The Pittsburgh Pirates have acquired left-handed pitcher Andy Oliver from the Detroit Tigers in exchange for catcher Ramon Cabrera. Oliver was taken in the second round of the 2009 draft by Detroit, after being considered a first round talent heading into the 2009 season.
Oliver had 31.2 innings in the majors, with a 7.11 ERA. He has a 6.5 K/9 and a 6.0 BB/9, struggling with his control numbers. The last time he was in the majors was in 2011. He was rushed through the minors a bit, going right to Double-A in 2010, then skipping to the majors after 130.1 innings between Double-A and Triple-A. He returned to Triple-A in 2011 and made 26 starts. In 2012 he had a 4.88 ERA in 118 innings in Triple-A, with an 8.5 K/9 and a 6.7 BB/9 ratio.
Oliver’s biggest issue has been a lack of control, which started once he moved up to Triple-A. He was a starter for most of his career, but moved to the bullpen in 2012. As a reliever his numbers were better, with a 3.78 ERA in 16.2 innings, although the control issues were still there with a 20:12 K/BB ratio. Baseball America had him as the fifth best prospect in Detroit’s system last year. He throws a 92-96 MPH fastball, a below-average slider, and an inconsistent changeup. At this point Oliver is similar to Justin Wilson due to the good velocity and the control issues, although I’d probably rate Wilson higher, since his control isn’t as bad.
Cabrera was one of the top catching prospects in the upper levels, which was a thin group. He’s a small catcher, which raises questions about his durability behind the plate. He made strides with his defense and game calling last year. His bread and butter has always been his hitting. He won the Florida State League batting title in 2011 with a .343 average. He started off slow with Altoona, but turned it on the final two months, with a .301/.361/.425 line in July, and a .340/.414/.456 line in August. He was just added to the 40-man roster a few weeks ago. Oliver was on Detroit’s 40-man, and will take Cabrera’s spot.
The 2013 payroll page and the Future payroll page are both updated.
December 5, 2012 at 5:48 pm
Andy Oliver ranked Detroit’s #5 prospect on mlb.com. Though 25 years old already. Can throw pretty hard. Probably a strong bullpen option this season.
December 5, 2012 at 5:57 pm
Hopefully they start Oliver in AAA and make sure he solves his control issues before trusting him in the ML bullpen. Cabrera was solid, but expendable.
December 5, 2012 at 6:18 pm
I guess Clint will get his second lefty for the bullpen.
Yet another reclamation job.
December 5, 2012 at 6:59 pm
all teams, and i mean ALL TEAMS, go after players like this. just a couple years ago he was one of the top 100 prospects in baseball.
what is the team supposed to do? sit on their hands and hope Sean Burnett comes back home to the Burgh? cmon, man.
December 5, 2012 at 9:10 pm
Agree
December 5, 2012 at 6:25 pm
If they didn’t like RC size why bother signing him and wasting all the work coaching him up ? So they could trade him for another washed out pitcher ? They have so many of them in the minors now that their names are all a blur to me.
December 5, 2012 at 7:03 pm
its not that they dont like cabrera, its that they view him as expendable. hes behind 3 other guys in front of him and have 2 other catchers behind him, including mathieson, whom many rate as being better.
taking a chance on a power lefty is fine and it only cost a catcher who really doesnt have much of a chance to make it.
December 5, 2012 at 8:38 pm
I don’t have anything against the other catching prospects but I’ll tell you I have worked over the years in a physical job and some of the toughest people I have worked with were short people. They seem to have some inner strength that drives them to prove that they are just as good if not better than taller people. I don’t know if that drives Cabrera but if it does it wouldn’t surprise me to see him hitting .300 for the Tigers someday and people talking about this phenom once belonging to the Pirates.
December 5, 2012 at 9:12 pm
I doubt that…singles hitting catchers with average defense don’t become ‘phenoms’.
.
December 5, 2012 at 10:08 pm
After watching Barajas last year I’ll bet you would be calling a singles hitting avg. catcher with a .300 avg a phenom if he was playing for the Pirates.
December 5, 2012 at 9:17 pm
Btw, Your statement about ‘short people’ smacked of stereotyping…not sure if you realized that.
I’ve worked with some LAZY short people. So, to me, all short people are lazy?
