BRADENTON, Fla. -- Jameson Taillon watched from afar with interest Wednesday when Aaron Nola signed a contract extension with the Phillies.
Eligible for salary arbitration for the first time and coming off a third-place finish in the National League Cy Young Award voting, Nola signed a four-year, $45 million deal. Philadelphia also holds a $16 million club option on the right-hander for 2023 that can be bought out for $4.5 million.
Taillon will be arbitration-eligible for the first time after this season and Nola’s contract could seemingly be a template for the type of offer the Pirates might make to their top pitcher next winter.
A year younger than Taillon at 25, Nola has gone 41-28 with a 3.35 ERA and 1.13 WHIP in 93 career starts. He has also averaged 9.4 strikeouts and 2.5 walks per nine innings.
Taillon’s record is 27-21 in 75 starts. He has a 3.63 ERA, 1.27 WHIP and averages of 8.4 strikeouts and 2.2 walks per nine.
Taillon is not quite at Nola’s level yet, but that could change following this season. Many scouts feel Taillon is poised for a breakout season after going 14-10 with a 3.20 ERA and 1.17 WHIP in 32 starts last year.
“He’s my dark-horse Cy Young Award candidate for 2019,” a scout from an NL team told me recently. “He just keeps getting better and better.”
There is a sense among baseball people that Nola might have undersold himself with a contract that includes giving up at least one year of free agency and two if the option is exercised.
“There’s always the risk of injury and everyone’s situation is different,” an agent told me. “I really believe, though, if he would have just kept going year by year with contracts that he would have ended up getting Patrick Corbin money when he reached free agency.”
Corbin signed a six-year, $140-million contract with the Nationals in the offseason.
Taillon would like to stay with the Pirates for the long haul but has not been approached about a possible contract extension. He has become very involved with various charities in the Pittsburgh area and is emerging as a fan favorite.
However, Taillon is very bright and realizes the penny-pinching Pirates might not be willing to pay him what he is worth. As the Pirates’ player representative to the Major League Baseball Players Association, Taillon also has an obligation to other players to not sign a bargain contract.
It will certainly be interesting to see how this all plays out.
MORE PIRATES
• Many Pirates are shocked former teammate Josh Harrison remains unsigned. Even in a slow free-agent market, Harrison figured to be a valuable commodity because of his ability to play multiple positions. It also doesn’t hurt the two-time All-Star is an energetic player and popular clubhouse presence. Yet spring training is underway, and Harrison is still jobless.
• At least a small percentage of fans are upset Garth Brooks, who is spending 10 days in spring training, might take at-bats from players who legitimately have a chance to make the team. That’s not going to happen, though. The country music legend will leave camp after next Thursday’s workout — the Grapefruit League season begins the following day when the Pirates visit the Phillies at Clearwater.
• Spring training workouts are starting a half-hour later at 10 a.m. in order to let the players get more rest. Clint Hurdle has also instituted a rule in which no player is permitted in the clubhouse until 7:30 a.m. as a mechanism to prevent players from not sleeping properly.
• Joel Hanrahan, the Pirates' former closer and now fast-rising minor-league pitching coach, had been pursued a couple years back by the Rangers, given his home being in Texas, but that was overruled from above. Turned out just fine, since he hooked up with the Pirates, was assigned to low Class A West Virginia last year and so impressed management that he was bumped all the way up to Class AA Altoona for this season. Not all former players make good coaches, to put it mildly, but I was told by team people in Bradenton this week -- and saw it in Hanrahan's own smile there -- that he's got his heart into this. Good for him, good for the Curve, better for the Pirates. -- Dejan Kovacevic
PENGUINS
• A conversation in Sunrise, Fla. indicated the Panthers were reluctant to include Jared McCann in the the deal which sent Derick Brassard and Riley Sheahan down south for McCann and Nick Bjugstad. It wouldn’t have been as obvious on the day the trade was made, but fans can see why that’s the case and the impact he can provide in Pittsburgh as a secondary scorer who has the ability to create on his own. -- Matt Sunday
• I'll second that. Both Sunday and I heard glowing stuff about McCann while down in Sunrise, and I've since heard that -- with all due respect to Bjugstad -- the giddiness I originally described from the Penguins' management right after the trade had a ton to do with McCann. He's gotten goals to get people's attention, but he's also done little stuff like Wednesday night against Edmonton:
That was Connor McDavid attempting to gain the zone on a power play. Given McDavid's speed, that usually occurs at will. But McCann studied the Oilers' zone entries and knew McDavid likes to dish to his left for best bud Leon Draisaitl, so he parked himself, waited, picked it off and flung it back the other way.
I brought that up with McCann after the game, and he smiled knowingly.
