The Pittsburgh Pirates are set for one of their most important off-seasons in the Neal Huntington Era. Here is your guide to their Hot Stove season.
With the World Series completed – maybe you’ve heard that the Chicago Cubs won? – the Pittsburgh Pirates are about to embark on what is likely their most important off-season in the Neal Huntington era.
Here now is your complete field guide on what to expect during this Hot Stove season. This is a living document, that will be updated as needed with each important off-season development. It is our hope that you bookmark this page, and refer to it all throughout the off-season.
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| UPDATES | DATEBOOK | CURRENT CONTRACTS | ARBITRATION | FREE AGENTS TO BE | THE TRADE MARKET |
Hot Stove Updates
Here we will be chronicling all Hot Stove updates relevant to the Pittsburgh Pirates’ interests.
UPDATE – November 13
We have previously detailed the developing market for Andrew McCutchen and the fallout for the Pittsburgh Pirates at the links below:
[irp posts=”10800″ name=”Moving Andrew McCutchen: How to replace a perennial All-Star”] [irp posts=”11040″ name=”The Pittsburgh Pirates Dodged A Bullet”]In other news, Rob Biertempfel reports that Derek Holland, who we previous profiled in depth here, has stated that the Pirates would be on his short list for his new home, and that he would be willing to accept a 1-year deal.
[perfectpullquote align=”full” cite=”Rob Biertempfel’s report, Trib Live” link=”http://triblive.com/sports/pirates/11466217-74/holland-martini-pirates” color=”” class=”” size=””]“We’d prefer a guaranteed spot, but Derek is not afraid to compete for a job,” Martini said. “We’ll see how the market develops, but we would be open to a one-year deal.”[/perfectpullquote]Meanwhile, the Dallas Morning News reports that Holland’s preference may be to stay with the Rangers:
[perfectpullquote align=”full” cite=”Derek Holland, as told to 105.3 in Dallas” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]“I told (Rangers president and general manager) [Jon Daniels] when I get offered something, I want to throw that to them and see if they want to compete with it or whatnot,” Holland said. “I want to give the Rangers a chance, no matter what. I’m always going to leave that door open. I’m not closing that door. If they close the door, then fine, I guess I have to close the door. But as far as I know it’s still open and I’m leaving it open for them as well.”[/perfectpullquote]Holland’s velocity was down during 2016, but he is completely healthy by all indications, allowing for a possible return to his previous marks.
Lastly, Ivan Nova‘s market is starting to take shape, as industry sources are saying that he has received offers in the 3-year, $36 million range. These figures are obviously not what Nova was hoping to see, and it could be a sign that the market is pushing back against Nova’s perceived value.
UPDATE – November 10
On the heels of Ken Rosenthal’s report that the Pittsburgh Pirates and Washington Nationals discussed a trade involving Andrew McCutchen over the summer, Neal Huntington has been quoted as saying that he owes a duty to his club to be open to such a trade.
[perfectpullquote align=”full” cite=”Neal Huntington, as told to ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick” link=”http://www.espn.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/id/76323/pittsburghs-latest-dilemma-trade-or-keep-andrew-mccutchen” color=”” class=”” size=””]”We’ve been fairly open,” Huntington told ESPN.com. “When a player gets toward the end of his contract or even two years away from an expiring contact, we have to be open to listen. We’ve lost a lot of really good players to free agency, and as a small market, that makes it very hard to survive.[/perfectpullquote]At this point, it would appear that the chances of McCutchen being traded before the end of the 2017 season – if not before – are certainly gaining steam.
UPDATE – November 8
In a piece by the Tribune-Review’s Travis Sawchik, GM Neal Huntington expressed skepticism that the Pittsburgh Pirates 2017 rotation would be one impervious to criticism.
