The rounds of negotiations finally seem to have hit a wall as the Pittsburgh Pirates’ multi-year offers got no response from shortstop Jack Wilson and second baseman Freddy Sanchez. This makes it extremely likely that the team is looking to trade the players out before the end of the season.
Neal Huntington, general manager for the Pirates, said that the discussion could resume of the players’ agents came back with counter-offers however, those counter-offers would need to be in the same region as the 2-year deals offered to them last week. “We’ve not received a counter at his point, so for our minds, they’re not interested even in the foundation we’ve laid,” Huntington said on Sunday. “Typically in a negotiation you get a counter offer and that’s how conversations continue, and we haven’t gotten that.” >
The players believe that the offers given to them are just too far below the market value and that the Pirates need to seriously rethink their offer before sitting down on the table to renegotiate.
Sanchez was handed a 2-year, $10 million deal. However, this would only be valid if he rejects the $8.4 million that he is scheduled to earn in 2010 as well as makes over 600 appearances at the plate in the current season. It was worse for Wilson as the 9-year Pirates’ man was offered $8 million over two years which was lesser than his club option for the next season alone - that’s $8.4 million.
“We made an offer, we put a deadline on it, as I’ve done with every offer I’ve made,” Huntington said. “You can’t leave it out there indefinitely and we’re a little time sensitive here because of the looming trade deadline.” July 31st is the deadline for trading the duo out, i.e. if they refuse to negotiate or accept these contracts.>
The trade options do not seem so pleasing in itself as Sanchez’s multi-team trade talks collapsed after the all-star break. Sanchez is looking to earn a big salary package, which would make him an undesirable candidate as, unless hit by injury, Sanchez will easily make the required 600 appearances on the plate.
Wilson’s trade isn’t so simple either as any team taking him in will need to pay around a third of his $7.4 million salary for this season, especially if the Pirates don’t add money to the deal. “They don’t feel we’re even in the same ballpark, so it’s not worth countering because they feel like years, dollars, the foundation is so far off what their expectations are, it’s not worth countering, and that’s understandable,” Huntington said. “We’ve made a quick attempt to try to sign players for what we feel works for us; if it doesn’t work for them, they don’t accept.”
The Pirates will definitely end up shorthanded if they lose the duo this summer. However, it isn’t unlikely that they might search for experienced replacements for one or both positions, within their budget.
After the trade of NL All Star outfielder Nate McLouth, especially after the player signed an extension, the Pirates came in for a lot of criticism from the fans and media. The trade of Nyjer Morgan was equally disturbing for the fans as well. Many sections believe that this offer may be a way to demonstrate a “willingness” to keep both Sanchez and Wilson rather than actually make a serious effort to keep them. This could be aimed at lowering the fan fury, which may rise after the inevitable trade, rather than keep the players in Pittsburgh.