"Well, it's McDavid, so you don't know what can happen for sure," he told me. "But I was able to make the right read there."
Amusingly, he then politely thanked me for noticing. Really good kid, too. -- Kovacevic
• What did Carl Hagelin, Riley Sheahan and Derick Brassard have in common? Not only were all three traded in-season by Jim Rutherford, all three were also on expiring contracts. The same could be said last season for Ian Cole and Ryan Reaves. One of the underestimated keys to the Penguins' successes in 2016 and '17 was they were willing to let pending unrestricted free agents walk at season's end, whether it was Ben Lovejoy, Nick Bonino, Trevor Daley or Chris Kunitz. If it meant winning a championship while getting nothing back in return, so be it. It was the cost of doing business. Obviously, Rutherford and the Penguins have been taking a different tack of late. That's not to say the Penguins don't believe they can win another Cup. But it's hardly a lock, and so the days of letting assets walk seem to be over. By the way, the only other UFAs of note currently on the roster are Garrett Wilson and Matt Cullen. The NHL's trade deadline is Feb. 25. -- Chris Bradford in Cranberry, Pa.
• Wearing a dark-colored suit and a toque covering his very blonde hair, it was almost hard to recognize Olli Maatta sitting in the press box Wednesday night. However, the Darth Vader-looking black sling covering his left arm was a dead giveaway. The affable 24-year-old defenseman is now out indefinitely after being placed on IR Tuesday with a left shoulder separation. He had shoulder surgery five years ago and hand surgery two years ago, but it was hoped Maatta was past the injuries and misfortune that plagued his earlier career. Maatta played all 82 games last season for the first time in his six-year career. He could be a candidate to be placed on long-term IR which would allow the Penguins some cap relief and a replacement, likely a pending UFA, could be brought in. The best-case scenario is that the return of Justin Schultz, which could come this weekend, provides the Penguins with a much-needed boost. How quickly Schultz, out since Oct. 13, gets up to speed will be a determining factor. -- Bradford
• Wednesday night marked the 11th straight game Patric Hornqvist has gone without a goal. He has one in the 15 games since returning from his second concussion this season and his fourth documented brain injury since 2016. This is his longest goal-less drought since going 12 games without finding the back of the net Feb. 11-March 17, 2017. Of course that season ended pretty well as Hornqvist went on to score four goals in the final 11 games of the regular season and then five more in 19 playoff games, including the clincher in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final. While many have drawn the conclusion Hornqvist's dry spell coincides with age and/or injury catching up to him, a team source said it's more of a confidence issue. More than anyone, Hornqvist has bounced around the lineup this season. He's played on every line, including the fourth in Philadelphia Monday. Hornqvist's 12.4 shooting percentage this season is a career high but he's also a minus-4, the first time he's been a minus in his Pittsburgh career. The hope is Hornqvist, who is under contract through 2022-23, with a cap hit of $5.3-million per year, will turn it up again in the playoffs. -- Bradford
STEELERS
• The Steelers' decision about whether or not to negotiate a long-term contract with Bud Dupree could largely depend on who gets tagged starting next Tuesday when teams can begin using franchise and transition tags. Why is that important? For example, the Chiefs are expected to place the franchise tag on outside linebacker Dee Ford. If that happens, they are likely to release outside linebacker Justin Houston, who is due to count $21 million against their 2019 salary cap. Houston just turned 30, but still recorded nine sacks last season in just 12 games -- and more importantly, five forced fumbles. If Houston is released, the Steelers should definitely have an interest. And as an added bonus, they wouldn't have to wait until the free agency period starts to sign him. Released players also don't count against the tally for compensatory picks. That's why the Steelers are in a holding pattern right now regarding what to do with Dupree and his $9.2-million salary, which becomes fully guaranteed if he's on the roster March 13. They want to see what happens with the rest of the league. -- Dale Lolley at Rooney Complex
• Some other potential cuts who might interest the Steelers include inside linebackers Malcolm Smith of the 49ers, Mark Barron of the Rams and Zach Brown of the Redskins. Like Houston, if those guys are released by their current teams, they wouldn't count against the signing team's compensatory equation. -- Lolley
• It's not surprising Antonio Brown will want any team that trades for him to tear up his current contract and give him a new one. And that could complicate matters when it comes to trading him. While the Steelers would like to trade Brown before his $2.5-million roster bonus is due March 17, they might be better served waiting until the draft to move him. For example, a team such as the 49ers might have more draft capital once the draft begins. The 49ers have their quarterback and, selecting second, are in a prime spot for a team looking to trade up for a quarterback. The extra draft picks the 49ers could acquire could be used in a package for Brown. But is that possibility worth waiting for on the part of the Steelers? Probably not, considering they have no desire to pay Brown another $2.5 million. -- Lolley
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