Pittsburgh Pirates Rumors

Jameson Taillon, a 6'6" RHP from The Woodlands High School in Texas, figures to be a high pick in June's draft.  Most early rankings of amateur players have him either #2 behind CSN's Bryce Harper or #3 behind Harper and LSUs Anthony Ranaudo.

Historically, espn.com's Jason Churchill points out, drafting a high school pitcher with the #1 or #2 pick is rare and often does not work out.  The only high school pitchers to be selected first overall were David Clyde by the Texas Rangers in 1973 and Brien Taylor by the New York Yankees in 1991.  Clyde did make his way to the major league club, but never amounted to much while Taylor's career never made it to the big leagues because of injuries. 

Of the seven high school pitchers taken with the #2 overall pick, only two, JR Richard and Josh Beckett, have ever made an All-Star team.

Could Jameson Taillon overtake Bryce Harper as the #1 pick?

On a more practical level, espn.com's Keith Law notes that due to drafting styles, it's unlikely that Taillon will be a Top 2 pick.  The Nationals, owner of the #1 overall pick, are headed by general manager Mike Rizzo, who typically favored college players when he was in charge of the Arizona Diamondbacks' drafts.  The Pirates have the second pick and last year passed on the top high school pitcher, Tyler Matzek, when he was available to them with the #4 pick. 

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The Rule 5 Draft was held today.  Here are the first round picks. Draft picks are listed by the team making the selection, player name and the team he was selected from.

As a reminder, players selected in the Rule 5 draft must remain on the 25-man roster the entire subsequent season or they are returned to the team from which they were taken.

1. New York Yankees* (from Washington): Jamie Hoffmann, Dodgers
2. Pittsburgh: John Raynor, Marlins
3. Texas^ (from Baltimore): Benjamin Snyder, Giants
4. Kansas City: Edgar Osuna, Braves
5. Cleveland: Hector Ambriz, Diamondbacks
6. Arizona: Zach Kroenke, Yankees
7. New York Mets: Carlos Monasterios, Phillies
8. Florida# (from Houston): Jorge Jiminez, Red Sox
9. San Diego: pass
10. Oakland: Bobby Cassevah, Angels
11. Toronto: Zech Zinicola, Nationals
12. Chicago White Sox: pass
13. Milwaukee: Chuck Lofgren, Indians
14. Chicago Cubs: Mike Parisi, Cardinals
15. Tampa Bay: Armando Zerpa, Red Sox
16. Seattle: Kanekoa Texeira, Yankees
17. Texas: pass
18. Florida: pass
19. San Francisco: Steve Johnson, Orioles
20. St. Louis: Ben Jukich, Reds
21. Colorado: pass
22. Philadelphia: Ken Herndon, Angels
23. Los Angeles Dodgers: pass
24. Boston: pass
25. Los Angeles Angels: pass
26. New York Yankees: pass

* Acquired from Nationals as part of Brian Bruney trade
^ Acquired from Baltimore as part of Kevin Millwood trade
# Acquired from Houston as part of Matt Lindstrom trade

The Tigers, Twins, Braves and Reds did not have picks because their 40 man roster was full.

The number 1 pick of the 2009 Rule 5 Draft, Jamie Hoffmann will now play all of 2010 on the Yankees 25-man roster

After being traded to Seattle at the trade deadline, shortstop Jack Wilson has agreed to a 2-year contract with the Mariners.

When Wilson was traded to Seattle in July, he came with an $8.4M option for 2010 that the team declined on Friday and paid a $600K buyout instead.  However, Mariners general manager Jack Zduriencik envisioned Wilson as the Mariners shortstop of the future when he traded for him and the team always intended on resigning Wilson.  The contract will pay Wilson $5M per season for 2010 and 2011. 

Wilson had a difficult tenure in Seattle after being traded from Pittsburgh.  Injuries slowed his performance for the Mariners and he hit only .224 in 31 games. 

Jack Wilson will return to Seattle for 2010 and 2011

Buster Olney's latest column has plenty of free agent and trade rumors to discuss.

• The Astros payroll is hampered by the large contract of Carlos Lee, Lance Berkman and Roy Oswalt and they will only be able to make minor moves this off season.
• The Rangers inquired with the Rays about BJ Upton, but nothing very serious was discussed.
• Ryan Doumit was available at the trade deadline last year and the Pirates are still looking to move him.
• The Marlins are trying to shop Dan Uggla as a third baseman, but other teams are not buying it.

