The Pirates have designated Zach Duke, Andy LaRoche and Delwyn Young for assignment, according to a team press release. The moves do not come as a surprise, as MLBTR pegged all three as non-tender candidates earlier this month.
Following a season where he posted a 5.72 ERA in 29 starts, Duke was seen as a non-tender candidate given that he could've earned a $5MM salary through arbitration this winter. In six seasons in Pittsburgh, Duke delivered a 4.54 ERA in 160 games (all but one of them a start) with a 1.92 K/BB ratio and a 4.7 K/9 rate. Duke was an All-Star in 2009, has a couple of solid seasons under his belt and is left-handed, so it's likely he'll find work at the back end of another team's rotation. MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch reports that the Pirates tried to negotiate a new deal with Duke and also explored trade possibilities before finally designating the southpaw.
LaRoche joined the Pirates as part of the big Manny Ramirez/Jason Bay three-team deal in July 2008. He was Pittsburgh's regular third baseman in 2009 but became expendable after the Bucs called up Pedro Alvarez to man the hot corner. Once seen as a promising infielder in the Dodgers organization (he was ranked 19th among all major league prospects by Baseball America in both 2006 and 2007), LaRoche has a .224/.304/.338 line in 1228 career plate appearances with L.A. and Pittsburgh.
Young is another former Dodger prospect who joined the Bucs in April 2009. Young has an impressive career OPS of .876 in eight minor league seasons, but has never been able to find regular playing time at the major league level. His line in two seasons with the Pirates: .255/.312/.393 in 595 plate appearances, with time spent at second base, third base, and the outfield corners.
I’d love to see the Yankees take a flier on Zach Duke, would like to see one taken on Andy LaRoche as well. But Duke would be a very interesting guy out of the bullpen.
Seriously?
Seriously. Duke has a career FIP of 4.33 and was very solid in all but two of his years with the Pirates. I’d consider him for the fifth spot of the rotation, and be happy to see what he can do out of the bullpen at the very least.
I suppose…For every Yankees team, theres a Dustin Moseley/Sergio Mitre type guy.
Why not…Gorzelanny did pretty well after getting out of PIT…
I don’t care what his fip was, he was bad last year and he doesn’t even have the stuff upside either.
i still dont understand the manny deal from the pirates point of view
boston got bay
dodgers got manny
pirates get delwyn young?
delwyn young had nothing to do with that trade…but it would have been better had he been in it
they got Brandon Moss, Craig Hansen, Bryan Morris and Andy LaRoche
my bad. woops. thought that he did. i guess the question mark can go a couple different ways lol
delwyn young had nothing to do with that trade…but it would have been better had he been in it
they got Brandon Moss, Craig Hansen, Bryan Morris and Andy LaRoche
And look how the deal has worked out for them. Hansen has been hurt since shortly after being acquired. Moss and LaRoche are now gone from the organization. Morris is the only remaining piece and he’s struggled in the minors since being acquired.
You mean that Bryan Morris struggled in 2009…the year he was acquired… and the year he came off a major injury….and thats a SSS in that he only pitched 72 innings with us that year. In 2010 he put up 8.3 k/9…an ERA around 3 and had a decent walk rate in around 133 innings split between A+ and AA. He’s a high upside get with solid stuff and a decent shot at a 2012 rotation spot if he stays healthy. Moss tanked…so did Laroche…Hansen got hurt. Morris has a shot at being worth 1.5 years of Bay by himself.
You forgot the part about the Dodgers getting PAID to take Manny and give up low end prospects.
The Pirates got Delwyn Young for Eric Krebs and Harvey Garcia
Remember when Zach Duke was awesome in his first call-up? Remember when all the Pirate players had really good season then were traded and became flops? Poor, poor Pirates.
So they want pitching and get ride of Duke??? Also who is going to be the utillity guys?? All rookies? Also Brewers will jump all over Duke!
