Nov 06 2009
By Dejan Kovacevic | 3:49 p.m. Friday
Jack Wilson, the Pirates' shortstop most of this decade, is discussing a multiyear extension with Seattle that would keep him from becoming a free agent.
The Mariners are believed to have offered a two-year contract worth more than the two-year offer the Pirates made Wilson -- $8 million -- shortly before trading him July 29. Wilson has an $8.4 million club option for 2010, with a $600,000 buyout, one that Seattle general manager Jack Zduriencik said at the time of the trade he would consider exercising.
Wilson recently was named the top defensive shortstop in Major League Baseball this past season by the Fielding Bible, a statistics-based publication headed by Bill James. He batted .255 with five home runs and 39 RBIs, missing much of his two months with the Mariners to injury.
In the trade, the Pirates acquired shortstop Ronny Cedeno, first baseman Jeff Clement and pitching prospects Aaron Pribanic, Brett Lorin and Nate Adcock, for Wilson, pitcher Ian Snell and $3.3 million in cash.
Nov 06 2009
By Dejan Kovacevic | 3:29 p.m. Friday
The Pirates today outrighted pitchers Virgil Vasquez and Eric Hacker to Class AAA Indianapolis, catcher Steve Lerud to Class AA Altoona, removing them from the 40-man roster.
That roster currently stands at 36, with two players -- pitchers Evan Meek and Jose Ascanio -- still on the 60-day disabled list.
Nov 04 2009
By Dejan Kovacevic | 12:40 a.m. Wednesday
Chuck Finder had to take a couple days off, and I agreed to cover for him in the unlikely event that anything happened.
Oh, well.
I do have a few other points I want to make, culled from conversations I had yesterday about the Akinori Iwamura trade, and coming up with a spontaneous set of Morning Links seems as a good an avenue as any:
> Do not assume that the Iwamura trade means more significant additions are in the offing. The Pirates do plan to explore, but they also sound as if they would be fine with looking at internal options to address shortcomings. Relievers will be brought in, and corner outfielders will be examined, but there is a school of thought within the team that the best route would be to look at existing, legitimate talent. For example, Garrett Jones could be that corner outfielder if Jeff Clement can be the first baseman. Or Jose Tabata could step up. Or Neil Walker. Or Pedro Alvarez.
> Be sure that the Pirates will talk to Rick Ankiel when free agency opens, but, again, do not expect them to do so out of a sense of desperation.
> Ronny Cedeno is no lock to be the Pirates' shortstop, even though he very much is the default choice at the moment. The team will look at other options there.
> Jack Wilson will be available, and he would be amenable to returning to Pittsburgh. The Pirates are equally open to discussing such a scenario. But there are many miles to go before it would become substantive.
> More than any aspect of the Iwamura trade, as the main story linked below shows, I was struck by the years-of-control aspect. It flies so thoroughly in the face of what this management team had done previously that, as Neal Huntington would confirm in our interview, it really did signify sort of a turning point in terms of the approach to trading.
> I have seen Iwamura play almost never, for obvious reasons, but an examination of his profile does appear to back the Pirates' stance that he could bat second behind Andrew McCutchen. He is left-handed, patient, productive and good on the basepaths.
> The Pirates are of the mind that he might have a little more power than what he showed in the American League, especially given PNC Park's right field. Iwamura's hit chart points to his being more of a gap-to-gap guy, but who knows if he might alter his approach in a different venue?
> Let it not go unnoticed that the club added a large chunk of payroll, just as it should not go unmentioned that there still is quite a ways to go before it even rivals the opening-day figure from this past season. A very rough estimate would peg the 2010 payroll at about $32 million with Iwamura.
> Let it also not go unappreciated that Jesse Chavez was just turning into a pretty nice reliever. Yes, he is young. And yes, relievers are unreliable. But not all of them. And the Rays did not amass all that talent by being lousy at evaluating young pitchers.
Linkage to the general coverage ...
> Main story: The Iwamura trade.
> Audio: Iwamura, through a translator.
> Opinion: Columnist Gene Collier thinks there is too much trivia during World Series broadcasts. My own quibble: Just imagine how much different Major League Baseball's economics might be if the national media focused as much attention on the Yankees' payroll as they do on faux controversies such as faulty umpiring (When did these guys start making mistakes?) and catchers' visits to the mound (They're allowed to do that?). Nothing like ignoring the elephant in the living room.
And from other realms ...
> The St. Petersburg Times' coverage of the trade.
> The Tampa Tribune has coverage, too.
> Beyond the Box Score examines some numbers.
Nov 03 2009
By Dejan Kovacevic | 10:25 p.m. Tuesday
Akinori Iwamura would be "interested" in exploring a long-term contract with the Pirates, he said in a conference call just now from Japan.
Some highlights of the call, during which agent Yoshi Hasagawa translated ...
> On staying longer than a year: "I'm definitely interested in the long term, but I first have to do what I can do. We'll see what happens. Hopefully, we can go to the playoffs next season."
> On going from a talented team to one in last place: "I'm very excited for the new challenge. I spoke to Neal Huntington, and I feel very appreciated."
> On his knee: "It feels very good, but not 100 percent. I think I already proved I can play at a high level, and I think I can play just liked I did in the World Series. I'll be 100 percent for next year."
> On what he knows about Pittsburgh: "I know, of course, about Roberto Clemente, and that it is a great organization. I was in Pittsburgh as a player, and it is a very nice ballpark. And my wife said Pittsburgh is a sister city of the city in Japan where she is from. That was nice."
Pittsburgh's sister city in Japan is Saitama, a sort-of suburb of Tokyo where the Penguins and Nashville Predators played a couple regular-season games a few years back.
Iwamura's wife's name is Misaki. He has a son, Taiki, and the family dog's name is "Nuts." (Stuff you can find in team media guides.)