2014 Pirates

[Illinest]

I looked things over and i think that ike davis is the guy.

The strange acquisitions of the mariners have confused things. There's no reason to think that they'd be in the market for kendrys morales and when you consider the draft pick attached to him it makes one think that he's getting pretty cheap by now.
Look closer at morales and you'll see why i never wanted a part of him in the first place. He's got a noticeable home/away split that favors the stadium in anaheim. He's also one of the least mobile players in the league and he's going to be on the wrong side of 30.

Smoak has the opposite sort of home/away split and he might actually be a candidate for a change in scenery. His ability to switch-hit makes him interesting and it somewhat mitigates his L/R splits.

Ike davis is the right combination of potential and value. The Mets don't seem to know what to do about 1b, and we should be able to take advantage of that.
He only bats left-handed. His home/away splits are pretty noticeable and if you compare davis on the road to morales on the road they're basically the same player. Morales played in a home ballpark that made him look better while davis played in a home ballpark that made him look worse.

Ike davis is the guy now. Smoak would be interesting at least. Morales is still a no. Thank god loney is signed elsewhere.

 

[Darkstone42]

I looked things over and i think that ike davis is the guy.

The strange acquisitions of the mariners have confused things. There's no reason to think that they'd be in the market for kendrys morales and when you consider the draft pick attached to him it makes one think that he's getting pretty cheap by now.
Look closer at morales and you'll see why i never wanted a part of him in the first place. He's got a noticeable home/away split that favors the stadium in anaheim. He's also one of the least mobile players in the league and he's going to be on the wrong side of 30.

Smoak has the opposite sort of home/away split and he might actually be a candidate for a change in scenery. His ability to switch-hit makes him interesting and it somewhat mitigates his L/R splits.

Ike davis is the right combination of potential and value. The Mets don't seem to know what to do about 1b, and we should be able to take advantage of that.
He only bats left-handed. His home/away splits are pretty noticeable and if you compare davis on the road to morales on the road they're basically the same player. Morales played in a home ballpark that made him look better while davis played in a home ballpark that made him look worse.

Ike davis is the guy now. Smoak would be interesting at least. Morales is still a no. Thank god loney is signed elsewhere.

The thing I like about both Smoak and Davis is that they're both players who have a natural major skill--power--which has manifested at the Major League level, and both have had some moderate success, but both also still haven't shown what they were at one time thought to be capable of. There's still a little upside there.

We can at least get acceptable production out of either (I do agree Davis is a surer bet, though), with an upside for a bit more.

 

[thecrow124]

I am at the point where I am ready to platoon Lambo and Sanchez, if that fails then wait until after the draft in June and sign Morales. I don't like him any better then, except there is no draft pick involved. Even still if we are getting even moderate production out of Lambo/Sanchez, I would wait until the trade deadline at that point. If teams are overvaluing their players to the point where they can't make a trade work, then they can keep them for all I care. Smoak and Davis offer little value to this team over what Sanchez and Lambo could possibly give.

On another note, the Orioles want to talk to AJ, seems odd since they have less financial flexibility than we do.

 

[pixburgher66]

I am at the point where I am ready to platoon Lambo and Sanchez, if that fails then wait until after the draft in June and sign Morales. I don't like him any better then, except there is no draft pick involved. Even still if we are getting even moderate production out of Lambo/Sanchez, I would wait until the trade deadline at that point. If teams are overvaluing their players to the point where they can't make a trade work, then they can keep them for all I care. Smoak and Davis offer little value to this team over what Sanchez and Lambo could possibly give.

On another note, the Orioles want to talk to AJ, seems odd since they have less financial flexibility than we do.

If there was a better solution in RF, I'd be okay with the Sanchez/Lambo at 1B...but there isn't, and having two "run producing positions" working like that would just be ew. In regard to AJ, I don't think those rumors have legs. I can see where they come from in that the O's are probably one of the few teams geographically he'd go to, but it'd mean a return to the AL East, and if the Pirates aren't ponying up market value, no way the O's do.

 

[thecrow124]

If there was a better solution in RF, I'd be okay with the Sanchez/Lambo at 1B...but there isn't, and having two "run producing positions" working like that would just be ew. In regard to AJ, I don't think those rumors have legs. I can see where they come from in that the O's are probably one of the few teams geographically he'd go to, but it'd mean a return to the AL East, and if the Pirates aren't ponying up market value, no way the O's do.