Why do I have a hunch that theo’s is already calling zach’s agent about a bullpen job?
zach duke gives up a ton of hits and in the AL East his ERA will be over 6.00 so you guys need to take it easy
I didn’t say i WANTED him too. It just sounds like the kind of guy he would take a flyer on.
The Pirates got Delwyn Young for Eric Krebs and Harvey Garcia
O’s will be all over Duke.
The O’s should have some interest in Andy LaRoche but not Duke. He would be pretty pointless for them. Gurthrie, Matusz, Bergesen, Arrieta, Britton all have way more upside than Duke. Tillman probably does as well but if they are to trade a young starter for a hitter Tillman might be the one who goes.
O’s could use another lefty in the bullpen. he’d basically be a Mark Hendrickson replacement – but it’s unlikely because I’m sure there’s some team out there who would offer him a starting job.
I would love the Yanks sign Young to a minor lge deal. Our OF depth really sucks and he’s sort of a poor man’s Bill Hall in that he can play the IF (2B and 3B) and OF corners. Plus he’s young’ish and w/ some work he might be able to get his swing back. He had such a great minor lge career w/ the Dodgers (.303/.363/.514).
He really can’t play the IF, especially not 3B. He’d make an easy pickup, take two hops, spin, and throw the ball about 20 feet from the first baseman. He actually injured Steve Pearce with one of his throws.
I would love for the Orioles to claim LaRoche. I’m still high on this guy. He has a lot of time to figure it out at only 26.
Man you know you SUCK when the Pirates cut you. My how these former prospects have fallen.
Maybe they’ve just been mishandled by that piss poor organization. Hopefully they catch on somewhere…
I doubt you know much about the Pirates organization there monkey. True enough, there was a period of time that management seemed determined to run the ship aground but anyone who knows much about the state of baseball can tell that the current regime has made a marked improvement. Prospects are performing, arms are staying attached (for the most part), players are being developed, and amateur talent has been brought in at a high volume. In fact, the Pirates have been among the league’s big spenders in the MLB draft the last 3 years. They even made a somewhat significant splash in the international market by picking up Heredia. Laroche was a gamble that didn’t pay…Young was decent filler for when filler was needed…Zach Duke is a pitcher who was a) developed by the prior regime and b) deemed too defense dependent for a small market club thats really going to have to continually field a flawed team and will never be fundamentally perfect (i.e. powerhouse offense + excellent defense + solid rotation) … I see the Bucs making a go of it with 2/3 of the equation as soon as 2012 … a solid rotation and a respectable offense … with above average defense at CF, LF, SS, C, and some challenges elsewhere. A pitcher like Duke needs help all around the diamond.
Hey nothing against the Pirates. I hope they find success. And true I don’t know much about them but I admire their history.
fair enough. I like their chances to bounce back sometime between 2013-2016 … as long as they don’t rehire Dave Littlefield or Ed Creech in any capacity.
I agree with you.. I was reading the article the guy was talking about the 2011 pittsburgh pirates starting rotation on his opinion i think a three way deal could work out with us padres and rays We trade jones,hanrahan, and lincoln to rays for matt garza and trade maholm to padres and rays also get the gregorson i think that be pretty good deal thats 4 quality players going to rays and a #1 starter coming to pittsburgh automatically then mabe signing de la rosa idk about that but having his former manager hurdle maybe we can idk.. and gavin floyd from white sox idk what we would trade for him
Matt Garza
De la rosa
Gavin Floyd
Mcdonald
Oldendorf
That be something of a nice rotation it could possibly be done it be hard but can happen thoughts??????
give us Floyd not Maholm and you get gregerson
Im confuse about us and you whos going were?? lol
Padres get Floyd and Meek for Gregerson+
u made me laugh on that one Meek are u kidding no way! Gregerson i dont want him if we give up meek. Meek is top of the lin set up man or closer thats why he was an all star? good try tho
Gregerson is better
how is gregerson and his stellar career 5.43 era away from PetCo better? gregerson is one of the most overrated underrated players out there.