December 5, 2012 at 9:33 pm
you might want to read that comment again. he said some of the toughest people he works will happen to be short not all short people are tough.
btw your commnt comes off dickish. not sure if you realized. can you try keeping the talk about baseball
December 5, 2012 at 9:34 pm
dang ipod+big thumbs
December 5, 2012 at 7:46 pm
Washed out pitcher lol He’s 25, damn.
December 5, 2012 at 8:02 pm
Ever hear the name Stetson Allie ? He wasn’t even 25.
December 5, 2012 at 8:04 pm
and he can throw 100mph..
December 5, 2012 at 9:19 pm
Actually, on average, MOST pitchers wash out.
It’s what they do….historically.
December 5, 2012 at 6:30 pm
This kid was 13-2 in his first two years in college, and has the juice to be a LHSP. He suffers from 3 things – he is left handed; he is fairly tall at 6’3″, and he has gotten through college and the minors with just a fastball. I would place him at AAA as a SP, and let him develop at least two more pitches – hopefully a Slider and and a Change-up. He turned 25 on Tuesday, so he will play all of 2013 as a 25 year old. Tony Watson 95/96, Justin Wilson 96/97 and Andy Oliver 94/95. Nice to have that type of talent in the wings. My pick – Justin Wilson – very heady and a bulldog on the mound.
December 5, 2012 at 7:59 pm
Poor Detroit if only they had the superior Pirates development staff they could have had a LH version of Verlander. Well the Bucs will show them how it’s done!
I know… if he doesn’t work out they didn’t really lose anything.
I’m just tired of reading about all the losers they sign even if they are minor leaguers
December 5, 2012 at 9:23 pm
As White Angus mentioned above, ALL teams do these types of reclamation projects. you just never know when ‘the light will go on’.
If you’re a lefty, with a top FB, you’re gonna get chances.
Btw, you DO know that Grilli was a failed number 1 pick that OUR development team turned into a strikeout machine?
So yeah, I’m all for taking a chance on a failed top prospect.
December 5, 2012 at 7:25 pm
the Bucs do have a good system for stressing fastball command. Maybe that will work with Oliver.
December 5, 2012 at 9:04 pm
Hmm…trade for Andy Oliver, kick the tires on Manny Parra, have Justin Wilson at AAA, spent a couple years on the Donnie Veal experiment…I sense a trend here.
December 6, 2012 at 8:21 am
Yeah the trend is that its never a bad idea to take a risk on a power lefty arm. The Bucs have done well in correcting fastball command issues in the past. I like the deal. Cabrera was not more than a MLB backup prospect.
December 6, 2012 at 8:22 am
Also, I’ve liked Oliver ever since the Bucs passed on him in the 2nd round to take Brooks Pounders. I never could figure that one out.
December 6, 2012 at 10:36 am
I dont have a problem wth this move. Cabrera is gonna be a solid mlb catcher off the bench. But he is not the typical power and low avg C. He is a low walk hig average gap power guy…definitely doesn’t fit the profile of guys the Bucs have been going after so to a degree I think you can say they didnt want him. I like him but to use him to get a lefty that is consistently 92-94 and just turned 25 three days ago is a good thing. 25 to a lefty is not all that old. Hopefully he can develop a 2nd pitch he can throw for strikes and become our 2nd left out of the pen.
Twitter: John_Eshleman
December 8, 2012 at 1:19 am
I think a key here is what Tim mentioned, that Oliver was rushed. The Tigers system has this reputation, and it has had mixed success with their prospect arms (Verlander= success; Turner= not so much). Oliver was drafted out of OK St. and in his first year as a pro finished in AAA. He never developed the critical skills that could maximize his talent.
So . . . as a 25-year old it’s damn near impossible he will reach the potential he had at 23 (a #2), but I like it as a reclamation project as long as they actually try to ‘reclaim’ his upside. As others note, there are other left-handed bullpen options, like Wilson. It would serve the Pirates to keep him down another year to work on his command, secondary stuff, and arm strength so he can be stretched back out. At his age, I see a 180-inning left-handed #4-5 starter *upside*, and I’ll take that over someone who throws 60 innings a season any day of the week. And if it doesn’t work, try him in the pen and if if that doesn’t work be OK with the fact that the cost was minimal (no offense intended to Ramon Cabrera whatsoever).