OnlyBucs

with the first pick in the draft the Bucs should be able to drop someone and then pick a player.



Even if they trade/sell him to someone else the team needs to take advantage of having the first pick.

092F2E392F3F4C0 wrote: with the first pick in the draft the Bucs should be able to drop someone and then pick a player.



Even if they trade/sell him to someone else the team needs to take advantage of having the first pick.




There are numerous options off the 40-man roster to dump, especially bullpen arms that don't amount to anything.

3020211600000C630 wrote: Saw a list on the MLB site listing one interesting player from each team who could be taken in the Rule 5 Draft next week. Julio Rodriguez a catcher,  with above average defensive skills, is ranked as the Cards 15th best prospect. He maybe worth selecting by the Pirates since their catching depth is weak. The Cardinals seem to have a good reputation on signing good players so he could be a good selection.  We will see on December 10th if the Pirates select anyone with their #1 pick in that draft.


I would go with Payton Henry, C, Milwaukee's 15th prospect.  Good bat.


Decent power for a catcher, but not really a good bat with a .700ish OPS, combine that with a 30% k rate in A ball, and he will be completely wasting a year in the majors, since he wont hit at all. Projects as a backup catcher anyways, so might be worth keeping around as a 3rd catcher if they have the DH again.



In addition to Rodriguez and Henry, Rodolfo Duran is another catcher.  All profile the same, backup catchers rated the same.  Henry has the most power, Duran and Rodriquez are more contract hitters. Duran and Henry both have strong arms and with robo umps, all should be good enough behind the plate.



Israel Pineda is a 4th, but he is super young at only 20.  He is probably the one with the highest bat ceiling (Henry has the most power), but would be really wasting development time for most likely a backup (which is true of all of these guys).



The Pirates have a much better and deeper system than most of those teams, but zero catching prospects worth noting. So adding a backup catcher prospect would be an improvement.

426465726474070 wrote: with the first pick in the draft the Bucs should be able to drop someone and then pick a player.



Even if they trade/sell him to someone else the team needs to take advantage of having the first pick.


They should be making room on the roster today.

Are we anticipating a lot of cuts from the Arb eligible players? I'm seeing one or two who may go but not an extensive list.

0F0D171107620 wrote: Are we anticipating a lot of cuts from the Arb eligible players? I'm seeing one or two who may go but not an extensive list.
My guess would be no more than three players. Feliz, Gonzalez and Crick would be my choices.

737F7E252C252D20273822150 wrote: Are we anticipating a lot of cuts from the Arb eligible players? I'm seeing one or two who may go but not an extensive list.
My guess would be no more than three players. Feliz, Gonzalez and Crick would be my choices.


Agree on that, and they could even add a few more relievers they could cut, but those are the 3 arbitration players that really do not need to be around anymore. I would rather seem them get rid of those 3 and trade a couple more arb players, and sign better players that will be out there. Many (all) of their arb players are not exactly young or particularly good that they warrant keeping long term.

486F66666F7C7F6F487F690A0 wrote: Are we anticipating a lot of cuts from the Arb eligible players? I'm seeing one or two who may go but not an extensive list.
My guess would be no more than three players. Feliz, Gonzalez and Crick would be my choices.


Agree on that, and they could even add a few more relievers they could cut, but those are the 3 arbitration players that really do not need to be around anymore. I would rather seem them get rid of those 3 and trade a couple more arb players, and sign better players that will be out there.  Many (all) of their arb players are not exactly young or particularly good that they warrant keeping long term.
I agree that those 3 players should go. But the Pirates seem to love Gonzalez and Crick. Spotrac estimates their 2021 salaries at Gonzalez-1.5 mil, Feliz-1.1 mil, Crick $850,000. I can't see them paying that much to watch Feliz continue to fail. But they don't seem to mind Crick's inability to throw strikes or Gonzalez' mediocrity. So I suspect those 2 will return over my objection.

6F424F5E59485F1F1C2D0 wrote: Are we anticipating a lot of cuts from the Arb eligible players? I'm seeing one or two who may go but not an extensive list.
My guess would be no more than three players. Feliz, Gonzalez and Crick would be my choices.


Agree on that, and they could even add a few more relievers they could cut, but those are the 3 arbitration players that really do not need to be around anymore. I would rather seem them get rid of those 3 and trade a couple more arb players, and sign better players that will be out there.  Many (all) of their arb players are not exactly young or particularly good that they warrant keeping long term.
I agree that those 3 players should go. But the Pirates seem to love Gonzalez and Crick. Spotrac estimates their 2021 salaries at Gonzalez-1.5 mil, Feliz-1.1 mil, Crick $850,000. I can't see them paying that much to watch Feliz continue to fail. But they don't seem to mind Crick's inability to throw strikes or Gonzalez' mediocrity. So I suspect those 2 will return over my objection.
I'd keep Crick but Gonzo must go along with Feliz.

I'd clearly cut Crick loose; no control.



Gonzalez looked like a real ballplayer for about 10 days this year and then he reverted to being Gonzalez. There are other alternatives out there. I would move on.



While Feliz has tantalizing giddy-up on some of his pitches, so do any number of pitchers that have passed through the Pirate system or that are on other teams. I don't see any real reason to hang onto him.



Conclusion - There is no reason for the Bucs not to take a shot on a player in the Rule 5 draft. There is plenty of mediocre (at best) talent on the current roster that could be cut loose.