The Final Farewell
Jenifer Langosch/MLB.com
By now, hopefully most of you have read this and/or this, both of which were announcements to let you know that I am leaving the Pirates beat. Well, today is officially my last day providing Pirates coverage.
Beginning tomorrow, you will get your Pirates new from Tom Singer, a veteran sportswriter who joined MLB.com long before me. He will maintain his own blog (http://tomsinger.mlblogs.com/) and you can follow him on Twitter @Tom_Singer. You will also obviously quickly become familiar with his byline on the main pirates.com site.
Thank you again for making my job so rewarding over the past five years; it has been an honor bringing you Pirates news. And remember, I’m not going far. If you ever have any interest in reading about the Cardinals, I hope you’ll come find me at cardinals.com.
All the best,
Jenifer
Astros sign former Pirates catcher
Jenifer Langosch/MLB.com
Chris Snyder has landed in Houston, which announced on Friday that it has signed the veteran backstop to a one-year deal with a mutual option for 2013. Snyder became a free agent when the Pirates opted not to pick up his club option at the end of the year.
Once the Pirates signed Rod Barajas back in November, it was assumed that Snyder would not be returning. In parts of two seasons with Pittsburgh, Snyder hit .214.
My MLB.com colleague and Astros writer Brian McTaggart has a story on Snyder here.
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A look at arbitration figures
Jenifer Langosch/MLB.com
Garrett Jones and Casey McGehee are the only two arbitration-eligible players who have still not signed with the Pirates. They have exchanged figures with the team and here are those figures:
Jones, who made $455,500 in 2011, has asked for $2.5 million. The Pirates have submitted a salary of $2.25 million. McGehee, who made $478,000 in 2011, has asked for $2.725 million. The Pirates have submitted a salary of $2.35 million.
Both players can continue to negotiate with the club all the way up until their arbitration hearings, which will be scheduled sometime during the first three weeks of February.
For those who may have missed it, the Pirates came to terms on one-year deals with Joel Hanrahan ($4.1 million), Jeff Karstens ($3.1 million), Evan Meek ($875,000) and Charlie Morton ($2.445 million) already this week.
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Morton also inks one-year deal
Jenifer Langosch/MLB.com
Charlie Morton has also avoided arbitration, agreeing to a one-year, $2.445 million deal with the Pirates. This was Morton’s first year of arbitration eligibility.
With Morton and Joel Hanrahan signing today, the Pirates now have four remaining arbitration-eligible players left to sign — Casey McGehee, Garrett Jones, Evan Meek and Jeff Karstens.
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Hanrahan agrees to one-year deal
Jenifer Langosch/MLB.com
The Pirates announced this morning that they have signed closer Joel Hanrahan to a one-year deal. Hanrahan was eligible for arbitration this winter, though this will allow the team and Hanrahan to avoid an arbitration hearing. The deal is worth $4.1 million, with performance incentives totaling $50,000.
With Hanrahan now signed, the Pirates have five remaining unsigned arbitration-eligible players: Evan Meek, Jeff Karstens, Charlie Morton, Casey McGehee and Garrett Jones. Players and teams will exchange salary figures on Wednesday. Arbitration hearings for those who still don’t sign will then take place Feb. 1-21.
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Some notes about my upcoming departure
Jenifer Langosch/MLB.com
Ever since I made this announcement a few weeks ago, I’ve been inundated with questions about the specifics of the upcoming transition. I’ve tried to respond to as many of you as I could individually, but perhaps now would be a good time to put out a mass update.
First, I hope you will join me in welcoming Tom Singer to Pittsburgh. As was announced just a little while earlier, he will soon take over as Pirates beat writer for MLB.com. Tom has roots in Pittsburgh, and I can assure you that he is thrilled about the opportunity to return. He’s been an asset with MLB.com for years, most recently serving as a national writer/columnist on our staff. He introduced himself here in his blog earlier this evening. You can also follow him on Twitter @Tom_Singer.
As for when the transition in coverage will be made, I can’t give you an exact date at the moment. I am actually writing this entry from a St. Louis hotel room, as I arrived here this evening in advance of the Cardinals Winter Warm Up event over the weekend. I’ll be assisting Matthew Leach with coverage this weekend, though the Cardinals beat is still technically his for a little while longer.
I will continue to handle Pirates coverage for another week or two before handing it off to Tom. And as soon as I know my exact departure (for you Pirates readers) and arrival (for you Cardinals readers) date, I will let everyone know.
Before ending this, I must tell you all how appreciative I have been of all the emails and messages these last few weeks. I’ve been touched by the well wishes and the notes of appreciation from those who have followed my Pirates coverage. And to all of you Cardinals fans, thank you so much for the warm welcome. The move is certainly bittersweet, but I hope that it ends up being a good fit for all involved.
