The Pittsburgh Pirates did not make any moves on the first day of the annual MLB Winter Meetings.
That is not to say that they did not find themselves at the center of more than a few substantial rumors.
Starting with their most glaring need, the Pirates were reportedly in talks with the agent for free agent starting pitcher Scott Kazmir. Kazmir is a left-handed veteran with 11 years of experience despite being only 31 years old. He carries a career 98-90 win-loss record by way of a 3.96 ERA.
Kazmir is an interesting case for the Pirates. He is an established starting pitcher but also has some rough edges that could benefit from the team’s reputation for smoothing over those edges. Kazmir has a varied pitch selection, including a slider and cutter. Those weapons make him a more attractive target to the Pirates, who value pitches with movement as part of their run-prevention philosophy.
The more surprising and substantial rumor to come out of the winter meetings’ first day centered around a possible trade Texas Rangers first baseman Mitch Moreland.
Moreland had a solid season with the Rangers in 2015, posting a .812 OPS to go along with 23 home runs and 85 RBI. He provides very good defense at first and comes at a value price with a projected $5.6 million salary. A potential move for Moreland would be seen as purely a stopgap play until first base prospect Josh Bell is ready to take over the position. Moreland has but one year of control, but can be had at a great value.
The trade-talk that has swirled around Moreland the Pirates has included catching prospect Elias Diaz. Diaz, recently named the best minor-league catcher for 2015 by Baseball America, is well regarded as a stellar defensive catcher. Though his bat is still developing, Diaz is major-league ready but has been blocked by Francisco Cervelli and Chris Stewart. With Cervelli and Stewart likely to return to the team for 2016 and prized catching prospect Reese McGuire expected to arrive in 2017, Diaz should carry considerable trade value.
Reports have surfaced that if a deal is to be reached, the Rangers would ask for a starting pitcher in return. With Charlie Morton’s name being included in these talks, a third team is reportedly being sought to help facilitate the deal by sending the Pirates a starting pitcher in return.
Although no moves were actually consummated on the first day of the MLB Winter Meetings, Pittsburgh Pirates general manager Neal Huntington has his hand in the pot in several areas. As the summit turns to day two, expect these rumors listed here to either intensify or fall away as the team looks to other options.
