This is part of a series of posts wherein we castigate teams for their cruddy offseason crusades and applaud them for their excellent additions.

Look, the Pittsburgh Pirates aren’t going to make the playoffs in 2010. I know it. You know it. Heck, even the Pirates know it.

So why did the team bother to trade for 2B Akinori Iwamura, or sign free agents OF Ryan Church and RP Octavio Dotel when it would have been cheaper to promote minor leaguers?

Pittsburgh signed Iwamura because the organization felt there were no internal candidates to play second base. Moreover, it’s important for the sanity of the team’s pitchers and fans that the guys up the middle be able to field their positions. You don’t want to retard a minor leaguer’s progress by promoting him prematurely. While not a screaming deal ($4.25M), Iwamura will be a free agent after 2010 (and Pittsburgh should get at least one draft pick when he departs) so the team maintained flexibility.*

The Pirates’ other two big additions, Church and Dotel, were affordable pieces who will likely be worth more than they cost.

Church won’t make much money ($1.5M) and will give Pittsburgh some flexibility in its outfield and at first base should any of the team’s young players struggle. That’s a good thing since Lastings Milledge and Jeff Clement are far from safe bets (though for different reasons). CHONE predicts Church will be worth $4M in 2010.

Dotel, who will only earn $3.25M this season, could be a valuable trade chip come July. If he has a good first half, the Pirates could flip him to a contender, who would likely pay a pro-rated portion of his salary and send Pittsburgh a prospect or two in return. For a team that is solely focused on adding young talent, that would be a great result. Nor is it unlikely. Dotel hasn’t closed since early 2007, but he was a reliable arm for the White Sox the past two seasons, maintaining a strikeout rate of 10.83 per nine innings. He’s still got it.

From a financial standpoint, the organization probably saved a little money non-tendering closer Matt Capps and signing Dotel. GM Neal Huntington explained the non-tender decision, saying, “we felt that the risk of an arbitration award at a substantially higher amount was not a good business decision for us….” That makes sense. Also, there’s a good chance Dotel will be the better pitcher in 2010. He was in 2009.

It’s easy to look at the Pirates’ offseason acquisitions and say, “why bother?” But these vets won’t steal playing time from youngers, at least not for long. That’s not how Pittsburgh rolls. Whenever possible and practical, the Pirates have given young players the chance to win starting jobs. That’s the correct strategy for a midmarket team with a still-recovering farm system (damn you Dave Littlefield!).

GM Neal Huntington has been unflinching in his willingness to pull the trigger on a trade that will improve his team’s long term chances. Gone from the team’s 2009 opening day lineup are Nyjer Morgan, Freddy Sanchez, Nate McLouth, Adam LaRoche, Jack Wilson, and John Grabow. Eric Hinske, Ian Snell, Tom Gorzelanny, and Sean Burnett were also traded.

Huntington’s got this team headed in the right direction. We knew it wouldn’t be quick, nor easy. But the Pirates are getting closer to respectability everyday.

I can’t give the Pirates an A, because they still stink. But so far management is making all the right moves.

NOTE: Nick emailed me earlier and said, “I feel the Bucs are foolish to sign those players, because it can’t really ever hurt to let young guys play and see what you have – it can only help – so there’s no need to waste that money on free agents.”  In baseball matters and pretty much everything else, Nick is smarter than me. So I should probably just agree with him. But I’m going to go against my better judgment this once and say that I think if a team is really dedicated to developing young players, then they will surround those young players with a few talented veterans. I’m not as big a proponent of intangibles as Sarah, but I do think a certain amount of leadership is a good thing. Plus, from a marketing standpoint, it’s nice to have a couple of names that the fans recognize.

