Pittsburgh Pirates Offseason Tracker: Hottest Free Agency News, Trade Rumors
The Pittsburgh Pirates have made the playoffs in back-to-back seasons, and now they face an important offseason.
Some of the team's most important players are set to hit the market this winter. Catcher Russell Martin has been a big part of the team's turnaround and is no longer under contract. Two pitchers who have gotten their careers back on track in Pittsburgh, Francisco Liriano and Edinson Volquez, are also free agents.
Pittsburgh doesn't typically hand out big free-agent deals, but if it wants to keep some of its own free agents, it may have to.
Stay tuned throughout the offseason to see what is going on with the Pirates.
*All stats are via MLB.com
Done Deals
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Done Deals
Nov. 11: Traded RHP Shane Carle to the Colorado Rockies in exchange for RHP Rob Scahill
Nov. 12: Traded LHP Justin Wilson to the New York Yankees in exchange for C Francisco Cervelli
Nov. 14: Signed RHP A.J. Burnett to a one-year, $8.5 million deal
Nov. 21: Signed RHP Radhames Liz
Nov. 23: Traded 1B Ike Davis to the Oakland Athletics in exchange for international slot money
Dec. 1: Acquired UT Sean Rodriguez from the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for player to be named later and cash
Dec. 8: Claimed RHP Josh Lindblom from the Oakland Athletics
Dec. 9: Re-signed LHP Francisco Liriano to a three-year, $39 million deal
Dec. 10: Acquired LHP Antonio Bastardo from the Philadelphia Phillies in exchange for LHP Joely Rodriguez
Dec. 19: Signed 1B Corey Hart to a one-year, $2.5 million deal (with $2.5 million in incentives)
Pirates Free Agents
Nov. 17: C Russell Martin signed a five-year, $82 million deal with the Toronto Blue Jays
Dec. 17: RHP Edinson Volquez signed a two-year, $20 million deal with the Kansas City Royals
Dec. 17: Edinson Volquez Signs a 2-Year Deal with Royals
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Edinson Volquez got the contract that he wanted, it just wasn't with the Pirates.
The Kansas City Royals have signed Volquez to a two-year, $20 million deal, according to CBS Sports' Jon Heyman.
After being rewarded for taking a chance on Francisco Liriano, the Pirates gave Volquez a chance to turn his career around as well. For the most part, it turned out to be a solid signing.
The right-hander went 13-7 with a 3.04 ERA in 32 games (31 starts) this season. He had a strong regular season, but if he does not return, Pittsburgh fans will remember him for getting rocked in the National League Wild Card Game.
Near the end of the season, Volquez said, per TribLive.com's Rob Biertempfel, that he'd like to return. However, that did not end up happening.
Dec. 10: Acquired LHP Antonio Bastardo from Phillies
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The Pittsburgh Pirates have acquired left-handed reliever Antonio Bastardo from the Philadelphia Phillies, according to CBS Sports' Jon Heyman. Per Joel Sherman of the New York Post, the Phillies will receive left-handed pitcher Joely Rodriguez in return.
The 29-year-old went 5-7 with a 3.94 ERA and a 1.203 WHIP in 2014. He struck out 81 batter in 64 innings.
Bastardo has a career 3.72 ERA and a 1.212 WHIP in 275 appearances in six seasons with the Phillies. The southpaw has held left-handed hitters to a .185 average and right-handers to a .211 average.
Pittsburgh had hoped to add a left-hander to the bullpen for next season. The Pirates were able to get one of the top southpaws available, so the bullpen certainly improved with this move.
Bastardo is eligible for arbitration for the third time this offseason.
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Dec. 9: Pirates Re-Sign LHP Francisco Liriano to 3-Year Deal
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The Pirates have reached a deal with left-handed pitcher Francisco Liriano, according to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. Heyman reported that the deal is for three years and $39 million.
Pittsburgh took a chance on Liriano before the 2013 season and has been rewarded for giving him a shot.
The southpaw went 23-18 with a 3.20 ERA in 55 starts with the Pirates. Considering he had not finished a season with an earned run average below 5.00 since the 2010 season before joining the Pirates, the team got its money's worth—$9 million over the past two seasons.
Pittsburgh had extended a $15.3-million qualifying offer to the veteran pitcher earlier this offseason, but he rejected it and decided to test the market.