As a Padres fan, I can’t disagree with you. I think we have seen Gregersons upside already. Still a nice bullpen piece, but not worth Maholm and meek.
sox dont need set up man / closers they have thornton(will get extended) and santos
I don’t think Jones has any value.
Jones has no value? The past two years was all production when he was with us rays need a first basemen well there u go it might be a little downgrade from pena.. but come on pena whoever they get cant get to the standards of what pena has or did for the rays.. So ur just going to put a zero next to Garrett Jones? People dont realize how good of a player he really is i wish other pirates fan would back me up here…
I’m not sure I agree with you that he’s a better player than people realize, but let’s pretend I do.His trade value is only partially dependent on how good he is. It’s also dependent on how good he is perceived to be (dropping his value considerably as you admit yourself that few people agree with you), how much his current organization thinks of him (the Pirates have consistently implied all offseason that he needs a platoon partner, making him not even an everyday player) and how much they want to keep him (which I can’t answer but he seems to turn up in every Pirates trade suggestion from fans so he can’t be that integral a piece for the team).Dealing with those three factors, it wouldn’t be unfair to say that people see Jones as an overrated platoon player that a team like the Pirates wouldn’t be heartbroken to see gone. That’s not much value.If everybody else is wrong and Pirates fans are right about him, congratulations: You have an underrated player who will be yours for years if you want him. But I kind of doubt it.
Jones isnt a overrrated person he is underrated esp when u say he has no value..
Do you watch pirate games? I watch every one and have seen his ops and know he is bad! Hs RBI numbers are the only good thing and they are inflated immensely by his batting 4th all year
Yea i dont watch pirates game? YES i watch pirates games!! im on them 24/7!! Garrett Jones led in home runs and RBI’s he was are power guy.. He might of dropped off a little but he still has some value?? i just love how he was so good and everyone liked him then next thing u no everyone is on him like he is nothing lol Now i really want him to go to a better team and preform well and better with that team like freddy sanchez did win a world series ring.. Sometimes its not worth talking to people that dont no baseball.. wow smh..
I’m not sure I agree with you that he’s a better player than people realize, but let’s pretend I do.His trade value is only partially dependent on how good he is. It’s also dependent on how good he is perceived to be (dropping his value considerably as you admit yourself that few people agree with you), how much his current organization thinks of him (the Pirates have consistently implied all offseason that he needs a platoon partner, making him not even an everyday player) and how much they want to keep him (which I can’t answer but he seems to turn up in every Pirates trade suggestion from fans so he can’t be that integral a piece for the team).Dealing with those three factors, it wouldn’t be unfair to say that people see Jones as an overrated platoon player that a team like the Pirates wouldn’t be heartbroken to see gone. That’s not much value.If everybody else is wrong and Pirates fans are right about him, congratulations: You have an underrated player who will be yours for years if you want him. But I kind of doubt it.
I know I’m a bit late here, but you are wrong, Garrett Jones is not good at all, I’m a Pirate fan who saw him play everyday and was not impressed…thought he should have been traded at the deadline when he had some value left. His OPS was lower 700s and that just won’t cut it at 1b or rf in the bigs
Enough with this Gavin Floyd nonsense. Your team doesn’t have anybody we want besides McCutchen. I don’t even want Pedro Alvarez.
Why wouldn’t you want Alvarez?
If I was a Sox fan i would love to get Alvarez in a trade for Floyd.
Not going to happen if it was to happen more than floyd would be coming to pittsburgh and you know it..
You are the only one, Pedro is poised for a breakout season and a fantastic career, HOF Potential!
You are 100% on that
“trade maholm to padres and rays also get the gregorson i think that be pretty good deal”
Why in the world would the Padres trade a good young set up man (Gregerson) for garbage like Maholm? I’d rather pick up Duke for free than that awful trade.
