Bryan Reynolds’ standing with the Pirates took an odd and unexpected turn on Saturday afternoon, as sources confirmed to the Post-Gazette that the outfielder has requested a trade.
The sticking point, of course, remains what happens now.
The Pirates can obviously acquiesce to the demand and trade Reynolds, who remains under contractual control through 2025. They can also decide to keep him and proceed with the offseason as normal. At this point, per a Pirates statement issued by a team spokesman shortly after the story broke, it’s the latter more than the former.
Describing the news as “disappointing,” the Pirates said Reynolds’ request will have “zero impact on our decision making in this offseason or in the future.”
First baseman Carlos Santana and the Pittsburgh Pirates are in agreement on a one-year, $6.7 million contract, pending the results of a physical, sources familiar with the deal told ESPN.
Santana, 36, finished with a league-average OPS last year, hitting .202/.316/.376 between stints with the Seattle Mariners and Kansas City Royals. But his expected numbers, based on how hard he hit the ball (an 81st-percentile exit velocity) and his elite walk rate (97th percentile), projected far better results, something that drove his market.
Further, nobody was shifted a higher percentage last year than Santana, who saw altered defense in 356 of his 362 left-handed batting appearances. With the ban of the shift coming in 2023, the switch-hitting Santana could see a significant benefit.
The Athletic is running a special of $1 a month for 12 months. You won’t get a better baseball return on your money. I highly recommend The Athletic, especially at this price. (I’m not getting anything for the recommendation.) Hopefully, however, The New York Times purchase won’t destroy the site.
The Pittsburgh Pirates addressed one of their glaring weaknesses Thursday, acquiring first baseman Ji-Man Choi from the Tampa Bay Rays for a minor league pitcher.
Choi, 31, slashed .233/.341/.388 with 22 doubles, 11 home runs and 52 RBIs in 113 games with the Rays last season and ranked seventh among first baseman with plus-2 Outs Above Average.
The 6-foot-1, 260-pound native of South Korea has a career .239 batting average with 61 home runs and 225 RBIs in six major league seasons with the Los Angeles Angels (2016), New York Yankees (2017), Milwaukee Brewers (2018) and the Rays (2019-22).
When the AAU rejected Thorpe’s appeal, forfeited his amateur standing, and demanded the return of his gold medals, the attention shifted to his future in professional baseball. He’d promised Barney Dreyfuss that he would sign with the Pirates, but that didn’t prevent other teams, including the New York Giants, from pursuing Thorpe. Under John McGraw, the Giants had won the National League pennant the last two years and saw a great drawing card in Thorpe as they pursued their third straight pennant. McGraw’s Giants made Thorpe his best offer.
It seemed unlikely that Dreyfuss would release Thorpe from his promise so he could sign with the Giants. Since the Pirates won the World Series in 1909, the Giants, along with the Cubs, had been their chief rivals, but Dreyfuss had a personal reason for hating McGraw and the Giants. Early in the 1905 season, Pirate player-manager Fred Clarke and McGraw got into a fistfight after McGraw taunted a Pirate pitcher. When Dreyfuss complained about McGraw’s behavior, McGraw turned on Dreyfuss.
In a game at the Polo Grounds, McGraw taunted Dreyfuss, greeting him with “Hey Barney,” and accusing him of everything from betting on games and reneging on his bets to controlling umpires through his friendship with National League Commissioner Harry Pulliam. Dreyfuss was so enraged that he filed a formal protest, complaining that, “steps should be taken to prevent visitors to the Polo Grounds from insults from the said John J. McGraw.” Dreyfuss lost his protest but he never forgot the humiliation he suffered at the hands of McGraw.
When Dreyfuss made little more than a token offer to Thorpe, McGraw stepped in and made a far more substantial offer, Dreyfuss, instead of matching McGraw’s offer, released Thorpe from his promise, even though Thorpe was willing to keep it and sign with the Pirates. On February 1, 1913, with a great deal of fanfare, Thorpe entered the offices of the New York Giants and signed a professional contract.
