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As I alluded to in my most recent article, the Pittsburgh Pirates have been so terrible for so long that even when they want to bring in free agents that could potentially help reverse the team’s plight, the players don’t want to come here. It’s a Catch-22 of baseball boobery. As obvious as this seems, I doubt the Pirates actually expected this response; I believe they stubbornly assumed they could run a team however they liked, and then immediately flip a switch, and mid-range free agents would find Pittsburgh just as desirable as any other MLB franchise. Clearly not the case.
Image credit janeheller
Which brings us to the A.J. Burnett trainwreck that is unfolding before our eyes. For some unexplained reason, Burnett never included the Pirates as one of the teams on his “do not trade” list during his last contract extension with the Yankees. As I write this at 6AM on Sunday morning, Burnett is not yet a Pirate- the deal seems hung up on the Pirates’ unwillingness to part with platoon OF Garrett Jones. Regardless of whether Jones ends up in Pinstripes, at this point, my *guess* is that Burnett will be a Pirate by the start of Spring Training: The Yankees appear desperate to unload him and as much of his contract albatross as they can, while the Pirates suddenly seem desperate to add another SP, despite having all offseason to do so.
These negotiations uncomfortably showcase the overall failure of GM Neal Huntington and club President Frank Coonelly’s tenures, and baldly exemplify the team’s TOTAL lack of direction. Consider any of the following:
1. At the start of the offseason, the Pirates let SP Paul Maholm walk for absolutely nothing, refusing to pick up his $9.75MM contract option year, because they deemed it too expensive. Not only was the option year worth almost $7,000,000 less than what Burnett is making now per season, but the Pirates themselves agreed to the amount when they negotiated the original extension with Maholm!
2. Over the past 3 seasons, A.J. Burnett has the highest ERA in baseball among SP who have made at least 90 starts. He’s 35, making $16.5MM+ over each of the next 2 seasons, and has a well-documented attitude to boot. If these aren’t warning flags, I don’t know what are. This potentially could be worse than former GM Dave Littlefield’s Matt Morris mistake, which helped get the GM fired.
3. Maholm (105 ERA+) was by far the better pitcher last season, and is 5 years younger than Burnett (86 ERA+). For a team that’s supposed to be rebuilding with youth, Neal Huntington has spent his entire offseason acquiring guys well on the wrong side of 30.
Which brings me to the Pirates’ ”internal options.” Over the past 4 years, both Huntington and Coonelly have puffed their chests about building up the “depth” of the entire Pirates’ minor league system. They’ve made unpopular trades to build up this “depth”, and they’ve now had their hand in 4 full drafts to reinforce this “depth.” So where’s the depth?
4. The Pirates wasted $11,000,000 on 2 years of subpar, 33-year old SS Clint Barmes, because there were no internal options.
5. The Pirates wasted $4,000,000-7,500,000 (option year) on 36-year old C Rod Barajas, because there were no internal options.
6. The Pirates TRIED to pay 36-year old 1B Derrek Lee between $5,000,000-7,000,000, because they felt there were no internal options (although I personally would rather them simply give AAA 1B Matt Hague an audition than waste money on veterans). They’re now working out 36-yeard old 1B Dmitri Young for the same reason, despite 1B being the easiest position on the diamond to find young power bats. And by the way, Young hasn’t played a MLB game since 2008…so the Pirates have that going for them.
7. In Huntington’s only potentially good free agent acquisition of the offseaon, they signed 33-year old SP Erik Bedard, because there were no internal options. They continue to pursue A.J. Burnett because there are no internal options, despite Huntington and Coonelly always emphasizing the importance of building up starting pitching depth.
8. The remainder of their rotation as it now stands- Charlie Morton, Jeff Karstens, James McDonald, Kevin Correia- consists entirely of players brought in from other organizations via trade (Morton, Karstens, McDonald), or signed as free agents (Correia). Huntington has yet to have 1 starting pitcher he drafted pitch meaningful innings for the Pirates.
9. The same can be said for the Pirates’ bullpen. In fact, the only homegrown arm currently projected to come north with the team in spring- RP Tony Watson- was a Dave Littlefield draftee in 2007.
The two best bats the Pirates have; Image credit tumblr
10. And despite Littlefield being the worst GM in recent MLB history (though Huntington is surely giving him a run for his money), until Pedro Alvarez wakes up and slims down, the Pirates’ two best regulars- CF Andrew McCutchen and 2B Neil Walker- are both Dave Littlefield draftees.