Im pretty sure Paul Maholm was are best starting pitcher this year and you guys were in trade rumors with us at the deadline about him so he isnt garbage im pretty sure if he was that bad we would of cut him like we did duke u can have duke and u can tell me later how good he is.. lol
Ohlendorf and McDonald both had better years, but I do believe that it was just a down year for Paul
Had the Padres held on to Ryan Webb, I would have no problem trading Gregerson for Maholm. The Padres really just need a cheap 5th starter that will eat 190 innings and keep them in most games he pitches in.
I don’t see the Padres trading away anymore relievers that will make less then $1 mil next season.
The Laroche love here (and elsewhere) shows that some suspect-prospects’ hype just never dies … Laroche couldn’t even hit his weight in winter ball this year…literally mlb.mlb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=l135&t=p… . No solid contact in batting practice…no signs of life. DNR.
He had an early season series against the Brewers where he hit a line drive virtually every at bat. That guy is in there. I’m not sure how to get him back out though.
PADRES Duke and Laroche
Duke for $1m/year nothing more. No thanks on Laroche, would rather take a chance on the poor fielding young.
Dodgers could go after any and all, including their prodigal sons LaRoche and Young. Or maybe not Young, since he’s a DH-in-waiting. But LaRoche? Why shouldn’t he be one candidate to take over third base after Blake fades away? One of many hopefully.
Andy LaRoche might be a good stopgap for the Indians at third base until Chisenhall is ready to take over at the hot corner.
Duke is a solid addition to any club looking for rotational depth. Since he first pitched in the majors in 05 he has been worth at least 2.0WAR in all but the 07 & 2010 seasons. He has a career 48.9% ground ball rate and would fit nicely on a defensive orientated club. Although he is a soft tosser, left-handed depth is usually in demand.
I would like to see the M’s give him a contract to pitch for the Mariners in Seattle. The M’s need pitching help for the 2011 rebuilding season, and Duke could use a year in a pitcher friendly park to rebuild his value for FA.
Zach Duke is pretty underrated. He should go to St. Louis and get taught by Duncan. A few years back I thought he was a solid starter but with a pirates team backing him on defense, it’s never good for his stats. I might be wrong but I still think Zach Dukes could be a sleeper and a solid starter for a team with a good pitching coach and good defensive team.
The Cardinals have five starters. Why would they go after Duke?
Fix his mechanics and could possibly turn his pitching around with the help of Duncan. He could be a good lefty specialist. If you don’t want him in St. Louis, AA should go after him got a bullpen lefty specialist role as Downs will be gone next year.
It’s true that the Cardinals have 5 starters. However, their rotation is held together by band aids. They always lose at least a couple of starters to injury early in the season. If Duke made the team as a reliever or even beat Lohse out as the 5th starter, then he could have a chance to hang around for awhile. If I’m a struggling pitcher, then I want a pitching coach like Dave Duncan to help me get back on track.
Duke for the Cards isn’t such a bad idea in the case of…
a) Lohse bombing, or
b) one of the Cards frail starters getting injured.
I don’t see all 5 of the starters starting 30+ games this year. I also don’t have a lot of faith in Lohse until he proves he can stay healthy and show he has the stuff he had in 2008.
No, The Cardinals have four starters, and this one guy named Lohse who’s hated by all.
To all the prospect junkies thinking Andy Laroche can fill any meaningful role with their club…he got sent to winter ball as a 26 year old and hit less than his weight … .186 and he struck out once every 4 ABs. At the end of last season, he wasn’t even making solid contact in batting practice. His defense is replacement level or a little better but, unfortunately, his bat is DNR. I think it might be his struggles with back problems. I wish him the best but I don’t get the ‘prospect love’ he still garners.
At this point Young will most be remembered as the answer to a trivia question. He was the first player to hit a home run off of Strasburg.
He also led Grapefruit League in Home Runs last year.
The Pirates would be best served to get rid of Mccutcheon for pitching. The guy has no power and for some reason people think he is good. I have no idea why guys like him and Upton’s have that reputation.
