SB Nation - Luis Cruz

Wednesday's Frosty Mug

KLSnow — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 15:51:04 -0000

by Keith Birmingham - AP

Another day, another picture of Randy Wolf.

Some things to read while making your pitch to Gatorade.

It's been roughly 24 hours since we were told the Brewers were "very close" to a deal with Randy Wolf, but said deal has yet to materialize. Both Tom H. and Buster Olney are saying the Brewers are expecting a response today, now that Arn Tellem has had a day to shop the offer around, but reportedly hasn't found anyone willing to match it. Other notes on Wolf:

Tom H. says he "gets the feeling that the Brewers are suprised that Randy Wolf hasn't accepted their three-year offer yet."
Jayson Stark heard that the Brewers' offer to Wolf was bigger than the three year, $28 million deal the Braves recently gave Tim Hudson.
Jon Heyman tweeted that the Mets don't appear likely to land Wolf, and while MLB Trade Rumors lists them as showing interest in five other pitchers, Heyman says the price of mid-level pitching might drive them to spend a little more in pursuit of John Lackey.
The Junkball Blues has a look at the average return teams get on three year contracts to starting pitchers. There are some good ones (Greg Maddux, Andy Pettitte, A.J. Burnett), but also some disasters (Adam Eaton, Jason Schmidt, Carl Pavano).
Jorge Says No! wonders about the wisdom of offering Wolf a third year, but says the Brewers' willingness to do it implies they don't think they can sign Prince Fielder to a long term deal.

By the way, over two months ago Jorge Says No! predicted Wolf would get three years, $31 million on the open market. Impressive.

I feel the need to clarify my position on the Wolf rumor a bit, because I feel I was a little hard on the front office in this one act play last night. I still don't think Wolf wants to play in Milwaukee, which is why Arn Tellem has spent the last 24 hours searching for anyone on a coast willing to match the Brewers' offer. With that said, I'll give credit where credit is due to the front office for finding the guy they wanted and being aggressive in an attempt to get him here. If it turns out that the scenario I laid out is true and Tellem was just using the Brewers to raise the price for someone else, so be it. At least we're talking about the Brewers making an effort, and not hearing the reasons why they can't.

Meanwhile, the Brewers are close to a deal to bring Claudio Vargas back for another season, and are just waiting for formal acceptance from Vargas and his agent (FanShot). Conversation on the deal is probably complicated a bit by the fact that Vargas is currently in the Dominican Republic pitching in winter ball.

They're also expecting an answer sometime today from Craig Counsell, who may or may not be seeking a two year deal for next season. It sounds like Counsell and his agent spent the day yesterday checking out other options. Don't be surprised if a deal gets done relatively quickly.

Ken Macha told reporters yesterday that Yovani Gallardo and Manny Parra are the only pitchers guaranteed a spot in the Brewer rotation next season, implying that Dave Bush and Jeff Suppan will have to compete to earn an opportunity (FanShot). Open competition should be good for all involved, especially if the Crew manages to bring in some high-upside pitchers to compete.

Tom H. has all of those notes (and a terrible headline) in his roundup piece today, along with this note: The 40 man roster is starting to fill up, so don't be surprised if the Brewers decide not to take a chance on a Rule 5 pick in tomorrow's draft. I think that's a poor decision. Among others, Tim Dillard and Luis Cruz could probably pass through waivers without much notice. Passing on a cheap lottery ticket to protect one of those guys doesn't seem to make sense.

In the minors:

Project Prospect has a look at the speed of several Brewers who recently performed in the Arizona Fall League. Jonathan Lucroy appears to be in about the middle of the pack, while Taylor Green rated out way on the low end. They mustn't have had enough data to publish a ranking for Lorenzo Cain.
Angel Salome will be the next Brewer prospect to head out for winter ball: He's reportedly leaving at the end of the week to play for Este in the Dominican League. You can keep up with him and all the Brewer winter leaguers in our Winter League Updates.

