Dotel And Other News

Dotel

The Pirates and Octavio Dotel made it official by signing a 1 year contract with an option year.  Total guaranteed money is $3.5 M plus performance bonuses.  The option year is worth $4.5M.  Neal Huntington has been quoted as calling him the closer.

BTW Take:

The bullpen makeover is now complete.  Matt Bandi at Pittsburgh Lumber Co.  puts some numbers to the reconstruction.  According to his numbers, the Pirates pen looks to be middle of the league.  Still, that is an nice improvement over what the bullpen did last season.

 

Claggett

To make room for Dotel, the Pirates DFA’ed Anthony Claggett.

BTW Take:

Claggett was on the fence with each move the Pirates made this offseason, he finally fell over the fence.

 

Freddy Sanchez

A source tells me Freddy had shoulder surgery and may miss the beginning of the season for the Giants.

BTW Take:

The Sanchez trade last season is looking more and more like a shrewd deal.  If Freddy can stay healthy, he will be a nice asset for the Giants, unfortunately health has been a problem since the trade.  Good luck to Freddy in his recovery.

 

Minor Deal

I have been contacted multiple times today that the Pirates are in the process of a minor trade.  For those expecting Brandon Jones to be moved, the only common thread in the rumors was Jones was not part of the deal.

Dotel and Sheets

Dotel

The Pittsburgh Pirates and Octavio Dotel have come to terms on a one year deal with a club option.  Specific terms around bonus and base pay have not yet been revealed.  Dotel is scheduled for a physical on Thursday prior to putting pen to paper.  The formal announcement should come shortly after the physical.

A roster move needs to be made to open a spot on the 40 man roster.

BTW Take:

Finally!  In addition to signing with the Pirates, it seems Dotel is also setting up shop in Pittsburgh in another way.  His wife is due to give birth at “any time” and may stay in Pittsburgh to deliver the child.

 

Sheets

The Pirates were one of the teams at the throwing session Tuesday by Ben Sheets.

Sheets contract desires have come to light as reported via MLB Trade Rumors:

MetsBlog's Matthew Cerrone hears Ben Sheets will seek "at least $10 million, plus lots of incentives, and a second-year, player-controlled option."

Dejan Kovacevic states in the PBC Blog:

The Pirates are not a bidder for Ben Sheets.

They scouted the session as a matter of course in developing information on as many players as possible. Happens all the time.

 

Common speculation from sources outside the Pirates, the Pirates are looking at Sheets as an option IF MLB and the Players Union target the team in a similar fashion to the way the Marlins were recently reprimanded for not spending revenue sharing money.  Adding a $10 M contract to an estimated $40 M payroll would get the teams payroll figures back to the neighborhood of the payroll from 2009, actually exceeding it by a few million.

BTW Take:

It would be a shame if the Pirates made a move of this caliber just to appease MLB and the Union.  While adding Sheets would be a good move for the Pirates, to be forced into such a move would undermine anything the front office has done this off-season.

Sheets is a pitcher who could turn a 71 win team into a .500 ball club, something most Pirates fans have been praying for for nearly 2 decades.  Bringing in a pitcher, or any player,  of Sheets caliber should be the last move in rebuilding to put the team over the top, not over .500.

One bonus to adding someone like Sheets would be trade value later in the season if he stayed healthy.  This is one area I don’t understand in most rebuilding projects in MLB.  Teams want to add young talent but won’t sign upper level free agents to bolster the MLB level and allow a trade that would bring in more talent later in the year around the deadline.

To help sell the concept to ownership, signing Sheets in addition to the recent buzz the Pirates have generated would put more butts in the seats early in the season and just add to the butt count when Alvarez and Tabata are brought up.  Simply put, Alvarez + Sheets + a run at a winning record = $$$.

Don’t be surprised IF you hear the Pirates linked to Sheets in the coming weeks, especially if reports are correct the Pirates are next on the MLB/MLBPA hit list are true.

 

An Interesting Link from KC

Kings of Kauffman beg for a deal between KC and Pittsburgh for Brandon Jones.

Busy Day For The Pirates

Keeping Up With The Jones’

The Pittsburgh Pirates claimed Brandon Jones off waivers from the Atlanta Braves.  Brandon Jones was DFA’ed when the Braves signed Eric Hinske.  A scouting report on Brandon Jones can be found here, and stats can be found here.

BTW Take:

Jones was dropped repeatedly by the Braves in the depth chart regardless of his readiness due to experienced players being brought into the organization.  He is an athletic and highly touted player much in the mold of many of the outfielders Huntington has acquired in his tenure.  His defense is above average and he is said to have an above average arm in the outfield.  His bat is said to be MLB ready.

While there was speculation a trade was imminent another roster move was made…

 

Steven Jackson DFA’ed

In a less than expected move, but not quite shocking, Steven Jackson was DFA’ed to make room for Jones on the 40 man roster.

BTW Take:

With the number of relievers, quality relievers at that, still available via free agency, moving Jackson off the 40 man roster should not be a surprise.  While Jackson will likely garner some attention, he has a good chance of clearing waivers when similar pitchers are still available and willing to agree to a minor league contract that does not tie up a 40 man roster slot.

