Pirates getting no bites on Melancon, Walker
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Pittsburgh Pirates make no secret that two of their key players can be had in trade.
Closer Mark Melancon and second baseman Neil Walker are both eligible for free agency at the end of next season and general manager Neal Huntington admitted Tuesday that neither player will be re-signed for 2017 or beyond.
However, the problem is that there doesn’t appear to be much of a market for either player, especially since each is expected to make at least $10 million next season through the salary arbitration process.
A number of executives and scouts from major league teams surveyed Tuesday on the condition of anonymity for competitive reasons during the second day of baseball’s Winter Meetings were lukewarm about Melancon and Walker. Of the two, most said they would prefer Melancon, who led the major leagues with 51 saves last season.
“He’s not a lockdown closer in a true sense because he doesn’t throw 100 mph but he has that cut fastball that disappears,” one executive said. “The problem is, there are better options on the trade market right now. And Walker is a solid big-league player but I’m not sold on him being a $10-million player.”
Two young closers on the market are the Philadelphia Phillies’ Ken Giles and Tampa Bay Rays’ Brad Boxberger, who led the American League with 41 saves this season.
Neither is even eligible for salary arbitration yet, meaning they will make close to the minimum salary of $507,500 next season. Furthermore, Boxberger won’t be eligible for free agency until following the 2019 season and Giles not until a year after that.
Teams would be willing to give up a bundle in a trade for a low-cost closer they would have under contract until the end of the decade but not so much for a costly one who would be gone at the end of next season.
The Houston Astros are the team most linked to Melancon in trade rumors. However, an Astros’ source described his team’s interest as “minimal.”
The market for Walker could start heating up now that Ben Zobrist signed as a free agent with the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday night.
The New York Mets were the runner-ups in the Zobrist sweepstakes and reportedly have a least some interest in Walker to play second base. The Pirates like Mets left-hander Jon Niese, who has one year and $10 million left on his contract that also includes club options of $10 million in 2017 and $11 million in 2018.
Niese, 29, was 9-10 with a 4.13 ERA in 33 games, including 29 starts, as the Mets won the NL pennant last season. He worked in relief during the postseason.