Pirates Promote Pedro Alvarez, Danny Moskos, Aaron Thompson
by David Todd on Sep 6, 2011 3:23 PM EDT
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PrintAs ElDuce posted, the Pirates have indeed recalled LHP Jeff Locke and selected RHP Jared Hughes from AAA Indianapolis. The team also recalled LHP Aaron Thompson, LHP Daniel Moskos and INF Pedro Alvarez and recalled and reinstated Evan Meek from the 60-day DL.
To make room for Hughes and Meek on the 40-man roster, the Pirates moved Paul Maholm and Kevin Correia to the 60-day DL, effectively ending their seasons, and possibly Maholm's Pirates career.
UPDATE by Charlie: Some in the comments are talking about the Pirates' decision not to bring up Gorkys Hernandez and Matt Hague, which we already knew about. These moves probably aren't terribly significant, except in that they suggest that the Pirates aren't huge fans of Gorkys Hernandez and Matt Hague. But Clint Hurdle's explanation made me chuckle:
"We do want to see Derrek Lee (at first base), and I don't need seven, eight outfielders to work through a game. They have worked hard and played hard. You would like to reward them properly. It is quite challenging to get called up and not play. What do you think that does to a player's psyche?"
So Hurdle thinks he's doing them a favor? Somehow, I bet Hernandez and Hague - neither of whom have played in the majors before - would make the best of it. If I were one of them and I were called up, here's what would be going on in my "psyche" for four weeks straight: '#$% yeah, I'm in the majors! WOOOOOOO!!!'
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So...
the only bats the Pirates have added…JJ, The Invisible Man (Ciriaco), The Human Wind Machine (Pedro), and Ludwick (tomorrow). Guess we’ll be seeing a lot more of Brad Lincoln pinch hitting on days he doesn’t pitch.
Pedro is still struggling
An OBP of .279 in his last 10 games. Six hits and six walks in 43 plate appearances. That’s rather sad.
Viva Clemente!
That'd be a real shame
if this is how Paulie’s Pirates career ends.
Personally, I’m in favor of picking up his option, and I’d love to see them negotiate an extension. Assuming his shoulder heals (no guarantee, of course, but Dr. Andrews gave it his blessing), he’s pretty likely to be worth a bit more than his option, and provides valuable, decent-quality innings. As a lefty at an acceptable age and price, he should always be tradable if we suddenly have a logjam of good MLB SPs. But Ohlie looks like toast, this may have been Karstens’ career year, and Correia turned into a pumpkin (although a lot of the ugliness came in 3 of his last 4 starts, which may very well have been tied to his injury).
It’s not so much that 2012’s rotation looks better with Paulie in it; it’s that it looks much less collapse-prone.
Correia...
had an ERA over 7 for July/August. The ugliness didn’t start with his last 4 starts.
Oh, I know that
But his ERA in those last 4 games is 8.41, despite one of those starts being excellent. His previous 4 starts was 6.97, and before that he was more or less the guy who didn’t deserve the ASG, but was more than worth his contract. Those last 4 starts added more than half a run to his season ERA.
At the moment his FIP matches his ERA; if it did so at the end of July (I don’t know how to determine that exactly, but it would have been close, based on monthly splits), then he was on pace to be worth 1.5 – 2.0 WAR. As it is, his WAR is 0.1.
Correia being Correia
He’s really not very good. He collapsed in the second half last year. It was attributed to the tragedy with his brother, but the same thing happened again this year.
Unfortunately, Correia’s going to be overvalued by a lot of fans because he got off to a good start and won a lot of games early. Most of that was run support. The Pirates averaged 4.73 runs in his starts. In everybody else’s starts they’ve averaged 3.62. With Correia’s support, Maholm would have 16 wins or more.
You're entitled to your own opinions. You're not entitled to your own facts.
by WTM on Sep 6, 2011 4:59 PM EDT up reply actions
I wonder what the deal is, though
He was legitimately decent (per FIP) in the first couple months, mediocre the second couple, and then cratered. Meanwhile, his career Home/Away splits are just ridiculous. I wonder if the guy’s just got issues.
His FIP was just fine until August, and his xFIP has still been fine. What happened is a an absolutely crazy 34% of fly balls in August were home runs. And his fly ball percentage in August is easily his lowest.
By comparison, last year’s Charlie Morton was at 18.1% HR/FB.
