Cervelli signs three-year extension with Pittsburgh

[CJ9]

Take him off your wish lists for this offseason. Deal goes through 2019.

https://twitter.com/adamdberry/status/732601694996049922

[Oklahomabrave]

FA crop is total crap.

[Enscheff]

Well ****.

[Enscheff]

He signed for 3/31...

He must love Pittsburgh.

[nsacpi]

Yup. Team friendly deal.
He signed for 3/31...

He must love Pittsburgh.

[JxnMissFan]

Great deal for Pittsburgh.

This is where a possible QO hurts a player plus his hitting has fallen off a little this year. He is probably worth more but if the Pirates gave him a QO then his market value is automatically less. Surprised he didn't get some option years.

[praeceps93]

This next class of FA is going to be absolutely horrid. Bright side: ups the value of Teheran/Markakis at the deadline. Dark side: we're gonna have to pull off some voodoo trade magic to add any non-internal pieces for 2017.

[dak]

Good work as usual by the Pittsburgh FO.

The FA options next year are still solid. A time-share between Flowers and any of the guys listed below would give us a league-average catching situation, IMO. Mid-range catchers have actually been quite cheap in FA the past couple years.

Alex Avila (30)
Jason Castro (30)
Nick Hundley (33)
Wilson Ramos (29)
Matt Wieters (31)

[UNCBlue012]

Son of a gun. So annoying. Welp, Ramos?

[Enscheff]

Good work as usual by the Pittsburgh FO.

The FA options next year are still solid. A time-share between Flowers and any of the guys listed below would give us a league-average catching situation, IMO. Mid-range catchers have actually been quite cheap in FA the past couple years.

Alex Avila (30) -1.2
Jason Castro (30) 7.6
Nick Hundley (33) -1.1
Wilson Ramos (29) 1.1
Matt Wieters (31) -3.6

I have added their framing runs for this year. I think that is the most important stat to look at for this young pitching staff. I want no part of Avila, Hundley or especially Wieters.

For reference, Flowers is at 4.3 and AJP is at -0.1. So if you hate AJP behind the plate you will have a stroke watching the negative guys on that list.

[Russ2dollas]

I think we make a trade for a catcher. Elias Diaz may be available now, he's already 25 for the pirates and they just locked up Cerveli through Diaz's age 28 year. Nunez might be expensive from the Rockies, but maybe Tom Murphy is available.

[dak]

I have added their framing runs for this year. I think that is the most important stat to look at for this young pitching staff. I want no part of Avila, Hundley or especially Wieters.

For reference, Flowers is at 4.3 and AJP is at -0.1. So if you hate AJP behind the plate you will have a stroke watching the negative guys on that list.

That's a good point . . . framing needs to be a priority. I'm hopeful that Coppy is wise to this and that this was a motivating factor on the Flowers signing. I went back and looked at the 2015 numbers too . . . didn't realize how bad the numbers for Hundley were (worse than AJP and Bethancourt).

Castro on the other hand is in Tyler Flowers territory both years. He's also a LHH, so would be a very nice fit.

[Enscheff]

That's a good point . . . framing needs to be a priority. I'm hopeful that Coppy is wise to this and that this was a motivating factor on the Flowers signing. I went back and looked at the 2015 numbers too . . . didn't realize how bad the numbers for Hundley were (worse than AJP and Bethancourt).

Castro on the other hand is in Tyler Flowers territory both years. He's also a LHH, so would be a very nice fit.

I didn't even check to see that Castro was a LHed hitter. He has a .750 career OPS vs RHers so he would make a pretty perfect platoon partner with Flowers.

With Cervelli gone, Jason Castro has just been promoted to my #1 hope for the catcher position. I'm sure he is honored.

[Russ2dollas]

pirates actually have two top 10 C prospects who should be ready.....anyone interested in those guys?

[nsacpi]

pirates actually have two top 10 C prospects who should be ready.....anyone interested in those guys?

possibly.

[Hudson2]

I still think we'll trade for a catcher this offseason, either somebody like Swihart using Teheran or maybe Lucroy.

[Braves1976]

Son of a gun. So annoying. Welp, Ramos?

Yep, Ramos is the next best target among free agents, plus he's under 30 too.

[Braves1976]

I have added their framing runs for this year. I think that is the most important stat to look at for this young pitching staff. I want no part of Avila, Hundley or especially Wieters.

For reference, Flowers is at 4.3 and AJP is at -0.1. So if you hate AJP behind the plate you will have a stroke watching the negative guys on that list.

Keep in mind the small sample, AJP is worse than all on that list when you compare using a larger sample size. But overall still a good point to consider regardless. Ramos would be my target on that list.

[50PoundHead]

I think they will try to zero in on a younger player currently in the high minors. I think if Teheran is traded, a catcher has to come back in that deal. Contreras, Swihart, Sisco would all be guys on a list like that.

[nsacpi]

I think part of the thought process will be that they will want to pair up a veteran catcher with the young pitching staff. I could us trading for someone like McCann or Russell Martin. Martin's contract btw gets quite expensive after this season. Which means we could pick him up for very little talent in return.

[Braves1976]

I think part of the thought process will be that they will want to pair up a veteran catching with a young pitching staff. I could us trading for someone like McCann or Russell Martin. Martin's contract btw gets quite expensive after this season. Which means we could pick him up for very little talent in return.

Martin is a very good catcher, isn't is struggling offensively this year? Might be a good buy low there if so.