We're continuing the effort to put together a BCB All Decade Team, and if you haven't cast your first votes yet, there's still time. Voting at first base will remain open until 4 pm today, and voting at second base runs until 4 pm tomorrow. Check back later today to vote for a shortstop.

Around baseball:

Braves: Designated outfielder Ryan Church for assignment.
D-Backs: Acquired pitchers Edwin Jackson and Ian Kennedy in a three way deal that sent Curtis Granderson to the Yankees and outfielder Austin Jackson and pitchers Max Scherzer, Daniel Schlereth and Phil Coke to the Tigers.
Mets: Signed 1B/3B Mike Hessman to a minor league deal.
Nationals: Signed outfielder Jerry Owens to a minor league deal.
Phillies: Signed Ross Gload to a two year deal.
Pirates: Are expected to sign Bobby Crosby to a one year deal.
Tigers: Signed catcher Robinzon Diaz, who was recently released by the Pirates.
Twins: Designated Boof Bonser for assignment.
White Sox: Signed Mark Teahen to a three year, $14 million deal, avoiding arbitration.
Yankees: Will receive the #1 pick in tomorrow's Rule 5 Draft as the PTBNL in the Brian Bruney trade.

Meanwhile, ~~Gritty von Canthitalick~~ Jason Kendall continues to search for work, but there's more suitors than you might think: The Rangers are reportedly strongly considering Kendall, now that Jarrod Saltalamacchia injured his shoulder playing winter ball. The Royals have also expressed interest.

From surprising news to what might possibly be the week's least surprising news: John Lackey is having a hard time finding a team willing to offer him a six year deal.

Actually, this might be the most surprising news: Kudos to the BBWAA for their decision to allow Sean Forman of Baseball Reference to join their organization.

We could have used this days ago, but Dave Cameron of FanGraphs has a guide to deciphering sources in Winter Meeting rumors. Again today, the meetings provide us with some things you might never have known without the internet, and wouldn't have missed:

Michael Tucker, who hasn't played in the majors since 2006, is in Indianapolis and wants to play next season.
Rangers pitcher C.J. Wilson heard about a trade offer the Diamondbacks made for him and was offended by it.
C. Trent Rosecrans gave the Meetings' Best Hat Award to Manny Acta.
Blue Jays beat reporter Jordan Bastian gives us a look at the hotel lobby, complete with Christmas tree.
Jonathan Mayo of MiLB.com had to step away from the meetings for a moment to help his mom figure out the TV.

On this day in 1977, the Brewers traded pitchers Jim Slaton and Rich Folkers to the Tigers for Ben Oglivie. The 29 year old Panama native would spend the last nine years of his career as a Brewer, hitting .277/.345/.461, leading the AL with 41 home runs in 1980, and appearing in three All Star games.

Happy birthday today to:

Doc Medich, who made the final ten starts of his major league career for the 1982 Brewers, and turns 61.
Ed Romero, who spent parts of eight seasons as a Brewer in the late 70's and 80's and later served as a minor league infield coordinator and manager. He turns 52.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some snowblowing to do.

Drink up.

Tuesday's Frosty Mug

KLSnow — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 15:36:15 -0000

by Matt Slocum - AP

Today's Frosty Mug is so full, I didn't even have time to caption this picture of Randy Wolf.

View full size photo »

Some things to read while evening out the teams.

It turned out to be a pretty active first day of the Winter Meetings. The Brewers were the talk of the late night rumor mill, based on reports that they're close to signing a three year deal with Randy Wolf (also noted in Rumorville). Tom H. says the deal is rumored to be in the $25-27 million range, and is also quantifying the amount of smoke surrounding it.

With that said, the deal mustn't be done yet, because Arn Tellem, who represents Wolf, is meeting with the Mets this morning. Jon Heyman says the Mets aren't willing to offer Wolf a three year deal.

Is this the move you were hoping for from the Brewers? I'd be happy with it at this point, as long as the price isn't much above $27 million. There's always some risk involved, but this is almost certainly a better deal than, for example, the four year deal Joel Pineiro is seeking.