Grade: B

Added: Akinori Iwamura, Octavio Dotel, Ryan Church, Bobby Crosby, Brendan Donnelly, Javier Lopez

Lost: Matt Capps, Phil Dumatrait

Projected Lineup:

C – Ryan Doumit
1B – Jeff Clement
2B – Akinori Iwamura
SS – Ronnie Cedeno
3B – Andy Laroche
CF –Andrew McCutchen
LF – Lastings Milledge
RF – Garrett Jones

Pitching:

SP1 – Paul Maholm
SP2 – Ross Ohlendorf
SP3 – Zach Duke
SP4 – Charlie Morton
SP5 – Kevin Hart

CL – Octavio Dotel

- Hot Offseason Action Index -

This is one in a series of posts where we laud teams’ shrewd offseason acquisitions and pan their terrible trades and silly signings.

Last week, the Astros signed GM Ed Wade to a 2-year contract extension, and owner Drayton McLane was quick to praise Wade:

“Ed is an outstanding baseball man. He’s organized and has surrounded himself with a good, solid staff. Much of the work Ed did in Philadelphia had a lot to do with them becoming a champion. We feel he has us moving in the right direction to be a champion as well.”

Moving in the right direction? That’s a tough sell. The Astros finished 2009 in fifth place, 17 games behind the Cardinals. What’s more, they were incredibly lucky, as the team’s Pythagorean record suggests they should have won 7 fewer games.

Houston is one of the oldest teams in baseball and most of the organization’s best players (Carlos Lee, Roy Oswalt, Lance Berkman) are in decline. What’s more, little help is on the way. Recently, Keith Law ranked the Astros farm system 28th, and only catching prospect Jason Castro is poised to make the jump to the bigs anytime soon.

With vacancies at shortstop and third base and McLane bent on spending less in 2010, what did Wade do this offseason?

He spent big on a reliever, that’s what. Brandon Lyon got a three-year deal worth $15M even though, in seven professional seasons, Lyon has only once been worth $5M. It was a reckless signing, a move that drew criticism from all parts of the interwebs, and for good reason.

Wade did make a few less crazy moves. He signed 3B Pedro Feliz for $4.5M — a lot of money to pay for a third baseman with a bad back who can’t hit, but at least it was only a one-year deal. And Feliz will almost certainly be an improvement over Geoff Blum, who played third for the ‘Stros last season.

For $5.1M, Wade landed Brett Myers, an asshole who gives up way to many home runs. His HR/FB rate in nearly 1,200 innings is 15.5 percent.

Wade traded for Matt Lindstrom, who at $1.6M for one year is a good gamble, even though he sucked last year. If Lindstrom can remember how to limit home runs, he could be a great bargain, and Houston didn’t give up much to get him.

As for the shortstop vacancy, Wade gave the job to slick fielding minor leaguer Tommy Manzella, who has a .321 OBP in five minor league seasons. Manzella is going to have to be awfully good with the glove to justify what most people project will be pretty meager offensive production.

I don’t expect the Astros to be horrible this season. Oswalt and Wandy Rodriguez are a formidable pair atop the rotation (though the rest of the rotation is much less intimidating). And Houston has some power, with Lee, Hunter Pence and Berkman all capable of hitting 30 homers.

But these guys need to learn to take a walk. The Astros were 13th in the NL in OBP last season, and that doesn’t stand to improve much with Manzella replacing Miguel Tejada at short.

Moreover, even if Houston’s aging vets can stay healthy (a big if), the team doesn’t look built to compete with the Cardinals or Cubs. The Reds, too, look better on paper.

Maybe the best thing the Astros did this offseason is finish construction on their Dominican Republic Academy, which will open later this spring. After years of crappy drafts and inattention to international scouting, it seems the Astros are finally starting to wake up to the importance of building from the ground up. Better late than never.

Offseason Grade: D

Acquisitions: SP Brett Myers, 3B Pedro Feliz, RP Brandon Lyon, RP Matt Lindstrom.

Losses: RP Jose Valverde, 3B Brett Boone, RP Doug Brocail, RP LaTroy Hawkins, SS Miguel Tejada, 1B Darin Erstad, C Chris Coste.