Dan Uggla is rumored to be available from the Marlins

What exactly is a "Super 2?"  Players with three years of major league service are eligible for a salary arbitration through six years of major league service when they are granted free agency if they have not agreed to a long-term deal.  However, every year there are a number of players with less than three years, but more than two years of major league service who also quality for arbitration.  These players are known as "Super 2s".

Under the 1990 labor agreement between owners and players, the top 17 percent of players (by service time) with at least two and less than three years of service time are eligible for arbitration - along with players with at least three years but less than six. 

For the 2010 off season, the following players qualify for "Super 2" status: pitcher Tim Lincecum of the Giants, Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Matt Garza, Cubs pitcher Tom Gorzelanny, third baseman Alex Gordon of the Kansas City Royals, Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Jeff Karstens, Houston Astros outfielder Hunter Pence, Texas Rangers pitcher Dustin Nippert, recently traded Brewers outfielder Carlos Gomez and Cubs infielder Mike Fontenot. 

Fontenot tied with Baltimore Orioles outfielder Adam Jones and Cincinnati Reds pitcher Micah Owings with 2 years and 139 days of major league service.  Fontenot won a tie breaker with Jones and Owings by virtue of service time in each immediately preceding season. 

Arizona third baseman Mark Reynolds likely lost out on a multi-million dollar raise by falling one day short of qualifying as a "Super 2" amassing 2 years and 138 days of major league service.

Tim Lincecum will expect a big raise from arbitration

Once again the Washington Nationals "won" the right to choose the undisputed best amateur player available. Last year it was Stephen Strasburg who the Nationals selected with the #1 overall pick. Will the Nationals take consensus #1 player Bryce Harper with first pick in 2010?

Ultimately, this will not be the final draft order come next June. If one of the teams with an unprotected first-round pick signs a "Type A" free agent, they would lose their pick to the team that lost the player. Additionally, the teams that lose a "Type A" free agent will also be awarded a compensation pick to come between the first and second rounds. Baseball Rumor Mill will continuously update the draft order as picks move around during free agency this winter.

Compensation picks have been included.

Protected First-Round Picks
1) Nationals (59-103)
2) Pirates (62-99)
3) Orioles (64-98)
4) Royals (65-97)
5) Indians (65-97)
6) Diamondbacks (70-92)
7) Mets (70-92)
8) Astros (74-88)
9) Padres (75-87)
10) Athletics (75-87)
11) Blue Jays (75-87)
12) Reds (78-84)
13) White Sox (79-83)
14) Brewers (80-82)
15) Rangers (compensation for failure to sign Matt Purke)
16) Cubs (83-78)
Unprotected First-Round Picks
17) Rays (84-78)
18) Mariners (85-77)
19) Tigers (86-77)
20) Braves (86-76)
21) Twins (87-76)
22) Rangers (87-75)
23) Marlins (87-75)
24) Giants (88-74)
25) Cardinals (91-71)
26) Rockies (92-70)
27) Phillies (93-69)
28) Dodgers (95-67)
29) Red Sox (95-67)
30) Angels (97-65)
31) Yankees (103-59)
32) Rays (compensation for failure to sign LeVon Washington)

When teams finish with the same record, the tiebreaker (and higher pick) goes to the club with the worst record the previous year.

A couple links and signings to pass along. Unfortunately, nothing from the first round yet. For an update on the status of first round draft picks, click here.

• The As have slated first round money ($1M-$2M) for fourth round draft pick Max Stassi, but there's still a good chance he takes his scholarship to UCLA.
• There is word in the same article that the As and Grant Green have "been in regular contact".
• The Red Sox signed 10th round draft pick Brandon Jacobs (not the football player) for $750K. The slot recommendation for a 10th round pick is about $150K.
• Fifth round draft pick Ashur Tolliver was signed by the Orioles for $200K. Randy Henry ($365K) and Ryan Berry ($417,600) also agreed to contracts with Baltimore.
• The Pirates made the 175th overall pick of the draft (sixth round) , Zack Von Rosenberg, the highest paid draftee outside of the first round paying him a $1.2M deal. The move is an indication of the Pirates new direction - focusing on amateur talent.
• A former #1 draft pick by the Pirates doesn't seem to fit into their new plan.

A number of random signings to pass along, most of them from the lower rounds. For an update on the status of first round draft picks, click here.

