Sorry I haven’t posted much the last couple days; I’ve been enjoying the down time at home for the Thanksgiving holiday. The Pirates haven’t relaxed much, though, this week. For a holiday week, they’ve been downright busy.
The biggest news is the Zach Duke trade. Duke was already more or less gone after being DFA’d, but getting even a player to be named for him seems like a decent coup for the front office. I certainly wish Duke well in Arizona or whereever (it looks like the Diamondbacks will non-tender him if they can’t sign him before the non-tender deadline), but if he does end up pitching for the D’Backs I can’t help but feel sorry for the guy. He’s as reliant on his surroundings as anyone and as Chase Field in Arizona seems like an absolutely awful park for him. In any case, the player the Pirates will get is being described as a “mid-level” prospect that’s eligible for the Rule 5 draft. The pickings there are pretty slim (and if the player is picked in the draft, the Pirates will end up with someone else), but again, getting anyone in return for Duke is pretty unexpected (both links via Bucs Dugout).
The Pirates also rounded out their coaching staff this week with Euclides Rojas (bullpen coach, promoted from his position as the team’s Latin American field director), Mark Strittmayer (just listed as “coach” and previously employed by Hurdle and Jim Tracy in Colorado as a bullpen catcher, I think), and Luis Silverio (first base coach, formerly a coach in several capacities with the Royals). It’s also worth noting that apparently Jeff Banister’s and Nick Leyva’s jobs are flipped from what was intiially reported, with Banister working as bench coach and Leyva working as third base coach. That’s reflected both in Bill Brink’s report and on the team’s website.
Finally, the Bucs also appear to be interested in Scott Olsen, who fits the Neal Huntington profile of a former top prospect who’s struggled to ever fulfill that potential with the Marlins or Nationals, thanks to arm injuries and a number of off-field incidents. I’m not necessarily sure he’s much better than most of the guys on the Pirates’ pitching staff right now, but bringing more arms with the potential to do anything into camp can’t be a bad thing and so he’s probably worth at least taking a look at for the Pirates.
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