11. Out of the players projected to start in the field for the Pirates, 3 are Littlefield draftees (OF Alex Presley), while only 1 was picked during Huntington’s tenure (Alvarez).
12. Despite their apparent willingness to spend MILLIONS on aging, unproductive veterans, the Pirates have spent the entire offseason blackballing star OF Andrew McCutchen on a contract extension, as I wrote about here and here and here and here.
This team is terribly managed. Despite allusions to the contrary, the Pirates have little to no depth in the upper levels of their minor league system. (In fact, the Bucs’ best upper level prospect- OF Starling Marte- was once again a Dave Littlefield draftee. For a GM regarded as a terrible talent evaluator, Neal Huntington sure does seem to have his hands full trying to match Littlefield’s “success.”)
Further, the club clearly makes moves that directly contradict their supposed direction. They’ve spent the offseason stocking the roster with old, declining veterans, yet gush frequently about the team’s youth movement. They let younger, productive players like Maholm and C Ryan Doumit walk for nothing, only to turn around and sign expensive retreads in their stead.
Some wonder whether the timing of this most recent indulgence (prior to Burnett, the Pirates attempted to give both Edwin Jackson and Roy Oswalt paydays in the $10,000,000 range, only to be rebuffed) came from Major League Baseball starting to put heat on the Nutting ownership for yet another league-low payroll. Obviously, it’s only speculation at this point, but the timing certainly is interesting.
Regardless, this team is a trainwreck, and we’re about to see the results of it for 6 months straight.
Thanks for reading?
Okay, it’s time I lay down the law in this comment thread, because some of you are ridiculous.
rutkap, the minors were no more “in ruins” than they are now. Huntington has yet to draft a SINGLE PLAYER that’s made a meaningful contribution at the MLB level, unless you count Pedro Alvarez 2 years ago. And yeah, we’ve got some good names at the lowest levels, but guess what? When your team is so terrible that you draft top 3-4 every year, you SHOULD. Huntington turned over nearly the entire MLB roster, and has next to nothing at A+, AA or AAA to show for it. That’s set the rebuild back significantly.
pittisit92, you are legit.
Buc Fan, I don’t see how that’s progress. I’m not going to give the Pirates props for “treading water” while the rest of the divsion gets worse. And I’m not even sure if we’re treading right now. This team’s taken a step back.
Hater, your “analysis” of AJ Burnett a) ignores the fact that he’s posted 5+ ERAs the past 2 years b) ignores the fact that a team in the Pirates’ position has no business picking up a highly-paid 35 year old in the twilight of his career and c) ignores the fact that if the Pirates REALLY had as much “depth” as we’re told, they wouldn’t need to resort to the AJ Burnetts, Kevin Correias, and Erik Bedards of the world.
Here’s the bottom line guys. If you want to come here and rail on an article, feel free. I love the fact that you’re reading and responding. But guess what? The pessimists have been right the last 19 years in a row, and with the implosion this offseason’s been, they have every right to feel that way again. Being overly optimistic for this team kills your credibility more than anything- it’s not going to be competitive.
This entire team regardless of the addition of burnett revolves around Pedro Alvarez. If he hits, we will be fine this year. If he has a season like last year
Huntington is nothing like Littlefield. When Neil took over, the minors were in ruins, and the major league roster was not built to win. Give him some time, 17 year olds generally take 5 years to make the majors… the talent is coming. Give it some time to mature.
This mgmt team is not in the same ball-park as Littlefield in terms of talent evaluation. Littlefield was average/below average but was able to bring high-end talent to the organization.
he had trouble building and running an organization that had already started to decline. Jason Bay and Bautista are two other players that Littlefield had on the roster that were sent packing with no return by this mgmt team. Huntington is abysmal at talent evaluation but seems okay at the organizational duties.
I disagree like many have already. Another reason why I disagree is look how much softer the NL Central is from a year ago. Many times as Pujols killed us with HRS, he is no longer around. Look at the one team that continues to dominate the Pirates in the Brewers, The Brewers will be withouth Prince and more than likely Braun for 50 games. Those 50 games could be a big swing for any NL Central team. So with adding Beddard and Burnett, the vets can help with the younger pitchers. Who would have thought Correria would have been a success? Give Clint a chance and I’m sure he will change AJ’s personality. New York is a harder place to play with the media and the stadium. Two problems that he won’t have to face.
I do agree that Cutch needs to be signed for a long term deal and stop with the blackballing! Pay the man!
This is perhaps the most reactionary and ill informed pieces I have ever
read. If you can simply subscribe to the basic theory that pitchers
can control only three things (K, BB, HR )you will see will see why Burnett is clearly a better option than the Pirates have had in a long time. Here is where we would dominate the Pirates rotation over the last 4 seasons:
Strike outs (2011/2010/2009/2008):
Pirates Leader: 142/102/119/139
Burnett: 173/145/195/231
Pirates IP leaders: 171.2/185.1/213/206
Burnett: 190/186.2/207/221.1
Pirates Leader K/B: 2.71/2.67/2.16/2.21
Burnett: 2.08/1.86/2.01/2.69*
(I know he loses but he’s right up there. Not his fault Karstens won’t throw a ball)
Get him out of AL East and new Yankee stadium and there is a good chance
that normalizes. Since exactly 0% of all groundballs end up as
homeruns, groundball percentage is an important predictor. Burnett has a career GB%
of 48.9, which is quite good. The K/GB potential of Burnett is really a
rare combination.
Here is a list of pitchers with between a 7.0-8.5 K/9 (Burnett’s lowest
mark and an realistic cap) and a greater than 46% GB%: Bumgarner,
Shields, Holland, Carpenter, Burnett, Wilson, Hernandez, Lester,
Halladay, Hamels, Garcia, Romero. I would certainly take any of those
pitchers for $7-$8M a year.
I’m not saying this is going to work out. It almost never does for the
Pirates but it is a completely rational decision. You have a much, much
greater upside over a guy like Maholm. With the Yanks paying a huge
chunk of his salary, he’ll be paid less than the option on Paul would
have.
If nothing else I would make a substantial bet that AJ would lead the
Pirates in IP and K’s if this deal gets done. It’s not something you
should write off because of a guy’s ERA. He has the skills. Once you
show a skill you own it. I think this holds true with AJ.
Further reading:
http://www.piratesprospects.com/2012/02/a-detailed-look-at-the-early-results-from-the-2008-draft.html
Why its a bad idea to judge this FO’s drafts.
http://www.bucsdugout.com/2012/2/6/2774388/its-not-too-early-to-judge-pedro-alvarez-other-pirates-picks
Why you can judge the drafts. But be careful.
Truth be told no team has had much beyond the first round from 2008 make an impact. Unfortunately for us thats Pedro. So that’s your only narrative.
I agree with the tenor of the article although there are some additional faulty facts. As noted about Burnett contract is for 33M or 16.5M per year over the next two years not 10M++ for 3 years. Maholm’s option was 1 year for 9.75M not 2 years. And Barajas’ option for next year is a team only option with no buyout. Also Barmes contract was 2 years for 10.5M not 11M.
I think its time to move on with your life’s work.
I will take the opposite side on this, I think Burnett can be successful in Pittsburgh. Its a big park, the division is not great anymore and the pirates defense should be improved. I think 15-10, 3.85 ERA is where he will end up. I do agree that we cannot attract top or even mid-level Free agents. Players talk, they view it as a business and when the Pirates do everythign they can to save money and screw players over by never honoring club options etc…that gets around. Players also, obviously want a chance to win, that isnt happening for at least 2 years and thats only if some of our prospects pan out. Until then fourth place or maybe even third and .500 is the BEST we can ever hope for….
Marte was signed out of the DR, not drafted. Point noted though.
I would like to add that burnett is not due 10+ over the next 3 years……..it’s 33 mill over 2 yrs. Burnett will probably go over to the pirates and be their ace, not one of pitts starts would make the yankees rotation.
Just a few fact checks:
a) The Pirates aren’t on Burnett’s no-trade list because his wife has a fear of flying and her home is in Maryland. All of his no-trade teams are West Coast teams so she doesn’t have to fly out there.
b) The deal isn’t hung up on the Pirates not wanting to trade Jones. He’s been off the table since the Yankees asked for him a few days ago. The Yankees have accepted that. It’s hung up on how much of the salary the Yankees will pick up and whether or not a prospect is going the other way.
c) This is nothing like the Matt Morris trade. Burnett is a former ace stuck in Yankee Stadium, where essentially every fly ball lefties hit end up as home runs. Not saying he’s still got ace talent, but his xFIP was nearly a whole run lower than his ERA last season. A move to Pittsburgh could do him wonders. Matt Morris was an attempt to add payroll from the beginning.
d) Re: Internal Options: Huntington hasn’t been at the helm for five years yet. How often do draftees outside of the first round make contributions at the major league level in their first four seasons after being drafted?
e) The Pirates would have had to pick up both of the oft-injured Doumit’s option years, instead signing a durable power bat to a less expensive contract.
Though they probably should have kept Maholm.
here we go again i said a couple weeks ago they should have signed maholm heres a guy who went out every 5th day and gave it every thing he had for the past several years and a good guy who doesnt have an attitude.it seemed to me that he was a hard luck pitcher.it just shows me that the pirate brass has no idea how to run a ball clib no wonder no body wants to come to the pirates i hope paul does well for the cubs i will be rooting for him.thats my opinion for today i guess everybody has one. chuck.
What did you do, assemble a bunch of internet facts and create a story? Or are you just one of the naysayers who are just used to complaining? The Bucs will have a winning record this year!
Check back in at the end of the season and we’ll talk. The chance of this assemblage of players having a winning season is about 2%. It’s worse than the team that finished 18 games under .500 last season.
Steelers Pirates…may I ask what makes you so optimistic? Please share because I have watched the championsip clubs here play and in my humble opinion, we are far, far away from contending in October. There’s no LUMBER on this club nor does there appear to be any clubhouse leadership. Not trying to be a wiseguy…but what do you see?
Oh, this was a serious article?
Same boat. I was expecting some sort of “lol jk I didn’t research anything before writing this” at the end. Never came.
This management is a cancer to MLB and a detriment. The management needs to be terminated and told by the Commisioner office to sale…there has been so many truned away that could have helped and hav better minds at the game. When MLB and the fans going to force the issue. It needs to start immediately.
Good article, but I agree with the whining.I am also a little frustrated too. Neal is just putting his stamp on the team with the trades and FA’s. I think we are slightly improved under his leadership. Therefore, he is a better GM than Littlefield.
I don’t think we are much improved with Bedard over Maholm. Seems like they are very similar left handers signed to very similar contracts. Just Hunington didn’t draft Paul. Would Maholm have been resigned if he was Neal’s draftee? AJ Burnett might do a little better in the national league. He would’ve made more sense if Cole and Tallion were ready. It would be a veteran mentor type situation. But with Jones off the table I know the Yanks want a decent pitching prospect and that maybe Locke or Owens. I hope they dont do that b/c of those two have upside that Burnett doesnt b/c of age.
But I do think Barmes over Cedeno and Barajas over Doumit are drastic improvments even though Barmes and Barajas are the most average players at SS and C. Cedeno and Doumit too inconsistient at the plate. Also Doumit defense sucked and he was always injured.
Anyways, I think he should forget about Burnett and McCutchen contract extended.
PGHdog,
Thanks for reading. However, if you don’t like inconsistency at the plate, you aren’t going to like Barmes and Barajas. Barmes is very similar to Ronny Cedeno in terms of OBP, while Barajas has a career sub-.300 OBP, which is almost unheard of. He’s just as much of a defensive liability as Doumit, but is far inferior at the plate.
Totally agree with the rest of your post though. Good stuff!
Bornin,
Thanks for reading, but I disagree with much of your assessment. You act like these “holes” are inherent, and are no fault of the Pirates. I’d agrue that after 4 years on the job, the Pirates shouldn’t have this many holes, as they’ve churned over their entire roster for “depth” and prospects.
Secondly, you’re assuming we get Burnett at $5MM/season. I’ll believe that when I see it, and even if we DO get that, it’s still a waste of money for a player of Burnett’s age and recent history.
Finally, if you ARE going to fill holes via FA, you at least need to do it the right way. These “solutions” are so consistently terrible that they waste millions, and are no upgrade over replacement-level players already in the system.
Granted… a significant portion of your whining is warrented. However, this isn’t a team ‘searching for direction’. As of last summer, everyone knew the bucs needed a SS, 1st baseman, and SPs. I’m not sure why you are shocked by the signings… these are directly related to holes management looked to fill last summer. And comparing Paul to Burnett isn’t a bad comparison, until you figure that the Bucs will get Burnett at half Paul’s preestablished contract price. Last fall, the bucs looked at the market and determined letting Paul go and getting another SP would be better value.
There is some credance to that. Edwin Jackson at 3 years, 30 Mil would have been better value. Burnett – either a successful starter that becomes very tradeable at only $5 mil owed per year – who’s numbers improve because he is in the NL and a less hitter friendly ball park, is not the worst option in the world.
I understand you need to whine to get people to read your stuff… but it sounds a little overboard here.