I guess Uwasawa didn't get a deal he liked because I think today at 5 was his deadline too (along with Imanaga's). I don't know much about him so shouldn't feel disappointed, but was hoping we liked him enough that he'd become our first signing out of Japan.
I saw that and found it interesting that he cited the Rays' history of winning and developing pitchers as reasons he signed with them. I'm guessing the Pirates had a similar offer on the table, but didn't have those selling points.
Hopefully that means the Pirates are high on Yariel Rodriguez and optimistic on their ability to sign him since Uwasawa getting a minor league deal means the Pirates front office couldn have easily outbid the rays. https://x.com/KodyDuncanPGH/status/1745634672468484115?s=20
Press release by Uwasawa: “I decided to play for the Rays because the success and the rich history of pitching development really intrigued me.” The Pirates not only have to outbid but deflect their poor development reputation now. Ugh!
Which doesn't bode well for any type of extension if they are fighting down to $500 level. The blame is on one side only for that level of dollar tree pricing. BC.
I say it’s 80/20 Keller is traded either later this summer or next winter. I highly doubt he wants to sign an extension after the two sides couldn’t get it done last year.
If the Pirates had any intent whatsoever to pursue an extension with Mitch Keller, this would not be my way to approach that subject matter. Or, maybe they did and were rebuked.
Cubs just got Almonte and Busch from the Dodgers, was hoping the pirates would've tried to get Busch. Hope he doesn't become the cubs long term 1st base solution.
He could. But his numbers were in the Pac League right? And repeating a level? He may be just a platoon bat. It feels like he’s been available for awhile.
He seems to adjust to each new level after a poor opening, then dominates. LA has been trying to see if he can play 2nd, 3rd and LF. He's been blocked at 1st and DH, his defense is a liability.
I still think he's going to hit, and I think he's probably a better defensive 1st basemen than Moran, Moran had a better arm, Busch a little better range, both have fairly decent hands. Not spectacular but not stones either.
Wrigley is a ballpark I can see him hitting 30+ homeruns in, he has good left center to right center pop. My feeling is he's going to hit a bunch of dingers in the central with parks in Milwaukee, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh and Chicago.
Wouldve also liked to target busch, pretty solid move for the cubs though the dodgers also replenish their never ending talent pipeline with jackson ferris
If they had actually been interested, they would have signed him. The deal that the Cubs got with him might have been the best bargain of the offseason. Since he is playing for the Cubs, I guess we will have a chance to see up-close whether or not the Pirates erred.
ESPN did the actual reporting on that, MLBTR just recycled it. Agree that the reporting is meaningless either way. “Interest” can be simply placing a phone call inquiry to an agent, all the way to making an actual offer. Unless/until the Pirates sign a contract of this nature, some level of skepticism about their seriousness of a pursuit of such a player should be taken with ample reservation.
Yep. If the Pirates were making competitive offers for these guys, at some point they’d sign a couple. But since Nutting took over, the only guys they’ve signed were the ones nobody else wanted. Until they sign somebody they didn’t just find in the remainder bin, the only rational conclusion is that they’re not making a serious effort with anybody.
I seem to recall a similar situation some years ago where it was leaked that they made competitive offer to sign Edwin Jackson, whom I believe we also lost out on to the Cubs. That’s about the only big name multi-year guy I can recall them being involved with FA wise. So it’s not only a dearth of signings, but even of rumors as well.
And you have to remember, most of these rumors come from agents who’re trying to create the perception of interest in their clients. On average, the level of interest is almost certainly overstated or even invented, yet we STILL hardly ever hear about the Pirates. I can imagine an agent thinking there’s no point claiming interest by the Pirates because other GMs will just laugh.
At least they acknowledge that "showing interest" means little. But this slightly increases my hope that we'll sign Uwasawa or Rodriguez.
