10/2/2014

Ch-ch-ch-changes

During every off season, every team makes many changes. Many players sign with other teams during free agency and many players get traded to other teams. Also, many teams fire coaches and hire new ones. This off season, the Pirates have much in store. The Pirates have twelve players who are eligible for salary arbitration, including All Stars Josh Harrison and Tony Watson. Two of the players who are arbitration eligible, Ike Davis and John Axford, are considered non-tender candidates. This means that the Pirates may elect to not tender either player a contract. Thus, a non-tendered player becomes a free agent. The Pirates took this approach with Garrett Jones last off season. During the 2013, Jones was not producing at the rate that he should. Because of this, the Pirates elected to non-tender him. Jones then signed a contract with the Miami Marlins. At this moment in time, the Pirates have four players who are set to become free agents this winter. Russell Martin, Francisco Liriano, Edinson Volquez, and Clint Barmes are all impending free agents. The Pirates feel that re-signing Russell Martin is a priority even though he will ask for a lot of money. The Pirates announced that they are willing to expand their payroll in an attempt to bring Martin back. If Francisco Liriano and Edinson Volquez sign with other teams this off season, the Pirates will need to fill holes in the starting rotation. Also, the Pirates could look to fix up their bullpen and their bench situation. While it is fun to think about what transactions that Pirates should or could make, it will be interesting to see what the Pirates do this off season and how they will look for the 2015 season.