And now, for the three seasons from 1990 through 1992, there had been this young, dynamic, accomplished squad led by slugger Barry Bonds and ace righthander Doug Drabek. Each year, the Pirates had won the National League East. After falling short of reaching the World Series the first two years, and after losing three of the first four games of 1992 National League Championship Series to the Atlanta Braves, they had rallied to force a Game 7 and held a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the ninth. They were three outs away from the champagne celebration that was waiting in their clubhouse.
“It was a defining moment for where the Pirates were headed,” Mark Madden told The Sporting News. He grew up on Pittsburgh sports, joined the staff of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and now hosts an afternoon sports talk program on 105.9 The X. “Everybody knew it was now or never, because the reality of keeping big-money players in Pittsburgh – it was so evident it wasn’t going to happen.”
Bob Pompeani was completing only the first of his four decades as sports anchor at the city’s powerful KDKA-TV, and he recognized a massive change in the Pittsburgh sports scene was inevitable.
“I knew we were all headed in this area where no one was going to be able to afford — or there was an unwillingness to afford — some of these guys. Specifically Bonds,” Pompeani told TSN. “So I think everyone knew this was a chip you had to cash in.”
Baseball had changed in an instant as that powerful team was being constructed by general manager Syd Thrift. On Dec. 10, 1988, the Yankees sold their local television rights for $500 million over 12 years to Madison Square Garden’s cable network. That was just short of $42 million a year. With the Cubs and Braves powered at the time by cable superstations, with the regional sports channel carrying the Pirates still not even a decade old, with the team owned by a consortium of Pittsburgh-area businesspeople because no one else wanted to buy it, there was no apparent appetite within management for competing in the free-agent market. In 1991, there were two teams with a $30 million payroll. In 1992, there were 15. And the divide between the big markets and smaller markets only has grown.
Andújar, now 27, not so long ago looked like an important long-term piece for the Yankees. In his rookie season of 2018, Andújar as a 23-year-old put up an OPS+ of 130 and tallied 27 home runs, 47 doubles, and 302 total bases in 149 games (and finished second in Rookie of the Year voting behind Shohei Ohtani).
However, since that high point Andújar has struggled badly and battled major shoulder and wrist problems. Since the start of the 2019 season, Andújar has played in just 105 games at the MLB level, and over that span he’s batted .228/.255/.318 (55 OPS+) with eight home runs. In between stints with the Yankees, he’s managed solid to good numbers in the minors, but his inability to rediscover the skills he showed as a rookie ultimately spelled an end to Andújar’s time with the organization.
The Pittsburgh Pirates claimed Andújar off waivers Sunday, the team announced. The Pirates only have nine games to play this season, so the claim was likely made with an eye toward the 2023 roster. Pittsburgh has not had a set DH since trading away Daniel Vogelbach at the deadline. Andújar could fill the role next season at a low cost.
On June 8th, 1989, the Pittsburgh Pirates produced one of the greatest first innings in baseball history, jumping out to a 10-0 lead over the Philadelphia Phillies. No team had ever before done so and lost. From there … well, come on, you know where this is going. But you might never guess which road we’re taking to get there.
The Cardinals are set to fortify their starting rotation with a much-needed left-hander, agreeing to a trade with the Pirates for 33-year-old southpaw José Quintana and righty reliever Chris Stratton on Monday night, according to multiple reports. Neither club has confirmed the deal.
Quintana, an 11-year MLB veteran, was 3-5 with a 3.50 ERA in 20 starts for the Pirates this season. In 103 innings, he struck out 89 batters and walked 31. Throughout his well-traveled career, Quintana has pitched for the White Sox, Cubs, Angels, Giants and Pirates.
To get Quintana, the Cardinals will surrender a pair of Cuba natives in 6-foot-5 right-handed pitcher Johan Oviedo and 21-year-old third base/first base prospect Malcolm Nunez, sources told MLB.com’s Francys Romero. Nunez is ranked as the No. 10 prospect in the Cardinals’ system by MLB Pipeline and has hit .255 with 17 home runs and 66 RBI this season at Double-A Springfield. Oviedo, who captured his first MLB win this season after making 19 straight starts with either a loss or a no-decision over the previous three years, had been used out of the bullpen in recent weeks by the Cardinals.
he first-place New York Mets added some much-needed punch at designated hitter Friday, acquiring Daniel Vogelbach from the Pittsburgh Pirates in a trade for rookie reliever Colin Holderman.
