Pirates Send Jose Bautista to Minors

by Charlie on Aug 14, 2008 12:31 PM EDT

The Pirates' starting third baseman most of the past two years was visibly stunned after general manager Neal Huntington and manager John Russell had informed him last night, in Russell's office, that he was being optioned to Class AAA Indianapolis. The move will clear space for first baseman Adam LaRoche to come off the disabled list today.

I'd be stunned, too, if I were him. Bautista is stretched as a starter, but he's a perfectly good utility player on a team that has Luis Rivas on its bench. This may be a numbers game, and Bautista may be back in a few days when management is confident that Jack Wilson is fully ready to go. (Shortstop is one of the few positions Bautista can't play, so if Wilson is on the roster but not able to start, it creates a roster crunch.) Of course, that's not how Neal Huntington makes it sound:

"Given our recent acquisitions and the current roster composition, we decided the most appropriate move was to option Jose," Huntington said. "We will make the determination at a later date with respect to a September callup, but much of the decision is within his control."

This makes it sound as if the issue is some sort of attitude problem. Again, weird.

In any case, I'm happy that Steve Pearce is still with the team. But the bench now has four players in their thirties on it, plus Rivas, and one would think the Pirates would be better served with Bautista, who's younger and possibly better than any of them.

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"who's younger and possibly better than any of them"

That still doesn’t make him very good (93 OPS+ this year, 89 career) — he’s to hitters what Josh Fogg is/was to pitchers, a known quantity (90-95 OPS+ every year) and OK hole filler until something better comes along. And I think we would all like something better (LaRoche2/Alvarez) to come along. Maybe the attitude problem is that he thinks he’s much better than that, even though it’s clear he’s a bench/AAAA player for a good team, and we want to be a good team someday. Besides, Eye Chart and the outfielders cover most of the same versatility territory, making Jose kind of redundant.

We can do better than this guy.

by bucdaddy on Aug 14, 2008 12:57 PM EDT 0 recs

I think Jose

would be a very solid bench player on most contenders, even.

by DITO on Aug 14, 2008 2:29 PM EDT up 0 recs

Sure... solid bench player.

But he shouldn’t be starting, even for a bad team like us, and he probably doesn’t want to accept that.

by Vlad on Aug 14, 2008 6:44 PM EDT up 0 recs

If he will be playing every day in Indy...

then so be it. Playing time would be best for Bautista, possibly getting reps at every position he can play. Having him sit on the bench in Pittsburgh, staring out at third base would not serve him best. Keeping the older guys makes some sense, they are performing well and providing leadership to the younger guys on the field, in the clubhouse and dugout. With the Red Sox and the Rays in need of an infielder, NH might be working on a possible trade of Gomez, Mientkiewicz or Rivas.

I just hope Bautista takes advantage of the playing time and the ‘slight’ of being optioned to AAA and puts it all together.

by ElliottBayBucco on Aug 14, 2008 1:12 PM EDT 0 recs

This is strange

because it is kind of a middle ground. If the Bucs were trying to win games right now, they would send Pearce down. If they were trying to give guys with a possible future the chance to play right now, they’d do something with Gomez, Rivas or Minky to clear space.

This just seems like the easiest way to go, while still letting Pearce try to hit MLB pitching.

by DITO on Aug 14, 2008 2:28 PM EDT 0 recs

Pirates sign another draft pick ,,,

…. but Dejan doesn’t yet know whom.

http://community.post-gazette.com/blogs/pbc/

by woobie on Aug 14, 2008 2:43 PM EDT 0 recs

Dejan says it could be Grossman

by biggyv on Aug 14, 2008 3:16 PM EDT up 0 recs

Not only can be...

but is…Grossman according to DK.

by Thunder on Aug 14, 2008 4:15 PM EDT up 0 recs

Rivas........

can’t play shortstop either. A very strange move,at least on the surface. Bautista could be a super-utility man.

by rissaldar on Aug 14, 2008 2:58 PM EDT 0 recs

Ah, but

They apparently think he can. Which makes all the difference, here.

by Vlad on Aug 14, 2008 6:45 PM EDT up 0 recs

My Boy :-(

by matskralc on Aug 14, 2008 3:57 PM EDT 0 recs

Capps this afternoon at Altoona

1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K. Probably a good thing since the rest of the Altoona staff got the stew stomped out of them 11-3.

by Thunder on Aug 14, 2008 4:21 PM EDT 0 recs

maybe i'm catching all the wrong threads

But there seems to be a lot of focus around here about how the Pirates can best succeed in 2008. It’s not about 2008 for the Pirates. It’s rebuilding time. And you have someone in charge who will do it competently.

If sticking Jose Bautista in AAA helps him down the road and/or helps whoever takes his spot down the road, it’s a win. I also noticed a lot of comments from Pirates fans about who would play shortstop if Jack Wilson was traded. Who cares?

Yes, I realize it’s never fun to put a less than optimal team on the field, but trading a few games in 2008 for a few games in 2010 or 2011 should be worth it. Getting from 75 to 78 wins now means nothing compared to getting from 85 to 88 wins in a couple years.

my blog // calling BJ Upton lazy is lazy // past results do not guarantee future performance

by Sky Kalkman on Aug 14, 2008 8:26 PM EDT 0 recs

Most people that post here

understand that pretty well.

by DITO on Aug 15, 2008 1:11 PM EDT up 0 recs

thanks

my blog // calling BJ Upton lazy is lazy // past results do not guarantee future performance

by Sky Kalkman on Aug 16, 2008 3:34 PM EDT up 0 recs

Joey Bats on the outs

Actually, I’ve already grown tired of Mr. Mientkiewicz. Why is he taking up a roster spot on this team??? He can’t be in the plan for the future. If Russell needs him to motivate the team, we’ve got even more issues. Jose didn’t deserve to be treated like this.

by pjmb on Aug 15, 2008 1:26 AM EDT 0 recs

pjmb:

Well said. I’ve always liked Bautista and felt his contribution was valuable to the team. Further, I’ve never been able to get excited about Mr. Mientkiewicz for the exact reason you stated. He does a lot of things in an acceptable manner but none of the exceptionally well. We can’t afford to keep a guy like him on this team. If we were a pennant contender like Boston was then I could understand the desire to have him. I say we should de-activate him and make him a coach in charge of employee morale and hustle and bring Joey Bats back up. That would be money well-spent.

by Illinois Pirate Fan on Aug 15, 2008 9:40 AM EDT 0 recs