The horrible pitching that has marinated for years such as Maholm and similiar talentless starters of that ilk should be disposed of with via non tendering.
you’re funny!
yea i agree with you 100%. What are you talking about McCutchen has no power? 16 HR 56RBI’s .286 batting average thats no power? its just getting better he hasnt even been up in the majors for even 2 years yet and u say he has no power its just beginning! Upton is the same way but upton has more POWER tho and been in the majors longer then Cluth..U cant find a everyday centerfielder putting up numbers like that.. U must not know who McCutchen is then??
Nope, thats slightly average contact, 16 home runs and 56 RBI in my opinion is half power, double that and then you have power, .286 average is decent and means you get hits and i can take into account probably not a lot of people on base for him to knock in for RBI but 16 bombs is half way point to power.
Were not talking AROD stats or albert pujols or ryan howard.. were talking about a centerfielder here.. Wow i didnt no u had to be like these guys to have power when wait there in the infield not outfield.. wow lol
How many HR do you think a speedy CF, who plays league average+ defense and who’s got a shot to be an excellent defender, and puts up a .450 slugging% ought to have hit in his first two years in the bigs? The kid is 24…he hit 28 HR and stole 55 bases in his first two seasons. He’s already netted the Pirates nearly 7 WAR and he’ll only get better.
I can’t wait until some team picks up Duke and fans who are going purely on stats (which are not good) get to see him pitch. He had one good partial season (his 1st call up) and that’s it. Taken from a season ticket holder who has seen him pitch in person and on TV almost every time. Stay away, very far away. He has a few moments here and there, but he’s hard to watch. Wait until you see how many hits he gives up. He would get shelled in the AL! You can have him.
Andrew Mcutchen has been putting up numbers comparable to Carl Crawford. He had many 2Bs and 3Bs not to mention nearly 40 SBs. He’s way too valuable for the Pirates to give away for some #5 starter and a mopup relief pitcher.
The Pirates absolutely need to extend him!!!
don’t know that i’ve ever disagreed more with a post. especially the “guy has no power and for some reason people think he is good” part.
Optionn, you’re right. Daniel McCutchen should be traded for pitching.
Optionn, you’re right. Daniel McCutchen should be traded for pitching.
Your kidding right?
Trade Young for some pitching. He’s proven he can hit. He can be useful to another team. Don’t make him turn into another Matt Capps!
Why do so many people write Duke off as a bullpen piece? He pitched 213IP as recently as 09. He is a career 4.33FIP pitcher, and a good bet to go an average of 6IP per start. His value is as a mid to back of the rotation starter, not just another average arm out of the pen.
Zach Duke was let go because:
1)He’s worth $5 million this year
2) can barely hit 90mph with his fastball
3) he leaves too many pitches over the plate.
4) He doesn’t have any out-pitches that fool hitters.
5) He doesn’t have that much control over his curveball and changeup.
6) It seems like he always has to throw 100 pitches to get through 5 innings.
7) And yes, HE DOESN”T FOOL ANYONE!!!
I will for sure not miss it being the 3rd inning and duke is up to 94 pitches, 65 of them being balls.
Why do so many people write Duke off as a bullpen piece? He pitched 213IP as recently as 09. He is a career 4.33FIP pitcher, and a good bet to go an average of 6IP per start. His value is as a mid to back of the rotation starter, not just another average arm out of the pen.
Wouldn’t mind the Tigers offering minor league deals or spring training invites to Duke or LaRoche.
I know LaRoche has a lot of serious problems but im sure he’d hit better than John Mcdonald and Jarret Hoffpauir did for the Jays last year as a utiltity guy.
Every time I watched Andy, he tried to pull a fastball and grounded into a doubleplay. hes a 180lb freak who thinks hes a power hitter.
I know LaRoche has a lot of serious problems but im sure he’d hit better than John Mcdonald and Jarret Hoffpauir did for the Jays last year as a utiltity guy.
