Results tagged ‘ Lastings Milledge ’
Ledezma’s one-year deal, Ohlendorf a super-two
The Pirates made a series of roster moves on Wednesday and one of them was a one-year deal with Wil Ledezma. USA Today is reporting that the deal is for $700,000 (in the majors) and $300,000 (in the minors). Ledezma is out of options and is currently on the 40-man roster.
Ross Ohlendorf is arbitration eligible and has qualified for super-two status. Ohlendorf qualifies a year early and will receive a bigger salary then other players with three years of service time.
To be eligible for super-two status the player must rank in the top 17 percent of players who have two to three years of service time and at least 86 days service time, the previous year. Instead of the usual three years of arbitration, Ohlendorf will be eligible for four years.
The six years of service time are still required and they do not become free agents earlier than other players. Click here for a list of the past “super-two” players.
Ohlendorf made $439,000 for the 2010 season but given the amount of time missed due to injuries, he may not receive as much as other super-two players. Ohlendorf was 1-11 with a 4.07 ERA.
The Pirates have nine arbitration eligible players this season. They include: Zach Duke, Ronny Cedeno, Andy LaRoche, Jeff Karstens, Joel Hanrahan, Wil Ledezma (signed a one-year deal, avoiding arbitration), Ross Ohlendorf (super-two), Lastings Milledge and Delwyn Young.
Pirates arbitration eligible’s
It’s no surprise that the Pirates have a lot of work to do during the off-season. But first, I wanted to discuss the bucco’s who are arbitration eligible.
Ronny Cedeno, Wil Ledezma, Ross Ohlendorf, Joel Hanrahan, Lastings Milledge, Andy LaRoche, Delwyn Young and Jeff Kartstens are all arbitration eligible.
Cedeno –who was never consistent all season and had plenty of hot streaks and slumps– batted .256 with eight home runs and 38 RBI. He made $1.125 M for the 2010 season.
Ledezma made 27 appearances’ with the Pirates this season and was 0-3 with a 6.83 ERA. In 19.2 innings pitched he struck out 22. Ledezma made $400,000 in 2010.
Ohlendorf –who finished his season the disabled list– was 1-11 with a 4.07 ERA. Ross was referred to as the “unluckiest pitcher” due to receiving many losses and no-decisions after making quality starts. Ohlendorf made $439,000 in 2010.
Hanrahan was nasty for the Pirates during the 2010 season. He was 4-1 with a 3.62 ERA and had six saves. Hanrahan spent most of the season as the set-up man in the 8th inning and split closing duties with Evan Meek when Octavio Dotel was traded. Joel finished the season with a career high 100 strike outs. He made $453,000.
Milledge’s season ended early due to a strained oblique. The outfielder batted .277 with four home runs and 34 RBI. Milledge –who was a much better hitter with RISP– has yet to prove he has enough power to handle a corner outfield position. He made $452,000 in 2010.
LaRoche lost his starting job when the Pirates promoted Pedro Alvarez to the majors. The third baseman turned utility man paying second base and first base on occasion. He was also used a pinch-hitter, in 41 at-bats he had only three RBI and batted .146. LaRoche made $451,000 for the 2010 season.
Delwyn Young in 191 at-bats batted .236 with seven home runs and 36 RBI. He was used primarily as a pinch-hitter but did start in right field and second base on occasion. Young made $444,500.
Karstens was 3-10 with a 4.92 ERA during the 2010 season. He made only one start in September because of arm fatigue. Karstens made $401,500.
Bucs Injury updates: Milledge, Ohlendorf
There is still a chance that Lastings Milledge will make an appearance before the 2010 season ends. Milledge has begun to hit in the cage and will take part in batting practice later this week. If everything goes well, Milledge could play this weekend in Florida.
“The next step is to get him out there for batting practice,” manager John Russell said. “If we can get it to that point, there could be a possibility he could play before the season’s over.”
Lastings Milledge has been sidelined since 9/13 with a left oblique strain.
Ross Ohlendorf may be pitching in an instructional league as part of his off-season routine.
“We’ve got to see how he progresses,” Russell said. “He will need some down time before he gets back to work.”
Ohlendorf (upper back) has not pitched since 8/23.
With six games remaining of the season why would the Pirates be concerned with a few of the injured players playing time?
“Then you go into the off-season knowing [you're OK],” manager John Russell said. “I think it’s more of a mental thing than anything. If you go into the off-season knowing you didn’t get into a game, you’re going to have that on your mind until you get on the mound or start full-go.”