We played 5 months last year with no production at 1B and four months with no production in RF. I don't buy into the "run producing position" garbage. We get excess production from CF and 2B, over league averages. This year we may get league average production from SS, which would be an upgrade. So the lack of production from RF and 1B, well, I guess if we can get league average from one of the two I would be ok with that. Your feeling on my scenario would depend heavily on how you feel about Lambo, if you think last year was a career year, you probably don't like it. If you think it was actually his true talent finally manifesting, then you are probably ok with it. I peraonally think he is somewhere in between, he could hit 20-25 HR, but I don't think he hits .280 while doing so.

There are many things we could do, it is just that none of them really give me that warm fuzzy feeling.

 

[sychmd]

no ideal option for first base exists, nor do we have a star future option. the only in house options are
1. lambo, 2. sanchez(did a lot better last year than i thought in a park that is hard for RH to hit HR) 3. hague, 4. curry, 5. allie 6. converting another OF(bell) or C(that will be blocked by sanchez and mcguire who can hit but trouble with D) or alvarez in the future altho more value as a 3B. so with dickerson gone, nothing on the horizon.

so here are the realistic options:
1. trade for a great almost ready prospect with a team that needs pitching or OF. the package we send depends on the caliber of our target. protect our studs but part with our depth, as teams need pitching and are rebuilding so don't need mob ready arms but might be good with 3-4 lower level high ceiling guys.
2. lambo and sanchez - give up nothing, costs minimal, good D and should get league average if lamb hits a bit. if lamb really adjusts, then jackpot with sanchez.
3. trade for ike davis - cost a mediocre middle reliever that we have a tone of. can team with sanchez. but is young, shined at one point, was on a crappy team in a tough park, might show his good year is who he is and not the bad. we also have several years of control of davis.
4. wait till next year to see if lambo, (or davis if we get him) pan out and go for the most productive (youngest) FA out there. (not sure who will be available, but assuming polanco, alvarez, mercer, t sanchez meet expectations, our only gaps are 1B and 2B that can platoon with walker.

my choice,
1. since davis is cheap, lets get him.
2. already have lambo in reserve if davis or LH RF person craps out or ideally lamb beats out snider in spring for RF.
3. if davis and lambo bumble, and it is clear we don't have a 1B of the future, can always pull a midseason(well before deadline) to get the mlb knocking on door 1B prospect from a contending team that needs an BP arm or 2 because of injury or dump sandy if locke and taillon up and performing. or get 1B prospect from rebuilding team looking for A+ level arms/OF.
4. we can always do 3 next fall or go right after the FA if we can strike first. altho would be a costly FA if we are willing to put that much in one position.

 

[element1286]

Unless i'm getting confused by all the research i've done on various players then ike davis is one of the few remaining targets that i approve of and that i could see as a potential starter rather than just a platoon player. His home ballpark has depressed his power a little bit and our ballpark (as well as a few of the other nl central parks) ought to boost it a bit.

Carp is a good guy to look at but the market for him is slightly more robust than the market for davis, as i understand.

Guts! | FanGraphs Baseball

For arguments sake, take a look at the park factors for PNC v Citi Field. I was surprised.

I can see a deal like Cumpton/Hughes for Davis+throw in and I think it's a win for both sides.

 

[Illinest]

Those numbers seem to me to make it harder to read. A single doesn't carry the same value as a homerun but it carries a lot more value than an out and singles happen a lot more often too, so while it's tempting to skip to the hr and doubles column i think that the singles column is likely to have the most weight in many player's OPS. If citi park allows ike davis 12 homeruns and a OPS of .730 but PNC allows 11 homeruns and an OPS of .760 then that could be in line with the figures given on that page.

 

[element1286]

Those numbers seem to me to make it harder to read. A single doesn't carry the same value as a homerun but it carries a lot more value than an out and singles happen a lot more often too, so while it's tempting to skip to the hr and doubles column i think that the singles column is likely to have the most weight in many player's OPS. If citi park allows ike davis 12 homeruns and a OPS of .730 but PNC allows 11 homeruns and an OPS of .760 then that could be in line with the figures given on that page.

