Have You Seen Vin Mazzaro?

Zimbio

I'm sorry to interrupt your twitter and Facebook feed but this is important.  Have any of you seen the man pictured above?  His name is Vin Mazzaro and he is a very effective reliever in the MLB.  He was last seen in Pittsburgh in May and we are now becoming concerned about his whereabouts.  If you have any information, please contact the Pittsburgh Pirates as soon as possible.

All kidding aside, it is like Vin Mazzaro is missing isn't it?  I mean he was one of the most effective relievers in the bullpen last season and now that the Pirates are struggling in the bullpen, he's in Triple A?  It really does not make sense at all.

It's not like Mazzaro is under performing in Indy either.  He has a 2.23 ERA in Triple A right now and a FIP of 3.67.  That really doesn't concern me.  Mazzaro pitched above his FIP last year too.  He is really helped by the Pirates' defense and that's why he pitches so well here.

Knowing this, I just continue to ask myself why Mazzaro is still pitching at that clip in Indy when it is obvious that he is a better option than Jeanmar Gomez, Justin Wilson and Ernesto Frieri. 

And as an aside, I want to point out that he would also be a better option than Jason Grilli and Bryan Morris if they were still here.  The facts are that both pitchers had zero confidence in Pittsburgh anymore.  They would still be their pathetic selves if they were in Pittsburgh.  Now back to Mazzaro.

And by writing this article I wanted to make you aware that he is still alive and in the system if you were wondering.  But although he is alive, I came to the conclusion that he must be missing or he would be in Pittsburgh.  So I'll ask again, have you seen Vin Mazzaro?

Pirates Fail At the Deadline (Again)

Tampa Bay.com

Tell me if you've heard this before, the Pirates make zero trades at the trade deadline.  If you're thinking that's the same thing that happened as last year, you would be correct.  And my reaction this year is the same as it was last year.  The Pirates failed.  I'm not sure if I'm more disappointed this year or last year.

Last year, the Pirates had more glaring holes last year and didn't make any moves so I guess it was last year but it's still disappointing today.  It's not disappointing that they didn't get David Price or because they didn't get Jon Lester.  No one expected us to get those guys.  We were just rumored to and I wrote more about that over on Rant Sports.  It's disappointing because the Pirates didn't fill their holes that are causing them to lose games and the teams around them did.

The team needed a relief pitcher for the seventh inning.  There is no one that is trustworthy beyond Tony Watson and Mark Melancon.  Justin Wilson blew the game last night.  Ernesto Frieri has blown several games.  Who are you going to trot out there now?  I guess those same guys so they can keep blowing games.

The team needed a right handed bat off of the bench.  They have the worst offense in the national league against left handed hitters.  Unless you plan on calling up Jose Tabata again, that's not going to change.  So I guess we will send out the same old lineup that will continue to not hit lefties.

And on top of that, other teams in the central upgraded.  The Cardinals upgraded their rotation with John Lackey.  The Brewers upgraded their offense with Gerardo Parra.  The Pirates upgraded nothing.  I'm not sure how we can expect the Pirates to still outplay both of these teams.  Well, I think the Brewers are going to fall out of contention, but the Cardinals aren't.  They got better and opened up a spot for their own version of Gregory Polanco.  Can we beat that team?  Only time will tell.

I'm hoping that the Pirates will be able to do something in July again like they did last year, but it is just really hard to defend the team when there were some pretty good buyer trades today on the market.  Especially, with players the Pirates could have used, such as Emilio Bonifacio and James Russell going to the Braves.  I believe in this management team and I believe in the Pirates but this is a big, big blow for anyone's confidence in the Pirates.

Pirates Trade Rumors: David Price

CBS Sports

I have no tweet for this but last night, JP Morosi said that the favorites for Price would be the losers of the Lester sweepstakes and mentioned the Pirates by name.

Price is probably the second best pitcher in the game and it would take a king's ransom to pry him from the red hot Rays.  But here's something to consider.  The Rays have been hot but they have virtually gained zero ground in that time.  The Rays' ears are apparently still open and the Rays have been scouting the Pirates farm system a ton recently so this isn't completely out of the realm of possibility.

This would obviously require at least two top five prospects, hopefully Josh Bell and Nick Kingham, and I don't think the Pirates would make a trade like that.  But the idea of giving up prospects now and then flipping Price in the offseason for more prospects could be something that intrigues the Pirates.

More updates will come if there are more solid reports about Price to the Pirates.

UPDATE: Joel Sherman has just said on MLB Network that Price is likely to be traded with the Mariners and Pirates as possibilities.  More hopefully to com.

UPDATE: Ken Rosenthal named the Pirates as a possible destination for Price along with the Dodgers.

UPDATE: Jon Heyman mentions the Pirates as a possible front runner for Price.

UPDATE: Now Rob Biertempfel believes we ARE IN on David Price.  This is getting very serious.

UPDATE: Rob Rossi reports on 93.7 The Fan that the Pirates are in on David Price and they are discussing players that are on the roster.

UPDATE: Many reports are saying a three team trade is involved with Price.

Pirates Trade Rumors: Emilio Bonifacio

Zimbio

Another rumor has come across the wire.  The Pirates are apparently interested in super utility man Emilio Bonifacio and the Cubs' relievers.

