Felipe Rivero hires Scott Boras

Ecbucs · Post by **Ecbucs** » Sat May 27, 2017 2:37 am

From Major League Trade Rumors:

Pirates reliever Felipe Rivero has changed his representation, according to Jon Heyman of Fan Rag. Rivero has hired the Boras Corporation, per the report.

Rivero, who will turn 26 this summer, can’t qualify for free agency until 2022. But he entered the season with 1.162 days of service, so [highlight]he’s nearly certain to qualify for arbitration at year’s end as a Super Two player[/highlight].

The Bucs will end up paying Rivero at a healthy rate, as he’s currently carrying an outstanding 0.73 ERA with 9.9 K/9 and 1.8 BB/9 over 24 2/3 innings. That payday could increase qutie a bit more if Rivero ends up ascending to the team’s closer role — as has been speculated as a strong possibility if the team deals incumbent ninth-inning man Tony Watson at the deadline.

Speedloader88 · Post by **Speedloader88** » Sat May 27, 2017 4:18 am

He will be traded. He won't be affordable by the time this club will be competitive and a mediocre ball club doesn't need a lights out closer that has real $$ attached. He could fetch a kings ransom in a trade.

Docjon49 · Post by **Docjon49** » Sat May 27, 2017 7:33 am

31120707060E0D030607105A5A620 wrote: He will be traded. He won't be affordable by the time this club will be competitive and a mediocre ball club doesn't need a lights out closer that has real $$ attached. He could fetch a kings ransom in a trade.

I'm getting up there in age and I'm a little tired of the rebuildrebuildrebuild, but if they can get a real return for him, Watson and Cole, I would be OK with that. . . _IF_ they get players back that actually develop instead of disappoint. That's the tricky part.

Plus, sell high and all that. Rivero is killing it, and the odds are he won't for the entirety of his contract. Injuries, wear-and-tear, slumps, losing the strike zone, etc.

dogknot17@yahoo.co · Post by **dogknot17@yahoo.co** » Sat May 27, 2017 2:33 pm

He can't go anywhere. The Pirates are in control. No reason to think trade yet. I wonder if he and Watson were discussing their agents.

MaineBucs · Post by **MaineBucs** » Tue May 30, 2017 2:20 pm

And the guy who is now killing it was acquired in a deadline trade for someone who had no future with the team.

In short, I love the way Rivero is pitching and how he is helping the team remain 'almost' competitive. That said, you could envision someone really overpaying for him. NH cannot be afraid of trading a cost controlled player who may yield a better return in talent than almost anyone else on the roster.

dmetz · Post by **dmetz** » Tue May 30, 2017 4:39 pm

To trade Rivero would be to sell low on him. He's not closing so he would be marketed as a potential high-end closer instead of an actual one. It would decrease his value a bit.

it will definitely help the Pirates keep his arb cost down next year too, which I'm sure is one of the reasons he's not closing now.

He and Watson should have been switched a month ago. If you switch them now and Rivero continues to dominate until the deadline, then you've got a huge trade piece in him. Possibly Watson can even return to being a better than average setup man, increasing his value vs what it is currently, as well.

With Watson failing as a closer, and Rivero dominating as a setup man with far superior stuff, they're both in the wrong spots.

dogknot17@yahoo.co · Post by **dogknot17@yahoo.co** » Tue May 30, 2017 4:54 pm

I agree, but no way do I want Watson coming in with a man on base. Rivero is in the right role, maybe the wrong reason, but it is working.

I don't see a reason to trade him. Even with Arbitration coming up, he would still get less than $3 million a year, right?

UtahPirate · Post by **UtahPirate** » Tue May 30, 2017 5:21 pm

Rivero isn't going anywhere. Boras doesn't affect his arbitration #'s. He'll be our closer for the next couple of years till he gets in the $8 to $10 arbitration range. Then, like Melancon (and some others before him) you can talk trade.

Watson will stay in the closer role until the deadline. I think he has more value than many think. There are some awful bullpens with some current contenders: MN, AZ, CO, TX and others that could use the right piece.

A question that is not being raised is what do you do with Juan Nicasio? His contract is up after this year. His trade value would surpass Watson's by quite a ways. He's also a guy that might sign to a two-year extension in the $10 to $11 million dollar range. He's making $3.6 this year and I think he really adds stability to our pen.

dmetz · Post by **dmetz** » Tue May 30, 2017 6:00 pm

69626A666362793C3A4D746C656262236E620D0 wrote: I agree, but no way do I want Watson coming in with a man on base. Rivero is in the right role, maybe the wrong reason, but it is working.

I don't see a reason to trade him. Even with Arbitration coming up, he would still get less than $3 million a year, right?

Well, I would never want us to trade a good player in arbitration due to salary anyway. That's a Piratey mentality since arbitration already allows the team to pay a percentage of their market value. I'm not interested in saving Bob's money, in case you haven't noticed.

I am interested in maximizing value of a trade piece before selling him and hoping and praying that NH is able to at least get even value for him. So the reason to trade him would be what he potentially could return as far as assets.

SammyKhalifa · Post by **SammyKhalifa** » Tue May 30, 2017 6:15 pm

Yeah, the reasons people were stating for not wanting to trade him are the reasons why trading him could get us something we like.