2:43pm: Robert Murray of The Athletic tweets that Liriano would earn a $1.8MM base salary if he makes Pittsburgh’s big league roster and could also earn another $1.5MM worth of incentives.
2:35pm: It’s a minor league deal for Liriano, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post.
2:31pm: The Pirates have agreed to terms on a contract with left-hander Francisco Liriano, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (Twitter link). He’ll return to Pittsburgh, where he pitched from 2013-16 before being traded to the Blue Jays in a 2016 deadline deal.
Liriano, 35, spent the 2018 campaign with the Tigers, for whom he pitched to a 4.58 ERA with 7.4 K/9, 4.9 BB/9 and a 48.3 percent ground-ball rate in 133 2/3 innings. Liriano worked as a starter in 26 of his 27 appearances last season, though he also has some experience working out of the bullpen — namely a 2017 stint with the Astros.
Pittsburgh already has numerous rotation options in house, with Jameson Taillon, Chris Archer, Trevor Williams, Joe Musgrove, Jordan Lyles and the out-of-options Nick Kingham comprising the top current options. Of that bunch, Taillon, Archer and Williams are assured of spots. Looming beyond that grouping in the upper minors is top prospect Mitch Keller, who figures to make his debut at some point in 2019.
The Pirates are thinner in terms of left-handed bullpen depth. Beyond closer Felipe Vazquez, the lone 40-man lefty option for the bullpen is former starter Steven Brault, although Tyler Lyons will be in camp as a non-roster invitee and could provide some competition if the team’s plan is to try Liriano in the bullpen.
Liriano was a mainstay alongside Gerrit Cole in the Pirates’ rotation over the course of that 2013-16 run and, at one point, was one of the organization’s most successful reclamation projects. The southpaw burst onto the scene as both a Rookie of the Year and Cy Young candidate with the Twins in 2006 but saw his stock drop substantially following Tommy John surgery. The Pirates organization helped Liriano reestablish himself, resulting in a 3.26 ERA over his first 510 innings with the Buccos. He’ll look to rediscover there once again if he’s able to crack the 25-man roster in camp.
The initial version of this post mistakenly listed the Padres as the team to sign Liriano. MLBTR apologizes for the error.
Tweet says Pirates.
Fan favorite.
Good signing for a worthless team. Really liked watching him pitch back when.
Worthless team? You realize the Pirates won 82 games right?
Alright, the dominoes should start to fall now.
Padres? Rosenthal just tweeted the Pirates.
An upgrade from a few starters SD had last year; a great city to spend your last year or two before hanging them up…
They know what they’re getting.
Ray Searage should be a manager candidate.
If the Pirates didnt bring Banister back, I would want Searage to replace Hurdle. JB will eventually be the Pirates next skipper.
Thats too bad because JB is horrible. The one year he did good, the Rangers were lucky in 1-run games.
JB has been in the Pirates organization since 1986 before taking the Rangers job. This is where he belongs and I have no doubt he can do a better job than Clint Hurdle.
The Pirates need a lot of help. It seems to me that Hurdle is doing quite well with this cast of characters. They’re not exactly murderers row.
Searage is a phony just like Hurdle.
Need to move on from both.
To quote Nancy Kerrigan: “Why??????Why????? Why????
They’re in need of lefties
They need lefties that can actually get guys out and not lose games.
Liriano rediscovers his career 3.0
He is one of those guys… he’ll retire with like six Comeback Player of the Year awards
Just like the last time Liriano made his deubt in a Pirate uniform. Left hander down on his luck. Just this time, he’ll be 35 and not 29.
It’s a fun signing for the worthless buccos.
I like it. Might actually go to a game this year to watch him pitch if he makes the rotation … But still probably not lol
Is it the Padres or pirates? The article title link says Padres. Inside the link it says pirates
Pirates needed another starter. Lyles does NOT belong in a big league rotation.
He’s left handed too
Why? I thought Lyles peripherals looked good last year.
And Liriano does belong in a Big League rotation?
Haha it’s the Pirates. They don’t care.
He’s cheap enough and willing to okay here.
That’s all they’ve proven they care about.
I’m kind of surprised he didn’t land a ML deal. I figured Oakland or the Angels would be good spots for him to land.
Velocity down, K rate plummeted, walk rate up. He’s been AAA replacement level for 3 straight years.
My guess is he’s a bit of a dark horse to make the roster.
Just a bit??? Still can not figure out why they would want Frankie back when he was horrible the last time he wore a Pirates uniform.
They are in need of another left hander and he’s cheap
Cheap or not and Lefty or not, hitters have learned to be patient on is slider and many wait for him to have to bring it over the plate.
Pirates. Not padres.
I don’t get a chance to see the Pirates often. Chad Kuhl had TJ surgery in Sept. 2018. He will likely miss all of 2019. If healthy is he a viable starter candidate for 2020? He seems to throw hard (95.6).
Great catch Al in the WS in the 40’s for Brooklyn.Didn’t know you were still around.
