Iwamura uses a glove made of crocodile skin. Seriously, how awesome is that? He also wears the coolest sunglasses you’ll ever see.  He started the phenomenon that was the “RayHawk” last year in Tampa Bay, even getting manager Joe Maddon to sport the stylish new haircut. Want more? In the 2006 WBC he was nicknamed “Japanese Lightning” and before coming to the U.S., Iwamura played for a team called the Tokyo Yalkut Swallows.

Aki is respected by his teammates and can create a spark on the field. In a spring training game vs. the Yankees in 2008, Shelley Duncan slid hard into Aki at 2nd. Rays OF Jonny Gomes (followed by the rest of the team) came sprinting in from the outfield and started a brawl – one that sent a message, saying the Rays were no longer a team to be pushed around. They would go on to win the divison, then the entire American League in their first winning season ever.

Oh, and he can also play a little ball. Iwamura strikes out less and walks more than the average hitter, and has reached base at a career .354 clip. As a second baseman, his power obviously isn’t great (14 career MLB HR’s in 1349 AB’s) but he makes up for it with above-average speed (9 for 10 SB’s in ‘09) and defense (career +1.9 UZR at second base). Aki made the final out of the 2008 ALCS, sending Tampa Bay to its first ever World Series.

Iwamura is very comparable to a much more familiar face–Freddy Sanchez. Freddy’s career OPS is a mere 4 points higher. Aki’s OBP is significantlybetter, but Fred has more power.  Iwamura walks WAY more and strikes out WAY less than Freddy, but Sanchez’s numbers in the field are better. Pretty even, right? Well, if the Pirates had not traded Sanchez and picked up his 2010 option, they’d be paying him $8 million this year. The option didn’t vest, so the Giants re-signed him for $6 million/yr. The Pirates will pay Iwamura $4.85 million in 2010. Now that’s value!

Like this guy yet? I think I do. Thing is, he still has a bit to learn about the Pirates…

“I’m definitely interested in the long term, but I first have to do what I can do. We’ll see what happens. Hopefully, we can go to the playoffs next season.”

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PHOTO: [tampabayraysfan / Flickr.com]

©2009 Raise the Jolly Roger. All Rights Reserved.

• The Pirates removed three players from the 40-man roster: Virgil Vasquez, Eric Hacker, and Steve Lerud. Vasquez, of course, pitched horribly in the second half as an emergency starter/bullpen guy with the Bucs. Hacker was decent in Indianapolis and did not impress in a few late September appearances. Lerud is a catcher with far too much depth around him (Doumit, Diaz, Jaramillo, Sanchez) to keep around.
• Two notable trades today: the Twins sent Carlos Gomez to the hated Brewers in exchange for former Pirate-killer J.J. Hardy. Also, the Royals traded Mark Teahen to the White Sox for Chris Getz and Josh Fields.
• Speaking of trades, Jack Wilson is discussing an extension with Seattle. The M’s have an $8.4 million club option for Wilson in 2010, with a $600,000 buyout.
• And for everyone willing to get a head start on more hot-stove talks, the complete 2010 Free Agent list is here (the free-for-all begins November 20).

©2009 Raise the Jolly Roger. All Rights Reserved.

That is all.

©2009 Raise the Jolly Roger. All Rights Reserved.

The blogs/media I’ve read so far are happier about the Pirates’ end of the deal than I thought they would be. As much as I like Iwamura and as much as the Pirates need an upgrade at 2nd, I feel like they gave up a promising reliever for a one-year stopgap. Iwamura’s a fun, exciting player that I bet we’ll grow to love in 2010, but he probably won’t be here much longer than that. In fact, he may even be shipped away at the deadline if Andy LaRoche is ready to move to 2nd and Pedro Alvarez is ready to come up and play 3rd.

The argument people have put out there is that Chavez is a replaceable righty that gives up too many home runs. Am I overvaluing him? Maybe. Chavez really didn’t even deserve to make the team this spring, but did because Evan Meek couldn’t go in early April. He then (surprisingly) pitched well out of the bullpen and kept up decent numbers throughout the year (4.01 ERA in 67.1 innings), growing into one of the team’s most reliable relievers.

No, Chavez wasn’t anything stellar. In fact, in terms of ERA+, he’s exactly a league-average pitcher. I still think he had room to grow, though. Jesse, 26, boasted excellent velocity and his main problem–home runs allowed–is something that might have been correctable under Joe Kerrigan (I have a feeling it won’t be corrected now in the AL East, though). Additionally, the Pirates bullpen is absolutely terrible. That may or may not have to do with a lack of lefties, but still, sending away five more years of an average relief pitcher (on a team where average is, well, above average) for one year of a decent 2B doesn’t make a lot of sense to me.