Also, I wonder if Cherington's comment about waiting for a better deal was related to Imanaga, whose price ended up being a lot lower than projected even if it didn't make it to the Pirates' comfort range (or maybe they were willing to spend that much but he preferred Chicago, which would make sense for a couple of reasons).
We SHOULD be in on pitchers 30 that aren't retreads / filler. One problem about the Pirates is that they never are going after players obviously, but also they are notoriously tight lipped about ANYTHING.
I don't put much stock into it, but do I think they tried to say do a 3 year $40M deal? maybe. But that doesn't matter.
Sign Yariel Rodriguez. At worst he looks like a $4m / year reliever, with a chance to stick in the rotation. The 4 year / $30M range seems fair.
Also be in on Marcus Stroman. I think his eyes go real big after seeing Sonny Gray get a favorable 3/75, and Aaron Nola getting a stupid 7/172, with Eduardo Rodriguez getting a nice 4/80, the money may be drying up for him. Big money still to go to Jordan Montgomery (probably a contract whoever signs will regret) and Blake Snell will break a teams Bank if you ask me. Not sure a lot of teams have $15-$20m per year ready to give up for Stroman. He set his expectations high, has been a victim to never hit a good market, and was trying to make stupid money and missed.
Also, sign Brandon Woodruff to a 2 year guarantee and then a 3rd year option with buy out as soon as you can put guys on the 60 day to open a roster spot. Shoulder injuries are a coin flip, but why not? Not like we are using the money anyways and at least I can dream we may have a good staff in 2025.
To be fair, though, if an offer from the Pirates was comparable, going to a team that already has one Japanese star and a city with a higher Japanese population makes sense.
For the Pirates to sign a player like Imanaga, they'll need to "overpay", which really isn't overpaying because you're spending what it costs to acquire the player. But I'm skeptical as to whether the Pirates FO factors that in or if they go strictly by their player-value models.
So if a player agrees to a contract before the hearing, the salary is fully guaranteed and if the salary is determined by the arbitrator, then it isn't?
Well, that would certainly explain why teams would be file and trial, even for what is perceived to be a small difference between figures where they could easily meet in the middle.
That's correct; however, file and trial has been a growing trend, much longer than just the past two seasons.
From what I understand file and trial is more about a showing of strength, not backing down, keeping precedent, that sort of thing. Agreeing after the deadline but before a hearing is almost seen as acquiescing, which isn't seen favorably by the Labor Relations Department, who oversees arbitration from the league side.
It's no wonder no one is really a fan of this process all around, but it's kind of seen as a necessary evil.
Some of the new stuff they’ve added over the past couple of years is actually pretty decent, insane prices aside, and the menus were apparently inspired by local places. But I agree, I think they could do more to bring some local flair. And no, I don’t mean BRGR or the Lube.
I guess Uwasawa didn't get a deal he liked because I think today at 5 was his deadline too (along with Imanaga's). I don't know much about him so shouldn't feel disappointed, but was hoping we liked him enough that he'd become our first signing out of Japan.
He signed a MiL deal with the Rays.
I saw that and found it interesting that he cited the Rays' history of winning and developing pitchers as reasons he signed with them. I'm guessing the Pirates had a similar offer on the table, but didn't have those selling points.
Hopefully that means the Pirates are high on Yariel Rodriguez and optimistic on their ability to sign him since Uwasawa getting a minor league deal means the Pirates front office couldn have easily outbid the rays. https://x.com/KodyDuncanPGH/status/1745634672468484115?s=20
Press release by Uwasawa: “I decided to play for the Rays because the success and the rich history of pitching development really intrigued me.” The Pirates not only have to outbid but deflect their poor development reputation now. Ugh!
Yeah, but they’re perfectly positioned to attract crappy players looking for job security.
Pirates agreed w everyone:
Bednar 4.51M
Keller 5.4425M
Joe 2.225M
Olivares 1.35M
Of course, the real question is extending the first two.
Do any other MLB teams go down to 4 decimals, ie $500 increments, when negotiating with agents? Smh.