Wolf might not be the only starting pitcher the Brewers acquire this week. They've reportedly discussed a deal with the Mets that would send Corey Hart to New York for John Maine, a former student of Rick Peterson who has missed most of the last year with shoulder issues (FanShot). It's unclear how much fire is behind this smoke, but the Mets are also rumored to be discussing a similar trade with the Angels, with Juan Rivera taking Hart's place.

The Brewers also added a little depth to their middle infield yesterday, claiming shortstop Luis Cruz off waivers from the Pirates (FanShot). Cruz played seven positions (everything but pitcher and catcher) last season in AAA, but has virtually zero ability with the bat (a .274 OBP in AAA last season), and Adam McCalvy confirmed the move was made for minor league, not major league depth. The Brewers don't have a true shortstop prospect in the minors above Brent Brewer and Josh Prince, neither of whom played above A-ball last season.

The Brewer bullpen suffered a blow yesterday, as Mark DiFelice underwent surgery to repair damage to his labrum and rotator cuff, and will miss the entire 2010 season (FanShot). DiFelice is 33 and undergoing his second major shoulder procedure, but intends to try to pitch in the majors again in 2011, telling Adam McCalvy "I don't want it to end like this."

This raises the stakes a little bit in the search for additional bullpen help, but the Crew won't be getting said help from Rafael Betancourt. Late in the day yesterday it was reported that the Brewers were unlikely to lure Betancourt away from a return to the Rockies. I haven't seen it confirmed, but I'm pretty sure he accepted arbitration late last night.

Looking back at a rumor from the weekend, In-Between Hops has come out against a Jeff Suppan-for-Juan Pierre deal, fearing the extra $4 million in salary the Brewers would have to take on would make it difficult for them to sign a pitcher like Randy Wolf.

And, looking back even farther, Dave Allen of FanGraphs has a look at the pitch-blocking ability of Gregg Zaun. Ken Macha is making me crazy: I should see this as a positive, but instead I see it as the excuse that might be used to keep an underperforming/overused Zaun in the lineup and a more deserving catcher on the bench.

In the minors, Brewerfan.net has a new Power 50 up. It's always interesting to see how guys move up and down the charts during the offseason. This edition's big gainers were Kentrail Davis, Jake Odorizzi and John Axford, with Hernan Iribarren, Chris Cody and Max Walla losing significant ground.

And around here, we're looking for your help to select a Brewer All-Decade Team in a series we're calling Making Your '00 Face. That link will take you to the voting for first base, where Prince Fielder has opened up what will likely turn out to be an insurmountable lead. Voting for second base will open at 4 pm today.

Around baseball:

Braves: Reliever Rafael Soriano has accepted the team's offer of arbitration.
Cardinals: Have agreed to a one year, $7.5 million deal for Brad Penny, pending a physical.
Nationals: Signed Ivan Rodriguez to a two year deal worth $6 million, acquired reliever Brian Bruney from the Yankees for a PTBNL, and released reliever Saul Rivera.
Pirates: Signed reliever Vinnie Chulk to a minor league deal.
Rangers: Acquired pitcher Clay Rapada from the Tigers for a PTBNL or cash.
Red Sox: Signed pitcher Fabio Castro and re-signed Kason Gabbard.
Rockies: Released outfielder Matt Murton, who is expected to spend 2010 in Japan.
Tigers: Re-signed Adam Everett to a one year deal, and signed reliever Brad Thomas, who has spent the last two seasons pitching in Korea.
Twins: Carl Pavano has accepted the team's arbitration offer.

The Rule 5 Draft is on Thursday, so I'm almost done burying you in links like these: Harry Pavlidis of The Hardball Times and Lisa Winston of MiLB.com have a look at several players who recently played in the Arizona Fall League and were left unprotected in the draft.