The burly Vogelbach, a left-handed hitter and an All-Star in 2019 with Seattle, was batting .228 with 12 home runs, 34 RBIs and a .769 OPS in 75 games for the rebuilding Pirates.
“We wanted to get an offensive player and we did that in landing Vogey,’’ first-year Mets general manager Billy Eppler said. “Somebody that’s really excelled against right-handed pitching. We all kind of know that two-thirds of the pitchers we face are right-handed. So he can be a presence in the order.’‘
The 26-year-old Holderman is 4-0 with a 2.04 ERA and 18 strikeouts in 15 appearances covering 17⅔ innings.
“We’re really excited to work with him,’’ Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said. “He’s already had some success in the major leagues and
The scene: Pittsburgh had runners at second (Hoy Jun Park) and third (Jack Suwinski) with one out in the fifth inning when Ke’Bryan Hayes hit a soft line drive at first baseman Josh Bell. Park and Suwinski both went on contact, Bell made the catch, then threw to third so the tag could be applied to Park, who did not tag up at second. Here’s the play:
Seems straightforward, right? Bell made the catch for one out, then Park was tagged for another out to complete the inning-ending double play. The confusion stems from Suwinski. He crossed the plate without tagging up at third base and his run counts despite not tagging up. That’s because the Nationals never appealed Suwinski leaving early.
This is covered by MLB Rule 5.09(c), the section covering appeal plays, and is colloquially known as the “fourth-out rule.” From the rulebook:
(c) Appeal Plays
Any runner shall be called out, on appeal, when:
(1) After a fly ball is caught, he fails to retouch his original base before he or his original base is tagged;
...
Any appeal under this rule must be made before the next pitch, or any play or attempted play. If the violation occurs during a play which ends a half-inning, the appeal must be made before the defensive team leaves the field.
Nationals players all left the field before the team could appeal Suwinski left third base early (which he obviously did), so Washington lost its chance to appeal. Suwinski’s run counted even though he never tagged up at third base on the Hayes line drive. The umpires on the field did check with the replay crew in New York to confirm the rule.
It was a Statcast showcase. We already pointed out he has the hardest infielder throw of the season. He also hit the hardest ball any Pirates player has hit all season (the 112.9 miles per hour double above) and had the three highest sprint speeds recorded this season by a Pirates player (via MLB Pipeline).
All this from the tallest regular shortstop—assuming he stays put—in MLB history.
This wasn’t Cruz’s MLB debut. He played the final two games last season, going 3 for 9 with a home run, three RBI and two runs. He was sent to the minors to start the season and remained there until his callup for Monday’s game. To this point, the Pirates had been one of the worst teams in baseball in terms of shortstop production. That’ll change now with Cruz in there.
Hardest-tracked throw by an infielder this season?
Jack Suwinski hit his third homer of the game in the ninth inning, giving the Pittsburgh Pirates a 4-3, walk-off victory over the San Francisco Giants on Sunday to avoid a three-game sweep.
The rookie drove a slider from sidearming Tyler Rogers (0-3) to right for his second game-ending home run of the season after connecting for one June 4 against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Suwinski became the first rookie in major league history to have a three-homer game that included a walk-off home run, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. He also became the first Pirates player with multiple walk-off home runs in a single month since Wally Westlake in September of 1947, according to ESPN Stats & Information research.
“I was just like, ‘No way, man. No way that’s going,’” Suwinski said. “That guy is hard to hit off of. Coming from that low under there, it’s not an easy at-bat.”
Pirates manager Derek Shelton spoke with Suwinski in the bottom of the eighth, asking if he was ready to go deep a third time. Shelton said he was told, “No.”
It’s a family that lost a precious member far too soon, but has become spiritually strengthened by an event in 1997 that still, to this day, overwhelms those who hear about it. It’s a story that, as Counsell himself says, “screams Disney movie.”
“Anybody I’ve ever told the story to ... they’re blown away,” Counsell says. “You can bring people to tears just by telling the story.”