Follow me on Twitter: @LangoschMLB
Slaten to sign Minor League deal with Pittsburgh
Jenifer Langosch/MLB.com
Though terms of the agreement have not all been finalized, left-hander Doug Slaten has chosen to sign a Minor League deal with the Pirates, a source confirmed on Wednesday. The addition of Slaten will give the club another reliever to consider for its bullpen.
Slaten became a free agent in December, when the Nationals decided not to tender a contract to the arbitration-eligible pitcher. His contract with the Pirates will include an invitation to participate in Spring Training.
Slaten, 31, spent close to three months on the disabled list in 2011 due to a left elbow injury. As a result, he made just 31 appearances and logged only 16 1/3 innings. His season ERA finished at 4.41. Slaten struck out 16 and walked three.
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Some social media connections
Jenifer Langosch/MLB.com
One thing that I wanted to make sure I do before leaving the Pirates beat was to make a list of Pirates players who connect with fans via Twitter. I cannot promise that the list below is comprehensive, but it should at least be close to identifying most of the Pirates players (in the Majors and Minors) who you can follow on Twitter.
For those unfamiliar with Twitter, know that it has undoubtedly changed how athletes interact with fans. It used to be that the media served as the middleman between athletes and fans. Now, athletes often announce their own news via Twitter, as Paul Maholm did regarding his agreement with the Cubs earlier this week. It’s also a unique way for fans to talk to (and sometimes hear from) the athletes they watch.
As for your list:
- Stetson Allie (@Stetsonallie)
- Cliff Archibald (@CArch523)
- Nathan Baker (@NateBake21)
- Ryan Beckman (@beckmandew35)
- Matt Benedict (@Bene_33)
- Evan Chambers (@Echambers53)
- Michael Colla (@Michael_Colla)
- Chase d’Arnaud (@ChaseThese)
- Zack Dodson (@Doddie011)
- Michael Dubee (@mdubee34)
- Jason Erickson (@JasonErickson16)
- Jeremy Farrell (Jeremy_Farrell)
- Dan Gamache (@DanGamache10)
- Jason Grilli (@GrillCheese49)
- Ryan Hafner (@RHafner8610)
- Joel Hanrahan (@hanrahan52)
- Josh Harrison (@jhay_da_man)
- Brock Holt (@BrockStar4Lyf)
- Jared Hughes (@locatejared)
- Phillip Irwin (@FilthyPhil36)
- Nick Kingham (@NickKingham)
- Noah Krol (@noahkrol)
- Jared Lakind (@JaredLakind)
- Chris Lashmet (@smashinlash)
- Quincy Latimore (@2qlat2)
- Brian Leach (@Bleach2412)
- Brad Lincoln (@bradlincoln32)
- Jeff Locke (@Jeff_Locke)
- Austin McClune (@austinmcclune)
- Andrew McCutchen (@TheCUTCH22)
- Daniel McCutchen (@DanielMcCutchen)
- James McDonald (@JamesZ53)
- Evan Meek (@meeker47)
- Bryan Morris (@Bryan19Morris)
- Daniel Moskos (@DanielMoskos)
- Rudy Owens (@Rudy_Owens)
- Greg Picart (@gregpicart)
- Joshua Poytress (@Joshua_Poytress)
- Aaron Pribanic (@Prib162)
- Jo-Jo Reyes (@Joeskee_Reyes)
- Adalberto Santos (@SantosSwag)
- Kirk Singer (@KSinger_)
- Zachary Von Rosenberg (@ZVR09)
- Neil Walker (@NeilWalker18)
- Tony Watson (@_TonyWatson)
- Duke Welker (@The5thWelker)
- Justin Wilson (@J_J_Wilson)
- Tim Wood (@The_Woodpile)
Other Pirates-related accounts:
- Pittsburgh Pirates Official Twitter (@Pirates)
- Pittsburgh Pirates Community Relations Twitter (@BucsCommunity)
Follow me on Twitter: @LangoschMLB
Pittsburgh writers hand out a pair of awards
Jenifer Langosch/MLB.com
The Pittsburgh chapter of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America has chosen Joel Hanrahan and Neil Walker as the recipients of the chapter’s pair of postseason awards.
Hanrahan was voted the winner of the Roberto Clemente Award, which goes to the team’s Most Valuable Player. Hanrahan, who finished the 2011 season with 40 saves in his first full season as the team’s closer, was followed in the voting by Andrew McCutchen and Walker.
Walker was named the winner of the Chuck Tanner Award, an honor given to a player who is especially good in dealing with the media. Charlie Morton and Hanrahan followed Walker in this voting.
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Some more contract data
Jenifer Langosch/MLB.com
Got my hands on some contract details for three of the players the Pirates have signed to Minor League deals this winter. Here is that information, which is pretty straightforward in all three cases.
- INF Anderson Hernandez
- Will earn salary of $500,000 if he makes Major League roster
- RHP Logan Kensing
- Will earn salary of $675,000 if he makes Major League roster
- C Jose Morales
- Will earn salary of $650,000 if he makes Major League roster
- He can request his release if not on the Major League team on March 31 and has the option again if not on the roster on May 15
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