EmailEmail
PrintPrint
Pirates set stage to sell off Wilson, others
Acquire shortstop Izturis from Cubs for cash, minor-leaguer
Friday, July 20, 2007
By Dejan Kovacevic, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Has the sale begun?

The Pirates apparently have started the process of trading shortstop Jack Wilson, their most tenured and highest-paid player, with the acquisition yesterday of another former All-Star shortstop, Cesar Izturis, and $1.38 million in cash from the Chicago Cubs for a minor-league player to be named later.

  

Cesar Izturis hitting .246 and lost the starting job with Cubs.

Today

Game: Astros (RHP Roy Oswalt 8-6, 3.91) vs. Pirates (LHP Tom Gorzelanny 9-4, 3.24), 7:05 p.m., PNC Park.

TV, radio: WPGB-FM (104.7).

Key matchup: Jack Wilson is one of the few National League hitters to have had long-term success vs. Oswalt, owning a.368 average - 21 for 57- with five doubles and a triple.

Of note: The Astros, 0-6 vs. the Pirates this season, have fared marginally better than the Pirates since the All-Star break: They are 1-5.

Related article

Pirates Q&A with Dejan Kovacevic
A nd Wilson is not the only one who might go if management has made a broader decision to shed salaries from a roster that has performed well below its expectations.

Such a siren might already have been sounded: Relievers Salomon Torres and Damaso Marte are being shopped in advance of Major League Baseball's July 31 trading deadline, with the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees each having inquired. And Shawn Chacon, a pending free agent, could join that category if he and the Pirates fail to negotiate a new contract soon.

If Wilson, Torres and Marte all get dealt for prospects or players of low salaries, the Pirates would save about $20 million over the next two seasons.

General manager Dave Littlefield was asked if acquiring Izturis meant Wilson is on the block.

"This has nothing to do with Jack Wilson," Littlefield replied. "We're trying to win more games, and we're always open-minded. But this was about making our team deeper and better."

He cited the lack of infield depth, with third baseman Jose Bautista on the disabled list until early August. Izturis also has played third base and second base, and he could start at third tonight against the Houston Astros at PNC Park. That would send Jose Castillo, Bautista's replacement, back to the bench.

"Certainly, we're in a situation right now where we're a little thin," Littlefield said.

Wilson's immediate reaction upon hearing the news yesterday was to contact his agent, Page Odle, and try to assess his future.

"I've got no idea right now," Wilson said. "I've got nothing until I've got any kind of information about what's going to happen. I'm sure Izturis is going to get some playing time, so ... we'll see what happens."

Wilson's contract includes a limited no-trade clause that was triggered this year, meaning Wilson and Odle would have to approve any trade to the six declared teams. Neither was contacted on that front as of last night.

Where might Wilson end up?

The only reasonable destination would be a contender in need of a shortstop with the means to take on the $14.25 million Wilson is owed beyond this season. The only team fitting that bill is the Red Sox, who have .218-hitting Julio Lugo at the position, but there has been no firm indication of interest on their end.

There have been discussions around the baseball world since early last summer that Wilson has been available for the right price, but the Pirates always would deny that -- emphatically -- mostly because they had no clear replacement.

Now?

Suffice it to say that, for monetary reasons alone, the chances of Wilson and Izturis sharing a uniform for long are minimal ...

Wilson, 29, is making $5.25 million, $6.5 million next year and $7.25 million in 2009. A club option for 2010 is worth $8.4 million with a $500,000 buyout.

Izturis, 27, is making $4.25 million on the final year of a three-year contract, though the Pirates will be on the hook only for $277,322 of that because of the Cubs' cash payment of $1,378,142 and the prorated portion Izturis already has received. But a club option for 2008 would cost the Pirates $5.85 million if they do not exercise the $300,000 buyout.

To put it mildly, the Pirates can ill afford to spend nearly a quarter of their payroll next season on two players with strikingly similar profiles.

There is another factor, possibly, that could portend Wilson's exit ...

Izturis played for Pirates manager Jim Tracy while the two were with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2002-05 and had his best season -- he hit a career-best .288 and beat out Wilson for the Gold Glove -- in 2004. Tracy always has spoken highly of Izturis.

Tracy always has spoken well of Wilson, too, but two incidents this season might have damaged the relationship: The first came when Tracy benched Wilson for four games in June after Wilson had a mistake-filled day at Yankee Stadium. The other came Monday, when Wilson and pitching coach Jim Colborn exchanged heated words in the dugout. Tracy is fiercely loyal to Colborn.

No one can say for certain how it will turn out, especially with the fate of Littlefield and the Pirates' management uncertain after this season, but all of the above variables seem to point to this being the targeted scenario:

1. Wilson gets traded by the deadline.

2. Izturis plays out the year as the shortstop to buy more development time for Brian Bixler, the 24-year-old shortstop prospect batting .294 at Class AAA Indianapolis.

3. Izturis' 2008 option is bought out at the end of the year for $300,000, clearing the way for Bixler to get his chance next season.

Izturis was Chicago's opening-day shortstop but quickly became a spare part in his seventh major-league season, losing the job to Ryan Theriot by May. He batted .246 in 65 games with 11 doubles, no home runs and eight RBIs, and he had only 13 at-bats in the Cubs' past 18 games.

That surely was one reason he embraced the move yesterday.

"I just want to play every day, and now it's an opportunity to go to Pittsburgh," Izturis told reporters in Chicago. "I'm going to miss this team, but it's a business."

The other reason, he said, was being reunited with Tracy.

"It's good, especially with a manager that you played for before and got his confidence."

Jim Hendry, the Cubs' general manager, strongly suggested he simply was doing Izturis a favor.

"Cesar is a wonderful guy, and he's still got a lot of ability," Hendry said. "I just felt like it was a good situation for him to move into. ... I told him, 'I want you to go out there and beat some of those other teams in the National League Central we're trying to stay on top of."

The Cubs are in second place.

Should the Pirates make Izturis their starting shortstop over Wilson, they would be making a fairly even swap defensively but a downgrade offensively: Izturis is a career .258 hitter with a .295 on-base percentage, each figure about 10 points lower than those of Wilson.

Littlefield spoke optimistically about what Izturis might bring.

"He's a guy with very good defensive skills, has had a Gold Glove, been an All-Star, and had 192 hits in a season," Littlefield said, the latter a reference to Izturis' 2004 production. "Obviously, he hasn't played a lot lately, but there's talent there."

Izturis had reconstructive elbow surgery last fall, but Littlefield said the medical records showed no cause for concern.

The player to be named later, whom Chicago management has six months to choose from a list of 5-10 names, will not come off the Pirates' major-league roster. In all likelihood, it will be one of their many relief prospects, given the Cubs' wish to add pitching.

The Pirates cleared space on their full 40-man and 25-man rosters by designating utilityman Don Kelly for assignment for the second time this season.

First published on July 19, 2007 at 11:03 pm
Dejan Kovacevic can be reached at dkovacevic@post-gazette.com.