The Pittsburgh Pirates continue to be active in the free agent market by signing A.J. Burnett to a one-year $8.5 million contract. Burnett went 26-21 with a 3.41 ERA and 389 strikeouts in 61 starts (393 1/3 IP) for the Pirates during his two-year stint with the club between 2012-2013. Burnett opted out of a $12.75 million club option with the Phillies to pitch for a contender. Follow @TBerardi_PSN (Photo Credit: Mitchell Leff / Getty Images) ... Read More
McCutchen finishes third in NL MVP voting
Pirates star center fielder Andrew McCutchen placed third in NL MVP voting behind Giancarlo Stanton and MVP Clayton Kershaw. The MVP is determined by members of the BBWAA. It is the first time since 1968 (Bob Gibson) that a pitcher has won an MVP award. Kershaw received 18/30 first place votes while Stanton received eight and McCutchen received four. McCutchen had another stellar year, despite a trip to the DL due to a rib injury, posting a slash line of .314/.410/.542 and an OPS of ... Read More
Pirates trade Justin Wilson to Yankees for Francisco Cervelli
The Pittsburgh Pirates have made their first major move of the 2014 offseason trading LHP Justin Wilson to the New York Yankees for C Francisco Cervelli as confirmed by the PG's Bill Brink. #Pirates trade LHP Justin Wilson to #Yankees for C Francisco Cervelli, source confirms. @JonHeymanCBS and @Joelsherman1 had first. — Bill Brink (@BrinkPG) November 13, 2014 Cervelli — considered one of the better pitch-framers last season — played in 49 games last season posting a .301/.370/.432 ... Read More
Hurdle finishes second in NL Manager of the Year Award voting
Pirates manager Clint Hurdle finished second behind Nationals manager Matt Williams for the NL Manager of the Year Award as voted on by members of the BBWAA. Hurdle received 8 first place votes which ranked second behind Williams (18). Hurdle led the Pirates to an 88-74 record and a second place finish behind the Cardinals (90-72) and a second consecutive NL Wild Card appearance at PNC Park. Hurdle was able to keep the ship afloat despite many injuries to key players over the course of ... Read More
Pirates trade pitchers with Rockies
The Pittsburgh Pirates have acquired right-handed pitcher Rob Scahill from the Colorado Rockies in exchange for minor league right-handed pitcher Shane Carle. The 27-year-old Scahill went 1-0 with a 4.80 ERA (15.0ip/8er) in 12 relief appearances with the Rockies in 2014 and 2-3 with two saves and a 4.32 ERA (58.1ip/28er) in 41 games with Triple-A Colorado Springs. He made eight of his big league appearances with Colorado in September. Originally selected by Colorado in the eighth round of the ... Read More
Liriano to reject qualifying offer
Francisco Liriano has rejected the Pirates qualifying offer of $15.3 million as reported by Robert Murray. Francisco Liriano will reject the $15.3 million qualifying offer from the #Pirates, per league source. — Robert Murray (@RobertMurrayMLB) November 10, 2014 The #Pirates have not been informed on Liriano's decision, but he will reject the qualifying offer, I'm told. — Robert Murray (@RobertMurrayMLB) November 10, 2014 Liriano — who had until 5 p.m. Monday to ... Read More
Martin rejects qualifying offer
As expected, Russell Martin has rejected the Pirates $15.3 million qualifying offer as reported by Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. no surprise, martin, who has very strong market, will reject qualifying offer. #cubs #bucs #la http://t.co/5yEON4CFYD— Jon Heyman (@JonHeymanCBS) November 10, 2014 Martin — who is the biggest free agent at catcher — is expected to get a large multi-year offer which could be as high as $13-$15 million per year over a 4-5 year contract. Martin ... Read More
McCutchen, Walker win Silver Slugger Award
Andrew McCutchen and Neil Walker were announced as NL Silver Slugger Award winners on Thursday night presented by Louisville Slugger. The award goes to the best offensive player per position in both the National and American leagues. McCutchen won his third consecutive award after posting a slash line of .314/.410/.542 and an OPS of .952 with 25 home runs, 38 doubles, six triples and 83 RBI in 146 games this season. McCutchen is the first Pirate to post three straight seasons batting ... Read More
Martin named Wilson Defensive Catcher of the Year
Wilson named their Defensive Players of the Year on Wednesday, an award given to the best defensive player at each position among the MLB. They named Pirates catcher Russell Martin the Defensive Catcher of the Year a day after Martin finished behind Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina for the NL Rawlings Gold Glove Award at the position. Martin finished in the top five in four of the major defensive categories among Major League catchers placing fifth in runs added (19.3) — a pitch framing ... Read More
Martin, Marte fall short of Gold Glove Award
Russell Martin and Starling Marte — finalists at their positions for the Rawlings Gold Glove Award for the second consecutive year — finished behind Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina and Marlins left fielder Christian Yelich. Martin posted a .994 fielding percentage with five errors in 880 chances behind the plate along with three passed balls. Molina — who played in the same amount of games — finished with a .998 fielding percentage with two errors in 868 chances while allowing three passed ... Read More