Pirates reliever Yates requests free agency

Per Rob Biertempfel at the Trib, Tyler Yates has been released. The team put him on waivers, and after clearing he elected to become a free agent. The move leaves us with 38 filled spots on the 40-man roster, plus two players (Meek and Ascanio) on the 60-day DL.

The player for whom Yates was acquired two years ago, soft-tossing righty SP Todd Redmond, spent 2009 with the Braves' AAA affiliate in Gwinnett, posting a 4.41 ERA, 1.37 WHIP, and 6.6 K/9.

over 2 years ago Vlad 17 comments 0 recs |

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I guess it leaves NH room for 2 players from FA, or possibly spring training.

by lfhlaw on Oct 27, 2009 1:17 PM EDT reply actions

Nope. Ascanio and Meek will both have to be activated from the 60 day before the Rule 5 draft, which means basically the roster is full already. They also need to add some guys like Brad Lincoln, Gorkys Hernandez, Bryan Morris, etc. Right now they sort of have a negative number of spots on the roster. They might also want to have a spot open for a Rule 5 guy, Huntington seems to be a fan.

by ElDuce on Oct 27, 2009 2:00 PM EDT up reply actions

Honestly

I know we have a lot of crap on the roster, but it’s a bit concerning to me that we’ve already dropped some deadweight and yet are still full up. If we need to clear out 5 more spots (which sounds like the minimum to me), I worry that we’ll end up losing someone we’ll regret.

Mind you, I’m saying this without reviewing the 40 man as it stands – maybe there’s more deadweight there than I’m imagining.

by JRoth95 on Oct 27, 2009 3:00 PM EDT up reply actions

Plenty of space

I figure ultimately they might need seven spots. Four for Brad Lincoln, Gorkys Hernandez, Bryan Morris and Ramon Aguero; one for the Rule 5 draft; and two for FA signings (although these won’t be necessary unless and until signings actually happen). We might have to cut:

Anthony Claggett
Eric Hacker
Steve Jackson
Virgil Vasquez
Steve Lerud
Brian Bixler
Luis Cruz

It’s not keeping me up at night.

by WTM on Oct 27, 2009 3:32 PM EDT up reply actions

Worth noting that at least some of those guys...

…would probably clear waivers and remain within the system on an outright assignment, if the team wanted to keep them.

You could potentially swap Steve Pearce or Argenis Diaz in for any of the guys on the list as well, without causing too many problems. And I wouldn’t assume that Moss or Young are 100% safe.

by Vlad on Oct 27, 2009 4:00 PM EDT up reply actions

If they sign a corner player, they’ll quite likely waive Pearce. I think he’d clear waivers. I don’t think they’d waive Diaz because part of the point of ditching Cruz is that he and Diaz are the same player.

All of the pitchers I listed have already been waived through the entire AL. They might get claimed, but I doubt it. OTOH, if they waived the first three, our quota of Pitchers-the-Yankees-Didn’t-Want would fall dangerously low.

by WTM on Oct 27, 2009 4:20 PM EDT up reply actions

Yeah, but...

…I think Cruz would probably be amenable to sticking around on a minor-league deal, if it came to that. And I don’t think Diaz is ever going to hit enough to be useful in the majors. Much less next spring, when he’s out of options.

by Vlad on Oct 27, 2009 5:36 PM EDT up reply actions

Why is Diaz out of options?

He’s 22 years old and has never played in the majors. Did he sign a major league deal right out of Venezuela?

by maguro on Oct 27, 2009 6:40 PM EDT up reply actions

The Red Sox added Diaz to their roster in Nov. 2007, so he has one option left.

I don’t think Cruz will have the option of free agency. The Pirates should be able to assign him to AAA after he clears waivers.

by WTM on Oct 27, 2009 6:47 PM EDT up reply actions

One of these days, I have to learn to count.

Having an option makes Diaz a palatable emergency UT IF for next year, though I still think he’s pretty worthless in the long run.

Cruz has been outrighted off a roster before. I’m pretty sure that you have to accept your first outright assignment, but then are allowed to decline all subsequent ones and declare free agency.

by Vlad on Oct 28, 2009 9:59 AM EDT up reply actions

Yeah, you’re right. Cruz was on the Padres’ roster for a brief time. We wouldn’t be able to retain him. How will I sleep tonight?

by WTM on Oct 28, 2009 7:12 PM EDT up reply actions

Presumably the guys who’d clear waivers are the guys we really don’t want – Bix and Lerud and Cruz.

I’d just as soon keep Moss and Young – I think Young has a genuine future as a high quality bench guy, and Moss profiles as a better-than-average 4th OF. If they become redundant, then they’re nice throw-ins in a trade – I hate to see them leave for nothing, because I feel that one or both will likely catch on elsewhere (I know that waivers can lead to trades and such, but it’s usually pretty nominal return).

by JRoth95 on Oct 27, 2009 6:03 PM EDT up reply actions

Good Grief

How could I not want to cut Bixler?

I thought Hacker appeared to have some value?

I wouldn’t weep over any of those departures – nor of Pearce – but I could see regretting Jackson or VV. They’re eminently replaceable, but they’re also guys we would have to replace – we need a 7th starter and mediocre righty reliever. If not VV and Jackson, then it’ll just be someone else brought in. That said, NH is likely able to find comparable players under at least as favorable contract terms.

by JRoth95 on Oct 27, 2009 5:54 PM EDT up reply actions

The thing is, guys like Virgil and Jackson should be brought in on minor league deals so they’re not taking up space on the 40-man.

by WTM on Oct 27, 2009 6:44 PM EDT up reply actions

The Virg was originally, right? I think that had to make room for him on the 40 man when he came up to make that first start against the Royals or whatever.

by ElDuce on Oct 27, 2009 9:16 PM EDT up reply actions