#Cubs feel will deal Bonifacio #Pirates #Reds #Orioles #Royals #Mariners all have inquired. Cubs also could move LHR Russell/Wright
— Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) July 31, 2014

Bonifacio doesn't seem like someone the Pirates could use but he actually is a perfect fit.  The Pirates need a right-handed bat off of the bench and to possibly platoon with Polanco.  Bonifacio has an OPS of 1.024 against lefties this year.  That's very good.  Bonifacio could also take the Josh Harrison role since it looks like Harrison is now the starting third baseman.

The Pirates could also use the Cubs' lefty reliever Wesley Wright.  He is having a good year and could be a nice middle inning relief option for the Pirates.  Wright is a bit of a lefty specialist but he could come cheap.

More updates as the rumors keep coming

Pirates Trade Rumors: John Lackey

Boston Herald

This is a busy busy day for me.  I'm trying to keep track of all of the rumors and write my thoughts for you.  Today's first rumor is that John Lackey is drawing the Pirates' interest.

#Pirates also looking at John Lackey
— Danny Demilio (@MLBDemilio) July 31, 2014

Lackey is having a great year with a 7.6 K/9, 2.1 BB/9 and an ERA of 3.60.  His xFIP is also 3.35 so that even stands to improve.  Lackey also has a good playoff record and could anchor a Pirates' rotation in a playoff run.

The thing that makes Lackey really interesting is that he has a team option for league minimum next year.  He obviously doesn't want to pitch for that so the team that acquires him could re-work his deal to maybe add an extra year and he could be something like an AJ Burnett here but with better stats.  But worst case, we could exercise that option.

The price for Lackey would be steep but if it's something centered around maybe Nick Kingham, I'd be interested.  More news coming as the rumors develop.

UPDATE: John Lackey has been traded to the St. Louis Cardinals.  I think the Pirates definitely need to respond now with a starting pitcher.

It's Time for the Pirates to go All-In

BoSoxInjection.com

Well I didn't want to write about Jon Lester but I'm going to now.  The Pirates are seen as the favorites to get Jon Lester now and this shocks me.  I'm not going to embed tweets because I'm typing like a maniac and Lester could be traded literally any second.  But the Pirates are actually serious suitors for Lester and I'm all for it.

I'm not going to look up his stats because we all know he's ridiculously good.  He's not even human in the playoffs, he just obliterates everything and everyone.  The question that everyone is asking is what the price is going to be for a rental like Lester.  The answer is steep.

Lester is one of the best pitchers in the league and even a rental version of that is going to require top prospects.  And by that I mean that I mean some combo of Josh Bell, Nick Kingham and Alen Hanson plus more.  Sound steep?  Well guess what.  They should do it.

Look at all of those prospects.  Are they really going to break the future?  Are any of those prospects really impact prospects for the Pirates?  The answer is no.  Bell is blocked by the outfield of the future.  Yes, he could move to first base but how do you know he's going to succeed there?  Nick Kingham is a #3 starter at best.  We have plenty of those in the system.  Alen Hanson has been suspended by the Curve multiple times this season.  Do any of these guys have a huge impact for the Pirates?  No they just don't.

So why can't we trade these prospects?  There is no acceptable answer for that.  Trading prospects is an inexact science.  The Phillies traded 3 top prospects for Cliff Lee and none of those prospects made a big impact in the show.  But then the Brewers traded similar top prospects for Zack Greinke and those players are now leading the Royals into playoff contention.  It's risky but it's a risk the Pirates have to take.

You have a farm system for two reasons.  To develop prospects to contribute for you and to trade prospects to acquire talent that can contribute for you.  It's time for the Pirates to do the latter and start parting with prospects.  They have the best farm system in baseball and trading some prospects is not jeopardizing the future.  The future is now.  It's time to put on the big boy pants and make a big deal to help the present team.  And I hope that's what NH does today.  Only time will tell.

Trade Profiles: Tony Sipp

MLB.Astros.com

Well there were no real big rumors for the Pirates yesterday so if there aren't today or tomorrow this will be my final trade profile before the trade deadline.  And it's on a non interesting name but definitely an interesting target.  Tony Sipp started the season in the Padres farm system on a minor league contract.  He opted out and signed with the Astros where he has been dominant.  Although the Pirates haven't been linked to him I think they are asking about him.

The first cool thing with Sipp, he is a former 45th round pick!  Nobody drafted that low is supposed to make it this far.  I just thought that was pretty awesome.  Anyway, back to the real stats, Sipp is a lefty reliever with a K/9 of 12.22, BB/9 of 2.56, WHIP of 0.82, and ERA of 2.27.  His ERA should stay around there with his FIP and xFIP of 2.50 and 2.39.

Sipp also has other perks.  Because he was signed as a minor league free agent and then to the majors, his salary is pretty low.  His prospect cost should be low too since the Astros signed him for basically nothing.  Sipp also does not have any extreme splits so he is not a lefty specialist and Clint Hurdle can't misuse him.

On to the bad.  There isn't much.  He's only 31 so he's not ridiculously old.  Not a big injury past.  But there's a reason Sipp started the year in Triple A.  He's been unstable with ERAs over four the past three seasons.  You could say Sipp is a one year wonder and could revert back to his bad pitching at any time but his advanced metrics don't suggest it.

Overall, if there's any reliever on the market that the Pirates can get for cheap and still be a great late inning option, it's Sipp.  No one is talking about him and he strikes out a ton of guys.  That's exactly what the Pirates need in this market.  I would not be surprised if Neal Huntington throws feelers everywhere and then comes back to Sipp because he is the best value.  I think there is a high possibility that Sipp is a Pirate by the 31st.