48 Comments

So we're waiving a .996 defender and .741 OPS hitter with 100 ops+ first baseman.......on the first day after WS.

Not an All-star, but a serviceable LH platoon guy in Rivas. Hmm, Ben must have a blank check from Bob to get er done this offseason!

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He’s not good.

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You mean the guy with a .285 xwOBA in 400 MLB at bats??

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Rivas sprays the ball all over the field, something xwoba ignores. I'll stick with the stats that actually matter for now.

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You’ll figure it out one day LOL

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Was he the 3rd player on 60 day IL?

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There was Cutch and Velasquez. They're both FAs now. That leaves Brubaker, Jarlen Garcia, Cruz and Perdomo.

They have to make a call on Garcia's option tomorrow, but that shouldn't be a challenge.

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Does this mean the Pirates protected guys like Hatch, Selby, Kranick etc or are there more cuts to be made?

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I know what Chuck Noll would say.

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Remember David Matoma, the kid from Uganda? BA has a piece on pitching metrics that puts him up front, basically raving about him. FB was sitting at 97 with excellent movement. Also a slider with above average spin. And he’s 17.

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If he makes it, it’s one of the great scouting triumphs. I’m really rooting for this to happen. Hope he’s in the US next year.

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Maybe I'm doing my Baseball Savant searching wrong but there is only one Major League pitcher who average 97mph and 20 IVB. One. In all of baseball.

Super, SUPER skeptical that some random 17 yo matches those.

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Matoma hit 101 MPH in his first appearance this year. So at least the velocity part of that seems legit

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I keep reading his name as Mahatma.

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A few considerations:

- They pointed out it was a SSS. Could be an element of radar gun derangement syndrome. Somebody sees a prospect on a day with a high wind behind him or whatever, gets readings of xx mph, and now he “sits” at xx.

- Or it’s a peak stretch that, for some non-understood physiological or developmental reason can’t be sustained. We’ve seen it before. Remember Joel Cesar?

- Regardless, the kid is 17. 92 would be impressive. There’s a huge margin for error built in.

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For sure.

Not tryna shit on the kid!

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Really liked a few of the pitchers from this last international class. (Shim, Castillo and Matoma with a few others with potential) They might not amount to anything but I'm glad we have them.

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Sidd Finch was giving him French horn lessons, showed him how to throw a baseball and he gave up the French horn. The world of music's loss could be the pirates gain.

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Completely and utterly off topic, I apologize, BUT....

Does anyone have an email address for Tim at P2?

My credit card just got charged for a recurring subscription to P2 (it renewed last year right before he removed the paywall).

My work PC won't let me into the site anymore for security reasons, and my iMac is now filtering out the comments sections of the articles and also the help form. I'd like to get this reversed.

TIA

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I would dispute the charge with your credit card company.

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tim@piratesprospects.com

Good luck with that.

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Yeah, that's my fear.

Thanks Wilbur.

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Man, I hate to say this, but at this point in time you may want to contact your bank and let them know of fraudulent charges.

When Rome was burning there was several complaints of this occurring.

I use PNC and years ago I had reoccurring monthly charges from Microsoft, and I had no subscriptions. PNC reimbursed all charges and put a block on future charges.

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He responded to one cancellation request by saying he had one day a week set aside for reading emails and didn’t say which day. So, yeah, contacting the cc issuer is an option here.

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He just refunded my transaction, so all is good. At least we know the man is alive, anyway.

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His last article post on P2 was on 10/17, so I'm guessing that will probably be the ultimate solution. But I'll give him the weekend to respond, at least.

Hopefully Capital One is just as forthcoming for my charge.

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Is waivers and DFA'd the same?

Semantics?

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Isn't it if you get waived and no one claims you, you're a FA, but if you're DFA'd and no one claims you, you can be assigned to the minors?

But if you have enough service time, you can refuse the assignment and become a FA?

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I think the main difference is between revocable and non-revocable waivers, but really Ethan is the guy to explain this.

Andujar and Perdomo have both been dfa’d before, so if they clear, they can become FAs. Andujar declined a little under a year ago because it would’ve nullified his guaranteed contract for $1.5M or whatever it was. He’ll certainly leave this time. With Perdomo, I’m hoping if his prognosis isn’t too bad they can agree on a MiL deal.

YDLS can be assigned to AAA if he clears, which I’m guessing he will.

I have to think BC will make a waiver claim shortly. He’s like a Home Shopping Network addict when it comes to waivers.

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Andújar has enough service and has been outrighted before, so he can elect FA in lieu of outright assignment, while Perdomo has been outrighted before, which is why he can.

DLS can't elect FA, but will simply become a MiFA

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Find someone who loves you as much as Pirates AFL pitchers love to walk people

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Hey man, that sort of consistency is super tough to come by these days

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None of these guys are going to be missed for long. Moving them was necessary to make room for Cruz, Brubaker and Perdomo I think to return from 60-day IL.

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Perdomo was put on waivers.

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Surprised that perdomo went to waivers, not that he was irreplaceable, but he definitely was intriguing to me

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He’s the one I don’t get. May have something to do with his health status.

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Elbow must be a serious injury.

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I kept wondering. There was never a follow up that I saw.

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I’d have to believe they think whatever he missed time with will scare people away from picking him up. Other than that, doesn’t make a lot of sense

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Good point, WTM, I didn't think of that!

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I hope Tucu wasn't a mistake - will miss him.

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Preller certainly must have a soft spot for him too!

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These are the guys they have at the majors and upper minors for those spots to sort through: Cruz, Triolo, Peguro, Gonzales, Williams, Bae. I’m probably missing a couple. They have too many already, where the hell does Tapioca fit?

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Really like his 68 wRC+?

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Really guys. I just said I took a liking to Tucu. I didn't nominate him for the Nobel Peace Prize.

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Didn't say you did. Just isn't anything performance wise to like about him, imo.

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I'm pretty sure "I think he's a sure fire HOFer someday!" was implied in that first post! lol

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