Judgement Day

Today was the day for the Pirates to decline options on players, that had options in their contracts. The Pirates went all in and did not pick up the options on any of their players. Now Chris Snyder, Ryan Doumit, Paul Maholm, and surprisingly, Ronny Cedeno are all free to go elsewhere.

Also being outrighted to AAA, essentially allowing them to leave via free agency, are Brian Burres, Kevin Hart, Steve Pearce, Brandon Wood, and Aaron Thompson. Those moves coupled with the inevitable free agency of Derek Lee an Ryan Ludwick give the Bucs 33 men on the active roster. I don't know if I can remember such a large purge of the roster in one day.

Perhaps the only real surprises of the day were Maholm, who really is not a surprise, and Cedeno. there was some thought that the Bucs might bring back Maholm if they wanted him to help solidify the rotation. It was also widely assumed that the price tag on Cedeno was going to be right, if he started at short or was a utility infielder.

Seeing Maholm go leaves a rather big hole in the rotation. While never a superstar, Maholm was a steady and reliable presence, that now the team will look to replace via free agency or graduation from the minors.

Letting Cedeno walk is a horrible move in my opinion. I do not see where there is an in house option. d'Arnaud is not ready and he is perhaps the best option. A shortstop could be pricey on the free agent market and might not be better than Cedeno.

Today is the first day in what will more than likely be a rather weird offseason. I don't know if anyone seems to know what will happen.