The Pirates saw this day coming with Pedro Alvarez. They tried to trade him, tried to move him somewhere better suited to his skill set. What kind of offers did they receive?
“Nothing,” general manager Neal Huntington said. “It was surprisingly quiet.”
The Pirates cut ties with Alvarez Wednesday night, ending the relationship with their first-round pick in the 2008 draft by declining to tender him a contract by the 11:59 p.m. deadline.
Alvarez, 28, is now a free agent. The Pirates also non-tendered outfielder Jaff Decker.
“We felt as we looked at our existing club, at the resources it would have taken to retain Pedro, as we look at how we can reapply those resources potentially in a trade or a free-agent market, we felt that it was the right move for the club,” Huntington said.
Each of the other eight arbitration-eligible Pirates — Mark Melancon, Neil Walker, Francisco Cervelli, Chris Stewart, Tony Watson, Jared Hughes, Jeff Locke and Jordy Mercer — received contract tenders, which means the Pirates committed themselves to determining that player’s 2016 salary through the arbitration process.
The duality of Alvarez’s game presented the Pirates with a tough decision. This left-handed hitter possesses raw power at a time when raw power is hard to find and pitchers are as dominant as ever. He hit at least 30 home runs twice, in 2012-13, and hit 27 this past season. But his poor defense, specifically erratic throws, forced him to move from third base to first base at the end of the 2014 season. This past season, he struggled at first base; his minus-14 Defensive Runs Saved below average and 23 errors were the worst among major league first basemen.
“We’ll miss the power, there’s no question about that,” Huntington said. “But this is an opportunity for us to utilize the dollars that would have had to have been committed to him through the arbitration process to improve, whether it’s directly at first base, or somewhere else on the club and allocate some of those resources to first base. A tough decision, but one that we do feel, albeit counterintuitive, is the right one for this organization at this point in time.”
The Pirates tried to trade Alvarez at various points in the past year. It is possible his projected arbitration salary — via MLB Trade Rumors, a baseball news site with an arbitration salary forecasting system — of roughly $8 million, combined with his poor defense and the fact that he has only one year of control remaining, damaged his value. As a free agent, he can sign with anyone for a dollar amount not constrained by arbitration, and American League teams who need a left-handed designated hitter and first basemen might be interested.
“We made every effort in the world to trade him and made every effort in the world to place him and were not able to do so,” Huntington said.
For now, Michael Morse has the inside track to the first-base job. Prospect Josh Bell likely will debut there at some point in 2016, but between his need to improve his defense and the Pirates’ desire to delay his arbitration eligibility, he likely won’t make the team out of spring training. The Pirates just signed first baseman and outfielder Jake Goebbert to a major league contract, but Goebbert has only 115 major league plate appearances, all in 2014.
Tendering contracts does not preclude trades. The Pirates are actively trying to move Walker, according to rival executives, and are listening on Melancon, who could earn $10 million or more after leading the majors with 51 saves.
If the Pirates keep their remaining eight arbitration-eligible players, their salaries could push the opening-day payroll near $91 million when factoring in the seven players already under contract, those making at or near the major league minimum and the rest of the 40-man roster.
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NOTE — The Pirates were among several teams to reach out to free-agent right-hander Justin Masterson, according to a source. Masterson, 30, had a 5.61 ERA in 18 games, nine starts, for the Boston Red Sox this past season. In 2013, Masterson made the All-Star team and had a 3.45 ERA in 32 games, 29 starts, with the Cleveland Indians.
Bill Brink: bbrink@post-gazette.com and Twitter @BrinkPG.
First Published: December 3, 2015, 5:44 a.m.
