Pirates would’ve been happier with Happ
The Toronto Blue Jays’ signing of J.A. Happ represents bad news on two front for the Pirates.
The Pirates had made re-signing the left-hander a priority this offseason. They were hoping Happ could serve as their No. 3 starter behind right-hander Gerrit Cole and lefty Francisco Liriano in their rotation following the retirement of A.J. Burnett.
At the moment, Charlie Morton and lefty Jeff Locke are the third and fourth starters while the fifth slot would be wide open. That doesn’t engender confidence for an organization looking to get to the postseason for a fourth straight season in 2016.
It was also a bad sign for the Pirates that Happ was able to get a three-year, $36-million contract on the free agent market. That nearly matched the three years and $39 million the Pirates spent to re-sign Liriano last winter.
Happ’s 7-2 record and 1.85 ERA in 11 starts for the Pirates after being acquired from the Seattle Mariners in a trade on July 31 aside, he is not in the same category as Lirinao.
Thus, if the Pirates want to add a mid-rotation starter through free agency, it is likely going to cost more than they were originally prepared to spend, even with the payroll likely to be in the $100 million-$110 million next season, which would be a club record.
The Pirates have closer Mark Melancon, first baseman Pedro Alvarez and second baseman Neil Walker on the trading block in advance of Wednesday’ deadline for tendering contracts to players eligible for salary arbitration.
Melancon and Walker figure to have salaries of at least $10 million next season through the arbitration process and Alvarez is likely to get $8 million.
Furthermore, all three are eligible for free agency at the end of next season. The Pirates have no interest in entering into a long-term contract with any of those players.
Pirates general manager Neal Huntington says he can fit all three players into the payroll. However, it is hard to see the Pirates keeping all three at a total cost of around $28 million as they already have $50.5 million committed to seven players for 2016.
A number of teams have inquired about Melancon, who led the major leagues with 51 saves in 53 opportunities this year.
The Houston Astros have showed the most interest but the Pirates have been shot done in their attempts to get 22-year-old right-hander Lance McCullers included in a deal. A more realistic target might be left-hander Brett Oberholtzer, who is 26 and under club control for five more seasons.
The Baltimore Orioles expressed interest in Walker as a first baseman earlier in the month. Both World Series teams — the Kansas City Royals and New York Mets — and the Los Angeles Angels are also intrigued in Walker as a short-term solution at second base.
Though Walker has played almost exclusively at second base in the major leagues, the Pirates are marketing him to other teams as a potential super utility player. He was drafted as a catcher out of Pine-Richland High School but was moved to third base before eventually settling in as a second baseman.
While the Mets won’t give up any of their stable of top young starting pitchers that led them to the National League pennant, right-hander Rafael Montero is said to be of interest to the Pirates.
The Pirates are getting almost no hits on Alvarez and he could very well not be tendered a contract, allowing him to become a free agent without compensation.