Pirates Offseason Discussion Thread

[WVNowitzki]

Please keep Jones, I don't want to lose him. Could you imagine if somehow the Pirates landed Granderson. Cutch, Curtis, Marte / Snider or Jones.

[burgh_fan66]

Brandon McCarthy just signed with the Diamondbacks for 2 years and 15.5 million. Not to beat a dead horse but I would have rather took a chance and gave him the 2 years 17 million instead of Martin.

[Tomahawk27]

You better watch it or I'm going to make another Marte esque avatar

[hoog]

I really think this team missed out on the McCarthy signing. Adding him to this rotation would have helped a lot. That being said, why not take advantage of a slow market and go get Jackson. He could be had, IMO, for a lower price and years than some other pitchers not as talented as him. I think if you threw out a two year $24M offer with a mutual third year in there that he'd take it. He kind of got stuck last year and I know he's looking for more but knows he won't get it. I think he'd be happy getting a multi instead of a one year contract. He's still only 29 and has outstanding stuff but he's inconsistent. He's worth the risk though.

[Tomahawk27]

Apparently Jason Bay signed with the Mariners so anyone hoping for a return is out of luck.

Yes, it is 2:48 AM... finals week

[tripleplayer543]

I really think this team missed out on the McCarthy signing. Adding him to this rotation would have helped a lot. That being said, why not take advantage of a slow market and go get Jackson. He could be had, IMO, for a lower price and years than some other pitchers not as talented as him. I think if you threw out a two year $24M offer with a mutual third year in there that he'd take it. He kind of got stuck last year and I know he's looking for more but knows he won't get it. I think he'd be happy getting a multi instead of a one year contract. He's still only 29 and has outstanding stuff but he's inconsistent. He's worth the risk though.

if my memory is correct the pirates tossed a bunch of money at jackson last off season any for him to turn his nose up at it
. but id like for him to sign with the bucs

[burgh_fan66]

I believe the Pirates offered Jackson a 3 year, 30 million dollar contract last season but he opted for the one year deal. I would be fine if they decided to make another run at him as this rotation definitely needs another arm or two.

Not really a whole lot going on in Pirates world right now. We had that crazy Grilli situation a few days ago and some Hanrahan talk but nothing has come of either one.

[Tomahawk27]

Not that I ever really expect a "big" offseason but this one seems like it is even less interesting that previous ones.

Besides the Martin signing, the biggest news has been us non-tendering Karstens

[burgh_fan66]

Not that I ever really expect a "big" offseason but this one seems like it is even less interesting that previous ones.

Besides the Martin signing, the biggest news has been us non-tendering Karstens

Well I guess it could have been expected. Snider, Sanchez and Rodriguez all fill roles the Pirates would have been looking for this offseason. So all that really left was catcher, starting pitcher and maybe some bullpen and bench options.

[burgh_fan66]

Well the Pirates have reportedly resigned Grilli for the 3rd time. I'll wait for another Grilli denial before I believe this too much but this one does appear more concrete.

[Tomahawk27]

I can't remember, what's the contract situation with Hanrahan? If I remember correctly, it was either go through arbitration or he has one more year left I think.

If either of these are the case, would you guys be in favor of working out a new contract with him to make him more appealing? We all know that we aren't going to get anything near to what we could have a year or two ago but teams would certainly be more willing to trade for a guy who they have under control instead of a "rental player"

[PurpleJesus]

Is this Kevin Correia guy the Twins picked up any good?

and please dont give the typical "he was the worst player in the league because he doesnt play for us now" answer.

[burgh_fan66]

Is this Kevin Correia guy the Twins picked up any good?

and please dont give the typical "he was the worst player in the league because he doesnt play for us now" answer.

Well that's a tough one. While here Correia was disliked by a large portion of the fan base but that is probably more due to circumstances. After signing him he was named our opening day starter for 2011 and took on the appearance of a top of the rotation pitcher which he most certainly is not.

While here he pitched servicably and would have made for a very adequate #5 or maybe even #4 starter. He doesn't strike a lot of guys out and isn't really a groundball pitcher though his rate isn't bad. Overall he really isn't a good pitcher but there is something to be said for a guy who can keep a team in games. Most of the time while here he would pitch 5-6 innings and allow 3-5 runs. It wasn't great but he gave us a chance at winning most of his starts.

What most impressed me in his time with the Pirates is after our marathon 19 inning game against the Cardinals this year he had pitched two innings in the game but went to Hurdle (our manager) after the game and volunteered to start the next game. It was a great act on his part. Hurdle should have in no way took him up on that offer but I digress.

So really to answer your question Correia is what he is. He isn't going to be good but he also probably isn't going to be horrible. He is going to eat some innings for you (~170) and pitch just well enough to keep you in the game in most of his starts. I'm not really sure what the Twins are looking for but that is what they have in Correia and I'm really not sure how to put it any better.

[Tomahawk27]

Well, I'll divert people back to my Hanrahan question but I'll also answer the Correia question.

It's pretty much everything Burgh said. I can't say I ever really liked him bu that's probably due to the fact that I always thought we could get similar results with our younger guys and get them experience at the same time.

Also wanted to point out that it was our friends the Twins who signed him. Just as the Cardinals are Steelers West, the Twins are Pirates North

[burgh_fan66]

I can't remember, what's the contract situation with Hanrahan? If I remember correctly, it was either go through arbitration or he has one more year left I think.

If either of these are the case, would you guys be in favor of working out a new contract with him to make him more appealing? We all know that we aren't going to get anything near to what we could have a year or two ago but teams would certainly be more willing to trade for a guy who they have under control instead of a "rental player"

Ah yes your question. How could I forget. Hanrahan has one year of arbitration left before he would hit the open market and is expected to command roughly 7 million. As far as signing him to an extension his arbitration path has closely followed Heath Bell who received a 3 year, 27 million dollar contract last offseason. Admittedly I think Bell was an overpayment and Hanrahan won't quite get that but a 3 year, 24 million dollar deal is reasonable. Assuming this is what it takes to get him signed I'm not sure it increases his value a whole lot. It probably would but if the Pirates resign him he likely won't be traded until midseason and if he falters his value collapses and the Pirates are likely stuck with the albatross of a contract or forced to pay some of it and get no return.

To me the reward of signing a reliever like Hanrahan to increase his value is not worth the risk associated with it.