Bucco Fever

Posts Tagged Brandon Moss

Opening Day Thoughts

Apr 5

Posted by Sean H. Steimer | No Comments

I’m exhausted from a long, satisfying day at the stadium and have to fly to Philly in the morning for work so this is going to be a very quick post about todays game.  To save my brain from stressing too much, I’m going with bullet points, that way I don’t have to form paragraphs.

  • Zach Duke was thoroughly unimpressive, a huge departure from his home opener start last year
  • Garrett Jones first home run was an absolute bomb.  Say what you will about the minor league track record, but his power is for real.
  • It was really nice to see Doumit hit the home run that sealed it.
  • In addition to Duke’s struggles, Carrasco also didn’t look good.
  • All the normal 1 game, small sample size caveats, but the defense was pretty good today, aside from a late inning grounder that I thought Aki could have gotten to.

Also, Brandon Moss cleared waiver’s today and has been out-righted to AAA, which is nice.  If he can ever find his stroke at the plate, it would be nice to see that happen in Pittsburgh, rather than say, Texas.

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Pirates Claim Pitcher; DFA Brandon Moss

Mar 29

Posted by Sean H. Steimer | No Comments

Basically every relevant Pirates outlet is reporting that the Pirates have claimed RHP Hayden Penn from waivers and, in a corresponding roster move, have designated OF Brandon Moss for assignment.  I don;t know much about Penn, other than that he used to be a top prospect in the Baltimore organization who appears to have flamed out mostly due to injuries.  My guess is the Pirates plan to use him as a relief pitcher, which is the role he played for the Marlins last season.  He’s only 25, so he may eventually turn into a decent big league pitcher, but at this point, his statistics are far from impressive.  Basically, consider this another in a long succession of Neal Huntington aquisitions of former top prospects who are no longer highly regarded.

As for Brandon Moss, it’s disappointing to say the least.  When he was acquired from Boston in the 2008 Jason Bay trade, everyone had high expectations of his potential as a solid defensive outfielder who hit for power.  Its not entirely relevant, but he always seemed like a very down to earth likable guy to me, who just wanted to do his best and succeed.  Back in February, there was this post-gazette article that talked about Moss’ knee problems last season, and you had genuine hope that he would break out this season.  Then he went 3-37 this Spring, including an 0-22 start, and all that hope went away.  I still thought he may make the team and be given one more chance, but with this move, that won’t happen.  Moss will likely either be traded, or claimed by another team on waivers within the next 10 days.  On the off chance that he does clear waivers, he could be sent to AAA, but that doesn’t seem very likely given how much potential he has.

Its also worth noting that this move means that Rule V pick John Raynor will almost definitely be on the opening day roster.

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A few quick notes

Feb 24

Posted by Sean H. Steimer | No Comments

I posted a few weeks back about an nl-only keeper league I’m starting.  That post can be found here, and I’m stilling for a few more players to round out the league, if your at all interested, let me know and I’ll send you an invite.

Also, I really enjoyed this feature in today’s Post-Gazette about Brandon Moss.  Maybe I never heard about his knee surgery in late 2008, or maybe I had just completely forgotten about it, but that info helps put into light some of his struggles last year.  Due to those very struggles, he’s going to have an awful lot to prove in order to make the team this spring (and since he’s out of options, if he doesn’t make the team he will almost certainly end up with another organization).  If he can somehow make the team though, he strikes me as a very like-able player who could become a fan favorite if he can just take advantage of his considerable talent.  Where he fits in the corner outfield mix along with GFJ, Church, Milledge, Tabata, etc. is anyones guess, all I’m saying is that I’m rooting for him.

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Pirates Claim Marlins OF in Rule Five Draft

Dec 10

Posted by Sean H. Steimer | No Comments

The winter meetings wrapped up today with the rule 5 draft, and as expected the Pirates did select a player, but who they selected came as a surprise.  The general consensus among the blogosphere was that the Pirates would take a pitcher in the mold of Donnie Veal or Even Meek as they did the last 2 years.  They instead went the other way, taking Marlins Outfielder John Raynor.

While I can’t claim to know much about him yet, based on his numbers he looks like a speedy outfield guy who can play center field or on a corner, hit for a good average and steal a few bases.  Given that he has to stay on the Pirates 25 man roster all season, and can’t just be hidden at the back end of the bullpen like we saw with the Donnie Veal experiment this past season, this pick signals that the Pirates think Raynot can make the team in the spring as a reserve outfielder/bench bat.  This jives precisely with Neal Huntington’s comments after the draft.  (from the post-gazette)

“John Raynor is an athletic outfielder, with some threat at the plate,” Pirates general manager Neal Huntington said. “He has the speed and defensive capability to play all three outfield positions and has the upside to project as a potential everyday outfielder in the future. He will compete for a bench role in spring training.”

In addition to Huntington’s comments, ESPN analyst Keith Law posted on his twitter account this morning that Raynor has “a chance to be more” than a fourth outfielder.

This pick fills the Pirates 40 man roster up once again, so if the Pirates wish to sign any other free agents, they will have to drop someone.  As far as what this pick means for 2010, I think its pretty obvious.  First, it seems very clear to me that the front office has started the process of shifting their priorities from unloading and acquire young talent as was the case for the past two years, to what now seems to be wanting to acquire talent to help the current major league roster.  The Raynor pick is only useful if he can contribute to and make the team this year.

Second, this pick just adds to the congestion in the Pirates outfield.  As of today, the Pirates have 5 outfielders (McCutchen, Milledge, Moss, Jones, Raynor) competing for 3 spots, plus Jose Tabata potentially waiting in the wings for a mid-season call-up.  Assuming Jeff Clement can nail down the first base job and Jones is in fact an outfielder in 2010, I have a very hard time seeing all 5 of the above names on the opening day roster and wouldn’t be at all surprised if Moss is the odd man out.


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