It is funny that when the entire city is paying attention to that other professional team on the Northside, the Pirates go have flurry of activity in a very slow offseason. The news came down early in the day that they had reached a deal with Paul Maholm, buying out his arbitration and an option year, and they reached an agreement with Eric Hinske as well.
As of now terms are a little sketchy as nothing is completely finalized. Early reports from Dejan at the PG have Hinkse making $1.5 million, plus incentives. There is nothing really to speak of about Maholm's financial details.
Starting with Maholm, anytime a team can buy out the arbitration of a player, it is a good thing. The Pirates obviously feel that Maholm will be a keeper and will improve. It is best to make sure you know what you are going to be paying him for the next few years. The option is always interesting, as it may include some weird clauses like Freddy Sanchez and Ryan Doumit's. In my opinion there really is nothing to really worry about with Maholm's deal. I would worry if we were going to face arbitration with him for the next three years.
As for the Hinske deal, it definitely makes a lot more sense that bringing back Mientkiewicz or signing Luis Gonzalez. Hinske is younger, not that you would project much improvement, but it is a slight possibility, and he can play multiple positions. The flexibility of Hinske will go a long way to helping out the bench and in what seems like a rather affordable way.
We have question marks at some positions, necessitating the need for a guy with versatility, and it seemed as though there was no back up plan for Adam LaRoche. Management seems content to keep Steve Pearce in Indianapolis and Ryan Doumit is a full time catcher now. The signing of Hinske helps to fill that void, while leaving in the option of him becoming a semi-regular in the event of trades.
It remains to be seen who will be coming off the full 40 man to make room for Hinske. That should be interesting to see who gets moved for him.
3 comments:
They just DFA'd Beam... odd choice in my opinion.
Hinske is definitely a strong signing for the Pirates, for all the reasons Michael mentioned in his post. Clearly, this signals that the team is not certain Andy LaRoche will succeed at third base. It also signals that the team does not really believe in Neil Walker, either, even though Walker---in theory---ought to be number two on the organizational depth chart at the hot corner.
I'm really not sure why the Pirates seem so unhappy with Walker. By all accounts he's done quite well defensively after making a difficult position switch from catcher. While his hitting hasn't been what was expected, it hasn't exactly been Punch n Judy, either.
Anyway, Hinske is clearly insurance for LaRoche, and possibly for Brandon Moss, as well. I'm not worried about Moss, as long as his knee is sound. In my view it's far more likely we'll see Hinske as the starter at third than at any other position. But of course it would be best for the team if Moss and Andy LaRoche both came through as reliable-or-better starters. With Hinske as the super-sub coming off the bench, we'd be a much stronger club.
I also agree that I don't understand the unhappy feelings with Walker. I chalk it up to the dread prospect fatigue, I guess. This year will definitely be a very important one for him.
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