OnlyBucs

Elias Diaz was non tendered, and Gonzalez was signed for 2020.

Diaz ruined his big chance. Prior to 2018 they didn't seem to think he was starter material but he opened a lot of eyes that year. But then when he had a chance to cement his status as the starter in 2019 he fell flat. Apparently, they felt 2018 was the outlier and not the type of season they could expect going forward after a disappointing 2019. I don't believe there was any way they were going to let Gonzalez get a big raise in arbitration. Gonzalez must have seen the writing on the wall and accepted a 1-year deal to avoid being non-tendered.



Per the Trib;

The Pirates tendered contracts to their other seven arbitration-eligible players (their projected salaries are in parenthesis): first baseman Josh Bell ($5.9 million), closer Keone Kela ($3.4 million), second baseman Adam Frazier ($3.2 million), right-hander Trevor Williams ($3 million), right-hander Jameson Taillon ($2.3 million), righty Chad Kuhl ($1.4 million) and reliever Michael Feliz ($1.2 million).

https://triblive.com/sports/pirates-par ... year-deal/

It was a surprise to me with the lack of catching prospects in the system. His estimated arb salary (buy mlbtr) was 1.4 MM, which doesn't seem like a lot (in baseball terms) to be saving, but maybe his demand was higher.

I wonder who the Pirates will now bring in to platoon with Stallings? Possibly Castro, Romine or even Russ Martin.

Diaz was afforded every opportunity last year to impress and turn his season around. Unfortunately for Diaz and the Pirates, he failed. I agree that $1.4 is very little in today's world of baseball (at least for most teams), however, if you have determined that the player is not part of the team's future, it is time to move on, regardless of the salary cost, and regardless of the limited other options (read none) in the organization.



The release of Diaz also confirms that Cherrington will be trading for another catcher this off-season.



I didn't see any great reason to bring Gonzalez back, but assuming that his salary is in the range of $1 mil, it does provide the team with a reserve who can play 2nd, SS and 3rd, and even some corner outfield in a pinch. Unfortunately, Gonzalez showed very little with the bat last year. Overall, not a real gain or much risk in resigning Gonzalez.



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52504A4C5A3F0 wrote: It was a surprise to me with the lack of catching prospects in the system. His estimated arb salary (buy mlbtr) was 1.4 MM, which doesn't seem like a lot (in baseball terms) to be saving, but maybe his demand was higher.
I don't believe it was done to save 1.4 million. They know they can't go into another season with a combo of Diaz/Stallings and Stallings seemed to be the better of the two. So he gets the backup role for 2020 and they'll acquire a catcher to start or at least platoon with him. Even if money was no object, they don't want Diaz for 2020.

113C31202736216162530 wrote: It was a surprise to me with the lack of catching prospects in the system. His estimated arb salary (buy mlbtr) was 1.4 MM, which doesn't seem like a lot (in baseball terms) to be saving, but maybe his demand was higher.
I don't believe it was done to save 1.4 million. They know they can't go into another season with a combo of Diaz/Stallings and Stallings seemed to be the better of the two. So he gets the backup role for 2020 and they'll acquire a catcher to start or at least platoon with him. Even if money was no object, they don't want Diaz for 2020.   




yeah, I don't think this was a money move either. He just has no future with team. They don't think he can come back to where he was in 2018.

Makes me wonder about that Mystery Illness that kept him out in the Spring and how that might have affected his play.

I know September Pirate baseball this past year was pretty meaningless, but Gonzalez finally looked comfortable, hit over .300 in 19 games and turned in a couple of real gems on defense. He was a huge upgrade defensively at 3rd when he played there.



He comes with his flaws (he needs a lot more discipline at the plate), but he does have superior range and a great glove. I sure don't mind seeing him get another shot as last year just had to be weird for him -- being traded from the only organization he knew, trying to impress as a starter, and having the freak collision which took him most of the season to recover.

The projected Arb value for Gonzales (per MLBTR) was $800,000. If he signed for less, he's getting close to league minimum. I did like him at third. If he can keep hitting more as he did toward the end of the season, he would be my choice for there, at least in the short run.