[perfectpullquote align=”full” cite=”Neal Huntington, as quoted by Travis Sawchik” link=”http://triblive.com/sports/pirates/11434848-74/rhp-pirates-starting” color=”” class=”” size=””]As we entered each season, from 2013 to 2015, the knock was we didn’t have enough starting pitching. I’m anticipating that will be the knock of the 2017 club entering the season.[/perfectpullquote]While it would be easy to knock Huntington for continuing the thinking that led to a weak starting rotation to begin 2016, the piece goes on to quote Huntington on the importance of developing pitching internally, showing that the importance for quality starters is not lost on the Pirates’ GM.
Do yourself a favor and read the entire piece, as Sawchik lays out the myriad factors that are relevant to signing any pitcher to a long term deal.
In other starting pitching news, MLB Trade Rumors has released their annual projections for the top 50 free agents in Major League Baseball. It is a deep exercise intended to determine the landing spot and salary for those looking for their next deals.
As might be expected, the Pittsburgh Pirates were not linked by MLBTR to any position players, nor were they linked to any top-tier starting pitching available. MLBTR does think that Andrew Cashner would be a good fit for the Pirates, on a one-year, $8 million contract.
Cashner’s name inevitably comes up during trade deadlines and offseasons, but it is hard to fathom him as anything other than a pure project. Cashner struggled to a 5.98 ERA/4.68 FIP in 2016 while waking 5.1 batters per nine. In that light, an $8 million deal for Cashner seems like a waste, even considering this year’s notoriously weak starting pitching market.
Pirates Breakdown plans to have a full hot stove target profile on Cashner tomorrow, November 9th.
UPDATE – November 7
Ken Rosenthal has tweeted that general managers are hearing that SP Ivan Nova could receive a contract amounting to $75 million over five years, or $15 million per year.
Craziest prediction I’ve heard so far from a GM: Ivan Nova, five years, $75M.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) November 7, 2016
While many will initially be shocked at that figure, it represents the going rate for a starting pitcher coming off of a season, or rather a third of a season – such as the one that Nova put up after joining Pittsburgh.
It should come at no surprise that this figure is being whispered as a possible salary for the right-hander. Back in September, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that Nova’s representation asked the Pirates for $70 million over that same time frame:
[perfectpullquote align=”full” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]The Pirates began conversation with Nova and his agent, Greg Genske, in late August and made an offer the first week of September. Nova’s representatives told the Pirates they were looking for a deal in the range of five years and $70 million, according to a source.[/perfectpullquote]Datebook
First, here are the important dates to remember for the Pittsburgh Pirates and all of Major League Baseball.
November 5 – Most contract option decisions are due.
The Pirates have no team options for the 2017 season
November 7 – Teams must reinstate any players on the 60-day DL and set their 40-man rosters
The Pirates have five players – Josh Harrison, Gerrit Cole, Chris Stewart, Elias Diaz and A.J. Schugel currently on the DL.
November 7 – Deadline for teams to offer Qualifying Offers to pending free agents.
The Pirates free agents (see below) are not likely to receive the $17.2 million offer.
November 8-10 – General Manager’s Meetings – Scottsdale, AZ
Though they do not get the publicity of their Winter Meetings counterpart, the GM meetings are often where deals are initially bandied about.
November 8 – Free Agents are free to sign with any team
Teams are free to negotiate with their most recent club prior to this date
November 14 – Deadline for players who have been offered Qualifying Offers to decline or accept said offers.
November 18 – Deadline for teams to place prospects on the 40-man roster, else risk losing them to the Rule 5 Draft.
December 1 – The Current Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) between MLB and the MLB Player’s Union expires. Some feel that the current CBA may be extended to allow more time to negotiate.
December 2 – Deadline for teams to tender contracts to arbitration-eligible and pre-arbitration eligible players
See “Arbitration” section below for more information
December 5-8 – The Super Bowl of the MLB Offseason, the Winter Meetings, will be held on these dates at the Gaylord National in Washington Harbor in Maryland. Pirates Breakdown will have more in-depth coverage of the meetings closer to the kick-off date.