• The Braves signed Mike Minor to a record deal.
• Tyler Skaggs, the 40th overall picks, signed with the Angels. No terms were disclosed.
• The Diamondbacks signed the 41st overall pick, Chris Owings, to a $950K deal.
• Colton Cain, an 8th round pick for the Pirates, inked an astonishing $1.125M signing bonus.
• The Pirates also signed fourth round pick Zackry Dodson.
• Tanner Scheppers agent is setting up workouts for the pitcher with "about a half dozen Japanese teams." Scheppers was the 44th overall pick of the 2009 MLB draft to the Texas Rangers.
• The Royals signed their 14th round pick, Crawford Simmons, to a $450K bonus.

The August 17th deadline to sign plays from the 2009 MLB Draft is fast approaching. We'll use this page to update the signing status of all the first round picks.

The deadline for players to sign is August 17, 2009

1. Stephen Strasburg, Washington Nationals - Despite speculation that he would not signed, agreed to a $15M contract. (updated 8/17/09)
2. Dustin Ackley, Seattle Mariners - Agreed to a $7.5M signing bonus. (updated 8/17/09)
3. Donovan Tate, San Diego Padres - Instead of going back to UNC to play football, signed a contract with a 6.25M signing bonus (updated 8/17/09)
4. Tony Sanchez, Pittsburgh Pirates - Signed a well-publicized contract before the draft
5. Matt Hobgood, Baltimore Orioles - Signed a contract
6. Zach Wheeler, San Francisco Giant - Signed for $3.3M (updated 8/17/09)
7. Mike Minor, Atlanta Braves - Signed a contract with a record $2.42M signing bonus (updated 8/8/09)
8. Mike Leake, Cincinnati Reds - Agreed to a $2.2M contract (updated 8/15/09)
9. Jacob Turner, Detroit Tigers - Received a Rick Porcello-like signing bonus of $5.5M (updated 8/17/09)
10. Drew Storen, Washington Nationals - Signed a contract
11. Tyler Matzek, Colorado Rockies - Rumors were that it would take a lot of money to keep Matzek away from Oregon: signed for $3.3M (updated 8/17/09)
12. Aaron Crow, Kansas City Royals - Agreed to a $3M contract with the Royals (updated 9/21/09)
13. Grant Green, Oakland As - Agreed to a $2.75M signing bonus (updated 8/15/09)
14. Matt Purke, Texas Rangers - Decided to go to college instead of signing with the Rangers (updated 8/17/09)
15. Alex White, Cleveland Indians - Got a bit less than Minor, $2.25M signing bonus (updated 8/17/09)
16. Bobby Borchering, Arizona Diamondbacks - Agreed to a contract with a $1.8M signing bonus (updated 8/15/09)
17. AJ Pollock, Arizona Diamondbacks - Signed a contract
18. Chad James, Florida Marlins - Agreed to a $1.7M contract (updated 8/15/09)
19. Shelby Miller, St. Louis Cardinals - Inked a $2.875M signing bonus (updated 8/17/09).
20. Chad Jenkins, Toronto Blue Jays - Signed for $1.359M (updated 8/15/09)
21. Jiovanni Mier, Houston Astros - Signed a contract
22. Kyle Gibson, Minnesota Twins - Signed a $1.8M contract (updated 8/17/09)
23. Jared Mitchell, Chicago White Sox -Signed a contract
24. Randal Grichuk, Los Angeles Angels -Signed a contract
25. Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels - Signed a contract
26. Eric Arnett, Milwaukee Brewers - Signed a contract
27. Nick Franklin, Seattle Mariners - Signed for $1.28M (updated 8/15/09)
28. Reymond Fuentes, Boston Red Sox - Signed a contract
29. Slade Heathcott, New York Yankees - Agreed to a $2.2M signing bonus (updated 8/17/09)
30. LeVon Washington, Tampa Bay Rays - Ultimately did not sign with the Rays (updated 8/17/09)
31. Brett Jackson, Chicago Cubs - Signed a contract
32. Tim Wheeler, Colorado Rockies - Signed a contract

According to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Pirates deadline deals only lowered payroll by $7.3M.  The Bucs were projected to spend $55M on their payroll at the start of the season and will now spend about $47.7M.  Pirates president Frank Coonelly produced these numbers in an apparent attempt to combat criticism of their trades.  I'm not sure what's wrong with trading players to pare down payroll - having bloated contracts chew up your financial flexibility has been shown to cripple a team. 

Look at the Toronto Blue Jays and the contracts of Vernon Wells and Alex Rios.  Both of those guys are virtually untradable.  They're lucky they got rid of Scott Rolen and the $11.625M he's owed in 2010, but they had to pay his 2009 contract first.

Within baseball, the Pirates are being applauded for their determination to rebuild the organization correctly.