Competition is heating up in the market for Edwin Jackson. One report yesterday had the Tigers receiving 12 offers for his services. I guess that's what you get when you put a pitcher who threw over 200 effective innings last season and is due about $5 million on the market.

Speaking of pitchers the Brewers might be interested in, Justin Duchscherer declined the A's offer of salary arbitration.

I think most of us will be happy to see these former Brewers sign elsewhere, and keeping one of them in the division would be a double bonus: Jason Kendall is reportedly drawing interest from the Royals, and Braden Looper has expressed interest in pitching for the Cubs.

In case you were wondering, Keith Law has an explanation of how the Winter Meetings, usually held in a warm vacation spot, ended up in Indianapolis. The cold temps and snow haven't kept people from exchanging some tidbits of info you probably would never have known without the internet (and might not have missed):

There was apparently a small tiff between Scott Boras and new Hall of Famer Whitey Herzog over comments Herzog made about Matt Holliday, a Boras client.
Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez didn't shoot anything while out deer hunting with Bobby Cox last week.
Former D-Back, Indian, Ray and Ranger Nick Bierbrodt, who hasn't pitched in the majors since 2004, is a ttempting a comeback.
New Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopolous is battling a cold this week, so he's not shaking anyone's hand.
Speaking of the Blue Jays, radio reporter Mike Wilner has an annoying ring tone and left his phone in the media workroom yesterday.
Craig Calcaterra brought an airport card to the meetings, making him one of the few writers not reliant on slow internet service.

And, of course we're all having fun this week, but Paul DePodesta has a reminder for all of us that many of this week's rumors will be just that, and not to get too worked up over them. Of course, no one ever gets too worked up around here, right?

Away from the meetings, here's a strange story. After months of investigation, Major League Baseball has concluded that new Twins prospect Miguel Angel Sano, who claims to be 16, is somewhere between 16 and 18. Sano also recently changed his name to Miguel Jean. If he turns out to be Miguel Tejada in disguise, the Twins will probably be very upset.

On this day in 1991, Brewer reliever Julio Machado was arrested for murder after shooting a passenger in a car that had just been involved in an accident. Machado was later found guilty and served 12 years in prison.

I don't have any Brewer birthdays today, but it is a Woot-off day, so there's that.

Drink up.

Pirates Lose Luis Cruz, Sign Vinnie Chulk

Charlie — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 21:14:44 -0000

More photos » by Julie Jacobson - AP

Cleveland Indians pitcher Vinnie Chulk reacts after committing a throwing error in the seventh inning that allowed New York Yankees' Johnny Damon to score the tying run during a game Friday, April 17, 2009 in New York. The Yankees won 6-5. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)

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The Pirates have signed reliever Vinnie Chulk to a minor league deal, and have lost Luis Cruz to the Brewers on a waiver claim.

I like the addition of Chulk, who I identified a while back as one of the more interesting minor league free agents. He'll pitch next year at 31, and there's really no reason to think he can't be solidly mediocre. That sounds mean, but "solidly mediocre" is a good thing for a minor league signing to be, especially in a bullpen that's been solidly terrible over the past year. There's really nothing special about Chulk--he doesn't strike out too many batters, but he strikes out enough. His ERAs aren't low, but they aren't terribly high either. He's not young, but he's not old. He had shoulder issues in 2008, but he wasn't shut down for too long. You can joke if you like about his not even being able to stick in 2009 with a terrible Indians bullpen, but he still looks like a better bet than a lot of the relief possibilities the Pirates already had.

As for Cruz, he obviously has a big-league glove, but that means nothing without some hitting ability. If major league rosters were 35 deep instead of 25, he'd be a useful bench player, but on a 25-man roster he's as bad a misuse of resources as, say, a pinch-running specialist. Cruz posted a .274 OBP last year in AAA, and apart from a fluky burst of offense in a brief sample at Indianapolis in 2008, has never shown much with the stick. The Pirates won't miss him, and they should be able to sign a Cruz-like player this winter without having to use a roster spot.

