NewsNo Pirates eligible for free agency
GM Huntington expects to be aggressive in mid-tier market
By Jenifer Langosch / MLB.com
11/05/09 1:15 PM EST
PITTSBURGH -- With the 105th World Series in the books, a wave of players will now begin the process of filing for free agency. None, however, will be coming from Pittsburgh.Though the Pirates entered the 2009 season with six players sitting in position to be potential free agents at the end of the year, a flurry of midseason trades and roster moves sent each away before that even became an issue. Eric Hinske, Adam LaRoche, Jack Wilson, Freddy Sanchez and John Grabow were all traded within a month's span. The sixth player, Craig Monroe, was designated for assignment in June and then granted his release.
The fact that the Pirates won't have anyone filing for free agency during this 15-day period, which always begins the day after the World Series, does not mean that the organization won't keep a close eye on the list of players who do file.
While management has hesitated to publicly enumerate its plans for the offseason, general manager Neal Huntington has said that he expects to look more aggressively at filling holes via the free-agent market than he has in his first two years as GM.
Last winter, Huntington made just two free-agent signings, inking Ramon Vazquez to a two-year deal in December and then agreeing to a one-year contract with Hinske just weeks before the start of Spring Training. Huntington's activity after the 2007 season was also minimal, as backup infielder Chris Gomez represented the team's only signee.
"I think we're going to be a little bit more aggressive in exploring that mid-tier market this year," Huntington said. "Not making any promises, but we're going to explore it. Maybe there is a guy who can step in and help this club offensively. Maybe there is a guy who can step in and help us on the pitching staff. But again, we need to avoid the quick fix mentality that's failed so many times."
During this 15-day window, teams have exclusive negotiating rights with their own players and can re-sign them during that period. Therefore, any free-agent signings the Pirates make can't come until after Nov. 20.
While the Pirates' activity in the free-agent market might be only negligible this month, the club does have a number of other looming roster decisions to make in the next few weeks. Clubs must have their 40-man rosters set by Nov. 20 in order to protect players from being snagged in December's Rule 5 Draft.
Major League Baseball's Collective Bargaining Agreement states that teams have four years after signing a player 19 years or older before they must put them on the 40-man roster or else risk losing that player in the Rule 5 Draft. That means that players the Pirates drafted out of college in the 2006 First-Year Player Draft must be added this month to be protected.
Former first-round pick Brad Lincoln falls in this category and will certainly be added to the roster. Class A starter Bryan Morris was also drafted in '06 and would also need to be added to ensure being protected.
Players who were signed at 18 years or younger have a five-year window to play in the Minors before having to be added to the 40-man roster. This would affect outfielder Gorkys Hernandez, who was signed as a non-drafted free agent in 2005 and has played for the past five seasons. Expect him to be added to the roster.
Two other names to keep an eye on are infielders Shelby Ford and Jim Negrych. Both would be Rule 5 eligible if not protected, but both prospects took steps back this year and might both be left off the roster. Ford digressed in his first year at Triple-A to the point that he was demoted to Double-A in August. Negrych suffered an injury midseason that cut his year short.
Pittsburgh currently has 39 players on its 40-man roster, which means some roster shuffling is in order. In addition to adding the necessary prospects, the Pirates will also have to make room for Evan Meek and Jose Ascanio, both of whom are still listed on the 60-day disabled list.
Jenifer Langosch is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
