Pirates general manager Neal Huntington clarified that left-hander Kevin Siegrist was never a free agent, despite the team’s initial announcement to the contrary.
Siegrist, whom the Pirates signed as a minor-league free agent in February, did not report to Class AAA Indianapolis after not making the major league club out of spring training. On Thursday, the Pirates announced he had refused his assignment and was a free agent, but they corrected themselves the following day, stating that Siegrist was in fact placed on the minor-league suspended list.
Huntington said the initial incorrect announcement was the result of “poor communication” on his part to director of baseball communications Jim Trdinich.
On Sunday, Huntington clarified that Siegrist cannot become a free agent. Per a clause in Siegrist’s contract, after he did not make the active roster out of spring training, the Pirates had to reach out to the other MLB teams and give them an opportunity to add him to their 25-man roster. If any other team had done so, the Pirates would have had to match that opportunity or let him go to the other club. But no other team bit, so Siegrist was supposed to report to the minors.
“At that point in time he chose not to report to Indianapolis,” Huntington said. “Just does not feel he should pitch in the minor leagues or needs to pitch in the minor leagues at this point.”
“I did not clearly articulate [to Trdinich] that we placed him on the suspended list, and we mistakenly reported that he had chosen free agency, which he did not have the right to do,” Huntington added.
Huntington described the conversations with Siegrist’s camp as being “very respectful,” although he said the longer that Siegrist is out, the longer it will take him to get to a place where the Pirates could add him to their active roster.
"His agent was very clear: This is not about the Pirates,” Huntington said. “This is about minor league baseball. ... This is about not wanting to pitch in the minor leagues, period, so I’m not sure how that solves itself without him pitching.”
During spring training, the Pirates expressed concerns about Siegrist’s velocity and command. Still, near the end of spring training, Siegrist said he wasn’t worried about his velocity, expecting it to increase with the intensity of regular-season competition.
“Kind of ready for the season to start, and it’s just trying to find some type of adrenaline that gets you going, but I feel healthy and I feel good, so that’s all that really matters to me,” Siegrist said.
He added: “I feel like I’m ready to go. I’ve been a part of a bunch of spring trainings now. It’s good to get your work in, but you just need something more important, I guess, situational, I guess, to get some juices going.”
From 2013 to 2016, Siegrist had a 2.70 ERA with the St. Louis Cardinals, appearing in a league-leading 81 games in 2015. Siegrist struggled last season with the Cardinals and Philadelphia Phillies, recording a 4.81 ERA in 46 games and working through injuries.
“He’s a good pitcher, and we wanted him to go to triple-A to build up arm strength, to get back to Kevin Siegrist because that guy can help us,” Huntington said. “We would love to keep that door open and hope that there will be a change of mind at some point in time.”
Elizabeth Bloom: ebloom@post-gazette.com, 412-263-1750 and Twitter @BloomPG.
First Published: April 8, 2018, 6:57 p.m.