UPDATE: The Bucs have also removed Jeff Sues from the 40-man roster and sent him to Indianapolis. This is no surprise, since he had a disappointing season and is only a reliever to begin with. There are two spots open on the 40-man, so I'd expect some action in the upcoming Rule 5 draft.

Pirates Face 40-Man Roster Decisions This Week

Charlie — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 02:00:54 -0000

40-man rosters have to be set by Friday, so expect some fun stuff to happen this week.

The Bucs currently have 36 players on their 40-man roster. That doesn't include Jose Ascanio and Evan Meek, who will both need to be protected by Friday. The Pirates will also have to decide whether to include a number of minor leaguers, any of whom could be selected in the Rule 5 draft in December if they aren't protected:

Brad Lincoln, Gorkys Hernandez, Bryan Morris, Ramon Aguero, Casey Erickson, Michael Dubee, Shelby Ford, Jim Negrych, Kris Watts

Of these, I'd say Lincoln and Hernandez are no-brainers.

Morris is a tricky case; scouts like him a lot and the Pirates certainly paid a pretty penny to get him, but the performance record so far hasn't been there, and it's very hard to see how he could stick on another team's 25-man roster for the entire year.

WTM is a big fan of Aguero, a reliever who spent time with West Virginia, Lynchburg and Altoona last year. Aguero had a nice season in 2009 and has followed that up with a good showing in the Dominican Winter League, but I'm agnostic here. He's almost 25, so he's not a great prospect. Every year the Pirates protect these sorts of marginal pitchers, mostly relievers--Jeff Sues, Dave Davidson, Romulo Sanchez, Luis Munoz, Olivo Astacio, Ronald Belisario, and so on--and never do they seem to get anything out of them. (Ok, Astacio was released because of behavioral issues, and Belisario blossomed with the Dodgers, but still.) The problem with Aguero is that he'd be easier than Morris to hide on a big-league roster for a year, and because he played well this year and has good stuff, there would be reason for a team who selected him to hope he wouldn't end up hurting them too badly. I'd probably protect him, but I don't think we should expect much from him in the long haul.

The other guys, though at least vaguely intriguing, can probably be left off. Erickson is too far from the majors, Dubee doesn't have great stuff, and Ford and Negrych haven't shown enough in the minors. (Negrych might have some vague chance of being taken in the Rule 5 and used as a bench bat.) Watts is only a nominal prospect because he's a catcher.

So let's say three spots will be needed for Lincoln, Hernandez and Aguero, and possibly a fourth for Morris. The Pirates would probably also prefer to leave one spot for their own Rule 5 pick, although they can also dump someone later to make room.

All this means that probably a couple of players will be dumped from the roster this week. Of those, Sues, Anthony Claggett, Justin Thomas, Brian Bixler, and Luis Cruz would all be potential candidates.

Andrew McCutchen's Walk-Off Homer Defeats Phillies

Charlie — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 02:15:19 -0000

More photos » by Keith Srakocic - AP

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Wow. Just when I was about to write a pithy two-sentence post about how awful Matt Capps is, that happened. After Capps allowed two runs to blow a save in the top of the ninth (aided by a ball McCutchen misread in the outfield), Brad Lidge came into the game, gave up a single to Luis Cruz, allowed Cruz to get to second on a wild pitch, and had Brian Bixler (who pinch-ran for Cruz) score when Jayson Werth dropped a ball after Brandon Moss singled to right. Then McCutchen hit a two-run homer to end it.

I'm not a big believer in the idea that clutch hitting is a skill, but McCutchen is a special player, and watching him I sometimes feel like he could bring peace to the Middle East if only he made it a priority.

2009 Trade Deadline Preview: Pittsburgh Pirates

Charlie — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 02:35:54 -0000

More photos » by David Zalubowski - AP

Freddy Sanchez could be traded before the deadline, perhaps to Jim Tracy and the Rockies.

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Buyers or sellers?

