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Post-Gazette beat writers Dejan Kovacevic and Chuck Finder blog about the Pittsburgh Baseball Club.

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Osoria, Duffy get DFA, Bixler optioned

By Dejan Kovacevic | 6:19 p.m. Thursday

To clear space on the 25-man roster after the Jason Bay trade, the Pirates designated for assignement reliever Franquelis Osoria and optioned shortstop Brian Bixler back to Class AAA Indianapolis. To clear space on the 40-man, center fielder Chris Duffy was designated for assignment.

A team has 10 days to trade, waive or release a player designated for assignment, and the Pirates will waive Osoria and Duffy in an attempt to keep them.


Posted Jul 31 2008, 06:19 PM by Dejan Kovacevic

Comments

dschomburg wrote re: Osoria, Duffy get DFA, Bixler optioned
on Thu, Jul 31 2008 6:29 PM

Well, not sure at all about how good the trade was, but a DFA for Osoria is a step in the right direction.

CecilioGuante wrote re: Osoria, Duffy get DFA, Bixler optioned
on Thu, Jul 31 2008 6:33 PM

No more Osoria, this is the brightest part of all the deals.

He was by far, my most disiiked Bucco ever. Even ahead of Pap Shmeares

Das Boot wrote re: Osoria, Duffy get DFA, Bixler optioned
on Thu, Jul 31 2008 6:35 PM

First...GREAT job DK.  This was extremely enjoyable.

I like the DFAing of Osoria and Duffy.  Bixler going down makes sense too.

NH has picked up the following players:

-Jason Michaels

-Dougie M

-Jason Davis

-TJ Beam

-Evan Meek (check out his performance in AAA)

-Ross Ohlendorf

-Dan McCutchen

-Jeff Kastens

-Jose Tabata

-Andy LaRoche

-Bryan Morris

-Craig Hansen

-Damien Moss

All for $$$$, Nady, Marte and Bay.

Wow...

MEJacobsen wrote re: Osoria, Duffy get DFA, Bixler optioned
on Thu, Jul 31 2008 6:36 PM

Thank God.....one more game of Osoria & I was going to punch my TV......I doubt anyone will pick up Duffy, if so, good luck.  I was at the Game in NYC when he hit the inside-the-park HR, and I was amazed he didn't have a mental breakdown/get hurt while running the bases....

CecilEspy wrote re: Osoria, Duffy get DFA, Bixler optioned
on Thu, Jul 31 2008 6:38 PM

I'll bet you any of you a cup of soup that Atlanta picks up Duffy

SanchezIsBack wrote re: Osoria, Duffy get DFA, Bixler optioned
on Thu, Jul 31 2008 6:45 PM

Agree Cecil...I think Duffy gets picked up...wouldn't be surprised to see him make it with another team.  I think he has a lot of talent (not that it converted into sucess here).  Shame to lose him.

lfhlaw wrote re: Osoria, Duffy get DFA, Bixler optioned
on Thu, Jul 31 2008 6:50 PM

Duffy will end up going to Atlanta if they want him. Supposedly they've liked him for a while.

Osoria will get picked up by some other team too looking for middle relief...hoping for lightning in a bottle.

G-Man wrote re: Osoria, Duffy get DFA, Bixler optioned
on Thu, Jul 31 2008 6:51 PM

I've always been a backer of Duffy. No one can ever accuse him of not hustling, something always looked upon favorably by Pittsburgh sports fans. Sad to say, it never seemed to be in the cards for him to succeed with the PBC. Like a lot of players, he's surely going to be better off starting fresh somewhere else. I agree with the other posters: someone will pick him up from waivers.

Steve Rodgers wrote re: Osoria, Duffy get DFA, Bixler optioned
on Thu, Jul 31 2008 7:01 PM

hate to lose duffy...i hope no one picks him up but i find that highly unlikely

WizImp wrote re: Osoria, Duffy get DFA, Bixler optioned
on Thu, Jul 31 2008 7:25 PM

Given that multiple teams have shown interest in Duffy in the past, isn't it possible that they could trade him?   I'm not sure how the waivers work but if someone claims him, could they not pull him back and attempt to make a trade prior to just letting him go?  No way he brings more than a very marginal prospect at this point, but someone with even a 5-10% shot at doing something in the future would be better than nothing.  

G-Man wrote re: Osoria, Duffy get DFA, Bixler optioned
on Thu, Jul 31 2008 7:31 PM

Wiz,

    I was wondering the same thing - about trading Duffy rather than waivers. With 10 days to act, I'm sure NH might have his spies check for possible interest in Chris. But DK indicates the Bucs want to keep him, thus the waivers. As for Osoria, let him go. Addition by subtraction.

PirateLifer wrote re: Osoria, Duffy get DFA, Bixler optioned
on Thu, Jul 31 2008 7:42 PM

I always liked Duffy too. He will get picked up by someone, remember the Marlins as well as the Braves were also interested in him at one time.

WizImp wrote re: Osoria, Duffy get DFA, Bixler optioned
on Thu, Jul 31 2008 8:24 PM

While I'm not too concerned about losing Duffy, after thinking about, if they had to clear space on the 40-man roster, why not DFA Van Benschoten?  Even if there are those in the organization that hold out hope that he can still pitch in the majors (delusional thinking, in my mind), given how he has pitched, there is NO way anyone would claim him.  Given that Duffy will fairly certainly be claimed, I'm thinking this was a bad move which will result in losing a player we didn't have to lose (at least not now).

