Just going to throw a few stories out there quick.
World Baseball Classic rosters have been announced and eight Pirates players have made rosters.
Ivan De Jesus, Jr. , INF – Puerto Rico
Jason Grilli, P – Italy
Chris Leroux, P – Canada
Russell Martin, C – Canada
Wandy Rodriguez, P – Dominican Republic
Ali Solis, C – Mexico
Jameson Taillon, P – Canada
Stefan Welch, INF – Australia
Four of them are unlikely to see time with the Pirates this year.
Grilli will play for team Italy despite the fact that he isn’t from there, nor are his parents. Jameson Taillon actually does have dual citizenship as his parents are Canadian, which is why the Texan will be playing for Canada.
I hate all the pitchers the Pirates are sending. In 2011 11 Major League pitchers started two or more games in the World Baseball Classic, seven of them ended up on the Disabled List. Just one pitcher threw 200+ innings that season. If Jason Grilli and Wandy Rodriguez both ended up missing a chunk of time that would go a long way in torpedoing the Pirates season. I’m glad Andrew McCutchen turned them down.
Sticking with baseball, the Pirates have reached an agreement with Gaby Sanchez on a one year, $1.75 million dollar deal, avoiding arbitration.
The base salary is nothing major honestly, and it’s reported this is an incentive laden deal, which is a great way to do these types of signings.
Sanchez will probably be a platoon partner for Jones and plays decent defense. He has been a solid every day player before so if he earns those incentives it actually bodes very well for the Pirates since they are probably based on the amount he plays.
This is exactly how you should take risks on bounce back guys. Low dollars, incentives, etc..
Yesterday the Penguins placed D Brian Strait on waivers, trying to send him to the Baby Pens in Wilkes-Barre. They failed. Today the New York Islanders claimed Strait off waivers so he will be joining them. I actually like Strait a lot. While I’m not a huge fan of the +/- stat I think when you have extremes like Strait did (+22 twice in three years) that says something about your game. Strait is a solid, shut down type player that every team needs. A superstar? No. Great depth though. He also has more upside than a guy like Ben Lovejoy.