Kuhl should be back in 2020.He May fit in better though as a long reliever.The starting rotation May be filled by that time if Keller comes up,and Kuhl was good for no more than two times through the lineup.
He was pitching pretty well though with an uptick in velocity when his elbow gave way.
Another one wrong. I had guessed San Francisco for this cat.
They had to trade him when they did (he was singlehandedly losing game after game for them) but I always liked Liriano and hope he makes the club.
It almost scares me if they have no one better than Frankie to pitch, even out of the pen. Like you said, he was absolutely horrible his last season with Pittsburgh. I loved him when he was good. That was so long ago now….. Sad that he fell apart so quickly.
I think that this is truly one of those low leverage late signings.that all teams do.The difference for this one is that he has a history with this team that is pretty substantial and recent.My guess is that they think that he can perform out of the bullpen as the left hander.Time will tell on that,but if they are serious about competing I doubt that he has much left.He walks too may guys.
Last years Archer acquisition makes no sense now by give up Austin Meadows if you’re not gonna follow things up this offseason with other signings….Pirates will finish last in the Central
Yep. Too sad…
Archer good as gold. Remarkable acquisition. Musgrove will come up big. Taillon is money in the bank. Bell will ring-a-ding-ding at long last.
Big guns in NLC, but Bucs will not finish in cellar. No Earthly way.
Unless Cincinnati dumps their off season acquisitions (and more) at the trade deadline, I see no way how the Pirates finish anywhere but last. Zero depth behind a marginal lineup. An injury to a starter would seal the deal. Would not be surprised to see them lose 90-100 games this year. Although I wouldn’t technically “see” it happen. I stopped giving them my money & support when Kevin McClatchy was still the majority owner. Nutting is worse. It’s a damn shame tax payers have to foot the bill for a stadium for an owner that won’t spend to compete. Corporate welfare. Pathetic!
Reporters,
Here’s a challenge to you!!
Let’s see the P and L for Pittsburgh Pirates for the last 20 years.
Let’s get the facts and open the discussion.
Let’s make Pirates’ Ownership/ Leadership accountable.
Seek the truth and free your heart!
Can’t hide in shadows for every.
Just the facts not rhetoric.
Hope to see the facts uncovered and shared.
No way they’re on par with the Orioles, Royals, and Marlins. They’re miles ahead of those 3 teams.
There the only team that has been able to get quality seasons from him, other than his rookie year. Why not?
Liriano was the best pitcher in all of baseball … for a brief moment of time … in 2006.
Between Liriano and Maurer, we owe a total of about $5.3 million guaranteed. Though $5.3 million isn’t a lot, I feel it could have been spent wiser than Liriano and Maurer.
Agreed. Sign bucholz or take a flyer on hellickson or tomlin (or pomeranz before he signed)
It’s funny to see liriano get a deal to go back to the team that traded 2 pretty solid prospects at the time to get rid of him. None of that money is guaranteed to Maurer or Liriano though. They could be on the hook for little to nothing if they suck.
Yea, I got the numbers wrong. Even still though, it’s an amount that they could have used to get somebody like Buchholz.
Neither are not guaranteed a thing right now. Both are on minors deals.
Breaking July 31, 2019 News: Pirates trade Liriano along with two of their top prospects for salary relief.
Ah, you remember! Francisco “Financial Flexibility” Liriano! Huntington said the last time they traded him it gave them financial flexibility. Then they proceeded to sign nobody the next off season & pocketed the money.
Why is the financial flexibility moves money trail of Pittsburgh Pirates not covered more. I realize it is a business. But, there seems to be other Teams that their # 1 goal is to win and stay in budget.
Pirates seem like profit and $ in owners pocket and not even putting winning a championship as their #2 priority.
Sad to hear so many Teams and players don’t take Pittsburgh Pirates as even a competitive threat. Very sad. There should be transparency as a lot of Tax Payer money and tourist that rent cars or visit hotels are paying for PNC Park. Check out facts.
Hope to see Pirates win another World Series in my lifetime.
Liriano is a good bounce back candidate. Considering he’s bounced back from oblivion every 2-3 years his entire career.
Getting the band back together
he was handy with the tiges…liked the guy…
Good lottery ticket by the Bucs. Liriano can still be tough vs. LH batters. Also gives the team some insurance in the rotation in case an injury strikes. Keep your expectations low. After all, in every 7-11 parking lot across the country you’ll find losing lottery tickets.
Bucs can win 85-89 games this year and challenge for the second wild-card. Hope is not lost. Look for Keller to have an impact when he’s recalled..
BREAKING NEWS: Pirates to sign Harper for 10 years 10 million. Harper is quoted to say the market just wasn’t moving and I know what to expect from the Buccos. Nutting!
Breaking News: Pirates adding more bobble head give nights even though 2019 Budget deceased.
You might have to bring your own fireworks to fireworks night.
This leaves more dollars to sign AAA talent.
My neighbor after a night of beer drinking and chili eating made more noise this off season than that of the Pittsburgh Pirates “noise” they made this off season.
Low risk signing. Not bad. Still cellar dwellers.