katoy2j wrote: Hope it's true. He would be just as good a closer as Hanrahan at nearly half the cost.

williamjpellas wrote:

katoy2j wrote: Hope it's true. He would be just as good a closer as Hanrahan at nearly half the cost.

Agreed.  Well, as long as he stays in one piece, no sure thing at his age.  But yes, I greatly prefer this option, coupled with Grilli doing on the job training with Morris and / or Wilson, coupled with trading Hanrahan to the Tigers or whomever.

yithrive wrote: got an alert on MLBtraderumors that he resigned according to John Heyman tweet, then 2 minutes later it was removed.  I wonder what is up?

williamjpellas wrote: I don't agree with that. Grilli has been a so-so pitcher for most of his career, and has never been a closer. After one good year last year (in which he faded down the stretch), he's now set to be an effective closer? It could happen, but I have my doubts.


Katoy said it for me.  Grilli has been hurt for most of his career.  It's only been over the past handful of seasons that he's really been able to stay on the field with any consistency.  While your reservations are duly noted, gr1111, and while I am holding my breath with him, too, I think we've got two young arms plus (in all likelihood) one or two veterans who will be signed this offseason to fall back on if Grilli spits the bit as the closer.  Also, it's been for nearly the past two full seasons, not one, that Grilli has been just about invincible---albeit in the setup role for the most part. (He did close a few games for us.) All that to say I'm ready to go in another direction for the back of the 'pen.  In addition to these factors, Hanrahan is apparently "growing" increasingly allergic to conditioning, and I'd rather see the Pirates put his salary towards another starting pitcher given the other options we figure to have.

yithrive wrote: got an alert on MLBtraderumors that he resigned according to John Heyman tweet, then 2 minutes later it was removed.  I wonder what is up?

juniorkrzy wrote: I agree. It seems Grilli was sincere during his promotional interviews last season in which stated how much he loves the city, team, etc., and is grateful for the opportunity the PBC gave him. It's nice to see when greed is not ruling your decision process. He truly have us a hometown discount. It makes it that much easier to root for a player like this.

Grilli has an off-field business venture that is fairly successful, from what I have heard.  I don't know how much he makes at it, but it may be that this second source of income influenced him in the direction of giving a "hometown discount".

What jumps out at me about his deal is that it looks more like what a contender would pay for an elite setup man than what even a middling team like the Pirates would pay for their closer.  This may mean that even Grilli himself, as well as the Pirates, are thinking that if he does close for this team, it won't be for very long.  In short: he is here to be the closer in the short term, but the real goal is for him to mentor the heirs apparent, ie Wilson and/or Morris or maybe even one or two other guys.  So I suspect that Grilli is, in reality, more of a safety blanket than he is anything else.


That said, he has been all but invincible over the past two seasons in Pittsburgh.  While he did have a less bulletproof second half of the season in 2012---and while that might signal storm clouds on the horizon, given how many times Grilli has been injured over the years---still and all he is a good risk for the dollars he is getting.  I hope he stays healthy and can be the main closer here for this coming season, and then maybe slide back into a mostly-setup-man role in 2014.  Unless he's just too good for anyone to beat him out of the closer's spot.  Lord knows he has waited and worked for a very long time to get to where he is today.  I hope he can have his moment in the sun for a season or two longer.