We’ve heard for the last week that former Pittsburgh Pirates catcher Ryan Doumit was expected to sign a deal before the end of November. Jerry Crasnick has an update today that Doumit is down to two American League teams, and is expected to make a decision today. What this means for the Pirates is that they’d get a compensation pick between the first and second rounds of the 2012 draft. The deadline to offer arbitration to ranked free agents is on Wednesday, November 23rd. If Doumit signs today, the Pirates could offer arbitration with no risk that he’d accept the offer, thus giving the team a compensation pick.
Tim started Pirates Prospects in 2009 from his home in Virginia, which was 40 minutes from where Pedro Alvarez made his pro debut in Lynchburg. That year, the Lynchburg Hillcats won the Carolina League championship, and Pirates Prospects was born from Tim's reporting along the way. The site has grown over the years to include many more writers, and Tim has gone on to become a credentialed MLB reporter, producing Pirates Prospects each year, and will publish his 11th Prospect Guide this offseason. He has also served as the Pittsburgh Pirates correspondent for Baseball America since 2019. Behind the scenes, Tim is an avid music lover, and most of the money he gets paid to run this site goes to vinyl records.
I wanted to see if the Bucs were willing to risk Doumit accepting arbitration.
A bird in hand…
…is worth 80 games healthy, sub par defense, and a compensation pick?
I’d almost like him to wait until after the 23rd and see what the Bucs would do.
Agreed Tim, that would be stupid.
Why?