Correia’s K rate and BB rate were also their worst in August. I’d say it’s a combination of running out of gas (as WTM points out) and some crazy shenanigans causing 1 out of every 3 fly balls leaving the park. That is seriously just insane. You or I could throw batting practice and 1 of every 3 fly balls wouldn’t leave the park.*
*hyperbole for effect
Interesting...
prior to this season…Correia was right around the league average of 81% on contact (Foul + inplay strikes)/(foul + inplay strikes + swinging strikes). This year…that number is at 85%. In other words, when the batter is swinging at a Correia pitch, he is much more likely to make contact this season.
His balls in play average is also much higher than other seasons…77% vs league average of 70%. His strikeout % is way down as well.
Bottom line…Correia is a LOT more hittable than he’s ever been. Add that to the Pirates defense…and yeah, we shouldn’t be surprised at his numbers.
By all the defensive metrics I can find, the Pirates rank average or better in the NL.
You're entitled to your own opinions. You're not entitled to your own facts.
by WTM on Sep 6, 2011 7:04 PM EDT up reply actions
Disagree
and it’s nothing to do with his wins. He simply hit his spots and kept the ball down more consistently. I admit he probably had better than average luck on fly balls to the warning track but even so he’s not worthless. He’s somewhere in between the first half and the last 6 weeks.
If the money isn't going to upgrade the pitching staff than I tentatively agree...
that being said, 9.5 million should be spent on getting a pitcher with less of a chance of posting a 5 era than a 3 era which Paul is just as likely to get hit hard than have the string of luck he put together in the first half. I say 9.5 million on a one year deal can/should buy a better season of pitching than Paul Maholm. If it can’t through either talent procurement failure or market scarcity, then spend the money on Paul if he is better than your other internal options. Its just that on a good team he is a 4/5th starter at best.
47th best FIP in baseball
People don’t like the way Maholm throws, so they always want to paint him as a marginal starter, but he’s consistently in the top 40% of MLB starters (by FIP and xFIP, since we all know that ERA is mostly going to be defense-driven).
In fact, since 2006 (his first full season), he’s 36th out of 60 qualified SPs by both FIP and xFIP. He’s 32nd out of 52 guys who threw over 900 innings in that span (he threw 1102), 39th by WAR (although I’m not getting the translation between FIP and WAR here – Ervin Santana has nearly identical FIP, xFIP, and GS over a similar number of IP, and is worth almost 4 more wins. I can guess at reasons, but I really don’t know).
The biggest legit knock is that he doesn’t throw enough innings: 6.15 per start for his career. But the bottom line is that, during his career, there simply haven’t been 50 better SPs, let alone the 75-odd suggested by saying he’d be a 4/5 for a good team.
I’d be surprised if they don’t exercise Maholm’s option.
You're entitled to your own opinions. You're not entitled to your own facts.
by WTM on Sep 6, 2011 5:21 PM EDT up reply actions
To be clear
I get that “good teams”, more or less by definition, have the lion’s share of the best SPs. But it’s not as if the typical perennial contender (let’s say the top 6 in each league) each have 3 SPs out of the top 50 – that would suggest only 14 pitchers better than Maholm on the other 18 teams in baseball.
What you get IRL is an ace and a plus #2 on pretty much every contender – that’s about half of the top 50 SPs in baseball. Then certain contenders are pitching-heavy, and so they claim another half dozen out of the top 50. But for a half dozen contenders, Maholm would be an upgrade (or a wash) at #3, and he’d probably slot in at #4 for the remainder as well (Phillies aside).
For example, over the past 6 years, the Red Sox have had 4 pitchers throw more than 600 IP. 2 have been markedly better than Maholm, Dice-K has been nearly identical, and Wakefield has been markedly worse. That’s right – the Red Sox would have been better with Maholm in their rotation over the past 6 seasons. And not just replacing Wakefield – if you go year by year, they’ve never had 3 SPs distinctly better than Paulie (although I’ll grant that he’d surely look worse in the AL East). But the point remains that the guy’s good enough to be a 3/4 for one of the 3 best orgs in baseball throughout his (very consistent) career.
the least likely of the altoona4 to make it to the big leagues FIRST...
… makes the big leagues first.
congrats to Locke.
I know certain roster technacalities have to do with this decision...