Projected Lineup, Rotation, and Closer

C J.R. Towles
1B Lance Berkman
2B Kazuo Matsui
3B Pedro Feliz
SS Tommy Manzella
LF Carlos Lee
CF Michael Bourn
RF Hunter Pence

SP1 Roy Oswalt
SP2 Wandy Rodriguez
SP3 Brett Myers
SP4 Brian Moehler Bud Norris
SP5 Brandon Backe Felipe Paulino/Brian Moehler

CL Brandon Lyon

- Hot Offseason Action Index -

This is one in a series of posts where we laud teams’ shrewd offseason acquisitions and pan their terrible trades and silly signings.

The Braves finished six games out of first place in 2009, but their Pythagorean record had them only a game back of the Phillies. Moreover, Atlanta can expect continued improvement from Tommy Hanson, who MLB Trade Rumors’ Tim Dierkes predicts will be one of the NL’s 10 best pitchers in 2010. Super prospect Jason Heyward, meanwhile, is on his way and might make the team out of spring training (especially if he keeps shattering car windows in batting practice).

The Braves could have returned the same lineup as last season and been in position to make a playoff run.

Instead, they traded their best pitcher in a cost-cutting move.

The Braves sent Javier Vazquez to the Yankees for Melky Cabrera and two minor leaguers. Fangraphs’ Dave Cameron said the Braves got more for Vazquez than the Phils got for Cliff Lee. Tim Hudson says the Braves’ rotation will still be strong, even without Vazquez. But will it be strong enough? Atlanta’s staff will boast Hudson (who the team signed to a new contract this offseason), Jair Jurrjens, Derek Lowe, Tommy Hanson and Kenshin Kawakami, who is better suited to a relief role. It’s a good group, and could be great depending on how Hudson does in his first full season back from Tommy John surgery, and how young guns Hanson and Jurrjens progress. But the Braves’s staff could have been lights out if only ownership had been willing to spend a little more on Vazquez.

Elsewhere on the diamond, Atlanta signed Troy Glaus to play first base, a position at which he has played in only six games in his career. If Glaus is healthy, the signing could be a real coup, as the slugger is a regular threat to hit 30 home runs. But Glaus missed all but 14 games last season with St. Louis, after having arthroscopic shoulder surgery and experiencing a setback when he tried to make it back in time for opening day. Signing a first baseman to a one-year deal made sense, since the Braves expect prospect Freddie Freeman to be ready as early as 2011. But it’s a little surprising that a team that already boasts one oft-injured corner infielder (Chipper, we’re looking at you) would want to add another.

The Braves also signed the tatted up Eric Hinske, who’s played in the World Series three years in a row with three different teams. Hinske’s not good enough to play everyday, nor is he an ideal platoon partner for Matt Diaz, since both hit lefties better than righties but could be a platoon partner for the lefty-crushing Diaz.

In an ideal world, Hinske will spend most of his time on the bench, pinch hitting and providing outfield and first base depth. But that’s only possible if Heyward makes the team out of spring training. Then Cabrera and Diaz can platoon in left.

Atlanta also tinkered with its bullpen this offseason, letting Mike Gonzalez walk and trading Rafael Soriano (who surprised the team by accepting salary arbitration). GM Frank Wren signed Billy Wagner and Takashi Saito to replace them, two old guys who are looking to prove they’ve still got what it takes.

The net result?

Atlanta took a big step back by dealing Vazquez, who was worth more than 6 games above replacement last season. To make up the difference, the Braves will be betting on solid health from Jones, Wagner, Saito and Glaus, and a return to form from Lowe. And that’s a lot to hope for. If only the team had found the cash to keep Vazquez. If only.

Grade: C-

Added: OF Melky Cabrera, IF Troy Glaus, CL Billy Wagner, RP Takashi Saito.

Lost: 1B Adam LaRoche, SP Javier Vazquez, CL Rafael Soriano, RP Mike Gonzalez.

Projected lineup, rotation, and closer:

C Brian McCann
1B Troy Glaus
2B Martin Prado
SS Yunel Escobar
3B Chipper Jones
RF Jason Heyward/Eric Hinske
LF Melky Cabrera/Matt Diaz
CF Nate McLouth

SP Tim Hudson
SP Derek Lowe
SP Kenshin Kawakami
SP Jair Jurrjens
SP Tommy Hanson

CL Billy Wagner

- Hot Offseason Action Index -