I believe Ruben just found his fifth starter….but a team like the Mets could really use a guy like Duke..
U know whats funny i read a article about how pirates will be better than the mets soon and thats starting to look true..
So was this article from a Pittsburgh newspaper or the team’s official press guide?
McCutchen, Alvarez, Tabata, Walker… it’s not really out of the question. The Mets are getting older and have about as much promise in their current rotation as the Pirates do as long as Santana is on the shelf (slight exaggeration, but it’s ugly).
The Pirates, especially if they sign a decent starter like they claim they’re going to, will show some improvement over the next few years. They’ve got a nice group of young players and they’re all coming up at once.
If Lincoln can straighten things out and even pitch like a #3-4 starter, it’ll do wonders for that club.
Forgive me if I’m just a little bit skeptical. You’re basing your team’s improvement on young players and a handful of upper tier prospects. It doesn’t matter what their pedigree is, prospects are prospects and there’s a 50/50 chance of failure. Mets might be getting older, but they at least have known commodities in Wright, Reyes, Beltran, etc. to supplant their unknown rooks.
1. Looking at my name, you think the Pirates are my team? I’m speaking objectively.
2. When was Beltran a known commodity? In 2010, or before he missed most of the season recovering from surgery? He’s no more of a proven commodity than Andrew McCutchen. In fact, he’s less of one after Cutch has posted one and a half strong seasons. Walker, Tabata, and Alvarez are in the same vein.
The Pirates have more young talent ready to hit the bigs than the Mets at this point. The Mets’ veteran stars may very well keep them a better team, but my point was that it’s not out of the question, not that it’s a forgone conclusion.
There’s probably more chance of failure in the Mets’ injured stars recovering from devastating injury than of the Pirates’ top prospects turning into above-average players, especially since we’ve seen it out of those prospects already.
U know whats funny i read a article about how pirates will be better than the mets soon and thats starting to look true..
Hey SteelCityResident13, still want to convince me that “prospect” Andy LaRoche is a good player and should be traded for our “bust” Gordon Beckham and/or “average” Gavin Floyd? If you still think he’s good, I’ll pass along the word to Kenny Williams that he should submit a waiver claim hahaha.
Sorry to the other Pirate fans here. I don’t mean any disrespect, only to SteelCityResident13.
The question many need to ask themselves posting about the potential value that either Duke,LaRoche, and/or Young would offer your teams….. Are any of these players worth the price of losing young, developing talent from your teams in the Rule 5 draft next month, or taking a roster spot on your team’s forty man roster? At best, these three deserve nothing more than minor league contracts, as all have significant flaws in their games. The DFA of these three players was another shrewd move by the management team of the Pirates.
The question many need to ask themselves posting about the potential value that either Duke,LaRoche, and/or Young would offer your teams….. Are any of these players worth the price of losing young, developing talent from your teams in the Rule 5 draft next month, or taking a roster spot on your team’s forty man roster? At best, these three deserve nothing more than minor league contracts, as all have significant flaws in their games. The DFA of these three players was another shrewd move by the management team of the Pirates.
i could see the dodgers taking flyers on all of them
i could see the dodgers taking flyers on all of them
Would love to see the Phillies take a chance on him as the fifth starter.
A pitch-to-contact starter with underwhelming stuff who struggled in Pittsburgh isn’t necessarily a good fit for an aging Philadelphia team. Moving to a smaller ballpark probably isn’t a good move for Duke.
Here’s a Pirate fan’s perspective who’s watched almost every game that these guys played in:
Duke’s upside is being a solid 4/5 starter in a pitcher’s park with very solid team defense, nothing to get excited about. Just your garden variety lefty with weak stuff who musters up a few good games as season. He was obviously miscast as a top of the rotation starter in Pittsburgh due to a weak staff. Not a useless player but I don’t see much upside in him either. He will have quite a few games where he really gets hammered. I really wanted Andy LaRoche to do well, but he’s just looked completely lost at the plate ever since he stepped into the majors. They couldn’t keep trotting him out there, if by some chance he turns it on and starts to hit, you can’t fault the Pirates because they gave him plenty of chances. I actually liked Delwyn a lot and would like to see him brought back on a low base salary deal. Every team needs a bench and I’d rather him pinch hit than guys like Church, Crosby, etc. Doesn’t play the best defense but can do an ok job in other spots. Seems to have a knack for getting big hits. I guess with him leaving, Milledge will be kept around as the 4th OF/platoon guy?
