PITTSBURGH — Paul Skenes has a lot on his mind. The chances of the perpetually curious National League Rookie of the Year staying with the Pittsburgh Pirates indefinitely is not one of them. Not yet anyway. “I haven’t given it too much thought,” Skenes said Sunday when asked about ...
The Associated Press LOS ANGELES — Prized Japanese pitcher Roki Sasaki says in an Instagram post he intends to sign with the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers. A 23-year-old right-hander whose fastball tops 100 mph, Sasaki will join fellow Japanese stars Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto in a move many baseball executives have long expected. The San Diego Padres and Toronto Blue Jays were said to be the other finalists still in pursuit of Sasaki, who has until next Thursday to finalize a contract. “I have signed a minor contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers,” ...
From Mirror reports The Pittsburgh Pirates announced Monday the following 13 players will attend Major League Baseball camp as non-roster invitees. Pitchers and catchers can report on Saturday, Feb. 10, and the rest of the team will follow suit. The first scheduled exhibition games will begin on Thursday, Feb. 20. Players coming into camjp for the Pirates include: n Abrahan Gutierrez (C) Hit a combined .241 (45-for-187) with 10 doubles, one triple and 21 RBI in 49 games last season between Double-A Altoona, the Florida Complex League Pirates (rehab) and Low-A Bradenton ...
From Mirror, wire reports PITTSBURGH — Left-hander Caleb Ferguson and the Pittsburgh Pirates have agreed to a $3 million, one-year contract. The agreement Thursday is pending a successful physical. The 28-year-old is 19-13 with five saves and a 3.68 ERA in 263 games with the Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees and Houston Astros. Ferguson split time between the Yankees and Astros last season, going 1-4 with a 4.64 ERA. The Pirates plan to stretch Ferguson out in spring training to see if he is an option to join the starting rotations. Ferguson has made 14 starts in his big ...
PITTSBURGH — Former Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Bob Veale died recently at the age of 89, the team confirmed Tuesday. Veale compiled a 116-91 record, 3.06 ERA and 1652 strikeouts in 341 appearances (255 starts) as a member of the Pirates from 1962-72. “Bob was an integral member of the Pirates who helped our team capture back-to-back division titles as well as the 1971 World Series,” Pirates Chairman Bob Nutting said. “He was one of the most dominant left-handed pitchers in all of Major League Baseball during his remarkable big league career that he proudly spent a majority of ...
By John Hartsock jhartsock@altoonamirror.com Notes and observations about Major League Baseball as its hot stove season reaches its midpoint: n As former Pittsburgh Pirates President Frank Coonelly commented during an offseason visit to Altoona’s UVA Club with members of the team to greet local fans many years ago, a lot of the most talked-about prospective trades and transactions never come to pass, and those that aren’t mentioned much beforehand are often the ones that actually happen. The Pirates haven’t been extremely busy with transactions to this point in the ...
