LAS VEGAS -- Francisco Cervelli might be the next of the Pirates' pending free agents to be traded.
A market is starting to develop for the veteran catcher, multiple sources told DKPittsburghSports.com on Tuesday at the Winter Meetings at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino. I was told the Mets have Cervelli "on their radar" if they are unable to trade for the Marlins' J.T. Realmuto, and Dejan Kovacevic was told the Red Sox are suitors.
Cervelli is scheduled to make a team-high $11.5 million next season. It will be the final year of his three-year, $31-million contract.
The Red Sox are seemingly well-stocked at catcher as they carried three on their roster this year when they won the World Series --- Christian Vazquez, Sandy Leon and Blake Swihart. However, Boston is looking for more offense from the position and have interest in Cervelli.
One Red Sox pitching prospect the Pirates are known to like is right-hander Mike Shawaryn. The 24-year-old pitched at Triple-A Pawtucket and Double-A Portland this year, going a combined 9-10 with a 3.44 ERA in 26 games, including 25 starts.
The Mets are looking for an upgrade behind the plate as Kevin Plawecki is currently in line to be the starting catcher.
However, New York is not willing to give up a top prospect unless the Pirates eat a considerable portion of Cervelli's salary. The Mets would likely part with a young right-handed starter such as Corey Oswalt or Chris Flexen.
The 25-year-old Oswalt made his major league debut and was 3-3 with a 5.85 ERA in 17 games, including 12 starts. Flexen, 24, has made 10 starts and eight relief appearances over the last two seasons, going 3-8 with an 8.45 ERA.
The Dodgers had emerged as a candidate earlier Tuesday. However, a baseball source said the teams had held just cursory talks and that Los Angeles' interest was "very mild, at best, and more due diligence than anything."
On Tuesday, the Pirates traded Ivan Nova to the White Sox for minor league right-hander Yordi Rosario and $500,000 in international slot bonus money.
Many in the Pirates' organization believe Elias Diaz is ready to take over as the primary catcher. In his first full season in the major leagues this year, Diaz hit .286/.339/.452 with 10 home runs in just 82 games.
Cervelli, 32, had the finest offensive season of his 11-year career this year as he batted .259/.378/.421 with 12 homers in 104 game. However, Cervelli's defense has started to decline, particularly in the area of pitch framing.
The Pirates also feel Jacob Stallings is capable of being a solid No. 2 catcher. He has played in 24 major league games over parts of the last three seasons.
In other news from the Winter Meetings:
--There has been some speculation that the Pirates might have at least cursory interest in veteran shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, who was released by the Blue Jays on Tuesday after missing the entire 2018 season because of surgery on both heels.
Tulowitzki is owed $38 million over the final two years of his six-year, $118-million contract. However, the Blue Jays would be responsible for paying all but the minimum salary of $555,000 if he signed with another team.
The Pirates are looking for a veteran shortstop to at least share time with rookie Kevin Newman. Erik Gonzalez was acquired from the Indians in a trade last month but has never been a regular in the major leagues.
Furthermore, Clint Hurdle was the manager when Tulowitzki broke into the major leagues in 2007 with the Rockies.
The 34-year-old Tulowitzki has been selected to five All-Star Games and won two Gold Gloves and two Silver Sluggers. However, he has not played a full season since 2016, when he slashed .254/.318/.443 with 24 home runs and 79 RBIs in 131 games for the Blue Jays.
--The Pirates are considering using an "opener" to fill the fifth starter's job vacated by the trade of Nova.
Neal Huntington also is open to the idea of having an “opener,” in which a relief pitcher would begin the game by working an inning or two before being replaced by a pitcher who could go four or five innings.
The Rays started the “opener” concept this year. They were 44-34 in those games, compared to 46-38 when using a traditional starter.
Rays manager Kevin Cash believes it is a system that can work over the long haul if the pitchers are agreeable.
"We learned a lot through it," Cash said. "Now, ultimately the players give you the buy-in. And we had success with it. They embraced it, enjoyed it and it's a big credit to them."
