The starting pitching market could open up soon. Currently everything is being delayed by Jon Lester, whose signing will set the pitching market. Buster Olney says that a deal could happen in the next day.
Lester talks nearing the finish line, sources say. Choice will be made no earlier than tonight, no later than tomorrow.
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) December 8, 2014
The main need for the Pirates is a starting pitcher for the top of their rotation, but they won’t be able to make any progress until Lester is off the board. I’m sure they, along with every other team looking to either acquire or trade pitching, will be relieved that the Lester wait is almost over.
UPDATE 4:42 PM: Ken Rosenthal says that Lester is choosing between the Cubs and the Giants.
Sources: Barring late change, Lester choosing between #Cubs, #SFGiants.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 8, 2014
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’m having a bad feeling that we are going to walk away from the winter meetings with nothing. Once Lester signs his outrages contract I bet you some idiot GM offers Liriano 5 years and 75 million. I’m sick about it!!!!
My predicitons:
Lester: Cubs
Scherzer: Angels
Shields: Boston
Santana: Giants
McCarthy: Yankees
Liriano: Pirates
Ya think? They don’t have a choice , right? They gotta put big boy pants on this time. What if they get pushed to 4yrs $50m+? The FA class is so thin…
The starting pitching market is so thin to start with , when you consider the over reaction of teams that dont get Lester , Scherzer or Shields , I have a more realistic list for us to get right with as potential signings.
*Franklin Morales – It is a Frankie and he’s lefty…..
*Felipe Paulino- He throws hard…
*Jake Peavy – It’s not Matt Morris – This is just a really bad year to be in the market..
Is it weird that I kind of want the Cubs to get Lester? It’ll kind of suck in 2016, but for 2015, i don’t think it matters that much.
it’ll… best case scenario for the cubs… turn them from a 80 win team to like an 83 win team.
2016 it could turn em into a playoff team.
Plus they’d be paying for a career year.
and then he’ll probably be in decline by 2017. His fastball already declined 0.9 mph from 2013 to 2014. The guy is a warrior, bulldog, etc. but there’s a chance he’ll be nothing more than a 4.00 ERA #3 -#4 type by 2017.
Not sure how Lester will set the market. He’s a different age, different talent and wants more years. If he gets 150 million for 7 years. How is Liriano going to translate that to a 4 year deal. Lester is looked at as a difference maker and big markets are going to overbid to get him. Once Lester is off the table Liriano becomes one of many who bring about the the same potential to a team as other free agents. He also adds more of a workload to the relievers who seem to be overworked once we reach August anyway. I guess we’ll see.
It isn’t a matter of translation, it’s a matter of attention.
No team that is in on Lester is going to go and sign a 2nd tier FA while they wait for him to decide.
except the Cubs..lol.. The signing of Hammel is a thumbing of the nose at the rest of us who cannot afford the luxury of overpaying or making a mistake in FA. They are accused already of overpaying him… They just don’t care.
Seems stupid for an entire baseball organization like MLB to be held up by one guy, Jesse James was not this good. If I were making a deal with someone I would tell them take it or leave it you got 24 hrs. I don’t care what Lester does, he is not the second coming of Cy Young, what if he decides he does not want to sign now and says he won’t sign until the mid of Feb.does everything stop?
Or you could go find a hobby to pass your time.
Not sure how long you’ve been around, but the winter meetings are just starting. It is December. Pitchers and catchers report in February.
This is how things have always worked.
Yes, it is borderline ridiculous. Just tell him to sign take his whatever millions he is going to make and shut up, he is ain´t going to be worth three years down the line anyway.
I have been saying that the offseason should have a deadline to at least sign players to MLB contracts to avoid things like these from happening.
Nick Cafardo saying that Boston has to include Deven Marrero in a trade for the Shark.
Alen Hanson is a rank higher as a prospect. How about The Shark and Kazmir for Hanson?
I would do it, but maybe I am not that high on Hanson, think he will only be a utility INF.
One year of control. Price might be worth Hansen for that, but IMO, not Shark.
I think he goes to White Sox anyway.
I think before the week ends the Bucco brass announcing the resigning of their Most Valuable Pitcher of 2014… Edinson Volquez to a 3 year deal at $27M including a fat club option in year 3.He may not be the marquee name Liriano is and right now no one is talking about him but he really wants to come back here. It’s kind of a Hammels situation. 4/50M for Liriano is just too much skin for a pitcher who is the anti-innings eater.
No team in their right mind is giving Edinson Volquez three guaranteed years.
Ridiculous.
I bet he gets 3 years!!
Probably right but i see that as like a $11m club option w $2m buyout, not guarantee. Also, I have more faith in Volquez being healthy on 3 years than Liriano.
That would be pretty meh news. Volquez really wasn’t that much different of a pticher than he was in 2013-14. Was a lot luckier, that’s for sure. He isn’t a TOR pitcher which is what we need. We need a solid #2 whether that be Liriano or Mccarthy or someone acquired via a trade.
That’s the buzz but Volquez only gave up 166 hits in 192 innings last year… chew on that for a second. His 3.06 ERA and 13-7 record lead the rotation by a LOT, including Cole. Liriano was the lucky one, he came into July with an ERA close to 5.
I would rather be lucky than good any day, but a 3.06 and 166/192 is not luck, this guy has the stuff of a NO.2, just took some tweeks to bring it out, he could be the best buy on the market for the Pirates. Also I do not believe he will pitch as well for some else, I attribute a lot of his success to the Pittsburgh organization overall.
What kind of deal is Lester hoping to get?
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