What this looks like to me is one side, or maybe both, had to have the last word in the negotiation so they could feel like the winner.
Which doesn't bode well for any type of extension if they are fighting down to $500 level. The blame is on one side only for that level of dollar tree pricing. BC.
I say it’s 80/20 Keller is traded either later this summer or next winter. I highly doubt he wants to sign an extension after the two sides couldn’t get it done last year.
If the Pirates had any intent whatsoever to pursue an extension with Mitch Keller, this would not be my way to approach that subject matter. Or, maybe they did and were rebuked.
No way Bob was going all the way to $5.443M.
No idea how no one caught this, but I missed Olivares and his $1.8M estimate.
Totally unacceptable, and I apologize
I was going to say something but didn’t have time to double check his eligibility.
I have him updated in my spreadsheets, but I *think* what happened was I was looking at an old tweet, which obviously can't be updated.
Cubs just got Almonte and Busch from the Dodgers, was hoping the pirates would've tried to get Busch. Hope he doesn't become the cubs long term 1st base solution.
Busch is so old he’s getting AARP magazines in the mail. Colin Moran 2.0.
Very likely a statue like Moran in the field but if he hits and can pick bad throws. He could hurt us for years.
He could. But his numbers were in the Pac League right? And repeating a level? He may be just a platoon bat. It feels like he’s been available for awhile.
He seems to adjust to each new level after a poor opening, then dominates. LA has been trying to see if he can play 2nd, 3rd and LF. He's been blocked at 1st and DH, his defense is a liability.
I still think he's going to hit, and I think he's probably a better defensive 1st basemen than Moran, Moran had a better arm, Busch a little better range, both have fairly decent hands. Not spectacular but not stones either.
Wrigley is a ballpark I can see him hitting 30+ homeruns in, he has good left center to right center pop. My feeling is he's going to hit a bunch of dingers in the central with parks in Milwaukee, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh and Chicago.
For what it’s worth, Keith Law gives Busch a positive write-up in his trade analysis on the Athletic site. Much more of a solution than Rowdy Tellez.
Yep, and we would have gotten 6 years of team control even if we had him on the opening day roster.
Wouldve also liked to target busch, pretty solid move for the cubs though the dodgers also replenish their never ending talent pipeline with jackson ferris
The way the Dodgers are able to identify and develop talent, this deal may end up looking very good for them in a few years.
And the award for silliest headline goes to MLBTR for this: Pirates Showed Interest In Shota Imanaga.
I'm sure the Pirates also had a brief discussion with Shohei Ohtani's agent's assistant's secretary's mother-in-law. Bfd.
The posting fee alone would scare away Bob. It's non-sensical to even think for one moment that Pirates were in on Imanaga.
If they had actually been interested, they would have signed him. The deal that the Cubs got with him might have been the best bargain of the offseason. Since he is playing for the Cubs, I guess we will have a chance to see up-close whether or not the Pirates erred.
ESPN did the actual reporting on that, MLBTR just recycled it. Agree that the reporting is meaningless either way. “Interest” can be simply placing a phone call inquiry to an agent, all the way to making an actual offer. Unless/until the Pirates sign a contract of this nature, some level of skepticism about their seriousness of a pursuit of such a player should be taken with ample reservation.
Yep. If the Pirates were making competitive offers for these guys, at some point they’d sign a couple. But since Nutting took over, the only guys they’ve signed were the ones nobody else wanted. Until they sign somebody they didn’t just find in the remainder bin, the only rational conclusion is that they’re not making a serious effort with anybody.
I seem to recall a similar situation some years ago where it was leaked that they made competitive offer to sign Edwin Jackson, whom I believe we also lost out on to the Cubs. That’s about the only big name multi-year guy I can recall them being involved with FA wise. So it’s not only a dearth of signings, but even of rumors as well.
