The Pittsburgh Pirates announced the signing of first baseman and outfielder John Jaso to a two-year deal. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported that the deal is worth $8 million.
Jaso, who had been a catcher for most of his career, is expected to play first base in Pittsburgh. The team non-tendered 2015 first baseman Pedro Alvarez because they felt his defense was subpar. The team feels that Jaso is an upgrade. "We feel the offensive upside is worth the calculated gamble that he's going to be able to first base," Pittsburgh GM Neal Huntington told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The 32-year-old Jaso was used specifically against right-handers with the Rays last year, but did post good numbers overall. He hit .286/.380/.459 with five home runs and 22 RBIs. According to FanGraphs, he was worth 0.7 Wins Above Replacement. Jaso has just five career innings at first base, so it is really hard to know whether he will be a solid addition there defensively or not. One has to assume, however, that he will be better than Pedro Alvarez, who was by far the worst defensive first baseman in the Major Leagues. In general, the Pirates will be trying to find some value in Jaso through a position change. They hope his bat will be able to play well for them in 2016 and 2017. --Devan Fink
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The Pirates and Orioles discussed a trade that would have sent second baseman Neil Walker to Baltimore at last week's GM Meetings, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com reports.
Nothing came of the trade, with the Pirates apparently wanting more from the Orioles than they were willing to offer. According to Kubatko, Baltimore's hope was that the Pirates would non-tender Walker, who is projected to make $10.7 million through in 2016 via MLBTradeRumors.com. This would have made him a free agent. However, as Kubatko says, the Pirates plan on tendering Walker a contract. As Edurado A. Encino of the Baltimore Sun reports, talks between the two sides have been "off and on." Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review says that the Pirates are fielding offers on Walker. A trade of Walker could come at the Winter Meetings in Nashville, which are scheduled to occur December 7-9. Walker, 30, hit .269/.328/.427 with 16 home runs and 71 RBIs over 603 plate appearances last season. He has been the Pirates' main second baseman in each of the past three seasons, but has also appeared briefly at third earlier in his big league career. The Orioles appear to be set at second base with Jonathan Schoop. Walker could transition over to first base, where he has brief minor league experience, with the Orioles if a deal gets done. --Devan Fink
The Pirates lost an important cog of the left side of their infield for the remainder of the season Thursday.
According to Dejan Kovacevic of DKPittsburghSports.com, Pittsburgh third baseman and shortstop Jung Ho Kang is out for the rest of the 2015 season due to a torn MCL and meniscus, as well as a broken tibia in his leg. Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported that Kang will have knee surgery tonight. Kang suffered his leg injury on a collision by second base with Cubs outfielder Chris Coghlan, who was sliding to break up a possible double play. Said Kang's agent, Alan Nero of Octagon Sports, in a statement: "It is unfortunate that what would be considered heads up baseball would cause such a serious injury. That said, Coghlan was playing the game the way it should be played. I'm confident he meant me no harm. I appreciate everyone's support." The injury has plenty of implications, including the future of Kang as he recovers from this extremely serious injury as well as the Pirates chances of going deep into the playoffs. Pittsburgh is currently 87-59 and is 4 1/2 games behind the NL-Central-leading-Cardinals. The team is in command of the first Wild Card spot in the league, holding a two game over the Cubs for the lead, as well as a ten game lead over the Giants for a playoff spot overall. Kang, who was signed to a four-year, $11 million deal this offseason (plus a $5 million posting fee), has been in every way a complete bargain for the team. The rookie is hitting .287/.355/.461 (123 OPS+) with 15 home runs and 58 RBIs over 467 plate appearances, also registering as an above average defender and base runner. Overall, Kang has been worth 4.0 fWAR this season. In his place, the Pirates will have to rely on the play of Josh Harrison and Jordy Mercer, both of whom have had subpar seasons offensively, posting a 87 and 63 OPS+, respectively. In all likelihood, Harrison will play third and Mercer will stick at short. --Devan Fink
The Pittsburgh Pirates have acquired right-hander Joakim Soria from the Detroit Tigers, Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reported. James Schmehl of MLive Media Group first noted that the teams were close to a deal.
In return for Soria, the Tigers received Double-A shorstop/outfielder JaCoby Jones, Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune reported. He's the Tigers' 12th-best prospect, according to the rankings on MLB.com. The Pirates have been interested in relief help for a good part of this month and Soria will be a good addition to the backend of their bullpen, setting up to closer Mark Melancon. With the Tigers officially selling after the David Price trade today, the Pirates took full advantage of their opportunities. The 31-year-old Soria is a free agent at the end of the season, but has been very good while serving as the Tigers closer. He's 3-1 with a 2.85 ERA (4.81 FIP) in 43 games, saving 23 in 26 opportunities. He has a 36 to 11 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 41 innings. The Pirates bullpen has been amongst the best in terms of ERA, but FIP and xFIP suggest that they are getting lucky in some regard. Obviously, a deep bullpen can take you far in the playoffs, and the Pirates know that, so the Soria addition is a logical one for down the stretch. --Devan Fink
The Pittsburgh Pirates have officially announced the acquisition of third baseman Aramis Ramirez from the Milwaukee Brewers. In return, the Brewers received right-handed pitching prospect Yhonathan Barrios.
Ramirez, coincidentally, was traded from the Pirates to the Cubs 12 years ago to this day, when Pittsburgh was out of contention. His career has come full circle since that time, spending 8 1/2 years in Chicago following the deal, and playing with Milwaukee the past four. The 2015 Pirates have been plagued by injuries to their infield, where Ramirez will surely provide depth. Third baseman Josh Harrison and utility infielder Jordy Mercer both will miss over a month with a thumb injury and a knee injury, respectively. Even when those guys come back, Ramirez will provide depth at third base, where he has spent his entire career defensively. Some have speculated that the Pirates may try to move Ramirez to first base and trade Pedro Alvarez, whose name has reportedly come up in trade talks quite a bit. With just one year left on his current deal, Ramirez is expected to retire following the 2015 season. According to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, the Pirates will take on $3 million of the remaining salary on Ramirez's deal (which is a little less than $6 million). On the season, the 37-year-old Ramirez is hitting .247/.295/.430 with 11 homers and 42 runs batted in over 302 plate appearances. He has been pretty hot as of late, hitting for a .922 OPS in July. --Devan Fink |
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