Author’s Note: I have spent a lot of time in the past at the Gaylord National. Beautiful venue.
December 8 – The Rule 5 Draft is held.
“Rule 5” and the Rule Draft aims to prevent teams from stockpiling too many young players on their minor league affiliate teams when other teams would be willing to have them play in the majors. More: Wikipedia
December ?? – The Pittsburgh Pirates annual fan festival, Piratefest, is traditionally held after the Winter Meetings. No official date has been made known as of this writing.
Pirates Breakdown will have a huge presence at this year’s Piratefest. We cannot wait to pass along more details. Soon.
Mid-January – Deadline for clubs and unsigned Arb-eligible players to exchange Salary proposals.
February – Arbitration hearings are held throughout the month.
Current Contracts
Below is a list of current, guaranteed contracts on the books for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2017. All players listed have a high likelihood of at least spending some amount of time on the club’s 25-man roster at some point in 2017. All salary figures shown are for 2017 only.
[table id=208 /]*Note – the minimum salary for a Major League player sometimes changes from year to year. Last year, the minimum was $507,500.
Arbitration-Eligible Players
Here is a list of the current Pittsburgh Pirates eligible for Arbitration. This list includes the player’s 2016 salary as well as their 2017 estimate, as per the consistently reliable MLB Trade Rumors projections. It also includes which year of arbitration they find themselves in. (note: all MLB players can go through arbitration three times before becoming a Free Agent.)
[table id=209 /]Pirates Breakdown will have more in-depth analysis on each arbitration case in the coming weeks.
Free Agents to Be
The Pittsburgh Pirates find themselves with an interesting group of free agents to be. Pirates Breakdown will have in-depth pieces devoted to these free agents in the coming days. For now, here is a quick primer.
SP Ivan Nova – Nova has a real chance to parlay two months of stellar play with the Pirates into prestige status as perhaps the premiere staring pitcher available in a weak market. As reported first by the Post Gazette, the team and Nova’s representatives began talks before the season ended. If the Pirates have any serious designs on signing Nova, they will need to act quickly and decisively.
SP/RP Ryan Vogelsong – Vogelsong showed tremendous resolve in returning from a gruesome orbital bone injury. He was better after returning, but not better enough. The Pirates will likely move on from the 16-year veteran.
OF Matthew Joyce – Joyce went into 2016 hoping to re-build his value. He did just that, though he did falter at the end, hitting less than .180 in each of the season’s last two months. The Pirates will likely look elsewhere to fill their bench, especially with Josh Bell in tow, but should those last two months scare teams off and Joyce remains unsigned late in Spring Training, there may be a path back to PIttsburgh for the veteran.
UT Sean Rodriguez – One of the best stories of the 2016 Pittsburgh Pirates, Rodriguez turned in a fine season. After re-embracing his leg kick, Rodriguez set career highs in home runs, runs batted in and batting average. Having previously played under two one-year contracts, the nine year vet will look for a multi-year contract on his next day, possibly excluding the Pirates from consideration. Still, ‘S-Rod’ has a strong affinity for Pittsburgh and manager Clint Hurdle, which could lead him back to PNC Park.
RP Neftali Feliz – Feliz also came to Pittsburgh to rebuild value, and he also succeeded. With other arms set to step in to backfill Feliz, don’t expect him to don a Pirates uniform in 2017.
The Trade Market
The Pittsburgh Pirates seem set at most positions on the diamond, with their one major need coming on the mound in the form of starting pitching.
As said above, the free agent market will be considerably thin. Names such as Nova, Jeremy Hellickson and Rich Hill lead the market, meaning that if the Pirates look to lock down some rotation help, their best bet may come from the trade market. Pirates Breakdown has started – and will continue – to break down some of these candidates in recent pieces. Below are links to those pieces, and more will be added to this post as the offseason progresses.
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