Pirates Sign Six to Minor League Deals

by Charlie Wilmoth on Dec 23, 2008 12:16 AM EST

Just catching up on some things I missed when I was out, but the Pirates have signed pitchers Denny Bautista, Chris Bootcheck and Juan Mateo; corner infielders Garrett Jones and Andy Phillips; and outfielder Jeff Salazar to minor league deals. Bautista and Mateo were both with the Bucs last year.

Bautista and Bootcheck will both be considered for bullpen jobs, but Mateo actually may be the one with the most promise; he just turned 26 and pitched very well for Altoona last year.

Jones once appeared to be a prospect for the Twins, but he apparently peaked at age 23 and has never posted the sort of numbers you'd hope for from a first base prospect at AAA. He'll hit some homers for Indianapolis, but he'll only be with the Pirates in case of emergency. Phillips might be on the Pirates' bench at some point--he's most famous for flopping in multiple opportunities with the Yankees, but he's always hit well in AAA and he can play third base as well as first. He can also play second in a pinch. Salazar's mostly modest numbers at AAA are even less impressive than they appear, as he posted them in good hitting environments, but he's played decently in brief major league stints for the Rockies and Diamondbacks; he isn't a prospect, but he might might be useful on the Pirates' bench.

UPDATE: Vlad has some more good information, and some projections, in the comments.

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Comments

Some good snags there.

Mateo was by far the most interesting of our internal minor-league FAs. Good stuff, good performance, and not grossly overaged for his league. I bet he gets some innings in the pen down the stretch. 2009 projection: Marcel – 4.26 ERA, 1.40 WHIP, 7.11 K/9, 3.63 BB/9, 0.95 HR/9.

Salazar, while he did struggle some at AZ last year, is a legit 4th OF – he’s got basically the same skill set as Nyjer, but has a little more power and a little better walk rate. They might end up fighting for one job in ST. I’d actually be pretty comfortable with Salazar as a temp starter in CF, if it came to that. 2009 projections: ZiPS – .263/.343/.405 with average CF defense; Bill James – .261/.346/.398; Marcel – .253/.342/.390.

Phillips, while getting a little old, is a good option to have around in that he can play all over the place (1B, 3B, LF, RF, emergency 2B) and won’t kill you with the bat. He could probably deliver a Bautista-type performance as a benchie if necessary, minus a little bit. 2009 projection: Marcel – .256/.314/.387.

Bautista was frustrating to watch last year, but his stuff is as good as it ever was, and the level of commitment in a NRI is pretty minimal.

by Vlad on Dec 23, 2008 3:09 PM EST reply actions

Those are some pretty nifty projections. A lot of these guys could be modestly useful.

by Charlie Wilmoth on Dec 23, 2008 6:33 PM EST up reply actions

Salazar

is nothing more than a nice 4th Ofer. The problem is that he hits from the left side as do McLouth, Moss and Morgan.

B\The Pirates better start the year with McCutchen in CF and live with whatever he does. He is the future, so let’s get the party started.

by thegunner on Dec 23, 2008 7:53 PM EST reply actions

Have some perspective.

Getting a quality role-player as free talent is a nice snag.

It’s not a big move, but the little moves on the margins all count too. And if you make enough of them, it starts adding up to real progress.

by Vlad on Dec 23, 2008 11:03 PM EST up reply actions

Also, why rush McCutchen?

His numbers from last year don’t translate to be any better than Salazar’s, so it won’t improve the immediate product on the field unless he’s made some more progress this offseason (which is possible, but not a slam dunk). And by holding him down for even a couple of months, we delay the start of his arb clock forawhole year, which isn’t a trivial consideration if he turns out to be as good as we think he will.

I’d let him earn the job in spring training I’d he shows that he’s ready, but there are plenty of good reasons not to force it on him if he’s not.

by Vlad on Dec 23, 2008 11:07 PM EST up reply actions

"if he shows", rather.

I hate posting from mobile web. It autocorrects out all my swears, too.

by Vlad on Dec 23, 2008 11:09 PM EST up reply actions

Vlad

“Salazar, while he did struggle some at AZ last year, is a legit 4th OF – he’s got basically the same skill set as Nyjer, but has a little more power and a little better walk rate. They might end up fighting for one job in ST.”

Can Salazar slide correctly? If so, along with “a little more power and a little better walk rate” would make him a more palatable 4th OF than Nyjer Morgan.

I’d still like to see something get done with Rocco Baldelli. As you like to point out, “depth is your friend,” over a long season.

Are you as concerned about Moss’s knee as I am? There have been too many instances of “will be ready for spring training” from the Bucs for many years now.

gunner wrote:

“The Pirates better start the year with McCutchen in CF and live with whatever he does. He is the future, so let’s get the party started.”

We hope he is the future, there is no guarantee that he will be, and his perfomance at AAA in 2008 left a lot of questions unanswered.

by patthatt on Dec 24, 2008 12:16 PM EST reply actions

To the best of my knowledge...

…he knows how to slide.

I wasn’t too worried about Moss’s knee until I heard the word “microfracture” mentioned as a treatment option (even though they didn’t end ip going that way). Now, I’m half expecting to find out that they took the leg off just above the knee.

by Vlad on Dec 24, 2008 2:03 PM EST up reply actions