Maddamma wrote re: Osoria, Duffy get DFA, Bixler optioned
on Thu, Jul 31 2008 8:33 PM

Duffy should get picked up, but I've got no problem with the DFA.  He's lost another year of development with yet another injury and ailment.  To all you Osoria haters, I can only say that he was a feast or famine guy.  There were stretches where he won them games and wretched stretches where he lost 'em.  The inconsistency was horribly frustrating.  I would not be surprised if someone grabs him up, too. It's not like he costs anything.  But, as stated earlier, he was certainly not the most hated Bucco ever. See "Operation Shutdown."

CecilEspy wrote re: Osoria, Duffy get DFA, Bixler optioned
on Thu, Jul 31 2008 9:00 PM

Don't forget how good Duffy was before Tracy made him change his swing. It was like in Major League 2 when Lou Brown made Willie Mays Hays do push ups for everytime he hit a fly ball

Him being hurt might be the only way he stays on the Buccos

phillyjake wrote re: Osoria, Duffy get DFA, Bixler optioned
on Thu, Jul 31 2008 9:18 PM

I'd rather we had DFA'd Ronald Belisario or David Davidson instead of Duffy.  

I agree with the others that Duffy was seriously screwed up by Jim Tracy.

ETC wrote re: Osoria, Duffy get DFA, Bixler optioned
on Thu, Jul 31 2008 10:26 PM

It's a bright new day for the Pirates when they DFA a player to make roster room and other teams are actually pondering whether to pick him up.  Sign of the new times, and I'm pretty happy that we now have (closer to)the depth in the organization where we have to think a little bit about whether or not another team wants our scraps.

Thanks Neal, good luck with the plan.  I'm optimistic you are on the right track.

ts wrote re: Osoria, Duffy get DFA, Bixler optioned
on Thu, Jul 31 2008 10:35 PM

I agree with CecilEspy.  Duffy was lightning.  Tracy just shook his bottle too hard.  I never hated Tracy but I could never figure out what he had against lead-off triples.  Why didn't they just have him focus on perfecting a bunt instead of trying to change a positive.  He'll be picked up because you can't teach speed and Duffy is still a defensive marvel when healthy.  I'll be sad.

Cisco Kid wrote re: Osoria, Duffy get DFA, Bixler optioned
on Thu, Jul 31 2008 11:10 PM

This is the baseball equivalent of getting the sack, for Osoria and Duffy and Luis Munoz and Bullington. For all the talk about "we waive them but want to keep them" they surely know that somebody will take bottom feeders - and then get rid of them too. What this says to me is that the accountability thing wasn't hot air after all. U smell, U gone. Simple as that. (That may be being a little hard on Duffy, but anyone who's that accident-prone maybe needs to find another line of work anyhow.) Bravo, Scout - I do believe you and the Prez know what you're doing. Not so sure about Russell - but let's see what he does with a new deck of cards. Looks like they're already thinking about Eyechart in a managerial capacity down the road - that could turn out to be the next Murtaugh (well, stranger things have happened).

CecilEspy wrote re: Osoria, Duffy get DFA, Bixler optioned
on Thu, Jul 31 2008 11:37 PM

ts, good point on duffys D. I still remember a game against Houston three years ago when we were getting blown out by Houston. Duffy laid out and made a diving catch and also gunned someone out at home with his cannon. Best CF play I've seen since Andy Van Slyke.

G-Man wrote re: Osoria, Duffy get DFA, Bixler optioned
on Fri, Aug 1 2008 9:34 AM

ts and CecilEspy -

    Imagine if we had not fired Jim Tracey and the havoc he'd be creating this year trying to turn McLouth into a "hit the ball hard into the ground" leadoff type.

wdee wrote re: Osoria, Duffy get DFA, Bixler optioned
on Fri, Aug 1 2008 2:54 PM

What's the likely roster move when Adam LaRoche returns from the DL?  

Does Jose Bautista have options remaining?

ts wrote re: Osoria, Duffy get DFA, Bixler optioned
on Fri, Aug 1 2008 3:27 PM

G-Man - I want to laugh and cry at the same time when i think about that .  He would have repopulated the farm system by breaking all of our call ups and sending them back to 'work out their problems'.  Eventually we could have had an entire system of squandered talent trying to hit the ball in the dirt and leg it out!

Sec.143RowMSeat24 wrote re: Osoria, Duffy get DFA, Bixler optioned
on Fri, Aug 1 2008 6:24 PM

I hate the fact they DFA'd Duffy.  Jon Van Benschoten should have been DFA.  No one will pick up a pitcher that can't get anyone out.  He would have cleared.  If not, who cares?  Duffy is as good as gone.  Atlanta most likely, if not probably Florida.  I don't get why they they keep giving VanBenschoten chances.

BigMcLargeHuge wrote re: Osoria, Duffy get DFA, Bixler optioned
on Sat, Aug 2 2008 12:04 AM

Eh, good riddance on Chris Duffy. I'm not, for a second, gonna miss his .689 OPS and 6 homeruns.