Injury updates: Milledge, Jones
Neal Huntington discussed the injuries of Lastings Milledge and Garrett Jones on Sunday:
Milledge strained left oblique isn’t as serious as they thought, but that doesn’t mean he won’t be out the rest of the season.
“It’s not the show-stopping pain you typically get from an oblique strain, where it feels like someone stuck a knife in your ribs,” Huntington said. “It’s more of a dull ache, which is good, but at the same time, much like we saw [first baseman] Jeff Clement go through last year, where he tried to rush himself back and hide [the pain], he ended up tearing and hurting his oblique pretty significantly, and now he was set back into November with his offseason [work]. So we want to make sure we don’t put Lastings into that situation.”
“It’s not day-to-day, but it’s not season-ending yet, either. We may get to the end of the season and he’s not able to get into a game, and that’s OK. But we also don’t want to close the door by saying it’s definitely a season-ending injury.”
Huntington said that Jones issues are not chronic even though he suffered a similar injury twice last season. Garrett is currently listed as day-to-day.
“If you continue to stretch the ligaments and tendons, then yes, it may become a surgical issue,” Huntington said. “But also, a lot of guys are able to go with worse that don’t need surgery. It’s going to be a matter of, as he continues to progress and as our doctors continue to get looks at it, they’ll make that determination.”
Milledge’s season ends early
Lastings Milledge’s season is over after suffering a left oblique strain he sustained during batting practice on Tuesday.
“It’s going to be tough,” Milledge said, when asked of his chances of returning. “As of today, I don’t think I can generate enough force to play. I play 100 percent. I don’t know how to play 80 percent. That’s going to be the tough thing.”
Milledge will end his season with a .277 AVG, 34 RBI and seven home runs.
Despite the numbers he posted, Lastings believes he has ended his season the best point it has ever been in his career.
His past was full of negativity and with the reputation for being a bad teammate, and a lazy player who ran on talent, not hard work..
“I broke a lot of labels,” Milledge said. “I broke a lot of things that were said about me. That was a goal, as well to get that negative vibe from over my head this year. I think that’s bigger than hitting 30 homers. I think that’s bigger than anything else, because now teams see that I’ve gotten a lot better as a player and a lot better as a person.”
Milledge will play winter ball in Venezuela during the off-season to get more at-bats. A pretty good idea considering there are many players fighting for that right field spot.
“I think I changed my game a lot this year, and it kind of cost me some playing time,” he said. “I changed my approach around a little bit to get more hits and be more adequate on the field. I think I just need to be the player I am instead of changing so much. That kind of put me in a situation where I don’t know what I’m going to be next year. I just have to make sure that I go back to the drawing board, and do what I feel like I need to do to be the best player I know I can be.”
General Manager Neal Huntington has not discussed Milledge’s future with the organization. Milledge hopes for another chance for regular playing time.
“I think that I’ve been a winning player,” Milledge said. “I’ve done everything possible that I can do physically and mentally to put my team in a better situation. There is nothing that I regret this year. I gave it over 100 percent every day.
“I think I still see myself as a cornerstone guy. I don’t know what the team views me as. I know what I view myself as, and I know that I’m going to do everything that I can do to be able to do that. I want to be a starter, so I’ve got to work as hard as I can to show all that I have.”
“I want to be an everyday starter. I want them to look at me and say, ‘This guy is going to do anything to win the game. Anything.’ That’s what I want.”
Where does Jones fit in 2011 and what can Milledge improve on?
According to the Pittsburgh-Post Gazette;
General Manager Neal Huntington was asked where Garrett Jones might play in 2011:
Pirates still unsure about right field
“We’re hoping, but September evaluations are tough,” Russell said. “We’ve got a lot of guys. There are guys we feel good about. Obviously we’d like a guy to be in the lineup everyday and do what corner outfielders do. But we’re not there yet.”
A total of six players have played in right field this season, Garrett Jones leading the team with 45 appearences.
Manager John Russell doesn’t expect to determine the every day player by the end of the season. He’s hoping someone makes the most of the opppurtunity and runs with it.
Garrett Jones, Lastings Milledge, Ryan Doumit, John Bowker, Brandon Moss and Alex Presley are all being considered to be the every day right fielder but that doesn’t mean the Pirates wont pursue other options in the free-agent market.
“We’ve got some good candidates in-house,” he said. “It could be intriguing. We’ve got some guys who’ve had some success. We’ll look at our options this winter and see what’s available to us.”
Kristy Robinson
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