Luis Rivas Makes 25-Man Roster

by Charlie Wilmoth on Mar 25, 2008 2:17 PM EDT in News

The Pirates this morning cut four players from spring training -- outfielder Kevin Thompson and relievers Jonah Bayliss, Elmer Dessens and Casey Fossum -- and added infielder Luis Rivas to the 40-man roster, effectively putting him on the team for opening day.

He will be the starting second baseman if Freddy Sanchez, still unable to throw at 100 percent because of offseason shoulder surgery, is not ready.

Rivas is just awful and I don't want him in the starting lineup, period. He was kind of the Twins' equivalent of Jose Castillo - he showed some potential very early in his career, then spent years disappointing everyone. His statistics in Class AAA in 2006 and 2007 suggest he hasn't learned anything and may in fact have gotten worse. Let's hope Sanchez gets better very soon.

The cuts are unsurprising. When Dessens was signed to a minor league deal, there was some speculation that he had a good shot at making the team, but we've heard little about him since then. Fossum and Bayliss were unlikely to make the team in any case, and Bayliss' move off the 40-man roster was probably overdue.

The Thompson cut suggests that both Nate McLouth and Nyjer Morgan are going to make the team, which the Pirates had been hinting would happen. In a scenario where the lefty McLouth won the starting job, Thompson might have been useful as a right-handed bench bat, and if I were GM, I probably would've sent Morgan to the minors and kept Thompson. But it's not a big deal and I'm mostly just as happy to keep Morgan, as long as he doesn't start.

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Tip of the cap to Jonah Bayliss

Tip of the cap to Jonah Bayliss if he moves to another org. I saw him play against Rochester for Indy in 2006. He had a consistent low 90's fastball with a nice tail, and what looked like it could be a devastating change. He was great that year, although a little overaged for AAA at the time. He didn't do well in Pgh later that year or last year. He also sucked for Indy in 2007. I saw him again in Rochester, and for Pgh on MLB.tv, and he seemed to have lost his way. Maybe in an effort to throw strikes, he grooved too many balls because he was throwing his fastball right down the middle. And his change was pedestrian at best. Maybe it was some Jim Colborn Effect.

Also, I don't know where this fits on the "clutch" spectrum, but he looked like a guy pitching with no confidence at all. Maybe he's just a guy that tightened up with the big club, but the way he carried himself and the way he was grooving pitches, he looked like he didn't trust his stuff. I know that's esoteric but it's what I observed.

All that said, I'm glad we traded Mark Redman for him. It's exactly the type of move the Pirates should make. They should have made more of them. Bayliss really didn't fit the profile of a Littlefield acquisition. He had a major league arm, I think maybe he didn't have major league makeup, or there was just some sort of Peter Principle at work (or, Colborn/Tracy). I wouldn't be surprised if he resurfaces somewhere in the majors at some point. And/or becomes a fringe guy that mows down AAA hitters and gets another chance or three when/if he rediscovers his stuff.

by azibuck on Mar 25, 2008 4:25 PM EDT reply actions

agree

I never saw him pitch but I'm not surprised to read what you wrote. My recollection is that he got off to a pretty good start last spring and in the majors and seemed to have good stuff. I remember (unless I am making it up) that he came in once in April or May with the bases loaded and struck out the side. But then he had a couple of disastrous outings and never got it back. Too bad.

by aih on Mar 25, 2008 4:57 PM EDT reply actions