Agree, he's already a decent OBP guy. But yea, it was a 'the more you know' type post. I know we have the short porch, but PNC is still a pitchers park from both sides of the plate, which surprised me.

 

[pixburgher66]

We played 5 months last year with no production at 1B and four months with no production in RF. I don't buy into the "run producing position" garbage. We get excess production from CF and 2B, over league averages. This year we may get league average production from SS, which would be an upgrade. So the lack of production from RF and 1B, well, I guess if we can get league average from one of the two I would be ok with that. Your feeling on my scenario would depend heavily on how you feel about Lambo, if you think last year was a career year, you probably don't like it. If you think it was actually his true talent finally manifesting, then you are probably ok with it. I peraonally think he is somewhere in between, he could hit 20-25 HR, but I don't think he hits .280 while doing so.

There are many things we could do, it is just that none of them really give me that warm fuzzy feeling.

Trust me, I agree with you. I added the " " because I'm not a big believer in the specific positions requiring specific types of bats. That said, I think we're lacking a bit in the power department. There's a few guys who could potentially have pop, but outside of Pedro none are sure deals. Cutch could add some more power, but we all know he's an average guy more than anything. I'd just like some insulation in the lineup, and the prototypical first basemen tends to provide that.

 

[thedddd]

Minor Moves: Witherspoon, Van Den Hurk, Pirates: MLB Rumors - MLBTradeRumors.com

As expected McPherson is back and I guess Ishikawa is the oh crap we don't have a first baseman...first baseman (ala Clement).

 

[thecrow124]

When are we going to get Lars Anderson on this team? He is the solution at first base......Lars Anderson.

 

[ramburgh]

Fans from every other team probably know the answer to this question, but as a Pirate fan, I don't know the answer.

If everything aligned and the Pirates brought in both Nelson Cruz and Kendrys Morales (or any two free agents that require losing a draft pick) would the Pirates lose one or two draft picks?

This is unlikely, but just wondered how it works.

 

[thecrow124]

Fans from every other team probably know the answer to this question, but as a Pirate fan, I don't know the answer.

If everything aligned and the Pirates brought in both Nelson Cruz and Kendrys Morales (or any two free agents that require losing a draft pick) would the Pirates lose one or two draft picks?

This is unlikely, but just wondered how it works.

They would lose their top 2 picks in the 2014 draft. I am not sure if they have a comp balance pick this year or not, if they do I am not sure if they lose that or their second round pick. In essence, if a team is going to lose picks, it makes sense to sign multiple FA's and take a one year draft mulligan.

That being said, I want no part of Morales and I am scared of Cruz. IMO Morales was dumb to not sign his QO. He might remain on the market until after the draft and then sign. I don't think any GM wants to give up a pick for him.

 

[steelparrot]

Pirates, Rangers Swap McGuiness, Mikolas: MLB Rumors - MLBTradeRumors.com

more insurance for 1st base, I bet Sanchez starts the year with a full time job.

 

[element1286]

At least they are stockpiling depth.

 

[Windingmywatch]

Pirates, Rangers Swap McGuiness, Mikolas: MLB Rumors - MLBTradeRumors.com

more insurance for 1st base, I bet Sanchez starts the year with a full time job.

McGuiness is hardly insurance. What would PIT offer TEX for Mitch Moreland?

 

[element1286]

McGuiness is hardly insurance. What would PIT offer TEX for Mitch Moreland?

Middle relief with years of control and a C prospect.

 

[thecrow124]

McGuiness is hardly insurance. What would PIT offer TEX for Mitch Moreland?

I can not begin to guess at what the Pirates would be willing to offer for Moreland, personally, I would not offer anything for him. It is only my opinion, but I feel Andrew Lambo is a superior talent and superior athlete, and will be a better baseball player than Moreland, so unless Texas would take a package built around Zack Von Rosenberg, I would not be interrested.

 

[element1286]

Pirates Sign Chris Dickerson: MLB Rumors - MLBTradeRumors.com

Dickerson is listed at 6-4 and 230, yet his main attributes as far as I can tell from his stat page is he can play all 3 OF spots effectively and is a good baserunner, strange player. Minor league deal, so good value too.