SAN DIEGO -- The baseball Winter Meetings are underway in San Diego, and new Pirates general manager Ben Cherington and manager Derek Shelton are representing the franchise on a large stage for the first time.
The meetings are a five day event from Dec. 8-12 where all 30 GMs and managers, agents, players, collective front office personnel, scouts, coaches and all other walks of life from the baseball world gather together to exchange offers, and make trades and other signings. This is traditionally the busiest week of the baseball offseason.
The Pirates are expected to be active this week, and Starling Marte will be a focal point. The center fielder is expected to be traded this offseason, and the meetings provide an opportunity to make a deal, or at least lay the framework for one.
If the Pirates decide to embrace becoming sellers, All-Star first baseman Josh Bell and closer Keone Kela could be desirable trade candidates.
They will also be in the market to add a catcher. Last week, they non-tendered Elias Diaz, leaving Jacob Stallings as the only backstop on the 40-man roster. Cherington did not specify if he was looking for a starter or backup catcher during his last session with the media on Dec. 3.
The Pirates could also be looking for major league pitching help.
The meetings conclude Thursday with the Rule 5 draft. Some of the prospects the Pirates could risk losing are infielder Stephen Alemais, outfielder Lolo Sanchez and their 2019 minor league pitcher of the year, James Marvel.
Cherington will meet with the media on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, and Shelton will have an interview session on Wednesday.
The Pirates head into the meetings with a projected major league payroll of approximately $62.5 million, using arbitration projections from MLBTradeRumors.com. While the 2020 projected payroll is not yet known, last year's team opened with a $75 million payroll.
• Ted Simmons was on hand Monday for a press conference to introduce him as a future Hall of Famer. While it seems we hear plenty of stories of ex-players who are angry or disappointed with the analytical turn the game has undergone, Simmons made sure to thank the people who pushed a new narrative to get him back in the discussion for Cooperstown.
Simmons fell off the BBWAA ballot in his first year of candidacy in 1994.
"The sabermetric people really revived my candidacy," he said.
Simmons was voted in by the Modern Era Committee Sunday, alongside union representative Marvin Miller.
"He changed everything. Marvin had that kind of impact and is still having that impact," Simmons said. "I couldn't have handpicked anybody I'd rather go in with."
• And in an almost fitting tribute for Miller, Stephen Strasburg and the Nationals came to terms on a 7 year, $245 million deal. It is the largest every for a pitcher, a distinction Strasburg will hold until Gerrit Cole obliterates it.
FOLLOW THE MEETINGS WITH ALEX
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