Sellers, just like every year. The Bucs have already been very active this trading season, shipping Nate McLouth to Atlanta for outfielder Gorkys Hernandez and pitchers Charlie Morton and Jeff Locke; sending Nyjer Morgan and Sean Burnett to the Nats for Lastings Milledge and Joel Hanrahan; and passing Eric Hinske to the Yankees for catcher Eric Fryer and pitcher Casey Erickson. The Bucs got younger in all three deals and should continue to do so before the deadline.

Short-term need

The Pirates don't have enough talent to worry much about short-term need. They might, however, seek a young middle infielder or two if Freddy Sanchez or Jack Wilson are traded, because of the inadequacy of all the potential internal replacements (including Ramon Vazquez, Brian Bixler, and Luis Cruz) for those two. Cruz is worthless at the plate, and replacing Sanchez or Wilson with Vazquez or Bixler would turn a good team defense into a mediocre one, which might be a problem for a team trying to develop a number of young pitchers.

Long-term need

Talent. Starters, relievers, batters, bakers, candlestick makers, you name it. The organization that team president Frank Coonelly and GM Neal Huntington inherited less than two years ago lacked talent not only at the major league level, but in the minors as well. In the trades they've made so far, Coonelly and Huntington have grabbed talent without much regard for position or specific organizational need. With the possible exception of the Sanchez/Wilson provision above, that won't change.

Big leaguers on the market

Sanchez and Wilson are signed through 2009 with options for 2010. Sanchez is 31, has a colorful injury history and is having one of his best seasons, so he'd be a great player to deal if the Bucs can find a team willing to buy high, perhaps the Rockies or Giants. First baseman Adam LaRoche and lefty reliever John Grabow are free agents after this season, so the Pirates would surely trade them, but there hasn't been much of a market for LaRoche so far. The Bucs have also probably had enough of starting pitcher Ian Snell, who lost break on his slider, got bombed all season, and then requested and received a demotion to the minors. Snell is signed through 2010, with team options for 2011 and 2012.

Minor league strength

The low levels of the minors, from Class A West Virginia down to the Dominican and Venezuelan teams--you know, the ones where Coonelly and Huntington acquired most of the players--are fairly well stocked with prospects, but the upper three levels (despite the presence of third baseman Pedro Alvarez and pitcher Brad Lincoln) are a bit thin. Several of the most talented players who are at the upper levels (Hernandez, Locke, outfielder Jose Tabata) were acquired by Coonelly and Huntington. This month, look for them to continue to try to fatten the upper levels of the system.

Take on short-term money to win?

Obviously not. But claims that the Pirates are merely dumping salaries have probably been overblown by fans and the Pittsburgh media. While no one but the parties involved can know the team's true motivations for trading many of its best-known players over the past year, the Bucs' new front office has made viable (if not always spectacular, or always successful) baseball trades, and their actions have been suggested they're willing to take some short-term lumps in order to follow through with the type of genuine rebuilding for which the Cam Bonifay and Dave Littlefield administrations lacked the stomach.

If nothing else, Coonelly and Huntington certainly have shown a willingness to anger the Pirates' dwindling fanbase. This month, they'll probably make a couple more unpopular moves, but if the Bucs are lucky, the fans could end up thanking Coonelly and Huntington later.

For more coverage of the Pirates, check out Bucs Dugout.

Pirates to Recall Luis Cruz

Charlie — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 00:14:16 -0000

I haven't seen a formal report yet, but the Pirates' Facebook page says the Bucs will recall Luis Cruz to fill Steve Pearce's roster spot. If true, this means that neither Ryan Doumit or Freddy Sanchez are ready to come back, at least not right away. Cruz hit .253/.274/.358 at Indianapolis, confirming what we already knew, which is that he can't hit at all. But I assume that, if true, this is just a short-term fix until someone gets healthy, and Cruz won't get more than a handful of at bats anyway. I doubt this has anything to do with the Sanchez trade rumors, although I suppose anything's possible.

