You could either file that headline under “Pointing Out the Obvious Possibilities” or “Most Vague News Ever”. In this case it’s more of the latter. Jason Grilli tweeted the following early this morning.
Early trip to Nashville. Long journey to get to this point but this is what I worked for. Will be a full day. #pumped
— Jason Grilli (@GrillCheese49) December 5, 2012
Based on those comments, we can only assume that he’s heading to Nashville to sign a deal. Tom Singer mentions that Grilli is expected to take the stage as a new owner of a two-year deal. At this point we don’t know who Grilli will be signing with, and honestly we don’t know for sure that he will sign today. To the second point, I don’t think he’d be heading to Nashville, and talking about his long journey to this point if he wasn’t at a conclusion. He’s been connected to the Cubs and the Brewers, and the Pirates want to bring him back.
I’ll keep this post updated throughout the day as more information becomes available. Also, I’m pretty sure it’s a law that when talking about Grilli I have to point out that former MLB player Gary Sheffield is his agent.
UPDATE 10:50 AM: Jon Heyman with an update:
Grilli market heating up (weak pun). 10 teams in. Good pitcher. Oddity: chose gary sheffield as his agent
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) December 5, 2012
Obligatory Gary Sheffield mention? Check. With ten teams in, I wouldn’t assume anything about the Pirates bringing Grilli back.
UPDATE 11:51 AM: Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe reports a deal is close.
Agent and former slugger Gary Sheffield feels he's getting close on a deal with Jason Grilli. But wouldn't reveal the team.
— Nick Cafardo (@nickcafardo) December 5, 2012
UPDATE 1:29 PM: Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says Grilli won’t be signing with the Brewers.
If reliever Jason Grilli is ready to sign with somebody, I'm told it is not the #Brewers.
— Tom (@Haudricourt) December 5, 2012
UPDATE 5:33 PM: Tom Singer has two updates.
Sheffield: Grilli still wading through all the offers presented to him. #pirates
— Tom Singer (@Tom_Singer) December 5, 2012
Jason Grilli: "It's overwhelming. But it's nice to have opportunities to choose from. I worked hard to get here."
— Tom Singer (@Tom_Singer) December 5, 2012
I guess it’s still possible for Grilli to sign today, but “wading through all the offers” doesn’t sound like he’s close.
UPDATE 6:05 PM: Rob Biertempfel reports that the Pirates have made their offer.
#Pirates have made their offer to Grilli. Waiting for verdict.
— RobBiertempfel (@RobBiertempfel) December 5, 2012
