Talkin' Pirates

With some extra time and the winter meetings starting Monday and all that entails,lets talk some Bucco baseball and catch up a bit on news and opinion.

The first topic is something that I forgot to post (My error) was that Zach Duke was shipped to Arizona for a player to be named later.
Duke was non tendered a contract and the Pirates didn't want to chance arbitration,where he would likely receive more money than they wanted to be paying for his recent performances.
Pittsburgh will eventually pick up a player from the Diamondbacks,but no word on who that will be yet.
Duke always tried hard and I liked him,but he never seemed to recover from Jim Colborn's tinkering with his mechanics and was not the same pitcher after that.
Duke's stuff might play better on a good team than a bad one as those teams tend to occasionally catch the ball.
I doubt that Arizona is that team,but maybe a change of scenery will help-it did wonders for Jose Bautista apparently!

The Pirates also didn't offer deals to either Delwyn Young or Andy LaRoche at the same time as Duke.Both players cleared waivers and elected to become free agents.
LaRoche was more of a disappointment as a Pirate than Young,but neither are huge losses to the organization.

More players that were allowed to test the market and one was somewhat of a surprise.
Lastings Milledge was non-tendered and that surprises me.
Not that Milledge had been tremendous as a Pirate,but not terrible and the price didn't seem extravagant (likely between 1-1.5 million per year),although the team did say that they were open to a possible re-signing.
Brian Burres and Donald Veal were non-tendered as well,but both are expected to re-sign for a lower contract,while Argenis Diaz will be signing elsewhere.
Pedro Ciriaco appeared to pass Diaz on the Pirates slick glove,no bat depth chart last season..

The Pirates signed three minor league free agents,none of which appear to make an impact.
Andy Marte signs from the Indians and on some teams,Marte might have a shot to make the team with his ability to play first and third,but the Pirates have several players to fill that role.
Marte is likely to be at one of those spots for Indianapolis.
Veteran catcher Dusty Brown was signed to basically fill the AAA veteran mitt role that was held by Erik Kratz last season.
Former Astro and Met Fernando Nieve has been brought in to challenge for a bullpen position.Nieve had an interesting 2009 cameo with the Gothamites,but was god awful last season.

The Pirates avoided arbitration with Jeff Karstens and Ronny Cedeno with agreements.
Karstens signed a one year deal for 1.1 million,while Cedeno will make two million next season and the club holds an option for 2012.
I don't really have tons of issues here,although I am surprised that Jeff Karstens is worth a million,but Lastings Milledge isn't,but such are such things.

Cedeno is still the teams starter at shortstop,although the Pirates are reported to be interested in trading for a replacement that upgrades the everyday lineup and moves Cedeno to a utility role.
The two players most mentioned are Minnesota's J.J. Hardy and Tampa's Jason Bartlett.
Of the pair,I would prefer the younger and better hitting Hardy,who was a Pirate target last season when the Brewers traded him to Minnesota.
Hardy is likely to move somewhere as the Twins have won the rights to negotiate with Tsuyoshi Nishioka and I cannot imagine them not working out a deal.

Pittsburgh has the first pick in the Rule 5 draft on Thursday and with just 36 players on the 40 man roster,the Pirates could choose two players if they wish.
The Post-Gazette has Tampa pitcher Aneury Rodriguez as a possible selection for the Bucs.

Looking at the list,there are some interesting names to choose from.
The Orioles pitcher Pedro Beato might be worth a flyer ,Wynn Pelzer is a nice bullpen arm and I like third baseman Brandon Waring some,although he isn't a good fit in Pittsburgh.Former first round hurler Joe Savery is available from the Phillies as is once highly touted Edgar Garcia.Savery struggled at AAA last season,but Garcia is young enough (23) to still have a shot.
Two of our favorites are available,although unlikely to be chosen in Washington's Erik Arnesen and Cory Van Allen,while Florida left two first rounders from the past unprotected in Brett Sinkbeil and Jeff Allison,although age is a question with both.
The Indians left three interesting players open with Matt McBride,who can catch,play first and left field along with utility infielder Josh Rodriguez and former top pick Beau Mills,who Dave Littlefield almost took in the first round in Mills draft year.
Milwaukee has three favorites of ours in their group in pitchers,Alex Periard,Mike Ramlow and Marco Estrada.
Periard has the most upside of the three,but Estrada could help someone in a long relief role right away.
Houston outfielder Collin Delome struggled with average at AAA,but smacked 17 homers and the Cardinals Daryl Jones is a toolsy outfielder with potential.

These aren't always the most likely players to be selected,just some names of interest....

I have more planned posts soon with the Browns in Miami,vacation talk and a word on why Boston can be blamed just as much as New York for the current state of baseball...