But I still think its ridiculous that Matt Hague is not going to get his phone call that he’s been promoted to the big club. I get that we have a logjam at his position, and that he isn’t on the 40-man, but I think a guy like Hague, a player who was suppose to be an organizational type of depth guy, would be grateful just to make it to the big leagues. Sure, maybe he only gets 2 or 3 at bats, but I think we all can safely say that he absolutely earned those at bats and this opportunity. For a full AAA season he hit at an outstanding level and played solid first base, and I’m sure he spent the whole year thinking that if he keeps up this level of play— there’s no way the front office will not give him a shot in September. With the exception of a few slumps, he did keep up that level of play— he hit .309, with an .830 OPS, .457 SLG and a .372 OBP to go along with 75 runs knocked in. Matt Hague did everything he needed to do to get the reward I’m sure he’s been working for his entire life, but now he’s going to have to wait longer. If there was anyway we could make one spot on the 40-man, I would fully endorse giving him the opportunity he deserves.
I will not be surprised if Hague gets a 40 man spot in the off season, but now would not be the right time to add him to the roster. It simply would be a waste to have him here for a month and get less playing time than Pedro Ciriaco.
Which begs the question...
why is Ciriaco getting any playing time at all?
Matt Hague did everything he needed to do to get the reward I’m sure he’s been working for his entire life…
Except hit for power, draw walks, or significantly improve his defense. He really needs to do one of those three in order to have a realistic shot at a significant MLB career.
If they don’t plan on adding him to the 40-man roster this offseason, it’d make no sense to bring him up now, since they’d just end up exposing him to waivers this offseason. Better to run the risk of him being taken in the Rule 5.
(I agree that if they do plan on rostering him this offseason, it’s strange that they wouldn’t bring him up now.)
I pretty much agree...
that if they aren’t adding him now, they probably won’t add him before the Rule V draft. Or do they really think that Steve Pearce will be back before the end of the season? The Pirates could have easily moved Pearce to the 60 day and created room.
Personally, I hope they don’t ever start calling guys up as a “reward.” They should be calling guys up to make the team better, whether in the short or long term.
You're entitled to your own opinions. You're not entitled to your own facts.
by WTM on Sep 6, 2011 6:00 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Plus it looks like the Bucs are wanting D Lee back next year
bringing Hague up to take some ABs away from a guy in a contract year would possibly impact the chances of Lee wanting to stay.
"Pitch me outside, I will hit .400. Pitch me inside, and you will not find the ball." - Roberto Clemente
Somehow...
I think a 15 year vet understands a rookie getting a few AB in September when the team isn’t in a pennant race.
We don't have a logjam at 1B
we have Lee and sometimes Jones. The logjam would be for Gorkys in the OF.
I know Ludwick is coming back tomorrow
but it was interesting when Hurdle used his last outfielder yesterday and had none on the bench for emergency.
by Central*Scrutinizer on Sep 6, 2011 6:21 PM EDT up reply actions
But I still think its ridiculous that Matt Hague is not going to get his phone call
I don’t know about “ridiculous”, but I do think it’s a little odd. But, it isn’t something I’m going to lose sleep over.
As others have stated, this may be a hint at what the Pirates ultimately think about Hague….or they don’t want to tinker with the 40-man anymore with position players….or they want to give all of the playing time to Lee to see if the recent Lee will be the current Lee for the rest of the month , instead of the American League Lee.
Speaking of Lee (big surprise on my part), I know Lee’s been playing for a million years, but all of that came in the National League before this year. In addition to coming off the injury, is it possible, even for a decade+ old vet, that going into a brand new league where you’re facing a whole slew of mostly new pitchers (except for interleague) could have played a bit of a role (not saying the entire thing) in his struggles in Baltimore?
I mean, you face the same pitchers (basically) for 15 years, and then suddenly all of the information you have stored in your heads about these guys becomes useless.
cool
lets get Petey going and see what Locke and Lincoln can do in a handful of starts. Also glad to see Meek back. Should be a fun september. Only need a few more wins for that 70 win season. Lets keep it going boys!
Thats what she said! - Michael Gary Scott
Good moves
And I think all the right moves.
No need to promote guys who are not going to get a chance to play much.
I can’t wait to see how Meek looks and I look forward to seeing Locke.
As for Maholm, a reasonable extension might not be a bad thing as that would also enhance his trade value…so don’t give him any kind of no trade clause.
I also would like to see the Pirates make an effort to keep Doumit and bring D.Lee back…although I’m not sure Lee will want to come back.
Hopefully Maholm's option isnt picked up unless they can trade him this offseason.
Id rather run (in no order) McDonald, Morton, Lincoln, Karstens, and Correia (only because he is guaranteed money, I would attempt to trade him for literally anything to get out of his contract) out there for 2012 opening day. No reason to throw away 9.5M on a dead MLB season.