I'm not sure why this hasn't been reported anywhere besides Facebook yet, so take it with a grain of salt until you see it confirmed.

UPDATE: Scott McCauley has it too.

UPDATE: Now McCauley says it's likely that Doumit will rejoin the Pirates tomorrow. Let's see how this plays out.

UPDATE: It's Cruz. Doumit won't be back until after the All-Star break.

News Roundup: Steve Pearce at First?

Charlie — Tue, 19 May 2009 18:43:41 -0000

-P- Dejan Kovacevic guesses that Steve Pearce will be the Pirates' first baseman next season. I think pigs will fly before Pearce gets 500 at bats in a season with the Bucs. They've had plenty of opportunities to find a position and some playing time for Pearce, and they've gone out of their way to avoid doing those things. If Adam LaRoche is traded in the next couple months, Pearce will probably be recalled, but even then I'd bet on him splitting time with Eric Hinske. He'll have to hit like crazy to become part of the picture in 2010.

That means the 2010 first baseman will probably be an outside hire. Here's the list of next offseason's free agents. Signing Nick Johnson to a lucrative short-term deal might be an interesting gamble; if he stays healthy, he'll hit, and if he does he could easily be turned into prospects later.

-P- Speaking of first base, Pedro Alvarez has hit .282 with three homers in his past ten games.

-P- With the recent departures of Romulo Sanchez, Dave Davidson and Jimmy Barthmaier from the 40-man roster, it's finally reaching the point where there aren't ten complete wastes of time clogging up the roster anymore. My guess is that the next to go next time the Pirates need a pitcher is Luis Cruz, who's hitting .242/.266/.319 at Indianapolis. I think the Bucs would probably be able to sneak him through waivers, too. If major league teams had 30-man rosters, he'd be a good addition purely as a defensive substitute, but a major league bench player has to be able to hit at least a little.

-P- Jason Kendall grabbed his 2,000th hit last night. It was a single (of course) up the middle.

-P- You think the Pirates' 12-24 Altoona team is bad? Ken Rosenthal quotes a scout saying that the Nationals' Class AA team in Harrisburg is "the worst Class AA team maybe in the history of baseball." Dave Williams is on that team. Rosenthal also quotes another scout describing the Giants' Pablo Sandoval as "Randall Simon with more ability."

Pirates Acquire Delwyn Young

Charlie — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 05:01:19 -0000

To no one's surprise, the Pirates have acquired outfielder Delwyn Young from the Dodgers. Los Angeles will get two players to be named; surely neither of them will be a prospect. The Pirates have been interested in Young for some time--going back, at least, to the Dodgers-Pirates Jack Wilson trade discussions last year.

Young came through the Dodgers' system mostly as an infielder, but he's played only eight games in the infield since 2005, so the Pirates will surely treat him as an outfielder. Young is out of options and will have to be added to the big-league team. That could mean that Craig Monroe will be cut to make room for him. (UPDATE: In the comments, WTM suggests Luis Cruz could be the one to go, since the Bucs have used him so sparingly, but we'll see; if Andy LaRoche continues to be unreliable, it will be hard for the Pirates to avoid carrying an extra infielder, because utilityman Ramon Vazquez will need to be available to play third. So my guess is still that Monroe will be odd man out.)

I don't share the Pirates' strange infatuation with Young; he never hit much at Class AAA until he was old for the level, and he's entering his age-27 without having accomplished anything in the majors. As a switch-hitter with little bits of patience and power, he should be more useful than Monroe would have been, but then that's true of about a thousand Class AAA outfielders.

Still, as long as the Pirates didn't give up a prospect, they haven't lost anything here. PECOTA (subscription required) sees a shred of upside here, comparing Young to Ryan Doumit, Carl Everett and John Vander Wal amidst a mess of fringe players.

Thanks to Phil79.

UPDATE: To make room for Young, Dave Davidson has finally been kicked off the 40-man. Look for him to make it through waivers and be back with the Bucs in a week or so. In the meantime, Cruz looks to be the odd man out.