Notes: First Base Touched; Move Or Two; Old Bucs Movin' On

Thanksgiving week…

Notes:

• Hey – Pittsburgh signed another 1B! Carlos Santana inked a one-year/$6.725M deal. He’s a 13-year vet (ten years with the Indians) who hit .202 with 19 HR last year for KC/Seattle, but whose peripherals were stronger than counting numbers. The 36-year-old switch-hitter is an average fielder and joins a crowded field of 1B/DH candidates, although it looks like the Pirates are hoping for an effective Santana-Choi partnership at first.  
• The Pirates claimed 1B Lewin Díaz from the Marlins. The 26-year-old lefty swinger hit .181 over parts of three seasons with the Fish, banging 13 HR and fanning 99 times in 343 PAs. His claim to fame is that he’s actually a 1B and can field the position. Diaz batted .263 with good contact in the minors, so the Bucs are hoping for a change of scenery rally, especially as he’s out of options. There’s gonna be quite the crowd vying for first; we’re not particularly sold on the cattle call audition process. Utilityman Hoy Park was DFA’ed to clear a 40-man spot for Diaz, and while in limbo was traded to Boston for LHP Inmer Lobo, an 18-year-old who tossed in the Dominican Summer League, impressing with a 2-0/0.82 line in five starts covering 22 IP.

Quinn Priester – 2021 image from MLB Pipeline

• MLB.com selected its likeliest 2023 Rookie of the Year candidates by team; for the Pirates, it was RHP Quinn Priester (Oneil Cruz used up his rookie eligibility last season).
• The KT Wiz of the KBO signed RHP Beau Sulser for the 2023 season, the team announced. He’ll receive a $740K guarantee. Sulser started the year with Indy and then the Bucs, was DFA’ed and claimed by Baltimore, who also later DFA’ed him (the Pirates claimed him back, btw, but then cut him loose again; no wonder he jumped the pond).
• Former Pirates IF Pablo Reyes has signed with the Oakland A’s as a minor league FA after being outrighted by Milwaukee. Take one ol’ Buc, lose another – Oakland RHP Deolis Guerra (2015 in Pittsburgh) was DFA’ed and elected free agency.
• RHP Shelby Miller, who the Bucs had stashed at Indy and brought up for a minute in 2021, is again an item after a couple of strong AAA seasons.
• No one asked, but LA free agent CF Cody Bellinger has a BA of .203/74 OPS+ with 41 homers over 1,143 plate appearances in the past three years, so there’s more than the benjamins keeping him off the Pirates radar.