Results tagged ‘ Steve Lerud ’

Royals sign Lerud

Jenifer Langosch/MLB.com

Catcher Steve Lerud, who became a Minor League free agent after he was taken off the Pirates’ 40-man roster last month, has signed with the Royals. Lerud was a fourth-round pick by Pittsburgh in 2003.

Full story can be found here.

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Vasquez, Hacker, Lerud removed from 40-man roster

By Jenifer Langosch/MLB.com

The Pirates continue to retool the club’s 40-man roster, with three more players being removed from it on Friday. Right-handers Virgil Vasquez and Eric Hacker were outrighted to Triple-A Indianapolis. Catcher Steve Lerud was sent outright to Double-A Altoona.

With the three subtractions, the Pirates now have 36 players on their 40-man roster. Relievers Evan Meek and Jose Ascanio remain on the 60-day disabled list and will take two of those vacant spots soon. The Pirates have until Nov. 20 to finalize their 40-man roster in advance of the Rule 5 Draft on Dec. 10.

None of Friday’s three roster moves comes as much of a surprise. Vasquez and Hacker both spent minimal time on the Major League roster in 2009. Lerud spent all of last season as Altoona’s primary catcher.

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August 4: D-backs (47-59) @ Pirates (45-60); Garrett Jones named NL Rookie of the Month

Garrett Jones wasn’t able to snag Player of the Month honors for July (Ryan Ludwick of the Cardinals did), but the outfielder/first baseman was named the Rookie of the Month after his monstrous offensive month in which he led the NL in home runs (10) and slugging percentage (.700).

Not bad for a guy who made his season debut for the team on the final day of June. More on Jones’ reaction to the honor coming on pirates.com shortly.

As for today’s other news, notes and randomness…

  • Right-hander Craig Hansen was in Pittsburgh today to have his monthly nerve test. Hansen revealed that he has been diagnosed with parsonage turner syndrome, which has taken away his strength in his right shoulder and limited his range of motion. There are still a whole bunch of unknowns about his recovery process, which Hansen said research shows could be seven months to five years. Hansen will not pitch again this season, though he is optimistic of a return for 2010.
  • The Pirates traded RHP Mike Koplove to the Mariners for SS Deybis Benitez. Koplove has been pitching for Triple-A Indianapolis since mid-season and had been one of the Indians’ most reliable relievers. He went 3-1 with a 2.35 ERA in 22 relief appearances. Benitez has been assigned to low-A West Virginia.
  • Double-A catcher Steve Lerud has been activated from the Curve’s disabled list.
  • Gift Ngoepe, the South African infielder signed by the Pirates last fall, will be featured in the upcoming issue of Sports Illustrated. The issue will be available starting on Wednesday. Gary Smith, who in my opinion is one of the best sportswriters I’ve ever read, penned the story. Ngoepe is currently hitting .259 for the Gulf Coast League Pirates.
  • With a win on Tuesday, Zach Duke will reach the 10-win mark. Remember how last season no Pirates starter reached double digits in win? Duke, Ross Ohlendorf (9-8) and Paul Maholm (6-6) all have a shot to do so this year.
  • The Pirates enter Tuesday’s game against the D-backs not having scored against Arizona in the last 19 innings the two teams have played.

Pirates lineup:

  1. Andrew McCutchen (CF)
  2. Lastings Milledge (LF)
  3. Garrett Jones (RF)
  4. Ryan Doumit (C)
  5. Steve Pearce (1B)
  6. Andy LaRoche (3B)
  7. Ramon Vazquez (3B)
  8. Ronny Cedeno (SS)
  9. Zach Duke (LHP)

D-backs lineup:

  1. Stephen Drew (SS)
  2. Ryan Roberts (2B)
  3. Justin Upton (RF)
  4. Mark Reynolds (3B)
  5. Gerardo Parra (LF)
  6. Chris Snyder (C)
  7. Chad Tracy (1B)
  8. Chris Young (CF)
  9. Yusmeiro Petit (RHP) 

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Pirates cut eight

The Pirates had their second wave of cuts this spring on Monday afternoon as eight players were told that their days in Major League camp are over for this year…

  • 3B Pedro Alvarez – optioned to high Single-A Lynchburg, which is where he will start the season. Alvarez, who was the No. 2 overall pick in the 2008 Draft, was participating in his first big league camp.
  • RHP Jimmy Barthmaier – optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis. As expected, Barthmaier’s bid to dent the Pirates’ starting rotation has ended.
  • RHP Jeff Sues – optioned to Double-A Altoona
  • C Steve Lerud – optioned to Double-A Altoona
  • RHP Ronald Uviedo – optioned to high Single-A Lynchburg
  • 2B Shelby Ford, RHP Juan Mateo and RHP Daniel McCutchen were all reassigned to Minor League camp. Ford is expected to start the season as the starting second baseman for Triple-A Indianapolis. McCutchen will pitch in the Triple-A rotation. Mateo has a shot at beginning in Indianapolis as well.

The Pirates now have 45 players left in big league camp.

You’ll find more details about these cuts and their significance on the main site in a bit. But this gets you the necessary information in the meantime.

Pirates agree to terms with 26

The Pirates have agreed to terms with 26 of their 0-3 players. (0-3 players are those who have not yet accumulated enough Major League service time to be arbitration eligible).

As a result, the Pirates now have everyone on their 40-man roster under contract for the 2009 season.

The team does not release the financial details of the contracts, but I’ll work on getting some exact numbers for you soon. The Major League minimum is $400,000 this season.

UPDATE: Here are the numbers I do already know: Luis Cruz ($401,500), Jeff Karstens ($401,500), Phil Dumatrait ($401,500), Brian Bixler ($405,000), Steve Pearce ($407,000), Nyjer Morgan ($411,500), Ross Ohlendorf ($413,500), Brandon Moss ($414,000), Tom Gorzelanny ($433,000), Craig Hansen ($825,000), Sean Burnett ($408,500), Jimmy Barthmaier ($400,500), Neil Walker ($400,000), Steve Lerud ($400,000) and Donnie Veal ($400,000).

Pirates sign six

According to a baseball source, the Pirates have so far signed six of their non-arbitration eligible players to contracts for 2009. That list includes:

Craig Hansen: 2009 salary – $825,000

Sean Burnett: 2009 salary – $408,500

Jimmy Barthmaier: 2009 salary – $400,500

Neil Walker: 2009 salary – $400,000

Steve Lerud: 2009 salary - $400,000

Donnie Veal: 2009 salary – $400,000

  • The Major League minimum this season is $400,000. It was $390,000 last season.
  • Also, note that those are Major League salaries, and the Pirates would be required to pay that much only if each player stays in the Majors all season.
  • The Minor League salaries for Walker, Lerud and Veal would be $32,500 if they spend all year in the Minors. Barthmaier’s Minor League salary would be $65,000.
  • Also, the reson that Hansen’s is so much higher than the rest is that he’s still benefiting from the fact that he signed a Major League contract with the Red Sox when he was drafted back in 2005. Hansen made $700,000 last season, and so his number went up from there.

 

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