The Bucs just dealt from an apparently bullpen surplus for Francisco Cervelli. I was fairly sure of two things this winter:
1) The Bucs would not and could not afford Russell Martin
2) Whoever was playing catcher for the Pirates next year would not be nearly as good as Russell Martin
I just didn't think we'd have that set before the first snowfall.
In the grand scheme of things, this is a pretty minor move. The Bucs have lots of bullpen options, including a few 5th starter/longman types at AAA who can probably step in and do an admirable job. But Justin Wilson was one of my favorite players on the Bucs roster. He's a lefty (like me), throws hard, and we have had a couple conversations about his admiration for my beard. He's a great guy, in my book. I'm not sure where this puts one of my other favorite Buccos, Tony Sanchez.
But I guess we'll see how all that plays out when the weather warms up a bit.
You're going to love Cervelli. He's one of the best personalities a clubhouse can get, he's an above-average backup catcher (could be a starter for some clubs) and he always gives it 110%. Unfortunately he does get injured a lot (mainly freak injuries) but when he's healthy he's a beast.
ReplyDeleteI always thought of Cervelli as an offense first catcher, so I was pleasantly surprised to be reading about his pitch framing and defense last night. The catching market is thin and there's almost zero chance we can bring Martin back, so this may have been the best case scenario for the Bucs.
DeleteI like Wilson too, but I love the fact that we trade bullpen arms for position players. Neil Huntington seems to have a knack for putting together bullpens so hopefully we can fill the hole with relative ease.
ReplyDeleteDoing some more reading last night, I was shocked to see his pitch framing numbers are actually superior to Stewart and Martin. It's definitely a good deal in terms of dealing from an area of surplus for a clear need. I'm wondering if the money saved by (presumably) losing Martin could be spent for a solid lefty reliever and starting pitching. Losing Gomez and Wilson may actually be addition by subtraction for the pen.
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