* * * * *
The story begins with five words that, when strung together, sound nothing short of nonsensical:
Ryan Ludwick and the Cincinnati Reds agreed to a $2.5 million, one-year contract Monday, according to a person with knowledge of the deal.
The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Monday night because the deal was pending a physical and no announcement had been made by the team.
An All-Star in 2008 with St. Louis, the 33-year-old Ludwick was traded from San Diego to Pittsburgh at the July 31 deadline last season. He batted a combined .237 with 13 homers and 75 RBIs.
Ludwick could give the Reds the right-handed bat they’ve been seeking to complement lefty sluggers Joey Votto and Jay Bruce. He figures to see playing time in left field, a spot filled mostly by Chris Heisey down the stretch last season after Cincinnati traded Jonny Gomes to Washington in late July.
Bartolo Colon has agreed to a deal with an unknown club reports Bob Nightengale of USA Today (on Twitter). The right-hander wouldn’t divulge the team because he has not yet passed his physical.
Pretty sure it’s either the All-Stars or the Champs.
1) Gerrit Cole, RHP, Grade A: Cole can be enigmatic and sometimes gets hit harder than he should given the quality of his stuff, but he’s still a Grade A prospect. At his best he throws strikes with three excellent pitches, and I think he’ll get more consistent. Looked great in Arizona Fall League, except for the disaster in the Rising Stars game.
2) Jameson Taillon, RHP, Grade A-: They are being very careful with his workload. As he incorporates his secondary pitches more often and builds his stamina, I expect greater dominance. Still struck out more than a hitter per inning even with restrictions on secondary pitch use.
3) Josh Bell, OF, Grade B+: Switch-hitter, should develop 30+-homer power and a high OBP. Pure hitting skills solid too. We’ll have to see about his defense and I want some pro data, but I’m very optimistic about him.
4) Starling Marte, OF, Grade B: Borderline B+. Hit well in Double-A, starting to develop more power, despite poor strike zone judgment. Superior defense. Still raw, needs a year of Triple-A, a wide range of possible outcomes, could become an All-Star, a mediocre regular, or a fourth outfielder.
5) Robbie Grossman, OF, Grade B: If he had fulfilled his commitment to the University of Texas, 2011 would have been his draft year. I know he was repeating High-A, but a player jumping from the college ranks to High-A, hitting .294/.418/.451, then ripping up the Arizona Fall League would be getting an awful lot of praise, not skepticism. I also think that Grossman’s tools are better than commonly reported. I expect he’ll provide gap power with some speed and a high OBP, and that’s valuable.
And I really can’t see where Huntington was coming from when he made these remarks to reporters last week in Dallas: “We’ll still look to find moves to make us better, but we feel like we’ve taken a big step forward, whether it’s bigger or smaller moves. We’ve put this organization in position to take another big step forward next year.”
Clint Hurdle makes some comments on the Bucs’ youngsters and offers some hints into his philosophy on developing young hitters:
“Everything starts with a thought. There are things that paralyze young hitters. It usually takes some experience and I think it usually takes more than 500 at bats. It’s closer to 900 minor league at bats and 1,500 big league at bats. It’s the ability to not focus so much on everything the pitcher has. They put too much emphasis on the four pitches the guy throws and not enough on the one they want to hit. That’s a transition I try to take good young hitters to.
The Brewers acquired reliever Jose Veras from the Pirates for infielder Casey McGehee, the teams announced.
Pirates presumably want a hedge in the event that Alvarez’s development continues to stall - or possibly to move Pedro to first. Brewers continue to add bullpen pieces.
1.Astros take Rhiner Cruz from Mets.
2.Twins take Terry Doyle from White Sox.
3.Mariners take Lucas Luetge from Brewers.
4.Orioles take Ryan Flaherty from Cubs.
5.Royals take Cesar Cabral from Red Sox; traded to Yankees for cash.
6.Cubs take Lendy Castillo from Phillies.
8.Pirates take Gustavo Nunez from Tigers.
21.Braves take Robert Fish from Angels.
22.Cardinals take Erik Komatsu from Nationals.
23.Red Sox take Marwin Gonzalez from Cubs.
25.Diamondbacks take Brett Lorin from Pirates.
29.Yankees take Brad Meyers from Nationals.
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