[50PoundHead]

I wouldn't have signed McCann to the deal he got with the Yankees (plus we were strapped), but it just goes to show how valuable a catcher who can hit is. Teams are realizing this and re-upping their guys.

Curious to see if the Nats let Ramos walk. Severino is close to ready, but Ramos can hit some.

Mike Zunino has not hit at the big league level, but he is really ripping up the PCL. 9 HRs and a .937 OPS going into tonight's action. Big-time contact issues.

[JxnMissFan]

Martin's contract is backloaded. He will make 20 mil a year the last few seasons. No way I think about Martin unless the Jays send money with him.
I would target McCann or Lucroy in a trade. Lucroy only has one year of team control left. The package to get him wouldn't be to big IMO. A lot less than what the Braves got for a year of Heyward or Upton. I think attaching a QO to Lucroy would depress his market value enough to make him easy to resign.

I doubt the Orioles give Wieters another QO. He could be a decent option at reasonable price.

[Braves1976]

Martin's contract is backloaded. He will make 20 mil a year the last few seasons. No way I think about Martin unless the Jays send money with him.
I would target McCann or Lucroy in a trade. Lucroy only has one year of team control left. The package to get him wouldn't be to big IMO. A lot less than what the Braves got for a year of Heyward or Upton. I think attaching a QO to Lucroy would depress his market value enough to make him easy to resign.

I doubt the Orioles give Wieters another QO. He could be a decent option at reasonable price.

I wasn't saying I would take on all that with Martin, but if they would pay part of it I would consider him. Or better yet include Olivera on our end. :)

[zitothebrave]

He signed for 3/31...

He must love Pittsburgh.

Why? He's a catcher who'll be 31 next year and quite mediocre. He was not gonna get Russell Martin or Brian McCann money. Odds are he would have been closer to Salty/Ruiz back in 2014 but with the massive inflation we've had, I can see 3/31 being right around his value.

[praeceps93]

I wouldn't have signed McCann to the deal he got with the Yankees (plus we were strapped), but it just goes to show how valuable a catcher who can hit is. Teams are realizing this and re-upping their guys.

Curious to see if the Nats let Ramos walk. Severino is close to ready, but Ramos can hit some.

Mike Zunino has not hit at the big league level, but he is really ripping up the PCL. 9 HRs and a .937 OPS going into tonight's action. Big-time contact issues.

I actually love Zunino as a target for us. With the way the Mariners season is currently going, I could see them buying at the deadline if they have a hole. Maybe we could go there as an option.

[The Chosen One]

I actually love Zunino as a target for us. With the way the Mariners season is currently going, I could see them buying at the deadline if they have a hole. Maybe we could go there as an option.

That's great and all but what do we have to sell them at equal value? Lol

[zitothebrave]

I actually love Zunino as a target for us. With the way the Mariners season is currently going, I could see them buying at the deadline if they have a hole. Maybe we could go there as an option.

I'm hoping the Padres give up on Norris and sell him for cheap.

[The Chosen One]

Looks like Gordo will have some good value for us.

[GovClintonTyree]

I actually love Zunino as a target for us. With the way the Mariners season is currently going, I could see them buying at the deadline if they have a hole. Maybe we could go there as an option.

That would be a very clever move. He's a very good catcher who got rushed by Zduriencik and lost his confidence and his stroke. K rate is down to 18% from 34%. That's not all because he's in the PCL. And his ISO is almost .300.

The problem might be that Ianetta is the hole, although he's been pretty good so far. The Mariners will eventually need a closer so that Cishek doesn't wreck their season. A nice deal might be Paxton and Zunino for Vizcaino.

[Enscheff]

Why? He's a catcher who'll be 31 next year and quite mediocre. He was not gonna get Russell Martin or Brian McCann money. Odds are he would have been closer to Salty/Ruiz back in 2014 but with the massive inflation we've had, I can see 3/31 being right around his value.

Well then you're in the minority when sites like MLBTR had him pegged at a 4/60 deal with a possibility of a 5th year.

[Enscheff]

Martin's contract is backloaded. He will make 20 mil a year the last few seasons. No way I think about Martin unless the Jays send money with him.
I would target McCann or Lucroy in a trade. Lucroy only has one year of team control left. The package to get him wouldn't be to big IMO. A lot less than what the Braves got for a year of Heyward or Upton. I think attaching a QO to Lucroy would depress his market value enough to make him easy to resign.

I doubt the Orioles give Wieters another QO. He could be a decent option at reasonable price.

Wieters is quite possibly the worst defensive catcher in the game, especially when it comes to pitch framing. He can't stay healthy and isn't anything special with the bet.

He is one of the very last options the Braves should pursue.

A trade with the Brewers for Lucroy and Braun makes some sense though. I would prefer the Braves add a catcher with more than 1 year of control remaining, but he would undoubtedly fix the position for 2017.

[gilesfan]

I wouldn't have signed McCann to the deal he got with the Yankees (plus we were strapped), but it just goes to show how valuable a catcher who can hit is. Teams are realizing this and re-upping their guys.

Curious to see if the Nats let Ramos walk. Severino is close to ready, but Ramos can hit some.

Mike Zunino has not hit at the big league level, but he is really ripping up the PCL. 9 HRs and a .937 OPS going into tonight's action. Big-time contact issues.

The Nats are fortunate because they have always loaded up on catchers. Ramos (in trade), Norris, Severino, Reetz, Read