A Wild Thought Looking to 2012

All the anticipation of a Mark Teixeira signing has me thinking.

While listening to an interview on MLB Live (XM 175) during the winter meetings, a key quote came from one of the GM's who were being interviewed.  He made a comment that you aren't building a team for just this coming year, but also building with an eye five years down the road. 

This had my mind wandering with thoughts of what the Pirates moves might mean five years down the road.  None of the recent signings fall under that scenario.  However the rumored discussions going on with McLouth, Doumit and Maholm would at least be looking three or four years in the future.

That lineup in 2012 could have a nucleus of McLouth, McCutchen, Tabata, Alvarez and Doumit.  A few other names could be Sanchez, Andy LaRoche and Walker.  All in all, that seems like a pretty nice lineup to manage.

The rotation in 2012 could consist of Maholm, Gorzelanny, Snell and Bryan Morris and about 10 others to chose from for the remaining spot.

Now the question is, should the Pirates be looking at adding to that lineup now?

Adam LaRoche likely will not be a Pirate beyond 2009. 

In 2012 Alvarez will be manning one of the corner infield positions.  Walker or Andy LaRoche might be manning the other.

Why not make a move to have the veteran centerpiece to the lineup added now?

Teixeira is a rare talent.  Offering a contract to him with an eye to the future could make a nice lineup be formidable.  Obviously there would have to be some sort of out for Teixeira in the event season 20 of losing is looming.  The Pirates would probably like an out too.

Offer Teixeira a $200M 10 year contract with opt outs after year 3 (2012), year 5 (2014) and year 8 (2017).  The Pirates also should receive an opt out after year 5 also.

This would destroy payroll, and could never happen with the somewhere in the range of $50M payroll.  Or could it?

Adam LaRoche will be getting somewhere in the $7-8M range after arbitration.  If that contract was traded, the Pirates still have $12M to pick up.  Ironically there have been many references to the Pirates have $12-15M to spend if the fit is right.

A trade of Jack Wilson would free up some additional room under the estimated payroll.

It seems most of the rotation is already in place.  Why not add the key piece if he would be interested in playing on the east coast, close to where he calls home.  If Teixeira is honestly considering Baltimore or Washington, why not Pittsburgh?  He could be mentioned with Stargell, Clemente, Maz and many other in Pirate lore and be a local hero in a town that follows baseball until Steeler camp opens.  That could change with a player like Teixera on the roster.

A signing like this would sell some tickets in a tough economic time for the Pirates.  Teixeira would be a named face of the team for years to come. 

If LaRoche is not moved?

Teixeira can play third.

Why would Teixeira want to play in Pittsburgh besides being a Pittsburgh hero? 

Take another look at the talent that will be around him in the next couple years.  If $20M isn't enough, the talent that will be coming in the next couple of years could make the decision easier.  He won't be coming into a rebuilding project.  He will be reaping the benefits of coming in at the end of a 16 year rebuilding project.

If Baltimore and Washington are actually part of the discussion, the Pirates have a better future looming based on prospects than Washington.  Baltimore has Weiters and a few other nice prospects similar to the situation the Pirates are in.  My personal biased opinion is the Pirates have better closer than Baltimore.

Another reason, in three years he has an opt out that would likely be a much better market for free agents. 

Why would the Pirates make such a 10 year gamble?

In order for Huntington to build the franchise through trades, there needs to be pieces to trade.  The Pirates could always trade him for a bounty of young talent before year three and further rebuild their minor league system.  Teixeira could be that huge piece, even if he is not in the 2012 lineup.  If he is still here in 2012 and beyond, the Pirates have their new star to hang their hat on.  Not just a nice player hyped by the team as an elite player.

This scenario will never happen, but it is fun to dream isn't it?

Winter Meeting Recap

Thanks to a wonderful site called Woot I have been sidetracked from writing.  Woot was kind enough to have a 3 day Woot-off during the Winter meetings.  Sorry people, my geek life takes precedence occasionally.

Now, onto the recap.

No Mo Ro Pa:

The Pittsburgh Pirates and Philadelphia Phillies swapped catchers.  Ronnie Paulino was sent to the Phillies for a return of Jason Jaramillo.

BTW Take:

Looking at stats alone, it seems Jaramillo has a better eye in the minors based on his walk numbers alone.  Beyond walks, there minor league stats aren't much different. 

The sad think for Ronnie, he went from being a backup catcher to Ryan Doumit to potentially being blocked by Carlos Ruiz and Lou Marson.  People seem to think Paulino is a good hitting catcher.  He never showed a .310 average was in him while playing in the minors.  Remember it took a few injuries to even get a shot in Pittsburgh. 

He was praised for his handling of pitchers, but his defense was lousy and his offense came back to earth after his fluke of a .310 season as a rookie.  A .280 minor league hitter does not turn into a .310 MLB hitter.  Paulino also earned a tag of being lazy, whether he deserved that tag or not is something you can decide.

Jaramillo was considered a top prospect not long ago.  He is only a year younger than Paulino.  This seems to be a trade to grant Paulino his wish of a trade while getting a player back that Russell has managed in the past and was very high on.  More or less, a slacker for a hard worked.

 

Rule 5:

The Pittsburgh Pirates took Donnie Veal in the MLB portion of the Rule 5 draft.

In the Minor League portion, the Pirates did something unusual, grabbing players from the Latin Summer Leagues.  The players taken in the Minor League portion are Andres Santos ( 22, New York Yankees) Rafael Quintero (21, Cleveland Indians), Gerardo Esparza (21, Seattle Mariners). The first two were in the DSL, Esparza in Venezuela.

BTW Take:

Veal seems to be a solid pickup.  He has had some tough times over the last 3 years off the diamond.  If he can get his game together, this guy could be a steal.  I found this article on his personal problems over the last 3 years.  He lost both his parents, his mother to cancer and his father to a diving accident.

The minor league pickups I have not found much on, but the fact the Pirates went outside the norm makes these moves even more impressive in a creative kind of way.  Dejan has a nice little write up on this in the PBC Blog, the 6:05 update.

 

Free Agent Signing:

The Pirates are on the verge of signing a 2 year contract with Ramon Vazquez. 

BTW Take:

Everyone seems to think this is a precursor to a Jack Wilson or Freddy Sanchez trade.  I have my doubts.  This has the smell of a move to have an additional option if Andy LaRoche or Neil Walker can't take the Hot Corner.  Vazquez could play third or Freddy could move back to third if both prospects fail to make the grade.  Vazquez has played 255 games at third.

Just because rumors swirl about a Wilson trade doesn't make Vazquez the next shortstop.

 

Bixler a Marlin?:

Rumors swirl about the Marlins being interested in Brian Bixler.

BTW Take:

I'd hate to see Bixler go.  I had the opportunity to see Bixler play in College.  If you asked me to give a CHP (Can He Play) rating, I would say he can play.  I think he struggled with the initial call up.  Don't be surprised if he doesn't perform worlds better in his next call up.

 

McCutchen To Pittsburgh:

In one of Huntington's press meetings, he made a statement McCutchen will "likely" be on the MLB roster sometime in 2009.

BTW Take:

I am anxious to see what he can do.

 

The BIG News:

The Pirates are in discussions to sign extensions with Maholm, McLouth and Doumit.

BTW Take:

McLouth and Maholm make sense.  Doumit scares me with his injury history.  Last season he stayed mostly healthy, but I'd like to see him do it again before dropping a long term deal on him.