Liriano has been inconsistent throughout his career in the majors. However, he has put up good numbers in consecutive seasons for the first time in his career. That fact should help him get a nice deal this winter.
Nov. 17: Russell Martin Signs with Toronto Blue Jays
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Update: Monday, Nov. 17 at 12:10 p.m. ET
Russell Martin has signed with the Toronto Blue Jays, according to CBS Sports' Jon Heyman. Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports reported that Martin's deal is worth $82 million over five years.
--End of Update--
Update: Sunday, Nov. 16 at 8:23 p.m. ET
According to Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal, baseball executives believe that the Chicago Cubs are viewed as the favorites to land Martin. A contract for the veteran catcher is expected to be in the range of four years and $64 million.
--End of Update--
Update from Sunday, Nov. 9 at 11:08 p.m. ET
CBS Sports' Jon Heyman reported that Russell Martin will officially reject the Pirates' qualifying offer by Monday's deadline.
Along with the Pirates, the Chicago Cubs, the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Toronto Blue Jays have all shown interest in the catcher. Heyman also reported that the Seattle Mariners may be interested in Martin.
--End of Update--
Update from Tuesday, Nov. 4
The Chicago Cubs have some money to spend this offseason, and CBS Sports' Jon Heyman reported that the Cubs are interested in Russell Martin.
--End of Update--
Update from Monday, Nov. 3
Per the Pirates' official Twitter account, the team has extended a $15.3 million qualifying offer to catcher Russell Martin. The catcher has until Nov. 10 to accept or decline the offer.
--End of Update--
Who knows where the Pirates would have been the past two seasons without Russell Martin.
The veteran catcher signed a two-year deal with Pittsburgh after the 2012 season. He hit .256 with 26 home runs and 41 doubles in two seasons with the club. As impactful as his bat was, his presence behind the plate made an even bigger difference.
Martin hit .290 with 11 home runs and 20 doubles this season. On defense, he was a finalist for the National League catcher Gold Glove award in 2014.
Now, the 31-year-old will be the top catcher on the market. That means there's a chance another team will be willing to spend to sign him.
CBS Sports' Jon Heyman reported in early October that Martin rejected an extension offer from the Pirates during the season. That may be a bad sign for the club.
Pirates general manager Neal Huntington has said, per Travis Sawchik of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, that the club will be willing to “stretch beyond our normal comfort zone” in order to try to sign the catcher. However, given his terrific season, Martin may be out of the Pirates' price range.
Nov. 14: Signed RHP A.J. Burnett to a 1-Year Deal
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A.J. Burnett is returning to Pittsburgh.
Via the Pirates' Twitter account, Burnett signed a one-year deal to return to the team. CBS Sports' Jon Heyman reported that the deal is worth $8.5 million.
He had a $12.75 million player option for 2015 with the Philadelphia Phillies but declined it so he didn't have to go through a rebuilding phase.
The 37-year-old went 8-18 with a 4.59 ERA in 34 starts this past season. After contemplating retirement, he decided to pitch for the Phillies this past year. Now, he will be pitching for a club in which he got his career back on track with.
From 2012-13, Burnett anchored the Pirates' rotation. He went 26-21 with a 3.41 ERA in 61 starts during his first stint with Pittsburgh. He threw 202.1 innings in 2012 and 191 innings in 2013.
Burnett has pitched 16 seasons in the majors, pitching for five different teams in his career. For season No. 17, he will be returning to PNC Park.
Nov. 12: Acquired C Francisco Cervelli from the Yankees
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The Pirates announced on Twitter that they have acquired catcher Francisco Cervelli from the New York Yankees in exchange for left-handed pitcher Justin Wilson.
Cervelli hit .301 (44-for-146) with two home runs and 11 doubles in 49 games with the Yankees. He has a career slash line of .278/.348/.381 over seven seasons.
The 28-year-old has spent time in the majors in each season since 2008, but he hasn't had a ton of playing time. He has appeared in more than 50 games just once in his career, topping out at 93 games.
Pittsburgh doesn't know if Russell Martin will be back with the team, so it brought in a veteran catcher just in case. Cervelli is a cheap option who can get some hits. Losing Martin would be tough, but the is trying to soften the blow by addressing the position ahead of time.
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