Link Roundup: Romulo Sanchez Recalled

by Charlie on Aug 6, 2008 1:05 PM EDT Comment 19 comments

-P- The Pirates have recalled Romulo Sanchez; he takes the place of Yoslan Herrera on the roster. Sanchez has recently kept runs off the board for Class AAA Indianapolis, but his strikeout rate down there is miserable, so he's not likely to be a very good option.

This is a drum I've beaten before, but it may be time to strike up the band again: why isn't Jesse Chavez getting a shot? He's got a strikeout an inning down in Indianapolis, and he's having a great July. The Pirates have called up pitcher after pitcher almost at random, and ignored the one guy who actually might be able to help them. I know the Pirates have said they don't promote based on performance but on meeting goals set by the organization; I'd love to know exactly what Chavez isn't doing that they want him to do.

-P- Ross Ohlendorf pitched 7.2 innings against Toledo Sunday, striking out nine. The Pirates sent him to Indy with the goal of stretching him out so he could join the Bucs' rotation. It appears that goal has been accomplished, so perhaps a callup is imminent.

-P- Buried in this article about Pedro Alvarez is an interesting tidbit:

Six will be [arbitration] eligible for the first time, including McLouth, Doumit and Maholm. Management plans to approach those three, among the team's top performers this season, with contract offers that could include buying out multiple years of free agency. Preliminary contact has been made on at least one front, and talks could begin in earnest as early as September.

"Complying with a demand to pay whatever it takes to sign Pedro Alvarez would impair the club's ability to execute that plan," Coonelly said.

All three of these guys are in the midst of career-best seasons, and none of them have good financial reasons to sign a contract to a steep discount, since they're arbitration-eligible anyway. Maybe they'll sign a cheap contract out of loyalty, but I doubt it.

-P- At Baseball Prospectus (subscription required), John Perrotto reports on the trades.

-P- The Mariners have--finally!--designated Jose Vidro for assignment. This after 308 at bats of .234/.274/.338, with the overwhelming majority of those at bats coming in the third through fifth spots in the lineup.

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does something prevent

teams from stockpiling draft picks?
I mean, let’s say you draft a guy with no intention to sign, so you get another 1st round pick next year, then you don’t sign either of those guys and have 5 1st round picks the year after that
and so on?

by vherub on Aug 6, 2008 2:20 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I meant

3 1st rounders

by vherub on Aug 6, 2008 2:21 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

That’s an excellent question. Might be a good strategy for a contender that has a solid base of minor league talent. Deliberately don’t sign your picks and then have a monster draft just as your core of players is about to break up.

by Charlie on Aug 6, 2008 2:49 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

McLouth,Doumit,and Maholm

I don’t know,Charlie,I think,that with good young players like these three,that there is proably a good chance that they will go for the security of a long term deal,if solid….

by rissaldar on Aug 6, 2008 2:25 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

They’re arbitration-eligible next year, so they’re going to make a pile of money regardless. If they were rookies or second-year players, I’d agree with you.

by Charlie on Aug 6, 2008 2:50 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I think his point is

that while they’ll make some good money next season regardless, they have no security at all beyond that if they don’t sign a longer-term deal.

by WestCoastBuc on Aug 6, 2008 2:53 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I guess, but MY point is that you can set yourself up pretty well with the money each of those guys is going to make next year. The way teams can get guys to sign these favorable long-term deals is that they usually do it with less experienced players who haven’t yet set themselves up for life.

Maybe $3 or $4 million isn’t “setting yourself up for life” to these guys, but it certainly is to me. :)

by Charlie on Aug 6, 2008 4:28 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I mean, who knows, you could be right.

by Charlie on Aug 6, 2008 4:40 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I posted below....

Charlie, but I don’t think McLouth makes even $3 million next year and Doumit probably less than two. And, yes, while that’s a nice chunk of change, relative to a $20 million contract it’s a whole different ballpark. While both these guys have had great seasons, arbitration doesn’t pay guys market value, it moves them through the system. And, since this is both players first productive year and Doumit has a history of injuries, a 500% increase is going to be seen as substantial. I think 4-5 years for $20-25 million would be great for both sides.

by dtoddwin on Aug 6, 2008 4:52 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

First-round roll-over

As I understand it, an unsigned pick rolls over only once. If the club fails to sign a player picked in that slot two years in a row, they don’t receive any subsequent compensation.

by richaude on Aug 6, 2008 2:30 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Ah.

by Charlie on Aug 6, 2008 2:50 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

That is a good thing to know -

if so ,if we don’t sign Alvarez, next year’s comp pick will have a lot of leverage.

by WestCoastBuc on Aug 6, 2008 2:51 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

i'm almost positive that's the case

one rollover only. we’d probably end up paying next year’s #3 more because there’s no way we could completely waste the pick.

i think alvarez will sign at the deadline as long as the offer is not insulting. what they do with the rest of those top ten picks is what interests me. this is just as, if not more important than what we did at the trading deadline.

by johnnycuff on Aug 6, 2008 3:43 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

So as I understand it

if we can’t sign McLouth, Doumit and/or Mahlom to a long-term deal at some point, they will be potential FAs in 2011. That means we get to look forward to a repeat of Nady/Bay-type negotiations during July of 2010. It was very interesting while it lasted but I can see why many fans are and will be frustrated.

by WestCoastBuc on Aug 6, 2008 3:03 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

If I were.....

McLouth or Doumit, especially, I certainly would like a long term deal. In arbitration neither is making more than $3 million next year. Doumit might not make half that. And yes, while that is a lot of money, signing a 4-5 year $20-25 million deal is completely different. And if I’m the Pirates those are the numbers I would be thinking about.

Also, to clarify, picks only rollover once. If you don’t sign the pick the second year, you lose it.

by dtoddwin on Aug 6, 2008 4:00 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Maholm......

on the other hand, probably will cost substantially more.

by dtoddwin on Aug 6, 2008 4:06 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

But if he's smart, he'd be the one to take a deal

I’m sure they’re all confident they’re bulletproof, but a pitcher has to look around him. I mean, Maholm was hit in the face. While that hasn’t affected his play or confidence, he might understand a little better than most how fleeting these chances are.

by azibuck on Aug 6, 2008 6:07 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Charlie

Jesse Chavez is not on the 40-man roster, so my guess is that they haven`t recalled him because they`ve been overwhelmed with all the other movement on the roster because of the trades and the need for starting pitchers. If he continues to pitch well, I would be very surprised if he doesn`t get a September recall.

by patthatt on Aug 6, 2008 10:20 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs