Pirates sign Alvarez for $6M

It became official at 11:59pm last night, immediately making Alvarez the Bucs top prospect. Give credit to Huntington, who has gone down a very different path than Littlefield, with help from Nutting, and has signed 30 of the picks this year. Combine that with the 8 players brought in by trade and he has done a very good job of restocking a depleted farm system with talent including some very high level talent.

Here are the links:
Perrotto at the Beaver County Times
DK on the PBC Blog
The Trib

In case you don't know what all the excitement is about, Wilbur Miller has already updated his page on Alvarez.

And let's not forget to give credit where it's due: Rocco was calling the signing all night and despite a little hedging, stuck with his guns, though his source was wrong on Scheppers.

But the first place to call the signing was TIOPS, who despite some who think it isn't reliable, has proven that it has high level sources. They called it and got the money almost exactly right at 12:26:

12:26 a.m. $6.35 signing bonus for Alvarez? stay tuned.

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Theinsideronpittsburgh.com is repoirting that the signing is a done deal:

10:30 p.m. Done deal - MLB contract. working for confirmation on the numbers

If so, and if Scheppers signs or not, that would cap a very impressive draft and signings for the Bucs.

11:03 - DK says definitely NO deal yet.

Rocco Demaio on 104.7 on the Bucs post game is saying that the deal is done and will be announced shortly before midnight.

2 More Years

For all the excitement that comes with a new arena, and groundbreaking is a sure sign that it's on its way, I for one will be sad to see the old Igloo go. Just as seeing Three Rivers brought down was a passing of an era, not seeing the big steel dome in any shots of downtown, particularly aerial shots, will be jarring.

I've spent many nights in the Igloo, enjoyable and heartbreaking, but that's a list for a future time.

For now, let's focus on the one thing that the Igloo hasn't had but needs before it's gone to make it a truly legendary arena: the passing of the Cup from one Penguin to another.

The two Cup wins were on the road and this spring we saw the chalice skated around the Igloo in the hands of the Red Wings. So while the Igloo will always be able to claim at least one Cup celebration, to truly be an unforgettable barn, the home team needs to be the team celebrating.

There are two seasons left to make it happen and given the state and prospects of the Pens currently, it is very possible that it could happen. And maybe not once, but twice. There is nothing else I'd rather see in the next 2 years.

Let's Go Pens!!

From the Pens website:
Government Officials, Penguins Break Ground on New Multi-Purpose Arena

The ceremonial groundbreaking took place on the future site of “center ice” in t he new state-of-the-art facility, which is being built across the street from Mellon Arena between Centre and Fifth avenues.

“This facility will not only be home to the Pittsburgh Penguins for years to come, but it will also serve as an entertainment centerpiece and economic generator for our entire region,” said Onorato. “We expect the multi-purpose arena to attract world-class concerts, family shows and other events to Southwestern Pennsylvania year round.”

Info on New Buccos

Minor League Prospect Guru Wilbur Miller has updated his site with the stats and analysis of each of the new Bucs acquired in the recent trades. Here are some interesting tidbits:

Jose Tabata

He was considered to have five tool potential, with good speed, a very good bat with the potential to hit for power, and a slightly above average arm for right field. His showing in low A was very impressive for a 17-year-old and left him high up on most prospect lists. Since then, however, doubts have started to accumulate...He finally had the hamate bone removed in August [2007]...hamate surgery can sap a hitter's power for half a year or more...His speed has decreased, too, as his lower body has gotten heavier, which also happened with Jose Castillo.

Brandon Moss

Moss has generally been a good but not outstanding hitter in the minors. He's had good walk totals, but strikes out a lot, especially for a guy who's shown gap more than HR power. Moss has below average speed but plays well enough in the corners and has a strong arm.

Andy LaRoche

For the last five years, Baseball America has ranked him in the top ten prospects in a strong Dodgers' system, including either first or second in each of the last three years. His stock seems to have slipped, however, although it's not entirely clear why...His lack of power this year almost certainly is the result of a thumb injury he suffered in spring training, which required surgery to repair a ligament...there remain concerns that he won't hit for power...Although he was originally a middle infielder, he's probably average or below defensively at third now.

Craig Hansen

When the Red Sox drafted Hansen, he featured a mid-90s fastball and a great slider. The slider deserted him immediately upon his turning pro. He's also had significant problems commanding his fastball. Hansen may have contributed to the problems himself by tinkering often with his mechanics...After coming up to the majors, though, he resumed the control problems. If there's a good sign, it's that the walks have been most of the problem. He's been hard to hit and his K rate has been decent.

Jeff Karstens

Karstens is a finesse pitcher whose velocity doesn't get much above the mid-80s...He profiles as a 5th starter or long reliever.

Ross Ohlendorf

Once he started pitching in relief, his velocity improved to 94 and occasionally better. He's always struggled with LH hitters due to the lack of a useful changeup...history suggests he's most likely to end up as a middle reliever.

Daniel McCutchen

McCutchen started his pro career with a 50-game banned-substance suspension. He blamed it on a prescription drug he took for Attention Deficit Disorder in college and the Yankees reportedly believed him...a very aggressive pitcher who throws a four-seam fastball in the low 90s and a two-seamer slightly slower than that, with his best pitch being a curve. He also throws an improving changeup...BA ranked him the 14th best prospect in a pitching-rich system going into 2008 and he probably hasn't hurt his stock any...he's likely to appear in the Pirates' rotation in the near future.

Bryan Morris

the youngest of the four players they got in the deal and may have the highest ceiling. Morris had Tommy John surgery that caused him to miss all of 2007. He had pitched well in 2008 up through the time of the trade, though, with his fastball reaching as high as 95. He has an above-average curve and is working on a changeup. Baseball America projects him to be a potential 3rd starter.

Bay Traded: What Are They Saying?

Trying to dig beneath the mountain of blather about Manny and the Dodgers and Red Sox and get to what people think of this deal from the Pirates perspective:

• Baseball Prospectus give Neal Huntington good grades:

LaRoche becomes the best truly young player the Pirates have, and with Andrew McCutchen on his way up and Pedro Alvarez entering the system, you can see what might comprise a championship-caliber core in three or four years. The Pirates now have players who may become stars, and stars win championships...If you throw out the three prospects, Bay for LaRoche is still a fair haul for the Pirates. They trade Bay at his peak, coming off of an injury, with just 800 PAs or so to free agency. LaRoche will be theirs through 2013, he plays a more important position, and he is just coming into his prime...Five-plus years of LaRoche is a better option than one-plus years of Bay, which is a better option than two months of Manny Ramirez with an option on future services.

• Jayson Stark at ESPN counts the Bucs as losers but does have this to say:

At least this year went a heck of a lot better than last year's Deadline Day (when they swooped in to trade for the disaster that was Matt Morris, who will be collecting the last two months of the $13 million the Pirates owed him on a beach someplace).

• Steve Henson at Yahoo doesn't give too much thought to things but likes the Bucs' moves.

• Danny Knobler at sportsline.com likes the Bucco Bounty.

• Someone at the PG needed to jump in and bash the Bucs, maybe Smizik and Cook were in Latrobe because this time it's Collier.

• Where Have You Gone Andy van Slyke vigorously defends the deal:

In the end, the return that we pulled for Bay was better than any single one of the rumors I've read online in the past two days. Andy LaRoche is real hitting prospect that was stuck in an awful situation in LA... Bryan Morris is a great buy low pickup. He's a very promising pitcher in A-ball...He's the type of pitching prospect this organization doesn't have and desperately needs. Moss's minor league numbers kind of remind me of Steve Pearce's, possibly with less power but more consistency... Hansen has electric stuff and hasn't put it together for the Sox...Seeing as he's probably the player I'm the least excited about in this trade, I think that makes it a very nice haul for Bay.

Bucs 2011 lineup?

C: Doumit
1B: Alvarez
2B: Sanchez
SS: Bixler (Luis Cruz?)
3B: Adam LaRoche
LF: Tabata/Moss/Pearce
CF: McCutchen
RF: McLouth

3 guys who were on the roster at the beginning of the month.
2 from the Bucs minors, assuming Bixler is the SS and I have serious questions about that position in particular.
2 positions filled by guys acquired in the last week. I'm not sure if Tabata would be up by then since he's still only 19, but maybe a lefty/righty platoon of Moss and Pearce could fill in.
And 1 very big guy who is currently not in the system but should be soon, better be soon - Pedro Alvarez. If nothing else, the recent deals by the Bucs make signing Alvarez imperative and they should be focused on nothing else over the next two weeks.

Rotation:
Snell, Gorzellanny, Bryan Morris, Brad Lincoln, Daniel McCutchen

Bullpen:
Capps, Hansen, Ohlendorf, Herera, Jeff Karstens, Moskos?

The pitching will change a lot so this projection will be way off, but of note is that the pitching in the organization is still thin and Snell and Gorzo rebounding are still crucial. Who knows about the bullpen but at least those guys throw hard.

Missing:
Jumpin Jack Wilson - will be dealt, hopefully sometime before the end of 2009
Neil Walker - .235 at AAA for a 3Bman doesn't cut it.
Adam LaRoche - say bye after 2009
Jose Bautista - gone asap hopefully
Zach Duke - how did 2005 ever happen?
Grabow - too valuable to be kept around, he could bring a lot in return