Why not? Simple – you know it, I know it, everyone who knows anything about baseball knows it – the Pirates have a slim-to-none chance of contending in 2010. How, then, will Iwamura be of use to the Bucs’ long-term plans? [This post by Dave Cameron] attempts to answer that question–it’s an interesting read. Basically, it comes down to this:

Aki Iwamura is not going to lead the Pirates to the playoffs, but he’s also a potentially useful player who will improve the 2009 club without harming the development of any significant pieces and likely came at a low cost to the organization. There is value in these kinds of transactions, even for teams that aren’t going to be winners next year. Just because a team won’t be contending in 2010 doesn’t mean they should avoid investing in the 2010 product.

Who knows, maybe it won’t just be 2010? Both Iwamura and Neal Huntington seem open to a possible extension if things go smoothly this season. He is 30 years old, but the Pirates don’t have much depth at second base.

All in all, I’m still on the fence about this deal. Aki seems like a pretty awesome dude (I predict he’ll be the next Mientkiewicz-esque fan favorite) and a useful player–similar numbers to Freddy Sanchez, actually. We’ll have more on him and this deal in the coming days. There sure as heck isn’t much else to post about.

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PHOTO: [Keith Allison / Flickr.com]

©2009 Raise the Jolly Roger. All Rights Reserved.

Done deal. Iwamura for Chavez, straight up. There were rumblings about another player coming to Pittsburgh, but they were false. Sorry to leave you all hanging for a bit – new post on the way soon.

UPDATE: 5:33 PM:

[Ken Rosenthal reports] that the Pirates are sending Jesse Chavez to Tampa Bay in exchange for Iwamura. Can’t say I’m thrilled if that’s true. Chavez is a relatively young, promising reliever, and the Bucs are already pretty thin in that department…probably not worth giving up for just a year of Aki. We’ll wait for official word, though.

Apparently ESPN’s Buster Olney is saying the same thing. Trib beat writer Rob Biertempfel says there will be an announcement after 7PM.

4:25 PM:

Sounds like this is going to happen, but we’ll have to wait a few hours to find out who the Bucs are giving up.

[TampaBay.com]:

The team the Rays are dealing Iwamura to is the Pirates. Still working on what they are going to get back, but the Pirates do have some young arms and some young catching. Will be interesting to see if the Rays are paying any money to upgrade the quality of the return – that’s what they did in the Aubrey Huff deal, and that Ben Zobrist guy turned out okay. Expect an official announcement tonight, when it will be Wednesday morning in Japan and the Rays can talk to Aki.

[SI's Jon Heyman] says “sources confirm” and credits the St. Pete Times (quoted above) with the scoop. [John Perrotto] also says Iwamura is Burgh-bound, but adds “no further details.”

[Jen Langosch says] “it’s not believed that the Pirates are going to deal away someone who is as established as closer Matt Capps”

Original post, 4:11 PM:

DK just tweeted that he “hears the Pirates [are] part of trade talks” with the Rays’ mouthful of an infielder.

Iwamura, 30, played 2nd and 3rd base and had some injury issues this season. He’s a relatively credible 2B both offensively and defensively, and was a key piece to Tampa’s World Series run last season. He’s a career .281 hitter with a .752 OPS (.354 on base, .393 slugging), and would probably be a bit more reliable than Delwyn Young.

Here is Iwamura’s FanGraphs page. He has a $4.85 club million for 2010 that must be picked up by the day after the World Series ends.

As for wondering what the Pirates might give up, [Rays Index] hopes that Tampa can get “a decent prospect and/or a relief pitcher that can contribute in 2010.” The Bucs will only be getting him for one year, so they’d better not be giving up anything of significant value.

[The Bradenton Herald] is reporting that Iwamura will likely be traded by tonight, and suggests he might be heading to a National League team. There have also been rumblings about Iwamura to the Twins, but Minnesota is, of course, in the AL.

©2009 Raise the Jolly Roger. All Rights Reserved.

Position Players

• Brian Bixler is hitting .260 with two extra base hits (both doubles) and one RBI in 72 at-bats. He’s struck out 24 times (nearly one in three AB’s!). Bixler is playing in the Mexican Winter League.
• Ronny Cedeno has had limited time down in Venezuela. So far down there he’s 2-for-11. One of the two hits was a homer.
• Luis Cruz is hitting .280 (7 for 25) in Mexico.
• Chase d’Arnaud has 3 doubles and a triple in 32 AB’s for Scottsdale. He’s hitting .219.
• Argenis Diaz has put up a .231/.286/.246 line in Venezuela.
• Robinzon Diaz, meanwhile, has hit the ball well in the Dominican: .343/.378/.457
• Brian Friday is struggling a bit in Arizona, with a .222 average and only one walk and one double.
• Gorkys Hernandez has hit .255/.350/.294 in Venezuela.
• Starling Marte is off to a 3-for-9 start in the Dominican.
• Jose Tabata has looked very good with the Scottsdale Scorpions: .328/.373/.492, good for a .865 OPS. He’s homered once and has two doubles to go along with three triples.
• Neil Walker is in Venezuela, where he has hit a solid .273/.375/.473 with two bombs.