Should the Pirates keep Neal Huntington?
http://www.bucsdugout.com/2011/5/16/2174135/poll-should-huntington-be-retained
by Kosstic518 on Sep 6, 2011 5:43 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
Let me see if I have this right...
the Pirates “want to see Derrek Lee play at 1B”?
He’s got FIFTEEN seasons in the majors. If they don’t know what he can do by now, then we pretty much need to shoot our talent evaluation team and start over.
Pushing for wins, not talent eval?
I’m surprised at this also. Bucs only have 3 meaningful games left (at Az) where it would be expected they would field their best team at all positions, rather than Wood at 1B, Harrison at 2B, Paul in CF, etc. So maybe the organization is really pushing to get to 75+ wins. If the other out-of-the-running teams field their prospects, maybe the Bucs can get on a hot streak to take into 2012.
by Central*Scrutinizer on Sep 6, 2011 6:33 PM EDT up reply actions
Lovely...
@LangoschMLBJenifer Langosch
#Pirates announce that Jose Tabata has a small left hand fracture; he will be reevaluated in 10 days.
Sure we don’t need any 1B/OF??
Wouldn't
spending September in the majors mean an extra month’s pay at the pro-rated MLB minimum for guys like Gyorkys and Hague? That’s what, around $70,000 (plus per diem meal money) to ride the bench and get your bags carried for you and stay in 4-star hotels and have the coaching of the major-league coaches?
Versus sitting at home?
Are you kidding me?
Please, nobody do me any favors like that.
Hot chick in a bar
Oooh, you play in Indianapolis?
I get all my orthopedic advice from Dr. Rob Dibble
Stupid smart phones
they could google you so fast. Back in the day they’d just assume Indy was a major league team
So if Hague doesn't get Rule 5 protected, how likely will he get chosen?
After all, if a team can get a player that profiles as an “average MLB player”, is still kind of at a prospect age (especially as a player out of college, and not out of high school), has solid minor league numbers without ever repeating a level, chances are pretty good that he would stick. Yes, I get it that his power and defense are still below-average for his position. However, there’s not much else to not like about him, no?
With all this in mind, I’d hate to lose him without compensation.
He doesn’t project as mlb-average, just “better than what the Bucs have had at 1B the last 2 years”
The consensus seems to be around 30% he gets picked
hmmmm, im wondering what teams would pick him
baltimore? (depends on chris davis)
cleveland? (matt laporta)
milwaukee? (matt gamel)
minnesota? (morneau)
im not seeing alot of teams that would tie up a roster spot for him.
Not very likely.
Yes, I get it that his power and defense are still below-average for his position. However, there’s not much else to not like about him, no?
The biggest limiting factors for Hague as a potential R5 pick are his limited offensive upside and his inability to play anything other than 1B. The former means that teams interested in shooting for the moon with their pick aren’t going to pick him, and the latter means that he doesn’t have enough tactical versatility to be a worthwhile gamble as a MLB-ready reserve, since the ever-expanding modern bullpen means that most teams these days need their backup 1B to double as a backup at either 3B or LF/RF.
Pure 1Bs almost never get taken in the ML portion of the R5 draft – the last one of that type chosen was Jay Gibbons more than ten years ago. 99% of the time, the guys that you need to worry about are shortstops, center fielders, and hard-throwers of all types. Teams looking for a Hague-type player will sign Chris Carter or Brandon Moss as a NRI instead, and use that R5 pick on something harder to find on the open market.
Since Matt Hague continues to be a topic of discussion....
For anyone that’s actually seen him play: can Hague play a reasonable 3rd base?
I know he started his career there, and still makes appearances here and there over at 3rd. I’m assuming the answer is “no” or else he would very likely have been given a look when Pedro was struggling, but I thought I’d ask anyway.
elite club
the pirates are in an elite club along with florida and k.c. who are too cheap to reward players for a good season with a callup
Schlep
is too cheap to reward me with his hard-earned $$$ for an amazing (passable?) re-tort to his lame (or sarcastic? I’ve never seen you before…) comment.
the royals wont call up? i guess youre referring to clint robinson and lorenzo cain.
but everyone else, including Hosmer, Duffy, Moustakas, we’re brought up early. some could argue much too early. you can throw Hochevar on that list too.
by the way, everyone knows that Alvarez has had a poor season. check out what Moustakas has done in his 1st go around with the Royals.
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