The Washington Nationals have added an impactful bullpen piece on Saturday.
According to FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal, the Nationals have acquired All-Star closer Mark Melancon from the Pittsburgh Pirates. Rosenthal reported just a few hours ago that the Nationals were focusing in on him. In exchange for Melancon, the Pirates acquired two players: left-handers Felipe Rivero and Taylor Hearn. Melancon, 31, was an All-Star this year, his third appearance in the past four seasons. In 45 games, he is 1-1 with a 1.51 ERA and a 38-9 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 41 2/3 innings pitched. He also has 30 saves in 33 appearances. The right-hander is expected to become a free agent at the end of this season. He was arbitration eligible for his third and final time last offseason and signed a one-year, $9.65 million deal with Pittsburgh. Melancon definitely fills a big need for the Nationals, who are struggling to close out games at the moment. Closer Jonathan Papelbon has struggled as of late, posting a 7.36 ERA in his last 13 games. He effectively had already lost the closer's spot. While the Pirates are in contention this season, Melancon was expendable for them. They feel as if they have other options for the 9th inning, and considering the price for relief pitching, it would make sense for them to trade him. As for their return, Rivero should be able to help out in the big league bullpen now, which makes this a good two-way trade for both contending teams. The 25-year-old lefty is under team control through 2021 and has shown decent results in his big league career. This season, Rivero has a 4.53 ERA and a 53-15 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 49 2/3 innings pitched. He sees his fastball sit in the 95 MPH range while also mixing in a slider and change-up. Hearn, on the other hand, is still a few years away from the Majors. At 21, he is still pitching in Class A, where he has a 3.18 ERA and a 31-7 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 22 2/3 innings pitched (8 games; 2 starts). He was listed as the Nationals' No. 27 prospect on MLB.com. --Devan Fink
0 Comments
The Washington Nationals are in the market for a relief pitcher. Jonathan Papelbon has struggled, and the team has explored lots of options, from Andrew Miller to Aroldis Chapman.
According to FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal, the Nationals are focusing in on acquiring Pirates closer Mark Melancon. Washington has seen Jonathan Papelbon implode over the past few weeks, forcing Dusty Baker to effectively move him out of the 9th inning role. Since the beginning of June, Papelbon has pitched in 13 games, going 2-2 with a 7.36 ERA. He has not had his trademark command, striking out 13 and walking eight in his 11 innings pitched. This has led the Nationals to look for another back-end relief pitcher like Melancon. The 31-year-old has had a phenomenal season this year, posting a 1.51 ERA and a 38-9 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 41 2/3 innings pitched, saving 30 of his 33 opportunities. Melancon would be a rental for the Nationals, as he will be a free agent at the end of the season. In fact, this is the very reason why the Pirates would consider moving him. The team is still in contention, and they feel as if they have comparable options to handle the 9th innings. Melancon could bring in a haul for them even though they are in contention. --Devan Fink
The Pittsburgh Pirates will promote top pitching prospect Tyler Glasnow to start Thursday, Buster Olney of ESPN.com reported.
The 22-year-old Glasnow has been pitching at Triple-A Indianapolis this season and is rated as a consensus top 15 prospect from MLB.com, Baseball America, and Baseball Prospectus. MLB.com was the highest (relatively speaking) on Glasnow, ranking him No. 10 when 2016 started. With promotions of other top prospects, Glasnow is the league's eighth-best prospect, receiving a sparkling scouting report. His stuff is ready to get big league hitters out, starting with a mid-to-upper-90s fastball that gets swings and misses both in and out of the strike zone. When Glasnow returned from an ankle injury in 2015, his feel for his curveball was inconsistent, forcing him to throw his changeup more and helping him improve his third offering. Control has always been his biggest issue, but he's made significant strides in that area. Glasnow has a clean delivery and arm stroke, but at 6-foot-8, there are a lot of long parts, making it hard to consistently be on time to the plate, particularly with that breaking ball.
Glasnow is projected to be a frontline starter and has shown his abilities at the minor league's highest level already this season.
