The number dropped again this month when the Pirates decided not to tender a contract to closer Matt Capps, allowing him to become a free agent. Capps expressed a willingness to return to the Pirates, but that seems doubtful considering more than half of the 30 major league clubs had contacted his agent, Paul Kinzer, within 48 hours of him being non-tendered.
Capps had 27 saves last season and 67 in his five seasons with the Pirates. However, the Pirates feared he might win an award as high as $4 million in arbitration after having a $2.3 million salary in 2009. They were not willing to pay that kind of money following a season in which Capps had career worsts in ERA (5.80), hits per nine innings (12.1) and walks per nine innings (2.8).
"It was a difficult decision, and we knew it would be unpopular, but the arbitration process rewards statistics like saves, wins and home runs rather than properly accounting for the metrics behind those numbers," Huntington said. "We very aggressively tried to sign Matt to a contract that would be what we felt his value would be on the free agent market would be rather than what his value would potentially be through arbitration."
Huntington said late in the season and in the days leading up to the Dec. 12 deadline for offering arbitration that Capps would likely be back but never definitively said so.
"I always had a gut feeling this was going to happen, even when Huntington was making it sound like I was going to be back," Capps said. "I thought they were more likely to sign me then trade me rather than non-tender me, but I had the feeling all along I wouldn't be back with the Pirates next season."
Joel Hanrahan is first in line to replace Capps as the closer. He was removed twice from that role by Washington last season before the Nationals traded him to the Pirates on June 30. Hanrahan then went 0-1 with a 1.72 ERA in 33 relief appearances with the Pirates.
NOTES, QUOTES
--LHP Javier Lopez, who spent the bulk of last season for pitching for Boston's top farm team, signed a one-year, $775,000 contract with the Pirates. Lopez, 32, had a 9.26 ERA in 14 appearances with Boston before being demoted in early May. He has a 4.62 career ERA in seven big-league seasons.
--SS Ronny Cedeno signed a one-year, $1,125,000 contract to avoid salary arbitration. Cedeno, 26, made $822,500 last season when he hit a combined .208 with 10 home runs and 38 RBIs in 105 games with Seattle and Pittsburgh. The Pirates had considered not tendering him a contract if he did not sign. That would have allowed Cedeno to become a free agent, and recently signed free agent Bobby Crosby likely would have became the starting shortstop.
--LHP Phil Dumatrait, despite not being eligible for salary arbitration, was not tendered a contract by the Dec. 12 deadline and became a free agent. Dumatrait, 28, was 0-2 with a 6.92 ERA in 15 relief appearances last season after missing the first 4 1/2 months while recovering from shoulder surgery. He subsequently signed a minor league contract with the Tigers.
--LHP Zach Duke is the only Pirates player remaining in arbitration. He made $2.2 million last season, when he went he went 11-16 with a 4.06 ERA in 32 starts.
--OF John Raynor, selected from Florida in the Rule 5 draft at the winter meetings, and OF Brandon Moss are likely to compete for one spot on the bench in spring training unless the Pirates add another player through free agency or a trade. C Jason Jaramillo, INF Bobby Crosby, INF Ramon Vazquez and OF Delwyn Young appear to have already made the team as reserves.
--INF/OF Kelly Johnson, who became a free agent when he was non-tendered by Atlanta, has drawn the interest of the Pirates as a possible bench player. The 27-year-old hit just .224 with eight home runs and 29 RBI last season for the Braves. However, he has a .264 lifetime batting average in four seasons and had 16 home runs among 52 extra-base hits for the Braves in 2007.
--RHP Kelvim Escobar had a throwing session scouted by the Pirates in his native Venezuela. Escobar, 33, won 18 games for the Angels in 2007 but made only one start for them in the next two seasons combined as he underwent shoulder surgery. He wants to pitch in relief in order to conserve his arm.
--The Pirates hired three area scouting supervisors: Larry Broadway will cover Arizona, Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Nevada; Rolando Pina will cover south and central Florida and Puerto Rico; and Anthony Wycklendt will cover Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan and Minnesota.
--The Pirates' new Bradenton farm club in the high Class A Florida State League will be known as the Marauders. The Pirates said they wanted the team to have a unique nickname but one that is also closely associated to the Pirates.
BY THE NUMBERS: 14 -- Career saves by RHP Joel Hanrahan, who is likely to replace RHP Matt Capps as the Pirates' closer next season.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "It wasn't my choice to leave. I love Pittsburgh. The city has been great. The fans have been wonderful. I would have stayed with the Pirates my whole career, but the decision was out of my hands." -- Closer Matt Capps, who became a free agent on Dec. 12 when he was not tendered a contract by the Pirates.