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Twins Interested In Pirates Players

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11:52am: Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that the Pirates and Twins are not discussing Sanchez.

9:11am: Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports reports that the Twins are interested in a trio of Pirates: Freddy Sanchez, Matt Capps and John Grabow. Twins GM Bill Smith did not discuss specifics, but he confirmed that he's open to making deals.

"We still need to make this club better, whether that comes from the minor leagues or outside the organization," Smith said. "We're still looking to do that."

As Morosi says, the Pirates have already been aggressive sellers, dealing Nate McLouth and Eric Hinske. And the sale isn't about to end according to one of Morosi's sources who says the Pirates "are talking to everyone."

The Twins, who have been reluctant to take on salary, would have to get creative or change their stance to add Sanchez, who makes $6.1MM this year and will likely make $8MM in 2010. Grabow, a free agent after the season, would likely be easier to acquire than Capps, who's under team control through 2012.

Pirates Open To More Deals?

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Ed Price at Fanhouse.com reports that the Pirates might be open to dealing more of their players. He cites "an official of an AL team" as saying that the Bucs have been "considering deals for [John] Grabow and closer Matt Capps."

Price writes that the Pirates are not simply attempting to dump salary; they will want power pitching prospects in return. He cites a "person familiar with the Pirates' thinking" who says that other teams would have to give up more for Capps, whose contract runs through 2011.

Grabow is a left-handed reliever who had his best season last year. He is currently sporting a 3.75 ERA with 32 K's in 36 innings. Capps, the Pirates' closer, is only 25 years old and has a 3.25 career ERA, though he has pitched to a less-impressive 4.72 ERA this year with 18 saves.

For those interested in the Pirates' overall strategy, this transcript of a chat with president Frank Coonelly is worth a read. There seems to be some unrest brewing among Pirates fans who, in the words of Coonelly, are asking, "When is now?"

Cardinals Reliever Rumors

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5:57pm: K-Rod’s agent Paul Kinzer said the Cardinals did not offer his client a similar contract.

9:08am: According to Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Cardinals made a bid for Francisco Rodriguez in the neighborhood of the Mets’ successful three-year, $37MM bid.  The search continues.  Strauss says the Cards plan to explore trades before escalating talks with Brian Fuentes.  Potential trade targets: J.J. Putz, Matt Capps, and Jon Rauch.  Talks for Jose Valverde "stalled abruptly earlier in the week."  The trade bait will probably be on of the Cardinals’ outfielders.

Strauss adds that GM John Mozeliak met with Scott Boras yesterday, possibly to discuss Oliver Perez.

Mets Bullpen Rumors

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The Mets signed Francisco Rodriguez yesterday, but GM Omar Minaya is not done tinkering with his bullpen.  SI.com’s Jon Heyman says Matt Capps, Huston Street, and others are on the radar as setup possibilities.  However, teams are asking for Jon Niese and the Mets don’t want to give him up.  Heyman adds that the Mets have talked to the Mariners and Cubs about relief help as well.

Pirates Rumors: Wilson, Paulino, Byrd

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Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is back on the scene to get us up to speed with the latest Pirates rumors.  Let’s start with the team’s five veteran trade candidates:

  • Jack Wilson: The Tigers and Dodgers are said to be the main suitors.  The problem is that neither team wants to send the Pirates top prospects while paying all of the $7.85MM Wilson has coming.  Additionally, the Pirates do not view Dodgers shortstop prospect Chin-Lung Hu as a possible trade centerpiece.  The Bucs have spoken to at least two other clubs about Wilson, but Kovacevic rejects the previously reported three-team scenario.  It seems that some of the top free agent shortstops will need to sign to create a better market for Wilson.
  • Freddy Sanchez, Adam LaRoche:  The Pirates have received "mere inquiries" on these two.
  • John Grabow, Ronny Paulino: Grabow is a free agent after ’09, so his trade value may never be higher.  The Pirates are apparently pushing Paulino, but don’t want to sell low on him.
  • Ryan Doumit, Nate McLouth, Paul Maholm, Matt Capps: These four are described as "as close to untouchable as it gets" for the Pirates.
  • On the free agent front, the Pirates have made contact with Paul Byrd.  However, GM Neal Huntington implied he’s not finding the starting pitching bargains he expected.  The Pirates haven’t made offers to Doug Mientkiewicz or Jason Michaels; those players are considering proposals from other teams.
  • Kovacevic adds: "The Pirates also had discussed acquiring a right-handed power bat for the outfield through free agency, but there has been no known movement on that front."  Just looking at who’s out there, I imagine this could be referring to Pat Burrell.  Still, that’s entirely speculative and he’s probably out of their price range.