In 96 innings pitched over 17 starts, Glasnow has a 1.78 ERA and a 7-2 record. He has a 113 to 52 strikeout-to-walk ratio, highlighting some of his aforementioned control issues, but he compensated for this by allowing just 57 hits. Overall, he posted a 1.135 WHIP. Glasnow was a 5th round pick by the Pirates in 2011 out of a California High School and jumped into top prospect status just two years later. Pirates fans have been clamoring for Glasnow to come to the Majors for years, especially during playoff pushes, but this promotion comes to fill a need more than anything else. Gerrit Cole (triceps), Jon Niese (knee, but is expected to make his next start) and Ryan Vogelsong (eye) are all injured. The Pirates called up fellow top prospect Jameson Taillon to help with this problem but now he is on the disabled list with shoulder fatigue. In the end, they needed to go to Glasnow, even if he might not be completely ready for the Majors just yet. As a whole, the Pirates' starting pitching staff has posted a collective 2.1 fWAR this season, ranking third-worst in the Major Leagues. However, their ERA as a whole is slightly better, as a 4.67 mark ranks 11th-highest in the Majors. Glasnow's MLB debut will come against the division-rival St. Louis Cardinals and Adam Wainwright, as the Pirates look to remain in the mix for a Wild Card spot. --Devan Fink
The Pittsburgh Pirates announced that they extended catcher Francisco Cervelli on a three-year deal Tuesday.
Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports reported that Cervelli's deal will be worth $31 million. "We are very pleased to be able to reach a joint commitment with a quality player and person like Francisco Cervelli," Pirates general manager Neal Huntington said in a statement. "We look forward to Francisco's abilities, passion and energy making us better through at least the 2019 season." The 30-year-old Cervelli took over the starting catcher's role in Pittsburgh last season and flourished. In a spot previously held by Russell Martin (who exited for Toronto), Cervelli was worth 3.8 FanGraphs Wins Above Replacement. His bat was very good. Over 510 plate appearances, Cervelli hit .295/.370/.401 with seven home runs and 43 RBIs. His defense was similarly special, as Cervelli is often ranked amongst the best defensive catchers in the Major Leagues. This season, Cervelli has gotten off to a solid start as well, hitting .276/.386/.319 with 18 RBIs and a 0.7 fWAR. In 2014, the Pirates acquired Cervelli from the New York Yankees, the team that signed him as a amateur free agent in 2003. Never a starting catcher, Cervelli was supposed to be good depth for Pittsburgh behind Martin, but has come into his own since. Cervelli was expected to become a free agent after the 2016 season, but instead will reportedly make $9 million, $10.5 million, and $11.5 million to stay with Pittsburgh. This offseason's free agent class continues to get even weaker as many of the better players that were going to be on the open market have signed extensions with their current teams. Most notably, this includes Stephen Strasburg, who just recently struck a deal with the Nationals. As for the Pirates, they are attempting to keep their core intact as long as possible. The team has made the postseason in each of the last three seasons, and they have locked up Andrew McCutchen, Gregory Polanco, Josh Harrison, Starling Marte, and now Cervelli all to long-term contracts to continue their successes into the future. --Devan Fink
While the Pittsburgh Pirates were kicking off their 2016 season today, the team was also conducting business off the field with one of their budding stars.
Pirates' outfielder Gregory Polanco agreed to a five-year contract extension that begins in 2017, as Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports reported. The deal includes two club options for 2022 and 2023. According to FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal, Polanco will be guaranteed $35 million, but if both options are exercised, the total value of the contract could be worth more than $60 million. The 24-year-old Polanco was not even arbitration eligible until the 2018 season. The Pirates already controlled his rights through 2020, but this new deal gives them an extra three seasons. In 2015, Polanco played his in his first full season in the Majors. He hit a respectable .256/.320/.381 with nine home runs, 52 RBIs, and 27 stolen bases in 37 attempts over 652 turns at the plate in 153 games. FanGraphs Wins Above Replacement (fWAR) pegged Polanco's 2015 season as 2.3 wins above replacement level. The Pirates signed Polanco as an amateur free agent out of the Dominican Republic in 2009, and he developed into a consensus top-15 prospect (via Baseball America and MLB.com) prior to the 2014 season. As he begins to tap into his full potential at the big league level, the Pirates hope Polanco will become a better hitter to go along with his great base running and solid defense. Polanco's extension caps a relatively quiet offseason for similar deals. Just Brandon Crawford, Dee Gordon, Salvador Perez, and Kolten Wong signed similar deals to the one Polanco reportedly agreed to today. As baseball begins to start up, Gregory Polanco and the Pittsburgh Pirates have completed a deal to keep him in uniform for a long time. --Devan Fink |
Categories
All
Archives
February 2017
|