And you have to remember, most of these rumors come from agents who’re trying to create the perception of interest in their clients. On average, the level of interest is almost certainly overstated or even invented, yet we STILL hardly ever hear about the Pirates. I can imagine an agent thinking there’s no point claiming interest by the Pirates because other GMs will just laugh.
At least they acknowledge that "showing interest" means little. But this slightly increases my hope that we'll sign Uwasawa or Rodriguez.
Also, I wonder if Cherington's comment about waiting for a better deal was related to Imanaga, whose price ended up being a lot lower than projected even if it didn't make it to the Pirates' comfort range (or maybe they were willing to spend that much but he preferred Chicago, which would make sense for a couple of reasons).
We SHOULD be in on pitchers 30 that aren't retreads / filler. One problem about the Pirates is that they never are going after players obviously, but also they are notoriously tight lipped about ANYTHING.
I don't put much stock into it, but do I think they tried to say do a 3 year $40M deal? maybe. But that doesn't matter.
Sign Yariel Rodriguez. At worst he looks like a $4m / year reliever, with a chance to stick in the rotation. The 4 year / $30M range seems fair.
Also be in on Marcus Stroman. I think his eyes go real big after seeing Sonny Gray get a favorable 3/75, and Aaron Nola getting a stupid 7/172, with Eduardo Rodriguez getting a nice 4/80, the money may be drying up for him. Big money still to go to Jordan Montgomery (probably a contract whoever signs will regret) and Blake Snell will break a teams Bank if you ask me. Not sure a lot of teams have $15-$20m per year ready to give up for Stroman. He set his expectations high, has been a victim to never hit a good market, and was trying to make stupid money and missed.
Also, sign Brandon Woodruff to a 2 year guarantee and then a 3rd year option with buy out as soon as you can put guys on the 60 day to open a roster spot. Shoulder injuries are a coin flip, but why not? Not like we are using the money anyways and at least I can dream we may have a good staff in 2025.
This fell perfectly within the Pirates' comfort range -- their comfort range is the Cubs spending the money.
To be fair, though, if an offer from the Pirates was comparable, going to a team that already has one Japanese star and a city with a higher Japanese population makes sense.
For the Pirates to sign a player like Imanaga, they'll need to "overpay", which really isn't overpaying because you're spending what it costs to acquire the player. But I'm skeptical as to whether the Pirates FO factors that in or if they go strictly by their player-value models.
So if a player agrees to a contract before the hearing, the salary is fully guaranteed and if the salary is determined by the arbitrator, then it isn't?
Well, that would certainly explain why teams would be file and trial, even for what is perceived to be a small difference between figures where they could easily meet in the middle.
Thanks for the explanation!
That's correct; however, file and trial has been a growing trend, much longer than just the past two seasons.
From what I understand file and trial is more about a showing of strength, not backing down, keeping precedent, that sort of thing. Agreeing after the deadline but before a hearing is almost seen as acquiescing, which isn't seen favorably by the Labor Relations Department, who oversees arbitration from the league side.
It's no wonder no one is really a fan of this process all around, but it's kind of seen as a necessary evil.
sources say Pirates are in on my favorite player Julio Urias and that he is entertaining the idea of wearing an eye patch on days when he pitches
I fucking hope not
This is a very vague comment, how do you really feel?
you know there are benefits of us losing all the time
cheap ticket prices
elbow room in most seats in the park
less traffic leaving the game
A less than 45 minute wait for food. Sometimes.
two thumbs down for food in PNC park for the past 23 years
thank god they allow you to bring in food from Madonna´s downtown
what they should do is allow each of those restaurant incubators in Allegheny Center to take their turn in the stadium once a week
BMAC for Team Prez, i'm not joking
Some of the new stuff they’ve added over the past couple of years is actually pretty decent, insane prices aside, and the menus were apparently inspired by local places. But I agree, I think they could do more to bring some local flair. And no, I don’t mean BRGR or the Lube.