The Pirates settled two of the their five arbitration cases today when they locked up Adam LaRoche and John Grabow to one year deals. LaRoche was the big one and he signed for $3.2 million. The slugger of course came over in the trade that sent closer Mike Gonzalez to the Braves.
I like what PECOTA is predicting for LaRoche in 2007. His weighted mean average has him at .283/.353/.526 with 27 homeruns. I’d like to see him hit his 75th percentile, which would mean 29 homeruns and a .298/.370/.567 line.
The Pirates also signed left handed relief pitcher John Grabow for $832,500. Grabow has put up solid numbers the past two years and with Gonzalez gone, he’ll probably be the primary lefty out of the pen. Call it a promotion by attrition.