Molony’s Latest: Mahay, Loretta, Erstad, Guzman

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Let’s check in with MLB.com’s Jim Molony.

  • The Rays are scouting lefty relievers Brian Fuentes and Ron Mahay.  The issue?  The price for Fuentes seems exorbitant, and Mahay may not be available.  Troy E. Renck names the Yankees, Mets, Cardinals, and Marlins as the main suitors for Fuentes aside from the Rays.
  • A few contenders have inquired with the Astros as to the availability of Mark Loretta and Darin Erstad.
  • As you might imagine, the Rangers are open to trading Frank Catalanotto.  We mentioned yesterday that his contract is a bit of a burden.
  • It seems that Jim Bowden is listening to offers for Cristian Guzman while also trying to sign him to an extension.  From Guzman’s point of view, it might make sense to enter a weak shortstop market this winter.
  • The Matt Capps injury apparently affects Damaso Marte’s availability.
  • The Marlins may make Mark Hendrickson available.  The big lefty was replaced in the rotation by top prospect Chris Volstad.

Bucs Sign Capps Through ’09

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According to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Pirates signed closer Matt Capps through the 2009 season.  They added $65K to his ’08 salary and gave him $2.35MM for ’09 (his first arb year).  They also tossed in a $500K signing bonus.  Previously, Kovacevic had said talks with Capps fizzled because of Manny Corpas’ deal.

Corpas receives $2.75MM for his first arb year, so Capps gets about 85% of that.  By that logic, perhaps the Pirates could buy out Capps’ last two arb years (2010-11) for a total of $8.3MM or so.  Regardless, this is a nice little move for Neal Huntington.  According to Capps, the Pirates made a four-year offer in December and remained persistent until now.

Pirates Rumors: LaRoche, Duffy

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Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has the latest Pirates hot stove buzz.

  • The Pirates and Adam LaRoche have reached an impasse in extension talks.  LaRoche is set to reach free agency after the ’09 season; his free agency years have to be worth $10MM each.  Kovacevic notes that the Pirates might be permanently done trying to sign LaRoche.
  • Kovacevic reports "no recent movement" on a Matt Capps extension.  Last time we checked, talks with Capps inexplicably fizzled after Manny Corpas signed a team-friendly deal with Colorado.
  • Capps probably isn’t going anywhere, but LaRoche certainly could be traded. The presence of Major League-ready Steve Pearce may not be a factor since Pearce became a full-time outfielder this spring.  Pearce is more likely to push Xavier Nady. 
  • In case you missed it, Kovacevic named his five Pirates most likely to be traded back on March 30th.
  • Center fielder Chris Duffy didn’t make that list, but the Braves are still interested in him.  He had surgery on his rotator cuff in August of last year and may be game-ready by month’s end.

Pirates Rumors: Nady, Capps

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I always enjoy Dejan Kovacevic’s Q&As for Pirates insight.  Let’s take a look at today’s edition.

Pirates Talking Long-Term With Snell, LaRoche

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According to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Pirates have reached out to Ian Snell’s agent about a long-term deal.  Snell’s salary will increase drastically in 2009 as he reaches arbitration.  For that reason, I’ve wondered whether he might be next offseason’s available young ace.  Jamie Shields’ deal could serve as a guide if the Bucs just want to buy out Snell’s three arb years from 2009-11.  Shields gave up his arb years for $13.75MM, though the last of those involves a club option.  $13-14MM (not necessarily guaranteed) seems to be the going rate for a young pitcher’s arb years, looking at Shields, Chris Young, and Matt Cain.

Additionally, the Bucs are talking to first baseman Adam LaRoche about an extension.  LaRoche is set to reach free agency after the ’09 season.  I was surprised to see that LaRoche’s career numbers aren’t much different from Justin Morneau’s (granted Morneau has played in the tougher league and has an MVP trophy).  Morneau recently gave up four free agent years at $14MM a pop; LaRoche should ask for at least $10MM per year for 2010 and beyond.  Looking at Morneau’s contract reminds me that he is far from a bargain. 

Finally, Kovacevic says talks with Matt Capps have "fizzled" because Manny Corpas’ deal raised the bar.  That’s odd, because Corpas has a team-friendly contract. He gets $12.25MM over his arb years, with the last of those a club option.  Then the Rockies have a club option on Corpas’ first potential year of free agency at $8MM.

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