Pitchers

• Jean Machi has a 1.46 ERA (2 ER in 12.1 innings) in Venezuela, along with a 1.22 WHIP. He has struck out 7 and walked 2.
• Danny Moskos has pitched poorly in Arizona: 6.48 ERA, 2.28 WHIP in 8.1 innings. He has K’d 9 but also has walked 6.
• Ronald Uviedo allowed a run in two innings of work in Venezuela.
• Donnie Veal is dealing in the Arizona Fall League. He’s 2-0 with an 0.71 ERA and an 0.71 WHIP. 12 K’s and 2 walks.

Full stats for all winter-leaguers in the Pirates organization can be found [here].

©2009 Raise the Jolly Roger. All Rights Reserved.

©2009 Raise the Jolly Roger. All Rights Reserved.

Freddy Sanchez has signed a 2-year deal with the Giants, [according to Comcast SportsNet]. [The deal is worth $12 million over two years].

Freddy, of course, was sent to San Fran in what now looks like one of Neal’s better trades. The Pirates got Tim Alderson, a widely admired pitching propect that caught the attention of some national media and angry Giants fans. Sanchez then was injured for a short time, ensuring that his 2010 option would not be triggered. That meant the Pirates got Tim Alderson for 25 games worth of Sanchez…he became a free agent after the year anyway.

This does mark some misjudgement or dishonesty on the Pirates’ part, though. You may recall that back when the rumors were flying all over the place..the Bucs [offered a two year deal "in the range of $10 million."] Sanchez countered [by proposing a three year deal worth $20 million, which the Pirates rejected]. They then promptly made the trade.

So it seems like Fred’s proposal was a bit high, the Bucs’ proposal was a bit low, and the Giants gave him something in between. That might have to do with the fact that the Giants felt they absolutely HAD to extend him, or else the Alderson deal would be a disater. Either way, Freddy wasn’t coming back here. Best of luck to him in San Francisco.

©2009 Raise the Jolly Roger. All Rights Reserved.

Best lefty reliever, you say?

Well, it’s him, Donnie Veal, or Phil Dumatrait. Neal Huntington has a bit more work to do on this front, I think.

In other news, [MLB will not retire Roberto Clemente's number across all of baseball]. Is it bad of me to agree with that? As great as Clemente was, I’m still not sure he’s on Jackie Robinson’s level…and Clemente is still honored in a lot of different ways across the game.

Also, [the Bucs named Carlos Garcia their new 1st  base coach today]. He’ll also be the new infield instructor. Can’t say I know anything about Garcia, but he’s probably not Perry Hill.

©2009 Raise the Jolly Roger. All Rights Reserved.

In December of 2007, [the Pirates and Indians were discussing a swap involving Jason Bay for Lee and backup catcher Kelly Shoppach]. The deal nearly happened, but fell through in the winter meetings when the Bucs raised their asking price for Bay just a bit.

Recall that at this stage, Lee was coming off a horrific year in which he went 5-8 with an ERA north of 6.00, was sent down to AAA midseason, and was not placed on Cleveland’s postseason roster. Bay was also coming off his worst year as a Pirate.

Two prominent Pirate blogs had the following to say about the possibility of the deal (which I barely mentioned…RTJR was only in its second month back then):

[Bucs Dugout]:

Why would the Pirates do this? Shoppach will be 28 early next season and hasn’t put up an OBP above .310 in the majors. Lee has had a couple nice seasons in the past, but he was miserable last year and isn’t assured a starting rotation job if the Indians still have him when the season starts. He’s older than Bay, and he’s owed over $10 million in the next two years. Shoppach and Lee are both interesting players, but they’re not nearly interesting enough or young enough to make this trade a smart idea for the Bucs.

[WHYGAVS]:

I am not kidding when I say that if this trade goes down, there is at least a 75% chance that I’m turning in my Pirate-fan card for good. This is such an unfathomably stupid idea that Dave Littlefield is sitting at home thinking to himself, “I wouldn’t make that trade in a million years.”

A Cy-Young award last year and one of the most impressive pitching performances in World Series history last night certainly reinforce the old adage: “Hindsight is 20/20.”

©2009 Raise the Jolly Roger. All Rights Reserved.