Sports reports otherwise.

 

I still think the Pirates should be making a pretty strong push for Porcello, but if the Tigers are not interested in Hanrahan, it does make it a little harder for the Pirates to put together a package for him.

 
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Bucs Re-Sign Jason Grilli to Two-Year Deal

Published on December 10, 2012 by in Features1, Transactions

Ken Rosenthal is reporting that Jason Grilli has (for real this time) re-signed with the Pirates for two years pending a physical. Terms have not yet been disclosed.

Also, this might be a first:

 

Grilli has been superb for the Pirates since his acquisition in 2011, posting a 2.76 ERA and a 12.5 K/9 ratio in 91 1/3 innings over his 1 1/2 seasons serving as the team’s setup man. He is now 36 years old but really showed no signs yet of ineffectiveness.

This deal also leads us to the question, “Does this make Joel Hanrahan more expendable?” A trade involving Hanrahan could provide some much-needed help in other areas with Grilli poised to handle late-inning situations for a couple of years.

UPDATE – 4:40 PM:

Jon Heyman is reporting that Grilli’s deal is worth $6.75 million over the two years of the contract.

 
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Russell Martin Drawing Significant Interest from Pirates

Published on November 27, 2012 by in Features1, Rumors

According to Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal, catcher Russell Martin is drawing significant interest from the Pittsburgh Pirates, Seattle Mariners, and Texas Rangers. The Yankees are still seen as the favorite to resign him, but will have to deal with some competition.

Martin, who will be 30 in March, is coming off a season where he hit .211/.311/.403 with 21 home runs and a 2.2 WAR in 133 games with the Yankees.

Any deal with Martin will presumably be a multi-year deal. In Martin’s final year of arbitration eligibility in 2012, he received $7.5 million.

The Pirates are pretty desperate at the catching position right now and Martin is the second best remaining free agent at the position behind Mike Napoli, so making a strong play for him is probably a good idea.

 
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Andrew McCutchen wins Gold Glove Award

Published on October 30, 2012 by in Features

Ummm, OK.

In what is pretty astonishing news, Andrew McCutchen has won the NL Center Field Gold Glove Award. McCutchen’s speed definitely allowed him to cover a lot of ground and make some highlight reel catches, but statistics and watching him day in and day out show that he probably wasn’t deserving of this, much like Nate McLouth in 2008.

McCutchen’s UZR/150 ranked 9th among 11 qualified NL center fielders and hit a total of zero (perhaps an exaggeration) cut-off men in 2012.

But in all seriousness, even with how silly the Gold Glove Award is, it’s pretty awesome McCutchen won. He is an amazing player and this is the first of hopefully many “major” awards he will win during his career as a Pirate.

 
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Roundtable with Dejan Kovacevic this Evening

Published on October 24, 2012 by in Uncategorized

This evening at 9 PM, Dejan Kovacevic will meet and discuss the whole Navy SEALS training thing that went on during Pirates Fall Instructs. Hopefully it will provide some clarity on the whole situation, especially what was released late last night [link].

The forum will take place at Bucs Dugout [link]. Please follow Charlie’s rules listed on the page.

 
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BBA: 2012 Stan Musial Award

Published on October 18, 2012 by in Uncategorized

As a member of the Baseball Bloggers Alliance, I have the privilege to vote on all of the awards that are handed out by the organization at season’s end. The Stan Musial Award goes to the most valuable player in the league.

1) Buster Posey, C, San Francisco
It’s hard to realize, but 2012 was Posey’s first full ML season and man was it good. He led the NL in WAR (8.0) and won the batting title with a .336/.408/.549 line.

2) Ryan Braun, LF, Milwaukee
Braun’s 2012 was even better than his 2011 MVP campaign. Whether or not you believe he deserves it, his numbers don’t lie. He hit 41 homers and was second in the league in WAR (7.9).

3) Andrew McCutchen, CF, Pittsburgh
It was awesome to see McCutchen blossom into the MVP-caliber player the Pirates have so desperately needed for years. His 7.4 WAR was 5th best in the league.

4) Chase Headley, 3B, San Diego
Headley was a hot commodity during the deadline and he ended up showing why. He ended up staying with the Padres and amazingly put up a line of .286/.376/.498 with 31 homers in the worst hitter’s park in the majors.

5) David Wright, 3B, New York
Wright had a big bounce back season after a 2011 season where he posted just a 1.9 WAR. He hit .306/.391/.492 with 21 homers this season and finished 3rd in the NL in WAR (7.8).

6) Clayton Kershaw, LHP, Los Angeles
Kershaw led all NL pitchers in WAR (5.5) and ERA (2.53). Somehow he is still just 24 years old. It’s crazy what he has accomplished so far.

7) Yadier Molina, C, St. Louis
I hate him so bad, but Molina put up his best season of his entire career. And in the Cardinals’ first year without Albert Pujols, it couldn’t have come at a better time. Molina hit .315/.373/.501 with 22 homers and threw out 35 of 73 attempting base stealers.

8) Aramis Ramirez, 3B, Milwaukee
Ramirez rejuvenated his career with the Brewers and posted the highest WAR (6.5) of his career at age 34. He hit .300/.360/.540 with 27 home runs.

9) Aaron Hill, 2B, Arizona
Hill was the best second baseman in the NL this year and also put up his best season of his career. He set career highs in BA (.302), OBP (.360), SLG (.522), and WAR (6.2).

10) Jason Heyward, RF, Atlanta
Heyward put together the breakout season that Braves fans had in mind when he was a hugely touted prospect. At age 23, Heyward finished 6th in the NL in WAR (6.6) thanks to a solid line (.269/.335/.479) and very strong defense (21.5 UZR).

 
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