Friday, October 15, 2004

Pirates make moves

The Pirates made 3 minor moves this week.

First, they released Nelson Figueroa. I've got no problem with this move, though the timing is strange as the Pirates certainly didn't need a spot on the 40 man roster. Regardless, it was sort of a no-brainer as the Pirates have enough possibilities for rounding out the bottom of the staff for next season.

Second, the Pirates released Mark Corey. Once again, a fairly solid decision as Corey is a replacement level relief pitcher.

Lastly, it's been reported that the Pirates have offered free agent to be Jose Mesa a contract for next season. I don't know the dollar figures, and I don't know the years. I'll reserve judgment until those are reported, however I will emphatically state what should be obvious: the Pirates should not bring Mesa back to be the closer. Period.

I've said it before, and at the risk of being repetitive I'll say it again. The Pirates have better options in-house and better options are available fairly cheaply on the free agent market. "Experts" will point to his save total this season, and by that indicator he did a fine job. However, the Pirates were lucky to squeeze an adequate performance from him this season. His peripherals were sub-par and indicate that he is unlikely to pitch as well next season.

I realize that conventional wisdom says that you need experience to close in the majors, but I'd always rather give a job to a young player who might succeed, than an old player who probably won't. And I'm on the record as saying Mesa probably won't succeed next season. Let's see what Gonzalez can do. (Or even Vogelsong/Snell/Grabow.)

posted by bkopec @ 6:54 PM   2 comments