You definatly have more experience with the Pirates than i do. But i do disagree with you slightly on Duke. I think that he can become a solid 3 guy in the right rotation. Is he a 1 or 2? NO. But if you put him in the right park with a solid defense around him and he could be an effective #3 guy.
I think that STL will have some interest. I also think that a team like Seattle would be a good fit with that OF defense as well as Safeco Field.
LaRoche i do agree with you on. He has always looked like a AAA player at the ML level. Defensively he is good and has some versatility. Offensively, not so much. Some team with questions at 3rd could take a flier on a minor league deal provided that they have enough offense with their other positions that they can absorb his lack of it.
Young im not very familiar with but he should find a job pretty easily. He seemed like a solid PH off the bench with a solid glove and can play almost anywhere. Would probably be more valuable to a contender like Anaheim, Texas, or SF though.
I really hate to see DY go. He was one of my favorite players and was really good off the bench. It is really too bad that he wasn’t able to stay as a starter.
The Everett Aquasox should be all over Duke!
nah, the Bridgeport Bluefish ought to pick him up
The M’s short season A-ball club? I don’t think they have room for him.
i wouldnt mind detroit taking a chance on duke. we need a number 5 starter and he could work out. st louis and mr. duncan could really help too
I thought the exact same thing. Tigers have good coaching for pitchers and they need a lefty. Put duke in the 5 spot and remove all the pressure from him and he could flourish. Not to mention Detroit is a very pitcher friendly park. I think he would be a steal and could potentially solidify their rotation considering he’s performed very well previously. I would love to see DD make a play for him and I’ve always liked Duke. Plus getting him out of Pittsburgh would be good for anyone and it may inspire him to regain his previous swagger he had on the mound.
From another Pirates Fan who watches every game:
Zach Duke showed some glimpses of greatness from time to time, but really struggled for most of this past season, but a lot of that can be attributed to a bad defense for a gb pitcher. The Pirates should have traded him right after he became an all star like I had been begging, and they nearly got Kyle Drabek for him, so they def could have gotten someone decent in return at that point.
I believe that mgmt got scared that the fanbase outrage would increase if they kept selling high on these overachieving players, so they didnt trade him or Garrett Jones like I had wanted when nobody else thought it was a good idea. Now look where they are, no return for them. We nearly had Drabek and Maicer Izturis, but mgmt couldn’t take the public backlash anymore, a true shame.
Anyway, Andy Laroche is a great guy, but couldn’t do anything but hit singles over the shortstops head when he got his rare hit. I would like to see him clear waivers and return to AAA or fight for the final bench spot on a cheap Minor league deal.
Delwyn Young was a decent pinch hitter, but that’s the last piece of the puzzle on a good team, and the Pirates don’t need to pay for that right now.
All in all, these are smart moves that should clear the way for the bucs to get some quality free agents.
In no way did the fanbase have anything to do with the pirates not trading duke. they traded fan faves such as freddy, jack and nyjer “t-plush” morgan. Duke throws like a little leaguer, yeah the D is iffy but he sucks. If I saw one more 87-89mph “sinker” I was going to puke. I go to 85% of home games and have seen plenty from duke.
I think I have the answer. Since LaRoche can’t hit, maybe he can become a pitcher. And since Duke can’t pitch, maybe he can become a thirdbaseman. Of course I am only kidding. LaRoche is what is referred to as a AAAA player. Too good for AAA, but not good enough for the majors.