When pitchers like Brian Bass and D.J. Carrasco sign minor league deals, the odds another team would take Jackson on a waiver claim seems much slimmer to me.

It is a gamble, but I would call it a calculated risk that Huntington is taking.

 

No Arbitration Hearing For Duke

The Pirates and Zach Duke avoided arbitration by agreeing to a 1 year contract valued at $4.3 M.

BTW Take:

No surprise on a 1 year deal as is customary when dealing with arbitration.  Duke was in his 2nd year of arbitration with one more remaining after this coming season. 

 

What Does This All Mean?  And Thanks For All The Fish.

I believe Jeff Clement will not be on the Opening Day roster with Pittsburgh.  It seems the recent moves point towards the Pirates wanting Clement to get a little more time playing first base in AAA before he takes the field for the Pirates at the MLB level.

With the number of outfielders on the roster, Garrett Jones can resume play at his natural position of first base.  The athleticism in the outfield with the additions of Ryan Church, Brandon Jones and rule 5 pick John Raynor.  Add those names with Young and Moss, and there isn’t much room on the 25 man roster for Clement, Garrett Jones and Steve Pearce.

It has been an interesting offseason so far, but I feel there is yet more to come after the Dotel signing is finalized.

Would the Pirates be daring enough, bold enough, even crazy enough to make a free agent signing that could spur them into the discussion for one of the most improved teams of the offseason?  Would the Pirates be willing to sign an ace?  Yes I am talking about Ben Sheets. 

Why would he sign with the Pirates and why would they try to sign him?

For Sheets:

First, the Pirates can guarantee Sheets has the chance to be on a contending team by years end.  If/when the Pirates are out of it come the trade deadline, they can move him to a contender.

Second, Sheets would have the opportunity to prove he is still ace quality and earn a large payday after the season while pitching in a less stressful environment for most of the season.  Think of it as a minor league rehab assignment while collecting a MLB paycheck and pitching against MLB hitters.

Third, if he led a staff that ended the longest losing season streak in pro sports history, he would automatically be enshrined in the Pirates Hall of Fame and become a legend in the city of Pittsburgh.

Forth, the opportunity to work with the legendary Dave Kerwin and stick it to the Brewers.

For the Pirates:

First, Sheets would provide a true ace on the staff and set up a very nice rotation of Sheets, Maholm, Ohlendorf and Duke. 

Second, it would add a player who could be traded at the deadline for a bounty of prospects or be kept and land a first round pick as a type A free agent.

Third, a signing of Sheets would raise the Pirates payroll and keep the dogs of the union and the commissioners office off the trail of not spending revenue sharing.  The Pirates do have a sizeable amount of cash still available under their self imposed salary cap they could use to lure Sheets to Pittsburgh.

Forth, it would give the fans a sense the Pirates want to win.

Will it happen, no.  Should it happen?  I believe yes.  It is a gamble considering his history of injury problems, but Huntington seems to be a gambling man based on his history of acquisitions.

 

Update: I forgot one Item

KDKA-FM as reported by the Post-Gazette.

Random Madness

For those who read this blog regularly, when I post, you know about Random Madness.  For those who just stumbled on the blog, this is where I just randomly comment on an assortment of topics that just don’t fit under one post.

Last Thought On McGwire

He only took steroids for heath?  They didn’t help him set homerun records nor hit homeruns?

Ok, that is one of the most ridiculous statements ever made.  Even if he didn’t gain any power from the steroids, which is bull to begin with, and it only kept him on the field, that cements the fact he isn’t a Hall Of Famer.

Think about it.  If he was hitting a homerun every 15 at bats or so and the roids got him in another 21 games a season.  That works out to roughly 7 homeruns a season over an 11 year span.  In other words, he owes at least 77 homeruns to steroids just based on “health” reasons. 

All the sudden he barely hits 500 homeruns, one of the key marks to make to have a prayer of making an induction speech.  Add in less than a dozen that can be attributed to extra strength, barely 1 a season over the span, and he never reaches 500 for his career.

Considering he wasn’t great with the glove and only average with the bat.  He would have only been a good power hitter and not even considered a Hall candidate.  If anyone who used deserves not to get in to the Hall, McGwire is the poster boy.

 

New York Bay

Talk about a career killing contract.  The deal Jason Bay signed with the Mets will be the downfall of his career.  While Bay is a good player, especially in the right ballpark, he will flounder with the homerun numbers in spacious Citi Field.  If that park can suck the power out of David Wright, how badly will it drain Jason Bay?

 

Pirates Pen

Finally Pirates related…

I have to say, I like the way the bullpen is working out, especially if/when Dotel is signed.  The additions of Bass, Donnelly and Carrasco to Hanrahan and Meek round out a bullpen that will be much improved over last season.  With the loser of the 5th spot in the rotation likely headed to the pen, we finally have an idea what this team will look like coming out of Bradenton.

I know Carrasco and Bass are not on the 40 man roster yet, but they should be when the season starts.  Needless to say, there will be some major changes to the 40 man roster between now and opening day.